The Four Noble Truths (Part 1 of 4)
The Buddha would have made a great CEO.
He was all "bottom line," and the bottom line was freedom, or enlightenment.
If something didn't contribute to this directly, then he didn't teach it.
One day he was in a forest with his monks, and he said to them, "Which is more, monks, the few leaves that I have in my hand, or those on the trees in the wood?" One of the monks answered that of course, there were more leaves in the woods.
The Buddha then said, "So too, monks, the things that I have known by direct knowledge are more; the things that I have told you are only a few.
Why have I not told them? Because they bring no benefit, no advancement in the Holy Life, and because they do not lead to dispassion, to fading, to ceasing, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.
That is why I have not told them.
And what have I told you? This is suffering; this is the origin of suffering; this is the cessation of suffering; this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
That is what I have told you.
Why have I told it? Because it brings benefit, and advancement in the Holy Life, and because it leads to dispassion, to fading, to ceasing, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.
So monks, let your task be this: This is suffering; this is the origin of suffering; this is the cessation of suffering; this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
" The Buddha's Four Noble Truths are not really absolute truths; but are observances to reflect upon.
In them, the Buddha points out: our basic human problem, what causes it, that we can end it, and how to end it.
First Noble Truth: (This is suffering) "And what monks, is the Noble Truth of Suffering? Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, sorrows, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; association with the disliked is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering: in brief, the *five aggregates of clinging are suffering.
" *(The five aggregates of clinging are material form (body and mind), consciousness, feeling, perceptions, and mental formations (thoughts and memories).
These in themselves are not the cause of suffering; it is when we inject the idea of "I," me or mine into them that we suffer.
) Human Suffering is the bond between all of us with which we can easily relate.
It is a shared experience.
Who has not suffered? Seeing our common troubles brings about a feeling of compassion.
Conversely, however, our strong opinions about religion and politics bring about hatred and wars.
Wanting what we do not have is suffering (craving).
Finally getting what we want is suffering because then we become fearful of losing it, so we cling and attach to our possessions, and in a way becoming their prisoners because we depend so heavily on them for our happiness.
Or, we may become tired of them and not want them anymore.
Then we either must get rid of them or put up with them.
Restlessness, anxiety, depression, boredom, worrying about our security, illness, old age, and loneliness - these are all suffering, too.
Trying to keep very busy so that none of this will bother us is also suffering, as we desperately move from one thing to another; consumer goods, relationships, town to town, political movements, spiritual groups, books, movies, TV, etc.
, as we attempt to escape the big gorilla.
The big gorilla is the underlying knowledge that this body and mind will sooner or later end.
This underlying fear is the unsettling niggle that is always there, regardless of how good things are.
Even when we accept the inevitability of death, we will search for a religion or a belief that promises continuation beyond physical existence, hoping that we will continue in some way in some kind of beyond.
This search can become suffering, too, because we are never completely certain, subconsciously, whether what we believe will actually occur after death, or never certain which religion is true, if any are.
Or we might not believe that there is anything beyond this physical existence.
This a form of belief as well, as we depend solely on our own admittedly limited sense organs for truth, and secretly hope for some kind of rescue.
Or, we might become completely hedonistic and only live for constant pleasure, which always leads to cynicism, negativity, and sometimes insanity..
All of this involves suffering.
Happiness itself leads to suffering because we know that it won't last, and wait for the other shoe to drop.
It takes great reflection to relate to The First Noble Truth; time and meditation are the excellent teachers.
(Next: The Second Noble Truth (This is the origin of suffering)
He was all "bottom line," and the bottom line was freedom, or enlightenment.
If something didn't contribute to this directly, then he didn't teach it.
One day he was in a forest with his monks, and he said to them, "Which is more, monks, the few leaves that I have in my hand, or those on the trees in the wood?" One of the monks answered that of course, there were more leaves in the woods.
The Buddha then said, "So too, monks, the things that I have known by direct knowledge are more; the things that I have told you are only a few.
Why have I not told them? Because they bring no benefit, no advancement in the Holy Life, and because they do not lead to dispassion, to fading, to ceasing, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.
That is why I have not told them.
And what have I told you? This is suffering; this is the origin of suffering; this is the cessation of suffering; this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
That is what I have told you.
Why have I told it? Because it brings benefit, and advancement in the Holy Life, and because it leads to dispassion, to fading, to ceasing, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.
So monks, let your task be this: This is suffering; this is the origin of suffering; this is the cessation of suffering; this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
" The Buddha's Four Noble Truths are not really absolute truths; but are observances to reflect upon.
In them, the Buddha points out: our basic human problem, what causes it, that we can end it, and how to end it.
First Noble Truth: (This is suffering) "And what monks, is the Noble Truth of Suffering? Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, sorrows, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; association with the disliked is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering: in brief, the *five aggregates of clinging are suffering.
" *(The five aggregates of clinging are material form (body and mind), consciousness, feeling, perceptions, and mental formations (thoughts and memories).
These in themselves are not the cause of suffering; it is when we inject the idea of "I," me or mine into them that we suffer.
) Human Suffering is the bond between all of us with which we can easily relate.
It is a shared experience.
Who has not suffered? Seeing our common troubles brings about a feeling of compassion.
Conversely, however, our strong opinions about religion and politics bring about hatred and wars.
Wanting what we do not have is suffering (craving).
Finally getting what we want is suffering because then we become fearful of losing it, so we cling and attach to our possessions, and in a way becoming their prisoners because we depend so heavily on them for our happiness.
Or, we may become tired of them and not want them anymore.
Then we either must get rid of them or put up with them.
Restlessness, anxiety, depression, boredom, worrying about our security, illness, old age, and loneliness - these are all suffering, too.
Trying to keep very busy so that none of this will bother us is also suffering, as we desperately move from one thing to another; consumer goods, relationships, town to town, political movements, spiritual groups, books, movies, TV, etc.
, as we attempt to escape the big gorilla.
The big gorilla is the underlying knowledge that this body and mind will sooner or later end.
This underlying fear is the unsettling niggle that is always there, regardless of how good things are.
Even when we accept the inevitability of death, we will search for a religion or a belief that promises continuation beyond physical existence, hoping that we will continue in some way in some kind of beyond.
This search can become suffering, too, because we are never completely certain, subconsciously, whether what we believe will actually occur after death, or never certain which religion is true, if any are.
Or we might not believe that there is anything beyond this physical existence.
This a form of belief as well, as we depend solely on our own admittedly limited sense organs for truth, and secretly hope for some kind of rescue.
Or, we might become completely hedonistic and only live for constant pleasure, which always leads to cynicism, negativity, and sometimes insanity..
All of this involves suffering.
Happiness itself leads to suffering because we know that it won't last, and wait for the other shoe to drop.
It takes great reflection to relate to The First Noble Truth; time and meditation are the excellent teachers.
(Next: The Second Noble Truth (This is the origin of suffering)
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