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Examine the Framework of the Four Noble Truths

Decent Essays

Examine the framework of the Four Noble Truths
Sean Reece Grange
The Four Noble Truths are much like a doctor’s prescription; they are Buddha’s prescription for suffering. In the first two truths he diagnoses the problem of suffering, and identifies its cause. The third truth is the discovery of a cure, and the fourth noble truth is the prescription as the Buddha sets out the Eightfold path to achieve a release from suffering. Suffering is a serious illness to Buddhist’s because it keeps us in Samsara, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and prevents us from attaining enlightenment. The first step in the Buddha’s medical process is to diagnose the problem, and this means identifying Dukkha. The first noble truth is the truth of …show more content…

After the diagnosis the Buddha must then discover the cause of suffering, and this leads us on to the second noble truth, Samudya or craving.
“What is the noble truth of the origin of suffering? It is craving which renews being and is accomplished by relish and lust…” The Buddha on the origin of suffering – Sammyutta Nikava
Desire is caused by our ignorance of reality, and is fuelled by our ambition to become, meaning to have life hopes and dreams, such as to be wealthy. This causes us to grasp onto the things we are afraid to lose in our lives lest we fall short of our goal because of it. It is this that keeps us rooted in the cycle of Samsara.
There are three forms of desire (Tanha) and they show us the different ways we cause our own suffering. Kama Tanha, meaning sensual pleasures, shows the desire to have any form of pleasure that stimulates our senses. Bhava Tanha is the desire to ‘become’ we all have life dreams and hopes, and these ambitions cause us to desire our goals, and finally, Vibhava Tanha is the desire to get rid of. We say things like “I want to get rid of my anger” rather than accepting it, and life, as the way it is. The only reality worth contemplating is Anicca, because of change.
The third noble truth, the cure, is Nirodha

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