“With regard to the Four Noble Truths we have four functions to perform:
The First Noble Truth is Dukkha, the nature of life, it’s suffering, it’s sorrows and joys, it’s imperfections, and unsatisfactoriness, it’s impermanence and insubstantiality. With regard to this, our function is to understand it as a fact, clearly and completely.
The Second Noble Truth is the Origin of Dukkha, which is desire, “thirst,” accompanied by all other passions, defilements, and impurities. A mere understanding of this fact is not sufficient. Here our function is to discard it, to eliminate, to destroy and eradicate it.
The Third Noble Truth is the Cessation of Dukkha, Nirvana, the Absolute Truth, the Ultimate Reality. Here our function is to realize it.
“The Fourth Noble Truths are the Path leading to the realization of Nirvana. A mere knowledge of the Path, however complete, will not do. In this case, our function is to follow it and keep to it.”
When Siddhartha came back from sitting at the foot of the Bodhi tree, he came back with four simple truths of the human experience and ways to guide us through it. The first of these truths, that we must understand on our path to psychological freedom, is that life is suffering. From birth to death, it is suffering. One can argue that society is structured around the mitigation of suffering. We suffer when we do not get what we desire. Getting what we do not want causes suffering. Even when we get everything we want we still suffer, because it is all impermanent.
Beyond the external impermanence, our bodies wither as every cell within us dies and leaves an imperfect version of itself behind. The greatest source of pleasure we have to us, our bodies, will grow old and pass, as will our intellect and awareness. At its root, all life is suffering.This is the first noble truth.
The second truth that was spoken is that the cause of suffering is desire. We want something we cannot have and it causes suffering.
We must go beyond understanding this and move to eliminate it from within us.When we give up this craving, the desire of which the Buddha spoke of, then we are able to end suffering. This is the third noble truth.
The final noble truth is the Eightfold Path of how to get us beyond desire or attachment. Also known as the Middle Way, this is the practice we are given to navigate life in a way frees us from suffering.
For more on the Eightfold Path and how to apply it to your life, listen to this conversation between Be Here Now Network teachers Sharon Salzberg and Raghu Markus.
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