What Are the 4 Noble Truths of Buddhism?

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Buddhism seems to like numbers. There are three poisons. They follow the Eightfold Path. There are eight senses. They also believe in what are called the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are the cornerstone of Buddhism. Without the Four Noble Truths there would be no Buddhism any more than Christianity could exist without the Resurrection of Christ or Islam could exist without the words of Muhammad. The Buddha himself said, “I teach suffering, its origin, cessation and path. That’s all I teach.” These four ideas form the Four Noble Truths and are the essence of Buddhism.

With many religions, it would be difficult to pare the entire faith down to a few ideas. It might be doable, but adherents would have a wide variety of answers to the question of “explain your faith in three to five sentences.” There would also probably be a lot of semicolons involved in those answers. Buddhism, however, could do it. Such a short explanation would be missing massive amounts of context and information, but a Buddhist could theoretically explain the basics of their faith in four very short sentences that would comprise the Four Noble Truths. So, what are the Four Noble Truths?

Suffering

The first Noble Truth, called dukkha, deals with suffering. According to Buddhism, there are many kinds of suffering. Some are obvious, and some are subtle. There is, however, no escaping suffering while one is living. As such, the first Noble Truth is sometimes described as “life is suffering.”

The three most obvious kinds of suffering are old age, sickness and death. This surprises no one as every religion in the world accepts that illness is unpleasant and something to be avoided if possible. For Buddhists, however, suffering is far deeper and more insidious than recognizable suffering such as sickness or injury. Instead, people often suffer because life is not ideal, and they are never truly satisfied. Even things that at first seem pleasant end, and a person is left unfulfilled. There is no way to escape this in life. All things come to an end, including happiness, and then suffering is what is left behind.

Origin of Suffering

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According to Buddhism, suffering comes largely from root causes that are internal. It is true that obvious suffering such as sickness and death are caused by external forces, but less obvious forms of suffering are caused by issues in the heart. Identifying the origins of suffering, the samudaya, is the first step in conquering them.

The root of all suffering in Buddhism is tanha. Tanha is often translated simply as “desire,” but that translation is too simplistic. Buddhists recognize that people can and do desire good things such as happiness for others, health of loved ones or enlightenment for themselves. These desires are called chanda. Tanha, on the other hand, refers to misplaced desires or cravings. In short, suffering is caused by desire run amok. This wild desire then takes one of three forms. These forms are called the three roots of evil, three fires or three poisons. They are greed, ignorance or delusion and hatred or destructive urges.

Cessation of Suffering

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Buddhism teaches that a person can cease their suffering by snuffing out their dangerous desires. This is done by liberating oneself from all forms of attachment. The possibility of liberation, nirodha, makes up the third Noble Truth.

Ridding oneself of attachment does not solely mean giving up on foods that people crave or other similar desires. It means extinguishing all forms of desire, greed and hatred. This includes detaching oneself from the idea that there is a permanent, unchangeable Self. People want to believe in the false notion that there is an “I” and an “other.” Only when this notion is erased can a person achieve liberation and nirvana.

Nirvana means “peace” and refers to the state of mind where a person has managed to detach themselves from this world, their illusions and the false notion of Self. Instead, they find truth and peace. Achieving nirvana means that when a person dies, they will not be reborn into the cycle of samsara, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth that keeps all living things trapped in suffering.

What happens after a person who has achieved liberation dies varies according to different Buddhist groups. Some groups have no real answer. Others claim that people travel to the Pure Land or that people simply exist in an endless state of peace.

Path to Cessation of Suffering

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The path to the cessation of suffering, magga, varies slightly between Buddhist traditions. The largest and best known is the tradition known as the Middle Way. The Middle Way follows what is called the Eight Fold Path and aims to balance avoiding both asceticism and indulgence. Legend has it the Buddha attempted both as a way to reach enlightenment, but found that neither succeeded. Only a balance between the two could lead a person to liberation.

The eight steps on the path are: right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. The eight steps can be grouped into three categories: wisdom, ethical conduct and meditation. Though they are often read in a specific order, the eight steps on the Eight Fold Path are not meant to be undertaken in any specific order but should reinforce and encourage one another.