In short: the Buddha's whole teaching is about suffering and its end: "Rebirth is suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering" (SN 56.11), and it comes from craving: "Sorrow springs from craving" (Dhammapada 216). But it can end. Here are seven genuine quotes on suffering, each with its source.
1. SN 56.11
"Rebirth is suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering; being coupled with the disliked is suffering; separation from the liked is suffering; not getting what you wish for is suffering."
The first noble truth: honest, not gloomy.
2. SN 36.6
"It's like a person who is struck with an arrow, only to be struck with a second arrow. That person experiences the feeling of two arrows."
Pain is one arrow; our reaction is a second.
3. Dhammapada 216
"Sorrow springs from craving, fear springs from craving; one free from craving has no sorrow, let alone fear."
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4. Dhammapada 278
"All conditions are suffering— when this is seen with wisdom, one grows disillusioned with suffering: this is the path to purity."
5. Dhammapada 203
"Hunger is the worst illness, conditions are the worst suffering. When one has known this as it is, extinguishment is the ultimate happiness."
6. Dhammapada 336
"But whoever prevails over this wretched craving, so hard to get over in the world, their sorrows fall from them, like a drop from a lotus-leaf."
How suffering ends.
7. Dhammapada 1
"Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they're made by intention. If with corrupt intent you speak or act, suffering follows you, like a wheel, the ox's foot."
All quotes are from the early Buddhist texts in Bhikkhu Sujato's translation on SuttaCentral, copied exactly. Last checked: 17 October 2026.
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Questions people ask
What did the Buddha say about suffering?
That it is the first noble truth: 'Rebirth is suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering…' (SN 56.11), that its origin is craving, and that it can end.