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Thread: Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

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    Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

    In Buddhism, with which I am more familiar, "Sabbe sankhara dukkha" is often translated as "all formations are suffering".

    Recently I've encountered references in Shaivite teachings which equate sankhara with the ultimate self. I'm curious, therefore, to know how Hindus in general interpret 'sankhara'. What does this term mean for Hindus?

    Thank you for reading.

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    Re: Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

    namaste,
    Could you please explain the term 'sankhara' from Buddhisit pov? From what I hurriedly read on the Internet, it is not really the same as atma which hinduism claims to be satchitananda or always true, concious and blissful.
    Is sankhara referred to the body or material?
    satay

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    Re: Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

    Hi satay,
    This from a reliable Buddhist source:
    Putting together statements from various suttas, we can see that the sankharas are the kammically active volitions responsible for generating rebirth and thus for sustaining the onward movement of samsara, the round of birth and death. In this context sankhara is virtually synonymous with kamma, a word to which it is etymologically akin.
    http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/a...-essay_43.html

    Etymologically, it seems to have the same root, ie. the prefix sam, meaning "together," joined to the noun kara, "doing, making. Whereas in Shaivism this means something different, as of this site: http://www.hinduwebsite.com/siva/sankara.asp

    Hence my confusion.
    Thanks

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    Re: Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

    Namaste,

    It is not Sankhara but Shankara which is made up of Sham + Kar. "Sham" means "auspicious/good luck/happiness" and "Kar" means "who does so".

    So, it is just the opposite.

    OM
    "Om Namo Bhagvate Vaasudevaye"

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    Re: Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

    Hi devotee,
    I've also seen that configuration but it seems interchangeable, as the book I'm reading uses sankara rather than shamkara in the context of another name for Shiva. Looks like a mystery for Sanskrit scholars. I'm not sure I can work that out but it's clear that the context is very different for both.

    It just strikes me as strange, especially if both usages were contemporaneous as I would imagine.

    namaste

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    Re: Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

    Namaste ShriVijaya, this PAli word "sankhara" seems to come from the SaMskRut word saMskAra i.e. impressions, moulding, conditioning, putting together -- yes, this also fits.
    Pali words are generally flattened or simplified (if not distorted) versions of the SaMskRuta word without the joDAkshar (joined letters) which were generally easy for the people in that region to pronounce.

    annatta --- anAtmA
    dhamma -- dharma
    nibbAnA --- nirvANa
    sankara -- saMskAra (note the joDAkshara Mska has turned into nka

    ---

    Another thing --- sa ( sarga , sama , saundarya, surhud ) and sha (shadba, sheetal, shanti shaurya). The transliterations write S without the h for Shiva -- they say Siva. Shankara (another name of Shiva) is written as Sankara. It is meant to be S` (A transliteration rule I do not understand) but the ` gets dropped and we end up wondering if it is Siva as in same, circle, state, sea.

    So we must not confuse Shankara (or ShaMkara) written as Sankara with the PAli word sankhara ( which must be sauMskAra)

    Also, there is the word saMkara -- varNa-saMkara (Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1 - Arjun says war leads to varNa-saMkara). This is a negative word.
    Not to be confused with SHaMkara (Lord Shiva). The s and Sh make a big difference. Unfortunately on the internet and books in English , the pronunciation is not intuitive or obvious, and dropping the 'h' in Shiva or ShaMkara adds to it.

    --
    M = anusvAra -- the dot (bindu) on top of devanAgari letters.
    kaMkaNa kuMkuma kiMkiNi paMkaja hauMsa kauMsa saMga gaMgA (Ganga)

    Usually we just use the n for anusvar like in GangA (river). Technically it should be gaMgA.
    Last edited by smaranam; 31 May 2015 at 05:40 PM.

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    Re: Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

    Namaste smaranam,
    Many thanks for that wonderful post which clears up the confusion for me. I suspected that there must be a linguistic explanation somewhere along the line and that demonstrates it perfectly.

    Prior to that, I was engaged in all manner of esoteric intellectual gymnastics, wondering if Buddhist sankhara had somehow been equated with the motion of Spanda, where such formations could perhaps be equated with the expansive aspect of Shiva's energy.

    That didn't quite fit, so your post resolves that dilemma nicely for me.

    Thanks again.

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    Re: Is Sankhara "suffering" for Hindus, or something else?

    You are very welcome

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