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	THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
	THE FOUR TRUTHS OR FACTS 1. The Noble Truth of Dukkha (suffering or unsatisfactoriness) 2. The Noble Truth of the Origin of Dukkha 3. The Noble Truth of the Extinction of Dukkha 4. The Noble Truth of the Path that leads to the Extinction of Dukkha 'Four Noble Truths' is a translation of the Pali term Cattari Ariya Saccani. They are the four basic postulates of Buddhism and, in order to accept them, one has to be able to recognise that suffering is universal. The Fact of Dukkha It is a fundamental fact that to most people life is unsatisfactory. Obviously pain, misery, grief, despair, unhappiness, worry, anxiety, frustration and numerous other unpleasant states are unsatisfactory. But to arrive at a balanced view it is necessary to recognise that even pleasant experiences are unsatisfactory because they never quite come up to our expectations, and furthermore they do not last. This latter point is of great importance, and it is an axiom of all schools of Buddhism that: all composed or compound things are impermanent and whatever is impermanent is unsatisfactory. Composed or compounded things include all the things we know in life - our own physical bodies and minds, and all the material objects that surround us, including of course the objects we struggle for - cars, television, hi-fi equipment.. PC's, etc. They also include the concepts, the inventions, the imaginings, the ideas, the principles upon which we place so much value. All things physical and mental in life lead in the long run to Dukkha - suffering, unsatisfactoriness. Dukkha may also be looked upon as one of the most fundamental facts within us, it appears to be the motivating force behind all that we do. Whatever action of body or mind that we perform, we do so because we think that it will lead us to a more satisfactory situation, and the more we pursue such a course, the more the fires burn! If I scratch my nose it is to alter something, to alleviate some condition that at this instant is not satisfactory. The Fact of the Origin of Dukkha We act in accordance with the law of cause and effect, or actions and their results. We model our lives on the assumption of cause and effect, and the whole of our understanding of our world is coloured by this way of thinking. How often do we ask after some event, 'why did it happen?' or 'what was the cause of it?' or 'what have I done to deserve this?' These are all concerned with past actions having present results, but we also do it with regard to present actions having results in the future. 'If I do this, such and such will happen'. A chess player is doing this the whole time. All of these questions are based on the desire to see what gave rise to present results, or with trying to predict the future from present actions in order to manipulate things to how 'I' want them. The fact is invariably overlooked that all this activity in the past and in the future obscures the HERE and NOW from us. Based upon this apparent law of actions and results, the Buddha taught that the origin or cause of Dukkha is craving (Pali - Tanha). If craving is the cause of Dukkha, what is the cause of craving? It is the state of 'Not Knowing, Delusion or Ignorance (Avijja) which underlies all we think or do, albeit unwittingly. The Chain of Dependant Origination has this delusion as its first link - the illusion of an independent, permanent 'I' or self-nature. Perpetuated, it infects and taints life after life. But it also acts in and from moment to moment, thought-instant to thought-instant, and so befogs and obscures sight. This delusion arises in the small child even prior to thinking; the child's need of food, warmth and protection must be fulfilled if it is to live. As it grows a bit older, the expectation of satisfaction of all wants is a natural assumption based on experience and assumes the same urgency as the survival needs which were always attended to. This same urgency later infiltrates thinking with the bias of 'I', 'me', 'mine' - of my body, my wishes, good or bad, - and my manipulations to bring about satisfaction. Thus it is considered as basic delusion, basic to the human state rather than inculcated. It is inherent - as is the potential for Awakening from this delusion. This is the great insight of the Buddha who spent the rest of his life afterwards in compassionately pointing the Way out of it. We are ignorant that the concept of 'I' is a delusion and we continue to act as if we were permanent and all important. We are too frightened to look clearly at the neutrality of life, craving to have those things that reinforce 'I' and 'my' pictures of what 'I' want, and to be rid of those things that 'I' do not like and that threaten 'I'; 'I' constantly pick and choose in this way. Dukkha arises because of my stubborn clinging to what I like and want, and because of my craving to escape from unpleasant situations instead of facing up to them and working through them. Not only does the performance of an unskillful self-centered action result in Dukkha, but craving for a good result from that action also causes Dukkha. Once an action has been performed, it is worse than useless to wish it undone or to desire a different result. By such regrets and wishes, further Dukkha is built up. Delusion/Ignorance is the failure to realise that 'I' is nothing. We do not comprehend how cause and effect really work and constantly crave for those things and perform those actions which we expect to give rise to happiness and which in fact lead us into suffering and unsatisfactoriness. We then bemoan our luck or fate and perhaps blame some god or other convenient scapegoat like 'the establishment', 'society', other people, our circumstances etc. when in fact the fault lies in ourselves. We produce our own future, we suffer the consequences of our own actions. Delusion may be summed up by saying that we base our actions on the three wrong assumptions of permanence, satisfaction and self-entity. When we base our actions (causes) on wrong assumptions, it is hardly surprising that the results (effects) turn out to be different from what we expect. The Fact of the Extinction of Dukkha Since Dukkha arises from this delusion of 'I', it is possible to remove the cause and prevent the result from arising, and so Dukkha dies away. In order to attain freedom from craving, its nature has to be clearly seen into, at root, and with that is clearly seen the folly of performing unskillful actions. We then realise that we are all based on Delusion/Ignorance (Moha), Greed/Desire (Lobha), and Hate/Aversion/Anger (Dosa), in short on the Three Fires. With these seen into and suffered without being carried away by them, the moral strength created by this restraint matures; we first refrain from acting unskillfully and in due course the very temptation to act in this way ceases because the Fires become exhausted from lack of fuel. The Fact of the Way that leads to the Extinction of Dukkha The last of the four Facts or Truths is concerned with the method, the discipline that has to be developed in order that craving may be eliminated and Dukkha brought to an end. The eight steps of this discipline, referred to as The Noble Eightfold Path are: 1. Right Understanding 2. Right Thoughts 3. Right Speech 4. Right Action 5. Right Livelihood 6. Right Effort 7. Right Mindfulness 8. Right Concentration ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home