Four Noble Truths
The four noble truths are the heart of the dharma. They cover the primary problem
humans encounter, why they encounter it, and how to overcome it. We’ll talk about
them in more detail later, as they are relevant. Here, we’ll just sketch them out for
you.
➤ The first noble truth is that living means experiencing dukkha. Dukkha is the
Sanskrit word for discontent, dissatisfaction, suffering, and fear, whether from
something tangible or something we can’t quite put a finger on. It is the condi-
tion of human existence, the feeling that
something just isn’t right. Sometimes the
something is obvious. We get hurt, physically
or emotionally. We lose something we love,
a person or a possession, a job or a house.
Other times, we simply feel a deep dissatisfac-
tion. Why aren’t I happy? Why aren’t I ever
satisfied with what I have? Why aren’t I like
other people? What is missing in my life?
What’s wrong with me? That’s dukkha. If
you’re human, you know what we mean.
➤ The second noble truth tells us why we have
dukkha. Suffering is caused by desire. Desire is
wanting something you don’t have, wishing
Part 1 ➤ The Future Is the Past Is Now
something were some way it isn’t, or being otherwise generally dissatisfied with
the way things are, in the belief that things would be better, you would be hap-
pier, life would be sweeter if only this were the case, if only that would happen,
if only something were different than the way it is now.
➤ The third noble truth says we can eliminate suffering. How? By eliminating
desire. If you remove the cause, the effect will stop. That doesn’t mean you
give up living, working, having relationships, feeling compassion and joy,
that feeling that you have to have something you don’t have. You already have
everything you need.
➤ Easier said than done, you might say! Just give up desire? The fourth noble truth
tells you how: The way to eliminating desire is by adhering to the Eightfold
Path. These eight steps (see the following section, “The Eightfold Path”) to liv-
ing the Middle Way, as the Buddha suggested, help to put you on the path to
living that will ease your desires and thereby ease your suffering, bringing more
but we’ll talk about that later.
appreciating life. It just means you give up that futile grasping, painful longing,
joy into your life. In Buddhism, enlightenment is the culmination of practice,
Four Noble TruthsThe four noble truths are the heart of the dharma. They cover the primary problemhumans encounter, why they encounter it, and how to overcome it. We’ll talk aboutthem in more detail later, as they are relevant. Here, we’ll just sketch them out foryou.➤ The first noble truth is that living means experiencing dukkha. Dukkha is theSanskrit word for discontent, dissatisfaction, suffering, and fear, whether fromsomething tangible or something we can’t quite put a finger on. It is the condi-tion of human existence, the feeling thatsomething just isn’t right. Sometimes thesomething is obvious. We get hurt, physicallyor emotionally. We lose something we love,a person or a possession, a job or a house.Other times, we simply feel a deep dissatisfac-tion. Why aren’t I happy? Why aren’t I eversatisfied with what I have? Why aren’t I likeother people? What is missing in my life?What’s wrong with me? That’s dukkha. Ifyou’re human, you know what we mean.➤ The second noble truth tells us why we havedukkha. Suffering is caused by desire. Desire iswanting something you don’t have, wishingPart 1 ➤ The Future Is the Past Is Nowsomething were some way it isn’t, or being otherwise generally dissatisfied withthe way things are, in the belief that things would be better, you would be hap-pier, life would be sweeter if only this were the case, if only that would happen,if only something were different than the way it is now.➤ The third noble truth says we can eliminate suffering. How? By eliminatingdesire. If you remove the cause, the effect will stop. That doesn’t mean yougive up living, working, having relationships, feeling compassion and joy,that feeling that you have to have something you don’t have. You already haveeverything you need.➤ Easier said than done, you might say! Just give up desire? The fourth noble truthtells you how: The way to eliminating desire is by adhering to the EightfoldPath. These eight steps (see the following section, “The Eightfold Path”) to liv-ing the Middle Way, as the Buddha suggested, help to put you on the path toliving that will ease your desires and thereby ease your suffering, bringing morebut we’ll talk about that later.appreciating life. It just means you give up that futile grasping, painful longing,joy into your life. In Buddhism, enlightenment is the culmination of practice,
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