The four noble truths of Buddhism

The four noble truths of Buddhism express the path that marks the transition to reach Nirvana. Understanding this philosophy can give way to a stage of enlightenment that ends suffering and allows you to live a total state of liberation.

Correctly transiting the four noble truths of Buddhism allows us to achieve integral peace of being. However, the knowledge acquired after going through them is, by definition, liberating in itself. Buddhist modernism considers these truths to be the central teachings of the doctrine.

In turn, we can say that They form a liberating vision and are part of the story of Buddha, who went through the four instances to achieve enlightenment. Therefore, they acquired relevance in the tradition Theravada of Buddhism, which is considered the oldest school that has spiritual doctrine. Let’s delve into it.

Origin of the four noble truths

The four noble truths, in Pali Chattari-ariya-saccaniin Sanskrit Chatvari-arya-satyani, are the central axis of the teachings, practices and doctrines of Buddhism. According to the World History Encyclopedia, these noble truths They show the causes of suffering and a path or way of life to get out of it. Thanks to them, Siddhārtha Gautama (the Buddha) achieved his liberation.

Although their diffusion in different languages ​​has spread throughout the world, the translations that have been made of them, at least in English and Spanish, do not account for what they really mean in their original version in Pali and Sanskrit.

According to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism “The term translated as “noble” (ARYA) refers not to the truths themselves, but to those who understand them.; Thus, a more accurate (although less grandiose) translation would be “four noble truths.” They are four facts taken as true by those “nobles” with knowledge of the nature of reality, but unknown by ordinary beings.

So, Although the four noble truths of Buddhism are available to all humanity, only the noble can understand them., that is, those who have traveled the path, awakening and enlightenment. The Buddha, upon awakening, understood and contemplated the four noble truths that he then transmitted. Without them, his release would not have been possible.

For the true nobleman, These truths are not mere statements, they are the reality in which you live. They are your own life experience. It could be said that they are the embodiment of the four noble truths.

What are the noble truths of Buddhism?

The four noble truths of Buddhism can be summarized as follows:

1. dukkah

It is the first truth established by the doctrine and means “suffering.” This alludes to the fact that all existence in itself is unsatisfactory and will continue to be so as long as its true nature is not recognized. It is no secret that every person lives with a degree of suffering. It is as if it were necessary for the heart to beat, because even the person with the least problems knows it.

Happiness is never complete, since suffering is usually present or threatening. While the conception of a new life can be a moment of absolute joy, it should not be forgotten that, in some way, the beginning of a life is also the beginning of its end. From the moment a new being is born he is “condemned” to perish.

So, dukkah would refer to the truth of suffering: the imperfect way of seeing the world around us, since even love at its best can mean suffering. Even living with loved ones can mean affliction due to the fear generated by the insubstantiality of being.

Existence is unsatisfactory. Life is suffering.

2. Samudaya

The second truth means “origin” and considers that all suffering comes from attachment, ignorance and desire. Everything that is desired will ultimately generate unhappiness or dissatisfaction. The being desires and attaches himself to material goods, as well as to the people he loves; However, due to human finitude, sooner or later it will generate pain.

According to this postulate, Human passions and actions carried out of their own free will are the origin of all suffering. Precisely, a very powerful stimulus to act would be passions.

For Buddhism, all suffering would be linked to ignoring that actions lead to suffering, in addition to closing our eyes to the impermanence and interdependence of things. Nevertheless, Understanding where pain comes from not only has the power to reduce dissatisfaction or displeasure, but it would also allow suffering to be abandoned.

3. Nirodha

It is the third truth of Buddhism and means “cessation.” Therefore, this postulate establishes that, although Suffering is inherent to human existence, it can be overcome. In this way, pain would be overcome by completely eliminating the desire and attachment inherent to all existence.

In this instance, the ideal is perform introspection work to find the origin of all the suffering. Furthermore, it is important to completely suppress the five poisons that Buddha speaks of: attachment, hatred, ignorance, ego and jealousy. In this way, adding virtuous actions, good karma is created.

Although suffering is inherent to the human condition, it can be overcome.

4. Magga

He Magga is the last and fourth of the noble truths of Buddhism, which means “path” and refers to the Noble eightfold path. This reflects the way out of desire and suffering; and would be represented by the following eight postulates that we can find in the Dhammapada from the Buddha:

Correct knowledge (samma-ditthi). It is knowing the other three truths. It is also based on the recognition that the world is impermanent.Correct aspiration (samma-sankappa). Every person should aspire to awaken and free themselves from suffering. in his book The four noble truths, The venerable Ajahn Sumedho makes it clear that aspiration is not desire: «It is important to see that aspiration is not desire. The Pali word tanha means desire arising from ignorance, while sankappa It means aspiration that does not come from ignorance.Correct speech (samma-cow). Always speak the truth and do not hurt anyone with your words.Correct action (samma-kammanta). It consists of acting in accordance with spiritual aspiration. Actions must be righteous and pure of heart.Correct occupation (samma-ajiva). All work must be virtuous and money must not be obtained illegally. The way of living and occupying oneself must be in harmony with the spiritual aspiration.Correct effort (samma-vayama). It is defined as striving to be better every day: compassionate and understanding.Correct care (samma-sati). It refers to the awareness of what is happening both internally and externally. It is popularly known as mindfulness.Correct concentration (samma-samadhi). It is also known as correct meditation. The word Samadhi comes from Sanskrit where sama means ‘together’ and dhi means ‘mind’. It is the complete state of unity, enlightenment.

All the mentioned actions must be performed correctly if you want to achieve Nirvana. It is the way to perfectly explore the known Noble eightfold path, to achieve inner peace.

Definitely, The four noble truths of Buddhism would configure the unique path to Nirvanabeing the journey that Buddha took to achieve it and leave behind any kind of suffering related to human existence.

To take into account

Buddhism is not a single doctrine; in it, as in Christianity, there are multiple aspects. There is not only one Buddhism. When the Buddha died, his teachings converged in different schools that, little by little, began to disagree with each other.

According to the article of World History Encyclopedia what we mentioned at the beginning, Currently three main schools of Buddhism are recognized: Theravadathe Mahayana and the Vajrayana. Each of them has their own interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings.

An important difference between the three is found in the third noble truth. According to the encyclopedia that we have previously cited, schools Theravada and Mahayana They consider that effort is necessary for desires to end. Instead, the Vajrayana He maintains that it is enough to recognize the first two truths for desires to cease by themselves.

A liberated life

Although life is suffering, as a consequence of our distancing from the truth, Buddhism proposes a way out of this endless cycle. Through the path of liberation that it traces and the noble truths of it, it is hoped that whoever follows it will awaken.

A liberated life is possible. Releasing suffering definitively is a feasible option for Buddhism. The path of Nirvana is open to all those nobles who want to follow it.

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