The Four Noble Truths

The four noble truths are a set of statements that contain the very foundations of Buddhist belief. The Buddha came to understand these four principles as he was meditating beneath the bodhi tree. The truths go as so:

1) There is no existence without suffering (dukkha)

The Sanskrit word 'dukkha' is roughly translated to 'suffering' or 'dissatisfaction'. The Buddha taught that there is no such thing as life without dukkha, because it is an unavoidable part of our lives. Hunger, thirst, pain and grief are all obvious examples. They are aspects of life that are deeply rooted in our existence and cannot be avoided.
However the Buddha looked upon suffering much deeper than that. As well as hunger, grief, thirst and pain, we often find that life does not live up to our expectations. This is another cause of suffering, and is perhaps more closely related to what is meant by 'dissatisfaction'.

As human beings we are subject to desires and cravings, but even if we manage to satiate these desires, however fleeting they may be, the satisfaction is only ever temporary. We find ourselves unfulfilled. Yes, this seems like a rather pessimistic view, that we will never truly be satisfied in our existence, but in reality it is neither pessimistic or optimistic. It's just the nature of life.

2) There is an origin to suffering (samudāya)

The Buddha taught that beyond the problems of hunger and pain etc. we have a much more human suffering that is caused by our innate desire of what we do not have. We crave that which does not belong to us and we become uninterested and dissatisfied with what we do have. This unhealthy attitude towards life is what the second truth aims to teach: the origin of suffering.

The origins of suffering are represented as the three poisons:

The three poisons are shown as a rooster, a snake and a pig.

The rooster represents greed and desire,

The snake represents hate and destructive urges,

The pig represents delusion and ignorance.

These three poisons are visual embodiments of what causes suffering in our lives.

3) There is a way to end suffering (nirodha)

The Buddha not only identified the cause of our suffering, but also that there is a way for us to extinguish it. This is the third noble truth, that there is a way to end suffering.

The Buddha believed that there was an end to suffering, and this was called Nirvana. The word Nirvana means 'extinguishing'. To attain Nirvana is to reach enlightenment, and to free oneself of the three poisons: greed, ignorance and hatred. The Buddha suggested that one who had attained nirvana was free from the cycle of death and rebirth, although he asked his followers not to focus too much on the aftermath and more on the task at hand, as not only would it distract their efforts but also, he did not know! There is no way for us to know what truly happens after death, and most Buddhist teachers are not afraid to admit that.

4) The path to the cessation of suffering (magga)

The fourth and final noble truth is that the way to release yourself from suffering is to follow the eightfold path, which essentially serves as the Buddhist equivalent of the Christian Ten Commandments. The eightfold path is also referred to as the middle way, as it is neither overindulgence nor neglect of yourself. It is a largely neutral way to live your life.

The eightfold path consists of the following stages (although a more in depth article will be posted on it next week):

Right understanding - (Sammā ditthi): accepting Buddhist teachings, but not without testing them yourself first.
Right Intention - (Sammā san̄kappa): committing yourself to cultivating the right attitudes in your day-to-day life.
Right speech - (Sammā vācā): speaking truthfully, and avoiding slander, gossip and abusive speech.
Right action - (Sammā Kammanta): behaving peacefully and refraining from stealing or any kind of overindulgence.
Right livelihood - (Sammā ājīva): not making a living from the harm of other living things. E.g. The production of weapons, intoxicants or killing animals.
Right effort - (Sammā Vāyāma): cultivating positive States of mind and freeing oneself from unwholesome and evil states.
Right mindfulness - (Sammā sati): developing awareness of the body, feelings and states of mind.
Right concentration - (Sammā samādhi): developing the necessary focus for this state of awareness.