The Four Noble Truths

The most basic formulation of the Buddha's teaching are the Four Aryan (or Noble) Truths. They are as follows:

1.  All existence is dukkha . This word has been variously translated as 'suffering', 'anguish', 'pain', or ' unsatisfactoriness '. The Buddha's insight was that this was the problem of existence - our lives are a struggle, and we do not find ultimate happiness in anything we experience.

2.  The cause of dukkha is craving. The Buddha says that the actual root of our difficulties can be found in the mind itself and not on things outside ourselves. Our tendency to grasp at things, in particular, (or alternatively to push them away) places us fundamentally at odds with the way life really is. The things that people commonly crave are: money, food, cigarettes and popularity.

3.  The cessation of dukkha comes with the cessation of craving. We are the ultimate solution to our difficulties as well as the cause of them. We cannot change the things that happen to us, but we can change our responses.

4.  There is a path that leads from dukkha. The Buddha has taught methods through which we can change ourselves, as well as throwing responsibility back on the individual. The kinds of things a person would have to do to overcome cravings and attachments are to live the middle way between the extremes of luxury and hardship - one can follow the Noble Eightfold Path of right view, aspiration, action, speech, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and meditation.