July 13, 2021

Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

Introduction:

It may sound a little depressing and pessimistic, but suffering is all around us. No one can change that. Everyone will experience their fair share of sufferings regardless of their age and social status.

Apart from the obvious hardships of old age, sickness, and death, life is full of unfulfilled plans, wishes, and dreams. People all around the world are yearning for things to get better in their life. Many people start praying to their Gods to end their sufferings, while others don’t believe in the concept of a creator God or Gods.

Buddhism is more like a philosophical system than religion, as its core beliefs are not focused on God.  Instead, they are based on conclusions that the Buddha drew after a long period of deep thought, reflection and experience.

What are the four noble truths and their importance in Buddhism?

If we say, four noble truths are considered one of the first and essential teachings of Buddhism, so it would not be wrong, and all schools of Buddhism accept these without any doubt. The four noble truths that lead you to live a peaceful life are:

• The reality of suffering
• The reason for suffering
• How to end these sufferings
• Ways to end these sufferings

The first noble truth: the reality of suffering

In the first noble truth, you will understand about suffering, which causes pain either it can be in physical or psychological form. As you know, life is full of uncertainty, and every human being has to experience pain at some point in his life.

These sufferings will make you feel demotivated and depressed, which will destroy your mental and physical health. As a result, it will become difficult for you to perform your daily routine activities.

The second noble truth: Reason of sufferings

In our day-to-day life, reasons that cause trouble can be quickly addressed, like pain from an injury, sadness that occurs from losing your loved one. But Buddha claimed that the root cause for all these sufferings is desire.

The desire can be of any form, the desire for fame, the desire to fulfill your sexual needs, the desire to avoid unpleasant feelings like anger, jealousy, and fear. All these desires, if not fulfilled, make you angry and depressed.

The third noble truth: how to end this suffering

The third noble truth provides solutions to end or stop these sufferings. Buddha teaches us how to get rid of these desires, which eventually cause suffering. If you expect less from life, it will become less disappointing.

We often feel that once this goal is achieved in our life, everything will get settled, and we will be happy. This way, we don’t notice the joy in tiny good things. So, we need to control our desires to bring happiness to our life.

The fourth noble truth: ways to end these sufferings

The fourth noble truth describes the ways to end these sufferings. To end these sufferings, you have to follow the eightfold path to achieve enlightenment. The eightfold path tells you the basic ethics of life with the correct view, right action, and right speech to achieve whatever you want. Buddha describes the eightfold path as a raft for crossing the river. Once you have reached the shore, you no longer need the raft.

Conclusion:

Buddha never forced his followers to believe his teachings blindly but to experience themselves whether they are true. After experiencing yourself, you would know the reality of the truths and their existence, so it will become easy for you to accept these and practice them in your life.