Quote: "In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: चतुरार्यसत्यानि, romanized: caturāryasatyāni; Pali: caturāriyasaccāni; "The Four Arya Satya") are 'the truths of the Noble Ones', the truths or realities for the 'spiritually worthy ones'."
A central teaching of Buddhism, which includes the truth of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering.
Buddhism: A religion that originated in India and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is known as the Buddha.
Siddhartha Gautama: The founder of Buddhism.
The Four Noble Truths: The central teachings of Buddhism that describe the nature of suffering and the path to liberation.
Suffering (dukkha): The first Noble Truth that describes the universal experience of dissatisfaction and impermanence.
The cause of suffering (samudaya): The second Noble Truth that describes the sources of suffering, including craving, attachment, and ignorance.
The cessation of suffering (nirodha): The third Noble Truth that describes the end of suffering, which can be achieved through the elimination of its causes.
The path to the cessation of suffering (magga): The fourth Noble Truth that describes the Eightfold Path, which is the path to the end of suffering.
The Eightfold Path: The path to liberation in Buddhist practice, including right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.
Karma: The law of cause and effect in Buddhism that determines one's future experiences based on their actions.
Reincarnation: The belief in the cyclical rebirth of the soul after death, which is central to many Eastern religions.
Nirvana: The ultimate goal of Buddhism, which is a state of complete liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth.
Enlightenment: The state of awakening to the true nature of reality, which is the goal of Buddhist practice.
Meditation: A central practice in Eastern religions that involves focusing the mind and cultivating mindfulness.
Mindfulness: The quality of awareness and attention to the present moment, which is central to Buddhist practice.
Compassion: A central virtue in Buddhism that involves empathy and concern for the well-being of others.
Non-attachment: The practice of letting go of one's cravings and attachments, which is a central teaching in Buddhism.
Dharma: The teachings and principles of Buddhism and other Eastern religions.
The truth of suffering (dukkha): This refers to the idea that life is characterized by suffering, which includes physical and mental pain, illness, aging, and death.
The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya): This refers to the idea that the root cause of suffering is craving or attachment, which leads to a cycle of desire, pursuit, and disappointment.
The truth of the cessation of suffering (nirodha): This refers to the idea that it is possible to end suffering by letting go of craving and attachment, which brings about a state of inner peace and enlightenment.
The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (magga): This refers to the eightfold path, which includes right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. The path is a way to cultivate wisdom, morality, and mindfulness as a means of achieving enlightenment and ending suffering.
Quote: "dukkha ('not being at ease', 'suffering,' from dush-stha, 'standing unstable,') is an innate characteristic of the perpetual cycle (samsara, lit. 'wandering') of grasping at things, ideas, and habits."
Quote: "samudaya (origin, arising, combination; 'cause'): dukkha (unease) arises simultaneously with taṇhā ('craving, desire or attachment, lit. 'thirst')."
Quote: "nirodha (cessation, ending, confinement): dukkha can be ended or contained by the confinement or letting go of this taṇhā."
Quote: "marga (path, Noble Eightfold Path) is the path leading to the confinement of tanha and dukkha."
Quote: "Symbolically, they represent the awakening and liberation of the Buddha, and of the potential for his followers to reach the same liberation and freedom as him."
Quote: "As propositions, the Four Truths are a conceptual framework that appear in the Pali canon and early Hybrid Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures, as a part of the broader 'network of teachings' (the 'dhamma matrix'), which have to be taken together."
Quote: "unguarded sensory contact gives rise to craving and clinging to impermanent states and things, which are dukkha, 'unsatisfactory,' 'incapable of satisfying' and painful."
Quote: "This craving keeps us caught in saṃsāra, 'wandering', usually interpreted as the endless cycle of repeated rebirth, and the continued dukkha that comes with it."
Quote: "There is a way to end this cycle, namely by attaining nirvana, cessation of craving, whereafter rebirth and the accompanying dukkha will no longer arise again."
Quote: "This can be accomplished by following the eightfold path, confining our automatic responses to sensory contact by restraining oneself, cultivating discipline and wholesome states, and practicing mindfulness and dhyana (meditation)."
Quote: "The function of the four truths, and their importance, developed over time and the Buddhist tradition slowly recognized them as the Buddha's first teaching."
Quote: "This tradition was established when prajna, or 'liberating insight', came to be regarded as liberating in itself, instead of or in addition to the practice of dhyana."
Quote: "The four truths came to represent this liberating insight, as a part of the enlightenment story of the Buddha."
Quote: "The four truths grew to be of central importance in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism by about the 5th-century CE, which holds that the insight into the four truths is liberating in itself."
Quote: "They are less prominent in the Mahayana tradition, which sees the higher aims of insight into sunyata, emptiness, and following the Bodhisattva path as central elements in their teachings and practice."
Quote: "Beginning with the exploration of Buddhism by western colonialists in the 19th century and the development of Buddhist modernism, they came to be often presented in the west as the central teaching of Buddhism."
Quote: "sometimes with novel modernistic reinterpretations very different from the historic Buddhist traditions in Asia."
Quote: "They provide a conceptual framework for introducing and explaining Buddhist thought, which has to be personally understood or 'experienced'."
Quote: "The truths are... the truths or realities for the 'spiritually worthy ones'... the potential for his followers to reach the same liberation and freedom as him."