Four Noble Truths

Meaning

The Four Noble Truths are the foundational teaching of Buddhism, recognized by all its schools. The Buddha Gotama set them forth in his first discourse after awakening (the so-called “First Turning of the Wheel of the Dhamma”).

They are not a set of beliefs but a practical analysis of the human condition and a path for its transformation.

The four truths

1. The Truth of Dukkha (suffering): Suffering exists. Unsatisfactoriness and vulnerability are inherent in ordinary existence
2. The Truth of the Cause of Dukkha: Suffering has a cause. Its root is craving and clinging, fueled by ignorance
3. The Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha: Suffering can be completely ended. This state is Nibbana
4. The Truth of the Path: There is a way out of suffering - the Noble Eightfold Path, the training in wisdom, morality, and concentration

Extending the medical metaphor, the Buddha in his discourse diagnosed the “disease” of samsaric existence, identified its causes, and prescribed the “treatment.”

Doctrinal context

The Pali word sacca is translated as “truth,” but it does not mean “truth” in the familiar philosophical sense of subjective knowledge corresponding to reality. Rather, it denotes reality itself. The practice of “understanding” these “truths” removes wrong views and leads to “stream-entry” - the first stage on the path to enlightenment. It is held that after stream-entry a person can no longer stray from the path and will sooner or later attain Nibbana.

Practical significance

For the modern practitioner the Four Noble Truths are not dogma but a working framework:

• the first truth is to be understood (accepting the unsatisfactoriness of samsaric existence in all its forms)
• the second is to be abandoned (the cause of suffering)
• the third is to be realized (the cessation of suffering)
• the fourth is to be followed (the Noble Eightfold Path)