The_Four_Noble_Truths

The Four Noble Truths The first teaching ever given by the Buddha was to five student monks. The Buddha spoke of the Four Noble Truths he had discovered while struggling for enlightenment. The Four Noble Truths were The Truth of Pain, The Truth of Cause of Pain, the Truth of Cessation of Pain, and the Truth of the Way That Leads to the Cessation of Pain. Each of these truths explains the steps Buddhist used in “understanding the truth about life, the reasons behind those truths, the possibility of change and the way of life that can lead to a life free of suffering (Pannyavaro 2008).” These teachings are known to contain the concentration of the Buddhist path, regardless of the tradition a person may follow. In the first two Noble Truths he diagnosed the problem (suffering/pain) and identified its cause. During the learning of this First Noble Truth Siddhartha decided to become a monk. The first Noble Truth was The Truth of Pain. The Truth of Pain is stating that life consists on suffering and dissatisfaction. They called this suffering “dukkha.” It was said that “During your lifetime, you have to go through physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death. This is especially true for poor people.” (Kurtus 2013). The Buddha acknowledged that there is both happiness and sorrow in the world, but he taught that even when we have some kind of happiness, it is impermanent and subject to change. The second Noble Truth is The Truth of Cause of Pain. This noble truth expressed that we will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want, etc. In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting guarantee happiness. By watching people Buddha found out that the causes of pain are craving and desire, and ignorance. The third noble truth is the truth of Cessation of Pain. This is the most important of the Four Noble Truths because in it the Buddha reassures us that true happiness and contentment are possible. When we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time, enjoying without restless wanting the experiences that life offers us, patiently enduring the problems that life involves without fear, hatred and anger, then we become happy and free. Because we are no longer obsessed with satisfying our own selfish wants, we find we have so much time to help others fulfill their needs. The fourth noble truth is Truth of the Way That Leads to the Cessation of Pain. This truth meant there is a way to end suffering. To end suffering we must end our cravings. The way to ending cravings is the Eightfold Path. Truth is found through the Middle Way by way of the Noble Eightfold Path. These are the "right" or correct things to do in your life: Right view, Right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This is the way to reach Nirvana. Nirvana is the supreme state free from suffering and individual existence. It is a state Buddhists refer to as "Enlightenment". It is the ultimate goal of all Buddhists. The attainment of nirvana breaks the otherwise endless rebirth cycle of reincarnation. (Kurtus 2013) The Four Noble Truths is the basis of Buddhism. The First Truth is that all life is suffering, pain, and misery. The Second Truth is that this suffering is caused by selfish craving and personal desire. The Third Truth is that this selfish craving can be overcome. The Fourth Truth is that the way to overcome this misery is through the Eightfold Path.