Buddhism and the Four Noble Truths Essay

Buddhism is a philosophy and a religion based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama who lived approximately 566 B.C.E. Today, Buddhism has millions of followers worldwide, known as Buddhists. (Ballou, 1976) Most practicing Buddhists believe in concepts such as karma, dharma, samsara and nirvana. In addition to these, Buddhists base their lives and actions on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold. Fortress (1999) explains that the name Buddha is a title that means “one who has been awakened” or “the Enlightened One”. On his quest for enlightenment and spirituality, Buddha escaped the life he knew as a husband and father, and turned to a life of meditation, along with ascetic practices. He lived much of his life as a monk in the monastery preaching to his followers that the way to be “awakened” or achieve inner peace and enlightenment is to” live in the now”. (Fortress, 1999) This paper will discuss Buddhism and whether it is a religion of escapism or whether Buddhist live in denial of reality.

According to Buddha, the key to happiness and fulfillment is to detach yourself from all worldly goods and desires.

In chapter four of “Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction”, Damien Keown, discusses the "Four Noble Truths'" and explores focal principles of the Buddha's teachings. "The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to put an end to suffering and rebirth." (Keown, 43) to attain nirvana. This is mostly through driving a moral life, and somewhat through the wisdom picked up by studying the Four Noble Truths. In this paper, I will be stating why is suffering an inevitable part of life according to Buddhism. As well as, how can we overcome suffering. All in which will prove that Buddhism, life is suffering and it is an unavoidable part of life.

It is easier now than ever to become lost in the cycle of life. Every day, we face a plethora of distractions: cell-phones, social media, jobs we hate, and time spent doing things that we do not want to. We spend so much time reminiscing about the “good ol’” days or dreading the future that we forget to live in the now. With all the noise that surrounds us—not to mention the looming threat of ill health and, eventually, death—how do we free ourselves from the chains of suffering and live in the moment? The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, went in search of an answer to this question, and his answer is still relevant for modern society; we can avoid suffering if we follow the Middle Way.

“Siddhartha had one single goal-to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, and sorrow - to let the self-die” (11). As a young Indian, Siddhartha “suffered thirst,” he thirsted for knowledge. This philosophy leads him on the path of

Well after reaching enlightenment Buddha traveled the world teaching the basic beliefs and practices of Buddhism. However, most of Buddha’s teachings, practices, and traditions were passed orally for generation before being transcribed. Buddha is technically considered a deity, but many Buddhist consider but a teacher that they pray to for enlightenment (Britannica). In Buddhist belief the arrival of a buddha, which translates to enlighten one or teacher, signifies an important point in human history. The Buddha which the world knows about is famous for the reason of founding Buddhism and teaching the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. Buddha taught his follower the Four Noble Truths that state that misery is real, misery is born from want and pleasure, this want can be controlled, and the way to do that was through the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold path is a list of way to lives one lives and purifies one’s self (Britannica). The Buddhist belief system states that life is suffering and a cycle of rebirth and the only way to escape this suffering is to purify one's mind and self through multiples of rebirths and the practicing of the Eightfold Path until one reaches Nirvana or enlightenment. Meditation is one way Buddhist does this (Baumann).

The Buddha went in between to extremes to find the middle way. The middle way consists of the four noble truths and the eightfold path. The four noble truths are the most commonly shared belief between Buddhists. They are ways to eliminate desire, which will eliminate suffering. Number one says, “ life consists of suffering.” Number two says, “everything is impermanent and ever-changing, we suffer because we desire those things that are impermanent.” Number three says, “ the way to liberate oneself from suffering is to eliminate desire.” And number four says, “ desire can be eliminated by following the eightfold path.” The eightfold path is a group of statements, they are not sequential things, they are just attitudes and actions. The eightfold path consists of right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right live hood, right effort, right awareness and right meditation. By following these attitudes and actions, you can achieve a life without suffering#.

In Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, the four Noble Truths of Buddhism are revealed throughout the journey of Siddhartha. The Four Noble Truths include: Life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable, and the path to the cessation of suffering. Siddhartha discovers that in order to reach enlightenment, one must have experiences and struggle through these Noble Truths firsthand.

When examining the foundation in which all the Buddha’s teachings are built upon, the Four Noble Truths, there is a tendency to become fixated on only the first that can be encompassed by the phrase “life is suffering”. Clinging to this simple phrase rather than seeing the whole picture painted by the Buddha is the downfall and where the idea of pessimism is born. Instead the Buddha is seen as an embodiment of joy, compassion and happiness, traits that are a far cry from a true pessimist. The Buddha’s real strength lies in his ability to be neither pessimistic nor optimistic, instead he was realistic in his views of the world by acknowledging the existence of suffering while also identifying a path to a cure.

As a result of asceticism and hedonism being deemed irrational, Buddhism was born, the middle way between the two. Siddhartha Gautama (later known as the Buddha) is the rishi (founder) of Buddhism which is built on the doctrine that humans are forever burdened with suffering or dukkha. The teachings of Buddha serve as a tool to overcome desire, which is the root of all suffering. In this paper, the nature of the Buddhist’s claim of suffering will be dissected and further examined along with the idea of the noble eightfold path, otherwise known as the solution to all suffering.

Early Buddhism was concerned with religious enlightenment and insight. The enlightened Buddha sought to share his insight, beginning at Benares to the bhikkhus. His teachings stemmed from the four noble truths. To understand the four noble truths was to recognize suffering. The three essential teachings about suffering were about understanding the cause, the remedy, and the cessation. According to the Buddha, desire was the cause of suffering within existence. Seeking out something more in life, over satisfaction, and over gratification would lead to suffering. The Buddha’s proposed remedy to this was to quell of these desires. If there is no passion for something more, then suffering would be minimized. The way to cease suffering

There are various Buddhist teachings, each having significant impacts on and affecting the Buddhist adherents differently. The ultimate goal of Buddhist adherents to the reach Nirvana, they achieve this through ridding themselves of desire and Dukkha(suffering). The main Buddhist teachings are the five precepts, the four noble truths and the eightfold path. These act as a guideline for the Buddhist adherents on their path towards reaching enlightenment by helping deal with modern issues such as bioethics. Similarly, many influential figures such as the Dalai Lama, Buddhaghosa and Dogen teach as a role model for Buddhist adherents to follow and guide them closer towards nirvana. Through both Buddhaghosa and Dogen’s statement, they illustrate

The teachings of the enlightened Buddha contain much, it teaches many to live righteously, to avoid evil. But there is one thing which these so clear, these so venerable teachings do not contain: they do not contain the mystery of what the exalted one has experienced for himself, he alone among hundreds of thousands. This is what I have thought and realized, when I have heard the teachings. This is why I am continuing my travels—not to seek other, better teachings, for I know there are none, but to depart from all teachings and all teachers and to reach my goal by myself or to die. (Hesse 31)

In the final life of Buddha as told in the Buddhacarita, the Bodhisattva undergoes a series of trial and error in order to obtain his ultimate goal, enlightenment. Throughout his life, when he was once a royal Prince, up to the moment he becomes the Buddha, he experiences various instances that allows him to see the world for what it really is—a world filled with suffering. The illustration of Buddhist teachings regarding the prevalence of suffering can be first seen when the Prince is exposed to the truth of suffering, the realization of what causes suffering, and then the methods he undertakes to end his suffering.

About 2,500 years ago, Prince Siddhartha Gautama renounced his empire in search of happiness or panacea for sorrow (dukkha) Gautama, after an extensive research throughout his empire and meditating on the collected data under a banyan tree,discovered that aspiration or want (kama) was at the root of sorrow (dukkha) laid down four noble truths to eliminate sorrow, and became the Buddha, the enlightened. Truths “Sanskriti, Mana. "The Four Noble." (1998).”