also: くがい
noun
sea of suffering; human realm
Buddhist term for the world of suffering and delusion; often contrasted with the Pure Land or enlightenment. The reading くかい is standard, while くがい is a less common variant.
仏教では、この世を苦海と見なすことがある。
In Buddhism, this world is sometimes regarded as a sea of suffering.
苦海を渡り切って彼岸に至る。
Cross over the sea of suffering and reach the other shore.
娑婆 also refers to this world of suffering, but is a more general Buddhist term and can be used colloquially to mean the secular world outside a monastery or prison.
此岸 literally means 'this shore' and is the opposite of 彼岸 (the other shore of enlightenment). 苦海 emphasizes the suffering aspect of this world.
From Chinese 苦海 (kǔhǎi), a Buddhist term literally meaning 'bitter sea'. The kanji 苦 means 'suffering' and 海 means 'sea'.