For me relaxation, true relaxation, is not being asleep (for my dreams make sure I don't relax), is not being in an unmindful state but rather being acutely awake but totally at peace with everything in my immediate surroundings and in my head. It is rare!
Neither happy nor sad but craving neither nor anything else.
This is an important thing to keep in mind.... relaxation might not be the best word to use... The Buddha used words like "calm","tranquil",and "serene". Relaxation tends to lend people into thinking that you need to undo things that are tight (relaxing tension in the body)..
Although relaxing tension in the body is a nice tool to use to help settle the mind, it is not an end goal. Relaxation, itself, is not part of the 8 Fold Path.. Calmness/tranquility/serenity, however, are
Right Concentration is the 8th fold of the Noble 8 Fold Path and calmness is a part of Right Concentration.
The difference in calmness and relaxation is the simile used of a cup of water.. When the cup is held and shakened, the water is unsettled or turbulent. When the cup is put on a non-moveable object, the water becomes settled or calm. Its not really correct to say the water became relaxed..
We are looking to calm the turbulence of the mind to allow rapture to arise.. Relaxation can be an aid in doing so, but not a must.
We tend to reserve "suffering" for extreme stresses - dying of a painful cancer, for instance. So by translating dukkha as suffering we are reminded that the Buddha's message is for more than just those who are (say) a bit stressed at work.
Wikipedia says "Dukkha is a Buddhist term commonly translated as "suffering", "stress", "anxiety", or "dissatisfaction". I have also seen it translated in other ways. It's just that English doesn't have one word that is as comprehensive as dukkha.
We need to get dukkha into the English langauge! Karma made it, why not dukkha?
I agree... Dukkha does not have a great translation into english... Much like the term sati, Bhikkhu Bodhi said it is very hard to find a really good translation of these terms from the pali into english.
maha metta
