The Four Noble Truths are foundational teachings of the great master Shakyamuni Buddha.
“I teach suffering, its origin, cessation and path. That’s all I teach.”
The Buddha is often compared to a physician. In the first two Noble Truths he diagnosed the disease and identified its cause. The third Noble Truth is the explanation of the cure, and the fourth Noble Truth is the prescription to be free from suffering.
Suffering
The first is the noble truth of suffering. That is, life is permeated with suffering. Every living things grows old, gets sick, and dies. Pain is inherent in life, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Life without meaning, without understanding, without the possibility of putting suffering into perspective, is unbearable.
The Origin of Suffering
The second is the noble truth of the origin of suffering. Suffering is caused by desire. Desire is identification and fascination with the illusory world. Desire is both craving such as lust, greed, envy, and aversion such as fear, hatred, and anger. Desire throws us off balance and out of a centered connection to our internal essence (consciousness). Desire squanders our internal energies into egoic patterns of thought, feeling, and action.
The Cessation of Suffering
The third is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering. Eliminate desire and you will eliminate suffering. In a state of awakened consciousness, full, undistracted, there is equanimity and strength. There is no craving or aversion. Lack of desire does not indicate lack of love or life, it does not indicate cold disconnection, quite the opposite. Lack of desire allows life and love free in their movement to penetrate and infuse our being. Centered equilibrium is not rigidity but a harmony with the flow of life, and ultimately a state of enlightenment (buddha).
The Path
The fourth is the noble truth of the path of the cessation of suffering. The path, or prescription for the elimination of desire is the Eightfold Path. The path of upright conduct and spiritual practice. Elimination of complicated karma through upright living, internal transformation, cultivation of virtue, and vigilance against selfishness.