ABSTRACT
The three marks of existence Dissatisfaction, dis-ease, and suffering, in Pali dukkha (Sanskrit: duckha),1 that ubiquitous quality of our conditioned existence,2 is the leitmotif of all Buddhist teaching, its cessation its overriding purpose.3 Understanding the conditions that bring about this suffering, and undertaking the activities that lead to its cessation, constitute the contents and aims of the buddha-dharma, the teachings and practices passed down in the name of the Buddha.4 The fundamental causes of this dissatisfaction and suffering are ignorance (P. avijja; S. avidya), a basic misunderstanding of how things actually are; craving or thirst (P. tan.ha; S. tghn.a) for pleasure and for continued existence; and the unhealthy actions (akusalakamma) these first two bring about. This essay on the development of a Buddhist concept of unconscious mental processes afflicted with such delusions and desires is nearly exclusively concerned with the dynamic interplay between these basic causes, which constitute the contents of the second Noble Truth, the Arising of Suffering.
