FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS


The 'Four Noble Truths' (Pali: ''Cattāri ariyasaccāni'', Sanskrit: ''Catvāri āryasatyāni'', Chinese: 'Sìshèngdì', Thai: อริยสัจสี่, ''Ariyasaj Sii'') are one of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings. They appear many times throughout the most ancient Buddhist texts, the Pali Canon. They are among the truths Gautama Buddha realized during his experience of enlightenment. Why the Buddha taught in this way is illuminated by the social context of the time in which he lived. The Buddha was a , a wandering ascetic whose "aim was to discover the truth and attain happiness" The Buddha claimed to have achieved this aim while under a bodhi tree near the Ganges River; the Four Noble Truths are a formulation of his understanding of the nature of "suffering",[1]
the fundamental cause of all suffering, the escape from suffering, and what effort a person can go to so that they themselves can ''"attain happiness."''
These truths are not expressed as a hypothesis or tentative idea, rather the Buddha says:
The Buddha said that he taught them...
This teaching was the basis of the Buddha's first discourse after his enlightenment. According to the traditional Theravada interpretation, following scriptural passages, this is an advanced teaching for those who are ready.[2]
Mahayana Buddhism contains within itself an alternative version of the Four Noble Truths, in which the immortality of the Buddha occupies a central position.

Contents
Four Noble Truths
Variant Understanding of the Four Noble Truths Within Mahayana
See also
References
External links

Four Noble Truths



#'The Nature of Dukkha:' ''Suffering exists in life.'' This is the noble truth of "dukkha": the word "Dukkha" is usually translated as "suffering" in English. Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, sickness is dukkha, death is dukkha; union with what is displeasing is dukkha; separation from what is pleasing is dukkha; not to get what one wants is dukkha; to get what one does not want is dukkha; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are dukkha. This first Noble Truth reflects on the nature of suffering. It comments on types of suffering, identifying each type in turn. A more accurate simplification of this truth is "Life is full of suffering."
#'The Origin of Dukkha (Samudaya):' ''Suffering is caused by desire.'' This is the noble truth of the origin of dukkha: It is craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination. The second Noble Truth reflects on the sources of suffering (Dukkha.) Put very simply, it states that suffering results from expectations linked to our desires, and our attachment to those desires themselves.
#'The Cessation of Dukkha (Nirodha):' ''To eliminate suffering, eliminate desire.'' This is the noble truth of the cessation of dukkha: It is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, and non-reliance on it. The third Noble Truth reflects on the belief that suffering can be eliminated. It asserts that it can be done, and that it has been done.
#'The Way Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha (Magga):' ''To eliminate desire follow the Eightfold Path.'' This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of Dukkha: It is the Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. [3][4]

Variant Understanding of the Four Noble Truths Within Mahayana


Certain major Mahayana sutras, including the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and the Angulimaliya Sutra, present variant versions of the Four Noble Truths in line with their own metaphysics and soteriology. The Srimala Sutra accepts the Four Noble Truths, but insists that only the Third - that of the cessation of suffering - is eternally true. In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha presents a new formulation of the Truths:

★ the Truth of Suffering relates to the failure to recognize the eternity of the Buddha;

★ the Truth of the Cause of Suffering concerns the perversion and distortion of the True Dharma (i.e. wrongly insisting that the Buddha and Dharma are impermanent);

★ the Truth of the Cessation of Suffering relates to the correct meditative cultivation of the tathagatagarbha (indwelling Buddha Essence in all beings) and not erroneously viewing it as non-Self and empty; cessation of suffering also arises with the elimination of inner defilements, when one can then enter into the Buddhic Essence within oneself: "When the afflictions have been eradicated, then one will perceive entry into the tathāgata-garbha";

★ the Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering entails envisioning the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha as eternal, unshakeable and indestructible. (''Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra'', tr. by Kosho Yamamoto, ed. by Dr. Tony Page, Nirvana Publications, London, 1999-2000)
The Angulimaliya Sutra similarly emphasises the seeing and knowing of the Buddha's eternality, immutability and peace as the key factors in liberation from suffering; failure to see this eternal nature of ultimate reality is said to constitute the primary cause of beings' continued entrapment in the sufferings of samsara.

See also



★ List of Buddhist topics

References



MN = Majjhima Nikaya
SN = Samyutta Nikaya
1. The term used by the Buddha is dukkha. While suffering - i.e., being in a state of physical or mental pain - is one aspect of dukkha, it is believed by many that suffering is too narrow a translation and that it is best to leave dukkha untranslated: see more at the article Dukkha.
2. ''New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions''
3.
4.


''The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes'' (Nirvana Publications, 1999-2000), translated by Kosho Yamamoto, edited and revised by Dr. Tony Page.

External links



★ His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaks of the "Four Noble Truths" in a four part video series
at youtube.com:

★
★ Part 1

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★ Part 2

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★ Part 3

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★ Part 4

★ 'The Four Noble Truths' as in the Buddhist Encyclopedia.

★ At ''Access to Insight:''

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★ ''The Four Noble Truths: A Study Guide'' (by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)

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★ ''Wings to Awakening Section 3.H.i: The Four Noble Truths'' (translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)

★ Talks given by Ajahn Sumedho:

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★ At Amaravati Monastery's web: ''The Four Noble Truths''

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★ PDF version at ''Buddhanet.net'': ''The Four Noble Truths eBook''

★ A View on the Four Noble Truths

★ ''The Light of Asia (Book Eight)'', a poem in iambic pentameter by Sir Edwin Arnold.

★ 4 noble truths in pali

★ Buddhism - the Four Noble Truths

★ ''The Feeling Buddha:'' An alternate interpretation of the Four Noble Truths.

★ Sixteen Aspects of the Four Noble Truths

★ Nirvana Sutra, for full text of the ''Mahaparinirvana Sutra'' and link to other tathagatagarbha sutras (including the ''Angulimaliya Sutra'').

★ Etymology of the Pāli "ariyasacca"

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