The Four Noble Truths

The very first teaching the Buddha ever gave, considered the central gem of the
dharma, is known as the Four Noble Truths. These four axioms are:

·   The existence of suffering

·   The origin of suffering

·   The end of suffering

·   The path to the end of suffering

The Existence of Suffering

The world is full of hunger, illness, loss, and change, yet somehow, we manage to
live much of our lives denying these facts. Like children playing in a blazing house,
we distract ourselves with momentary pleasure and ignore the heat and smoke
surrounding us.

The Buddha's first noble truth is that pretending in this way doesn't help us. No
matter how we try to whitewash our experience, the body will age, decay, and die.
Meanwhile, we continue to endure the pain of greed, hatred, and delusion.
Essentially, the first noble truth encourages us to face the reality of our existence.

The Origin of Suffering

Why do we continue to increase our suffering by avoiding the truth? The Buddha
taught that four attachments keep us bound to our own pain. These are:

·   Attachment to sense pleasures

·   Attachment to opinions and views

·   Attachment to rites and rituals, at the expense of genuine spiritual
experience

·   Attachment to the belief that one exists as a solid, permanent self

Thus, the origin of our suffering is our desire for pleasure and our attachment to a
set of concepts designed to boost our sense of security.

The End of Suffering

Lest the first two noble truths discourage us, the Buddha also taught that we are
definitely capable of putting an end to our suffering. He described two levels of
nirvana, or freedom: momentary nirvana, in which we're able to tame the forces of
greed, hatred, and delusion in the moment; and a more ultimate form of nirvana - a
state described as the complete ending of the burden of suffering.

According to the Buddha, there is no higher happiness than peace. This is the
meaning of the third noble truth.

The Path to the End of Suffering

The method for ending our suffering isn't a mysterious rite. It involves neither self-
mortification nor self-indulgence. The Buddha's path is not one of extremes; it's the
Middle Way.

The teaching of how to release ourselves from the burden of suffering is the Noble
Eightfold Path. Following this path requires mindfulness and awareness - qualities
we cultivate daily through our practice of meditation.

From Insight Meditation Workbook by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein