The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path

Shakyamuni Buddha: The Fourth Noble Truth is the Way, the Path leading to the end of dissatisfaction and suffering. 

Shakyamuni Buddha: The Fourth Noble Truth is the Way, the Path leading to the end of dissatisfaction and suffering.

The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path

The First Noble Truth: The Truth of Dissatisfaction and Suffering

The First Noble Truth describes the nature of life and our personal experience of this impermanent, ever-changing world. All beings desire happiness, safety, peace, and comfort. We desire what is satisfying, pleasurable, joyful, and permanent. However, the very nature of existence is impermanent, always changing, and therefore incapable of fully satisfying our desire. Inevitably, we experience frustration, anger, loss, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction. Life is in constant change, and changes such as birth, old age, sickness, and death can bring dissatisfaction or suffering. Suffering may arise from being associated with people or conditions that are unpleasant, from being separated from people we love or conditions we enjoy, from not getting what we desire, or from getting what we desire then losing it. Continue reading »