Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: catvāri āryasatyāni; Pali: cattāri ariyasaccāni) are "the truths of the Noble Ones," which express the basic orientation of Buddhism: this worldly existence is fundamentally unsatisfactory, but there is a path to liberation from repeated worldly existence. The truths are as follows: The four truths provide a useful conceptual framework for making sense of Buddhist thought, which has to be personally understood or "experienced. " Many Buddhist teachers present them as the essence of Buddhist teachings, though this importance developed over time, substituting older notions of what constitutes prajna, or "liberating insight. "[2] In the sutras the four truths have both a symbolic and a propositional function. They represent the awakening and liberation of the Buddha, but also the possibility of liberation for all sentient beings, describing how release from craving is to be reached.
Etymology[edit] Pali terms[edit] Ariya sacca[edit] Arya sacca[edit] Arya[edit] K.R. 1 - Dissatisfaction pervades all life. What is the Noble Truth of Suffering? Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering: in short the five categories affected by clinging are suffering. There is this Noble Truth of Suffering: such was the vision, insight, wisdom, knowing and light that arose in me about things not heard before. This Noble Truth must be penetrated by fully understanding suffering: such was the vision, insight, wisdom, knowing and light that arose in me about things not heard before. This Noble Truth has been penetrated by fully understanding suffering: such was the vision, insight, wisdom, knowing and light that arose in me about things not heard before.
[Samyutta Nikaya LVI, 11] The First Noble Truth with its three aspects is: "There is suffering, dukkha. Dukkha should be understood. Suffering or dukkha is the common bond we all share. 2 - Source of Dissatisfaction. After the Buddha learnt that suffering is a part of life, he realised he could not find a way to end suffering without finding out what causes it. Buddhists study that the Buddha learnt this just like a doctor learns about what's wrong with his patient by listing their symptoms, finding out what makes them worse and studying other cases before prescribing a cure.
By watching people Buddha found out that the causes of suffering are craving and desire, and ignorance. The power of these things to cause all suffering is what Buddhists call The Second Noble Truth. What are things we crave for? People everywhere crave for their favourite tastes, but we all know that not even the best sweets and our favourite meal lasts forever. The trouble is, even if these pleasures are repeated again and again, we can still feel unhappy. Craving is like a great tree with many branches. What is ignorance? We can find many examples of how science has revealed facts about life of which we were ignorant.
3 - Cure to dissatisfaction exists. After the Buddha realised the Truth about suffering and its causes, he spent six years committed to discovering a realization about the end of suffering — that, and his achievement of Nirvana, were his ultimate achievements. In those six years, the Buddha tried all the methods available to end suffering without success. Eventually He found his own solution to the problems of life and they are now the core of Buddhist thought, teachings and practice. This is what he discovered: there is an end to suffering; it can happen to anybody, anywhere, here and now; and the key to ending all suffering is to remove all desire, ill will and ignorance. After suffering, the Buddha taught, there is supreme happiness. Every step of the way to removing the causes of unhappiness brings more joy. The Buddhist teachings say that the more people free themselves from desire, ill will and ignorance, the greater their happiness is — no matter what is going on around them.
4 - Noble Eightfold Path is the cure. The Dharma wheel, often used to represent the Noble Eightfold Path All eight elements of the Path begin with the word "right," which translates the word samyañc (in Sanskrit) or sammā (in Pāli). These denote completion, togetherness, and coherence, and can also suggest the senses of "perfect" or "ideal. "[3] 'Samma' is also translated as "wholesome," "wise" and "skillful. " In Buddhist symbolism, the Noble Eightfold Path is often represented by means of the dharma wheel (dharmachakra), whose eight spokes represent the eight elements of the path. Origin[edit] According to the Buddhist tradition[edit] In the same way I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, traveled by the Rightly Self-awakened Ones of former times. Additionally, some sources give alternate definitions for the Noble Eightfold Path.
Historical[edit] According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". Threefold division[edit] Practice[edit] Wisdom[edit] Concentration. In Buddhism, samādhi (Pali / Sanskrit: समाधि) is mental concentration or composing the mind. It is one of three divisions of the Noble Eightfold Path.
The term samādhi is common to the Sanskrit and Pali languages. Common Chinese terms for samādhi include the transliterations sanmei (三昧) and sanmodi (三摩地 or 三摩提), as well as the translation of the term literally as ding (定 "fixity"). Kumarajiva's translations typically use sanmei (三昧), while the translations of Xuanzang tend to use ding (定 "fixity"). Upon development of samādhi, one's mind becomes purified of defilements, calm, tranquil, and luminous. In the noble eightfold path, "right concentration" (samma-samādhi, S. samyak-samādhi) is the eighth path factor. In AN IV.41,[2] the Buddha identifies four types of concentration development, each with a different goal: In the Indian Mahāyāna traditions samādhi is used in the earlier sense, but Likewise, the Samādhirāja Sūtra Learned Audience, in my system Samadhi and Prajna are fundamental. Ethical Conduct.
Śīla (Sanskrit) or sīla (Pāli) in Buddhism is one of three sections of the Noble Eightfold Path, and is a code of conduct that embraces a commitment to harmony and self-restraint with the principle motivation being non-violence, or freedom from causing harm. It has been variously described as virtue,[1] right conduct,[2] morality,[3] moral discipline[4] and precept.
Sīla is an internal, aware, and intentional ethical behavior, according to one's commitment to the path of liberation. The Sanskrit and Pali word sīla is an ethical compass within self and relationships, rather than what is associated with the English word "morality" (i.e., obedience, a sense of obligation, and external constraint - all of which are quite foreign to the concept of sīla as taught by Gautama the Buddha since 588BC). In fact, the commentaries explain the word sīla by another word, samadhana, meaning "harmony" or "coordination. " [5] Sīla is also wholehearted commitment to what is wholesome. Non-Harming[edit] Wisdom. Etymology[edit] jñā can be translated as "consciousness", "knowledge", or "understanding. "[1]Pra is an intensifier which could be translated as "higher", "greater", "supreme" or "premium",[2] or "being born or springing up", referring to a spontaneous type of knowing.
Theravada Buddhism[edit] Pāli Canon[edit] In the Pāli Canon, paññā is defined in a variety of overlapping ways, frequently centering on concentrated insight into the three characteristics of all things—impermanence, suffering and no-self—and the four noble truths. And what is the faculty of discernment? In a subsequent discourse regarding the threefold training, the Buddha indicates that higher wisdom entails the application of concentration and insight to end "fermentations" (or "mental intoxicants"; Pāli: āsava), effectively achieving arahantship: And what is the training in heightened discernment?
And what, monks, is right view? Visuddhimagga[edit] Mahayana Buddhism[edit] Prajñā-pāramitā Sutras[edit] As a Perfection[edit]