Post by Lady Anastasia on Feb 26, 2007 3:26:44 GMT -5
The Noble Truth of Suffering
After he had gained enlightenment the Buddha faced a significant dilemma, whether to share what he had discovered with others or to keep it to himself. After some deliberation, out of compassion for the world, he decided to share his newfound knowledge.
Several weeks after his enlightenment therefore the Buddha began to reveal what he had learnt which is encapsulated in the
Four Noble Truths:
The Buddhist view of life has a distinct and clear starting point. Existence as we experience it on a day to day level is a place of suffering or dukkha. But what does this term dukkha encompass? In an obvious sense it refers to physical suffering in all its various forms. Having a mild headache is a form of physical suffering; an attack of appendicitis is more acute. Suffering can also be emotional, such as feeling hurt, rejected, unloved or grieving for the loss of a loved one.
Mental suffering can take the form of frustration at not getting what one wants, failing an examination, feeling disillusioned and so on. In a more wide-ranging sense, dukkha is about dissatisfaction which can permeate all aspects of our lives. More comprehensively, the whole process of being born, getting sick, growing old and dying is suffering: 'Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; sickness is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; not to obtain what one wants is suffering'.Someone might argue that this assessment of life is flawed. Happiness and contentment do exist. Life isn’t just suffering.
The Buddhist response to this is that any happiness does not last forever. The happiest person in the world must one day experience death - and possibly old age and sickness too. In any happiness there is - latent within it - the awareness of loss as there is no guarantee that such happiness will be sustained.
The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
The Buddha’s approach to the problem of suffering was essentially analytical. He saw that suffering was everywhere but where did it come from? According to the Buddha’s teaching, the origin of suffering is craving or tanha.
This is fundamentally an inherent desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain. We are constantly drawn to pleasant smells, sights, sounds, tastes, touch, thoughts, feelings and to avoid of those that are unpleasant. Thus we go through life drawn to this, avoiding that, all because of attraction and aversion. When we have nice sensations we want to experience them time and time again. When such experiences cannot be sustained, we feel unhappy, discontented, we suffer: 'And what is the origin of suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust, and delights in this and that; that is craving for sensual pleasures, craving for being, and craving for non-being'.
In addition to craving for sensual pleasures, there’s also a craving for eternal existence and, the opposite of this, wishing to bring existence to an end. Many like the idea that when we die a soul or permanent self continues after death in some eternal realm. Others find life so intolerable that they wish for death, or that they see death as the end of life completely. The Buddha taught that when we die there is continuation but that it is not an eternal soul that moves from one life to the next.
The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering
The Buddha’s teaching would be a rather depressing one if it had stopped at the first two noble truths which show living beings trapped in a cycle of suffering and desire. Fortunately, the Buddha’s enlightenment was about discovering that there was a state of being in which suffering and desire were absent, a place of bliss and peace - Nirvana. We have to be careful here not to equate what the Buddha called Nirvana with the idea of a heaven.
In the Buddhist world view heavens exist but they are not the ultimate place to be as even the gods who inhabit them will fall into lower realms and once again experience suffering.
The word ‘Nirvana’ literally means ‘to cease blowing’. What ceases to blow are the fires of greed and hatred and thereby suffering and desire. It is a state that can be achieved in this life (as in the case of the Buddha) and a state that on enters permanently on death providing one has already attained to it whilst alive. Once when enters Nirvana for good, there is no cycle or birth and death anymore.In Buddhist scriptures, Nirvana is described as the extinction of greed, the extinction of hate, the extinction of delusion. For the individual who attains Nirvana there is nothing more to be done as his or her heart dwells in peace. Attaining Nirvana, of course, isn’t easy. The Buddha described it as 'profound, hard to see and hard to understand…unattainable by mere reasoning'. Nirvana is not something one can just think about to experience it. Precise practices are needed if it is ever to be realized.
The Noble Truth of the Path that leads to the Extinction of Suffering
With the fourth noble truth the Buddha offers a method for attaining enlightenment, what he referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path. Often the Noble Eightfold Path is symbolized as a wheel with eight spokes. The wheel represents the Buddha’s teaching whereas the eight spokes indicate the eight factors that make up the Noble Eightfold Path. It is important to note that a follower of the Noble Eightfold Path is not expected to work through these one by one but to work on all factors as much as they can at the same time. In many ways they support each other.
Further Reading - Four Noble Truths
‘And what, friends, is the noble truth of suffering? Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; not to obtain what one wants is suffering.’
‘And what, friends is the noble truth of the origin of suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust; and delights in this and that; that is craving for sensual pleasures, craving for being, and craving for non-being.’
‘And what, friends, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving up, relinquishing, letting go, and rejecting of that same craving.'
‘And what, friends, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering? It is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.'
(From The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha translated by Bhikku Nanamoli ands Bhikku Bodhi, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 1995)
‘The king asked: ‘Is cessation Nirvana? – ‘Yes, your majesty!’ How is that, Nagasena?’ – ‘All the foolish common people take delight in the senses and their objects, are impressed by them, are attached to them. In that way they are carried away by the flood, and are not set free from birth, old age, and death, from grief, lamentation, pain, sadness, and despair – they are, I say, not set free from suffering. But the well-informed holy disciples do not take delight in the senses and their objects, are not impressed by them, are not attached to them, and in consequence their craving ceases.’
‘As the lotus is unstained by water, so is Nirvana unstained by all the defilements. As cool water allays feverish heat, so also Nirvana is cool and always allays the fever of all the passions. Moreover, as water removes the thirst of men and beast who are exhausted, parched, thirsty , and overpowered by heat, so also Nirvana removes the craving for sensuous enjoyments, the craving for further becoming, the craving for the sensation of becoming. As medicine protects from the torments of poison, so Nirvana from the torments of the poisonous passions. Moreover, as medicine puts an end to sickness, so Nirvana to all sufferings. Finally, Nirvana and medicine both give security.
(From The Questions of Kind Milinda in Buddhist Scriptures selected and translated by Edward Conze, Penguin, London, 1959)
buddhism.about.com/od/fournobletruths/a/IB3.htm
After he had gained enlightenment the Buddha faced a significant dilemma, whether to share what he had discovered with others or to keep it to himself. After some deliberation, out of compassion for the world, he decided to share his newfound knowledge.
Several weeks after his enlightenment therefore the Buddha began to reveal what he had learnt which is encapsulated in the
Four Noble Truths:
- The Noble Truth of Suffering
- The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
- The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering
- The Noble Truth of the Path that leads to the Extinction of Suffering
The Buddhist view of life has a distinct and clear starting point. Existence as we experience it on a day to day level is a place of suffering or dukkha. But what does this term dukkha encompass? In an obvious sense it refers to physical suffering in all its various forms. Having a mild headache is a form of physical suffering; an attack of appendicitis is more acute. Suffering can also be emotional, such as feeling hurt, rejected, unloved or grieving for the loss of a loved one.
Mental suffering can take the form of frustration at not getting what one wants, failing an examination, feeling disillusioned and so on. In a more wide-ranging sense, dukkha is about dissatisfaction which can permeate all aspects of our lives. More comprehensively, the whole process of being born, getting sick, growing old and dying is suffering: 'Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; sickness is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; not to obtain what one wants is suffering'.Someone might argue that this assessment of life is flawed. Happiness and contentment do exist. Life isn’t just suffering.
The Buddhist response to this is that any happiness does not last forever. The happiest person in the world must one day experience death - and possibly old age and sickness too. In any happiness there is - latent within it - the awareness of loss as there is no guarantee that such happiness will be sustained.
The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
The Buddha’s approach to the problem of suffering was essentially analytical. He saw that suffering was everywhere but where did it come from? According to the Buddha’s teaching, the origin of suffering is craving or tanha.
This is fundamentally an inherent desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain. We are constantly drawn to pleasant smells, sights, sounds, tastes, touch, thoughts, feelings and to avoid of those that are unpleasant. Thus we go through life drawn to this, avoiding that, all because of attraction and aversion. When we have nice sensations we want to experience them time and time again. When such experiences cannot be sustained, we feel unhappy, discontented, we suffer: 'And what is the origin of suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust, and delights in this and that; that is craving for sensual pleasures, craving for being, and craving for non-being'.
In addition to craving for sensual pleasures, there’s also a craving for eternal existence and, the opposite of this, wishing to bring existence to an end. Many like the idea that when we die a soul or permanent self continues after death in some eternal realm. Others find life so intolerable that they wish for death, or that they see death as the end of life completely. The Buddha taught that when we die there is continuation but that it is not an eternal soul that moves from one life to the next.
The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Suffering
The Buddha’s teaching would be a rather depressing one if it had stopped at the first two noble truths which show living beings trapped in a cycle of suffering and desire. Fortunately, the Buddha’s enlightenment was about discovering that there was a state of being in which suffering and desire were absent, a place of bliss and peace - Nirvana. We have to be careful here not to equate what the Buddha called Nirvana with the idea of a heaven.
In the Buddhist world view heavens exist but they are not the ultimate place to be as even the gods who inhabit them will fall into lower realms and once again experience suffering.
The word ‘Nirvana’ literally means ‘to cease blowing’. What ceases to blow are the fires of greed and hatred and thereby suffering and desire. It is a state that can be achieved in this life (as in the case of the Buddha) and a state that on enters permanently on death providing one has already attained to it whilst alive. Once when enters Nirvana for good, there is no cycle or birth and death anymore.In Buddhist scriptures, Nirvana is described as the extinction of greed, the extinction of hate, the extinction of delusion. For the individual who attains Nirvana there is nothing more to be done as his or her heart dwells in peace. Attaining Nirvana, of course, isn’t easy. The Buddha described it as 'profound, hard to see and hard to understand…unattainable by mere reasoning'. Nirvana is not something one can just think about to experience it. Precise practices are needed if it is ever to be realized.
The Noble Truth of the Path that leads to the Extinction of Suffering
With the fourth noble truth the Buddha offers a method for attaining enlightenment, what he referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path. Often the Noble Eightfold Path is symbolized as a wheel with eight spokes. The wheel represents the Buddha’s teaching whereas the eight spokes indicate the eight factors that make up the Noble Eightfold Path. It is important to note that a follower of the Noble Eightfold Path is not expected to work through these one by one but to work on all factors as much as they can at the same time. In many ways they support each other.
- Right Understanding
This is sometimes translated as Right View. In a broad sense, this factor requires Buddhists to come to a full understanding of all the Buddha’s teachings. This involves understanding the Four Noble Truths and all the other teachings of the Buddha. Consequently, this factor of the Noble Eightfold Path is very broad in its scope. - Right Thought
This is sometimes translated as Right Intention. Adhering to this factor of the Noble Eightfold Path means developing a mind that is free of lust, ill-will and cruelty. - Right Speech
There are four aspects of Right Speech: abstaining from lying, from tale bearing, harsh language and frivolous talk. Any talk that breeds ill-will, distrust and causes offence is to be avoided. Instead, the Buddha urged his followers to talk constructively and in a way that is likely to promote harmony between oneself and others. - Right Action
There are three elements of Right Action: abstaining from killing, from stealing and from unlawful sexual intercourse. The latter includes sexual activity that brings harm to oneself and/or others. This would include, for example, being unfaithful to one’s partner. - Right Livelihood
The Buddha taught that it was important to choose one’s job carefully. In other words, how one earned a living should be ethically sound. In his own time he singled out occupations which contained the following as examples of wrong livelihood: trading in arms, in living beings, in flesh, in intoxicating drinks, and in poison. Also, occupations that involved deceit, treachery, fortune telling, and usury were also seen as wrong. - Right Effort
Right Effort consists of what the Buddha referred to as the ’Four Great Efforts’. Firstly, the effort to avoid what is evil or morally unwholesome. Secondly, the effort to overcome thoughts of lust, ill-will or any other evil or morally unwholesome states. Thirdly, the effort to develop what is good and morally wholesome. Fourthly, the effort to maintain what is good and morally wholesome. - Right Mindfulness
This factor involves various meditation techniques which have ‘bare awareness’ as their object. The purpose of this meditation to simply observe – particularly the mind – and note how it is pulled this way and that way by attraction and aversion. In doing this, the idea is to begin to see things as they really are rather than through a subjective lens of likes and dislikes. - Right Concentration
This is another method of meditation but this is not about bare observation but focusing the mind on a single object so that no unwanted thoughts can intrude. When one-pointedness of mind is achieved, various trance-like states known as jhanas may be experienced. These are very joyful meditative states beyond what we normally experience through our senses.
Further Reading - Four Noble Truths
‘And what, friends, is the noble truth of suffering? Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; not to obtain what one wants is suffering.’
‘And what, friends is the noble truth of the origin of suffering? It is craving, which brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust; and delights in this and that; that is craving for sensual pleasures, craving for being, and craving for non-being.’
‘And what, friends, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving up, relinquishing, letting go, and rejecting of that same craving.'
‘And what, friends, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering? It is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.'
(From The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha translated by Bhikku Nanamoli ands Bhikku Bodhi, Wisdom Publications, Boston, 1995)
‘The king asked: ‘Is cessation Nirvana? – ‘Yes, your majesty!’ How is that, Nagasena?’ – ‘All the foolish common people take delight in the senses and their objects, are impressed by them, are attached to them. In that way they are carried away by the flood, and are not set free from birth, old age, and death, from grief, lamentation, pain, sadness, and despair – they are, I say, not set free from suffering. But the well-informed holy disciples do not take delight in the senses and their objects, are not impressed by them, are not attached to them, and in consequence their craving ceases.’
‘As the lotus is unstained by water, so is Nirvana unstained by all the defilements. As cool water allays feverish heat, so also Nirvana is cool and always allays the fever of all the passions. Moreover, as water removes the thirst of men and beast who are exhausted, parched, thirsty , and overpowered by heat, so also Nirvana removes the craving for sensuous enjoyments, the craving for further becoming, the craving for the sensation of becoming. As medicine protects from the torments of poison, so Nirvana from the torments of the poisonous passions. Moreover, as medicine puts an end to sickness, so Nirvana to all sufferings. Finally, Nirvana and medicine both give security.
(From The Questions of Kind Milinda in Buddhist Scriptures selected and translated by Edward Conze, Penguin, London, 1959)
buddhism.about.com/od/fournobletruths/a/IB3.htm