Four noble truths: 7 definitions
Introduction:
Four noble truths means something in Buddhism, Pali. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
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In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
The Four Noble Truths state that:
- Life is unsatisfactory or suffering (dukkha).
- Suffering arises because of desire.
- There is a path leading to the cessation of suffering.
- The path leading to the end of suffering is the Eightfold Path.
The root of Dependent Origination is ingnorance. That is defined as ignorance of the Four Noble Truths. When one does not understand these truths directly one is subject to continual rebirth in the wheel of existence.
The Four Noble Truths are:
- the truth of suffering,
- of the origin of suffering,
- of the extinction of suffering,
- and of the Eightfold Path leading to the extinction of suffering.
The 1st truth, briefly stated, teaches that all forms of existence whatsoever are unsatisfactory and subject to suffering (dukkha).
The 2nd truth teaches that all suffering, and all rebirth, is produced by craving (tanhā).
The 3rd truth teaches that extinction of craving necessarily results in extinction (nirodha) of rebirth and suffering, i.e. nibbāna.
The 4th truth of the Eightfold Path (magga) indicates the means by which this extinction is attained.
The stereotype text frequently recurring in the Sutta Pitaka, runs as follows:
1) "But what, o monks, is the noble truth of suffering? Birth is suffering, decay is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; in short, the 5 groups of existence connected with clinging are suffering (cf. dukkha, dukkhata).
2) ''But what, o monks, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering? It is that craving which gives rise to fresh rebirth and, bound up with lust and greed, now here, now there, finds ever fresh delight. It is the sensual craving (kāma-tanhā), the craving for existence (bhava-tanhā), the craving for non-existence or self-annihilation (vibhava-tanhā).
3) "But what, o monks, is the noble truth of the extinction of suffering? It is the complete fading away and extinction of this craving, its forsaking and giving up, liberation and detachment from it.
4) "But what, o monks, is the noble truth of the path leading to the extinction of suffering? It is the Noble Eightfold Path (ariya-atthangika-magga) that leads to the extinction of suffering, namely:
1. Right view (sammā-ditthi)
2. Right thought (sammā-sankappa)
III. Wisdom (paññā)
3. Right speech (sammā-vācā)
4. Right action (sammā-kammanta)
5. Right livelihood (sammd-djiva)
I. Morality (sīla)
6. Right effort (sammā-vāyāma)
7. Right mindfulness (sammā-sati)
8. Right concentration (sammā-samādhi)
II. Concentration (samādhi)1. "What now, o monks, is right view (or right understanding)? It is the understanding of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the extinction of suffering, and of the path leading to the extinction of suffering.
2. "What now, o monks, is right thought? It is a mind free from sensual lust, ill-will and cruelty.
3. "What now, o monks, is right speech? Abstaining from lying, tale-bearing, harsh words, and foolish babble (cf. tiracchānakathā).
4. "What now, o monks, is right action? Abstaining from injuring living beings, from stealing and from unlawful sexual intercourse (s. kāmesu micchācāra).
5. "What now, o monks, is right livelihood? If the noble disciple rejects a wrong living, and gains his living by means of right livelihood (s. magga, 5).
6. "What now, o monks, is right effort? If the disciple rouses his will to avoid the arising of evil, demeritorious things that have not yet arisen; ... if he rouses his will to overcome the evil, demeritorious things that have already arisen; ... if he rouses his will to produce meritorious things that have not yet arisen; ... if he rouses his will to maintain the meritorious things that have already arisen and not to let them disappear, but to bring them to growth, to maturity and to the full perfection of development; he thus makes effort, stirs up his energy, exerts his mind and strives (s. padhāna).
7. "What now, o monks is right mindfulness? If the disciple dwells in contemplation of corporeality ... of feeling ... of mind ... of the mind-objects, ardent, clearly conscious, and mindful after putting away worldly greed and grief (s. satipatthāna).
8. "What now, o monks, is right concentration? If the disciple is detached from sensual objects, detached from unwholesome things, and enters into the first absorption ... the second absorption ... the third absorption ... the fourth absorption" (s. jhāna).
In the Buddha's first sermon, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, it is said that
- the first truth (suffering) is to be fully understood;
- the second truth (craving) to be abandoned;
- the third truth (Nibbāna) to be realized;
- the fourth truth (the path) to be cultivated.
Vis.M. XVI—
"The truth of suffering is to be compared with a disease, the truth of the origin of suffering with the cause of the disease, the truth of extinction of suffering with the cure of the disease, the truth of the path with the medicine".
In the ultimate sense, all these 4 truths are to be considered as empty of a self, since there is no feeling agent, no doer, no liberated one. no one who follows along the path.
Therefore it is said: (Vis.M. XVI)
'Mere suffering exists, no sufferer is found. The deed is, but no doer of the deed is there. Nibbāna is, but not the man that enters it. The path is, but no traveller on it is seen.
'The first truth and the second truth are empty Of permanency, joy, of self and beauty; The Deathless Realm is empty of an ego, And free from permanency, joy and self, the path.'
It must be pointed out that the first truth does not merely refer to actual suffering, i.e. to suffering as feeling, but that it shows that, in consequence of the universal law of impermanency, all the phenomena of existence whatsoever, even the sublimest states of existence, are subject to change and dissolution, and hence are miserable and unsatisfactory; and that thus, without exception, they all contain in themselves the germ of suffering. Cf. Guide, p. 101f.
Regarding the true nature of the path, s. magga.
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
The Four Noble Truths (having Sixteen Aspects) are known in Tibetan as 'phags pa'i bden bzhi.—Accordingly, [while describing the Vaibhāṣika and Sautrāntika way of establishing coarse and subtle selflessness]: The Sautrāntikas’ standpoint on the coarse and subtle selflessness of persons and their non-admission of a selflessness of dharmas are like that of the Vaibhāṣikas. [...] According to the Vaibhāṣikas, if you meditate at the conclusion of the fourth mental absorption with a mind based on an object of meditation that is any of the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths, you traverse the last four paths of the Pratyeka-Buddha and Bodhisattva; and, by meditating on any of those sixteen objects of meditation — impermanence and so forth — on the basis of any of the nine uncorrupted stages, you necessarily attain the Arhat-ship of a Śrāvaka. In the Sautrāntika system, the last four paths of all three vehicles necessarily arise for the first time solely through taking as your basic object a construct that is devoid of self.
The Four Noble Truths are are:
- There is suffering,
- There is an origin of suffering,
- There is a cessation of suffering, and
- There is a path to the cessation of suffering.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
General definition (in Buddhism)
Four Noble Truths:—A technical term in Buddhism corresponding to the Sanskrit caturāryasatya defined in the Dharma-saṃgraha (section 21):
- Suffering (duḥkha),
- Arising (samudaya),
- Cessation (nirodha),
- Path (mārga).
The Dharma-samgraha (Dharmasangraha) is an extensive glossary of Buddhist technical terms in Sanskrit (e.g., catur-āryasatya, ‘four noble truths’). The work is attributed to Nagarguna who lived around the 2nd century A.D.
The Four Noble Truths refer to the primary and fundamental doctrines of Shakyamuni:
- Doctrine of Suffering — suffering is a necessary attribute of sentient existence (Effect of Suffering)
- Doctrine of Accumulation — accumulation of suffering is caused by passions (Cause of Suffering)
- Doctrine of Extinction — extinction of passion (Effect of Happiness)
- Doctrine of Path — Path leading to the extinction of passion (Cause of Happiness); i.e. Eightfold Path.
The first two are considered to be related to this life, and the last two to the life outside and beyond this world. The Four Noble Truths were first preached to Shakyamunis five former ascetic companions.
The Four Noble Truths are one of the most fundamental Buddhist teachings. In broad terms, these truths relate to suffering (or dukkha), its nature, its origin, its cessation and the path leading to its cessation. They are among the truths Gautama Buddha is said to have realized during his experience of enlightenment. Certain major Mahayana sutras, including the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and the Angulimaliya Sutra, present variant versions of the Four Noble Truths.
The Four Noble Truths are:
1) The Nature of Suffering (Dukkha): — "This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering."
2) Sufferings Origin (Samudaya): — "This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there, that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination."
3) Sufferings Cessation (Nirodha): — "This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, nonreliance on it."
4) The Way (Marga) Leading to the Cessation of Suffering: — "This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is the Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."
Four noble truths (in Sanskrit: āryasatya; in Pali: ariya-satta) are the basis of the Buddhist teaching. They are:
- the truth of suffering (duḥkha);
- the truth of the origin (samudāya) of suffering;
- the truth of the cessation (nirodha) of suffering;
- the truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering.
1) The first truth says that all existence is characterized by suffering and does not bring satisfaction. Everything is suffering: birth, sickness, death; coming together with what one does not like; separating from what one does like; not obtaining what one desires; and the five aggregates (skandha) of attachment that constitute the personality.
1) The second truth gives as the cause of suffering craving or desire, the thirst (tṛṣṇā) for sensual pleasure, for becoming and passing away. This craving binds beings to the cycle of existence (saṃsāra).
3) The third truth says that through remainderless elimination of craving, suffering can be brought to an end.
4) The fourth truth gives the eightfold path as the means for the ending of suffering.
Non-recognition of the four noble truths is ignorance (avidyā). The discovery of the four noble truths by the Buddha constituted, according to the various traditions, his actual enlightenment (bodhi). Buddha expounded these truths in the Benares discourse as his first teaching immediately after his enlightenment.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): The, The, Truth, Te.
Full-text (+645): Samudaya, Caturaryasatya, Si zhen di, Nirodha, Catusaccavabodhagati, Zheng jian, Marga, Sidi, Yi zhi gen, Si sheng di, Si di jing, Si zhen dao, Duhkha, Jidi, Lei zhi, Anupubbikatha, Ni mi liu tuo, Caturogha, Catusaccajanana, Abhisameti.
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Search found 158 books and stories containing Four noble truths, The four noble truths; (plurals include: Four noble truthses, The four noble truthses). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
The Four Noble Truths And Dependent Origination (by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi)
The Four Noble Truths (by Ajahn Sumedho)
Introduction < [Chapter 3 - The Third Noble Truth]
The View From the Center (by Ajahn Amaro)
The Four Noble Truths (by Kensur Lobsang Chojor)
Philosophy of language in the Five Nikayas (by K.T.S. Sarao)
6.3. The Four Noble Truths < [Chapter 3 - Language and Meaning as Reflected in the Five Nikāyas]
6. Sammādiṭṭhi and Language Comprehension < [Chapter 4 - Philosophy of Language in the Five Nikāyas]
1. General View < [Chapter 6 - Summary and Conclusions]
Ahara as depicted in the Pancanikaya (by Le Chanh)
3.2. Ahara and the Four Noble Truths < [Chapter 3 - Ahara and specific teachings of the Buddha]
Introduction < [Chapter 3 - Ahara and specific teachings of the Buddha]
1.9. Structure of the research < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]