"Now what, friends, is the noble truth of stress? Birth is stressful,
aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain,
distress, & despair are stressful; not getting what is wanted is
stressful.[2] In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
"And what is birth? Whatever birth, taking birth, descent,
coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of
[sense] spheres of the various beings in this or that group of beings,
that is called birth.
"And what is aging? Whatever aging, decrepitude, brokenness, graying,
wrinkling, decline of life-force, weakening of the faculties of the
various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called aging.
"And what is death? Whatever deceasing, passing away, breaking up,
disappearance, dying, death, completion of time, break up of the
aggregates, casting off of the body, interruption in the life faculty
of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called
death.
"And what is sorrow? Whatever sorrow, sorrowing, sadness, inward
sorrow, inward sadness of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by
a painful thing, that is called sorrow.
"And what is lamentation? Whatever crying, grieving, lamenting,
weeping, wailing, lamentation of anyone suffering from misfortune,
touched by a painful thing, that is called lamentation.
"And what is pain? Whatever is experienced as bodily pain, bodily
discomfort, pain or discomfort born of bodily contact, that is called
pain.
"And what is distress? Whatever is experienced as mental pain, mental
discomfort, pain or discomfort born of mental contact, that is called
distress.
"And what is despair? Whatever despair, despondency, desperation of
anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is
called despair.
"And what is the stress of not getting what is wanted? In beings
subject to birth, the wish arises, 'O, may we not be subject to birth,
and may birth not come to us.' But this is not to be achieved by
wanting. This is the stress of not getting what is wanted. In beings
subject to aging... illness... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain,
distress, & despair, the wish arises, 'O, may we not be subject to
aging... illness... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, &
despair, and may aging... illness... death... sorrow, lamentation,
pain, distress, & despair not come to us.' But this is not to be
achieved by wanting. This is the stress of not getting what is wanted.
"And what are the five clinging-aggregates that, in short, are
stressful? The clinging-aggregate of form, the clinging-aggregate of
feeling, the clinging-aggregate of perception, the clinging-aggregate
of fabrications, the clinging-aggregate of consciousness: These are
called the five clinging-aggregates that, in short, are stressful.
"This, friends, is called the noble truth of stress.