Noble Truth (Ariya-Sacca) is short for "truth of the Noble ones (or of those who have attained a high degree of advancement)", "truth attainable by the noble ones", "truth by which one is ennobled". It should first be understood that it is not simply truth that is agreeable to the world or to oneself, but truth that is directly born of wisdom. The four Noble Truths are :-
1. Dukkha or suffering; which means birth, decay and death which are the normal incidents of life. It also means sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair which are at times experienced by our body and mind. To be separated from the pleasant, to be disappointed, or to be in contact with the unpleasant are also suffering. In short our body and mind are subject to suffering or, in other words, we may say that our existence is bound up with suffering*.
2. Samudaya; which means the cause of suffering, which is desire. It is a compelling urge of the mind, such as the longing to own what we desire, to be what we desire to be, or to avoid those states to which we feel aversion.
3. Nirodha; which means cessation of suffering, which connotes extinction of desire or such longings of the mind.
4.Magga; which means the way to the cessation of suffering, which is the Noble Eight fold Path, namely Right Understanding, Right Intention, Right speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
Some people believe that Buddhism is pessimistic in outlook because its teachings deal only with suffering and are of so high a standard that ordinary people are unable to practise it because it advocates extinction of desire, which is very difficult to accomplish. Since such misunderstanding exists, clarification is necessary before the noble Truths can be dealt with. The Buddhist religion
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* Some present-day Buddhists are of the opinion that the word "frustration" is a good translation of Dukkha, as it carries a wider meaning than "suffering"
is neither wholly pessimistic nor wholly optimistic. It derives its outlook from truth, i.e. truth which can only be understood through a combination of insight and purity of mind.
According to the history of Buddhism, the Buddha did not enunciate the Four Noble Truths to anyone lightly. He would first feed the minds of his listeners with other points of the Dhamma until they became pure enough to be receptive to higher teaching. Then he would expose the Four Noble Truths to them. The other points of the Dhamma that are constantly stressed particularly to laymen, are Dãna or charity, Sãla or morality, the natural and logical result of charity and morality which is bliss (meaning happiness and prosperity even in this life), the dangers of sensuality (anything that binds one to love and desire) and the advantages to be derived from the renunciation of sensuality. This method of gradual teaching adopted by the Buddha is comparable to the present day method of education. We may say that the Four Noble Truths were taught at university level; pupil at the lower education levels were taught other points of the Dhamma suitable to their understanding. The Buddha would never teach the Dhamma beuond the comprehension of his listeners, for to have done so would not have benefited anyone. For those who are in search of knowledge, although they may not be able to comply with the Four Noble Truths, study of this fundamental point of the Dhamma would certainly advance their rational knowledge of truth and may make them consider how much they can in practice comply with it in spite of the fact that they are still unable to rid themselves of desire. Such consideration is possible as in the following instances:-
1. Everyone wants to be happy and never wants to suffer. But why are people still suffering and unable to do away with their own sufferings themselves? Sometimes, the more they try to get rid of them, the more they suffer. This is because they do not know what is the true cause of suffering and what is the true cause of happiness. If they knew, they would be successful. They would eliminate the cause of suffering and create the cause of happiness. One of the important obstacles to this success is one's own heart. Because we comply too much with the dictates of our hearts, we have to suffer.
2. In saying that we comply with the dictates of our hearts, in fact, we mean that we are gratifying desire or those compelling urges of the heart. In worldly existence, it is not yet necessary to suppress desire totally because desire is the driving force that brings progress to the world and to ourselves. But desire must be under proper control and some limit should be set for satisfying it. If desire could be thus restricted, the probability of a happy life in this world would be much greater. Those who start fires that burn themselves and the world are invariable people who do not restrict the desires of their hearts within proper bounds . If we wish to the best of our ability. This is tantamount to observing the Noble Eightfold Path in relation to the world, which is at the same time acting in accordance with the Dhamma.
3. But human beings require some rest. Our bodies need rest and sleep. Our minds also must be given time to be empty. If they are at work all the time, we cannot sleep. Among those who take pleasure in forms and sounds there are, for example, some who are fond of good music; but, if they were compelled to listen to music too long, the lovely music constantly sounding in their ears would become a torment. They would run away from it and long for a return of silence or tranquility. Our mind requires such tranquility for a considerable time every day. This is rest for the mind or in other word the extinction of desire which, in fact, amounts to elimination of suffering. Therefore, if one really understands that elimination of suffering is nothing but keeping the mind at rest and that rest is a mental nourishment which is needed every day, then one will begin to understand the meaning of Nirodha.