THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

Buddhism takes a very logical approach in its analysis of the human condition.

1 Suffering/unsatisfactoriness: Human beings suffer. Dukkha is usually translated as ‘suffering’, but this can be misleading. Buddhism is not pessimistic and does not dwell on pain and death. It should be translated as the anxiety, frustration and fear we feel in losing things that ultimately we always have to lose. The anxiety of loss is universal, because nothing is permanent. The Buddha does, of course, recognise that some things are genuinely pleasing [sukha]. Still, human beings are fundamentally anxious and uneasy about their lives. Most people at some point in their lives are troubled by the impermanence of everything, including their own identity and lives, and may ask questions such as: What will I do when my partner dies, or if my child dies? Or if I don’t find a partner? What is the point of it all? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going? What can I hold on to? Even though we have our happy, pleasurable and successful moments, we fear that it will all end in grief and pain. We all suffer in various ways. Sometimes this suffering is physical; at other times emotional. Sometimes it is mental suffering, feeling frustrated or unfulfilled. It is very rare for any of us to go through the day without experiencing some form of suffering. Birth is suffering, old age is suffering, sickness and death are suffering. Indeed, the general unsatisfactoriness that we often feel is also suffering. Buddha explained that existence is suffering, that this suffering takes various forms and that even material happiness, health and good fortune carry within them the seeds of suffering. Such happiness cannot be maintained as sickness, old age and death are inevitable. But where does this suffering come from?

2 Craving: There is a basic cause of this enduring anxiety. The cause is craving [tanha] or thirst or desire – wanting things to last if we like them, or not to last if we don’t. Wanting a permanent self, or ‘soul’; always wanting more of things, to make oneself bigger, stronger, more important, more comfortable, more secure, and so on. We each have a sense of separate self that we constantly try to protect and build up, even at the expense of others. We craving after the objects of our senses and mind, and fashion-following and obsessive behaviour are most extreme manifestations. So many people crave for more recognition (fame), gain and pleasure, and even immortality. Craving causes suffering because we constantly desire what is ultimately passing and impermanent. According to the Buddha, suffering comes from craving or tanha. This is sometimes translated as 'desire'. Such craving is deep-rooted but if we are to reach nibbana it needs to be uprooted. Destroy craving and you bring an end to suffering - it's as simple as that. Well, in theory at least. Of course, getting rid of craving is no easy matter. If you can spend a little time observing your thoughts you will soon realize how much on a day to day level craving is present; indeed, how often it is the force behind what we do or say.

Craving can take many forms, from something fairly trivial such as 'I must have that chocolate bar!' to more addictive patterns of behavior that can be seen in alcohol and drug dependency. More generally, tanha equates to sensuous desire, our constant impulsion to gratify our senses with things that are pleasant - attractive sights, sounds, tastes and smells; things nice to the touch. At an instinctual level, it also includes sexual desire which is one of the reasons why Buddhist monks and nuns take a vow of celibacy. Of course, it is not just a matter of attraction but also aversion, shunning things that are unpleasant or unattractive.

If you try to imagine someone trying to walk along a straight road, at the end of which is his home. To his left and right there are many attractive sights - beautiful buildings, pleasant company, lovely things to eat and drink! In front of him are various obstacles, things that are unpleasant to touch and see. His natural impulse is to stray off the path, to enjoy the pleasant things on the side of the road and avoid the unpleasant things in his way. If he does this, however, he will never find his way home.

So it is with craving. If we allow it to dominate us we go through life pursuing pleasant sensations and avoiding what is unpleasant we will never find peace. The Buddha teaches us to deal with what is and not to be guided by our likes and dislikes. This is very difficult because since we were children we have often worked according to this principle: move towards what is pleasant, avoid what is unpleasant. The danger here is that we are constantly seeing the world from a very narrow perspective - the world as a playground for gratifying our desires, giving this 'self' or 'ego' exactly what it wants. In Buddhism, true happiness can never be found this way.

3 Cessation: It is possible to subdue, and even extinguish, this craving. Different people may subdue it to different extents, but even a slight subduing has immeasurable benefits in dissolving the anxiety - bringing one nearer to peace and wisdom, as well as to more compassion for others. Nirvana (or nibbana) is often misunderstood in the West. It is not a state of perfect bliss, nor is it heaven. Nirvana is instead a complete acceptance of impermanence, and is thus moksa or liberation from craving. It is being completely ‘cool’. (The Buddha rejected the idea that nirvana is extinction, as a kind of nihilism.) In nirvana, the suffering and the desire that causes suffering have come to an end, as has the cycle of birth and death. Sometimes nirvana was referred to by the Buddha as 'unborn' and 'unconditioned', in contrast to the phenomenal world we experience in our unenlightened state. Nirvana is the ultimate goal of Buddhism, the third Noble truth, the culmination of the Noble Eightfold Path. It signifies the end of craving (tanha) and therefore the end of suffering (dukkha). The word 'Nirvana' literally means 'extinction' (from the Sanskrit Nirvana meaning 'to cease blowing', 'to be extinguished'). Nirvana then, is sometimes referred to as being 'like a flame that has gone out'. More poetically, it is referred to as 'the cool cave', a simile which would have had a lot of resonance in the Buddha's time, the cave being a shelter from the hot Indian sun. At other times it is referred to in rather negative terms - 'the unborn', 'the uncreated' - to avoid the conceptualization that we are prone to. More positively, it is also seen as the highest bliss, as the supreme security from bondage, the ultimate liberation from the world of suffering and the round of rebirths.

4 Path: There is a definite way or method or path by which this subduing, and even extinction of anxiety [dukkha], may be brought about. The path takes time and effort, but it is simple and clear, and support is at hand in the efforts of one’s fellow travellers. It is a training in, and a cultivation of, letting go. This fourth noble truth is the The Noble Eightfold Path itself.

In Buddhism, there are various ways of tackling the problem of craving. One is generosity or dana. In giving - providing there are no ulterior motives - we are acting in the opposite direction to craving. We are moving away from acting egocentrically to operating altruistically. Similarly, with loving-kindness or metta we are thinking of others, wishing them happiness without discrimination. And meditation is also important. In this we start to analyze and breakdown this illusion of 'me' as a confused conglomeration of desires and wants. We learn to note when we are motivated by greed or aversion and the noting of them can help dissolve their power over us.

To reach Nirvana one must cultivate the highest virtue and practice meditation with great diligence. The path isn't always an easy one. It requires constant practice, steely determination and great courage! Perhaps the best thing to do is not to think about Nirvana too much and concentrate on practicing in the right way.

I myself feel, and also tell other Buddhists, that the question of Nirvana will come later. There is not much hurry. But if in day-to-day life you lead a good life, honesty, with love, with compassion, with less selfishness, then automatically it will lead to Nirvana. [Dalai Lama]

THE THREE MARKS OF EXISTENCE (ti-lakkhana in Pali,tri-laksana in Sanskrit)

All phenomena other than Nirvana (i.e. sankhara) are marked by three characteristics, sometimes referred to as the Dharma seals:

Dukkha (Sanskrit duhkha) or unsatisfactoriness, unease - also often translated perhaps misleadingly as "suffering". Nothing found in the physical world or even the psychological realm can bring deep, lasting, satisfaction.
Anicca (Sanskrit anitya) or impermanence. This refers not only to the fact that all conditioned things eventually cease to exist, but also that all conditioned things are in a constant state of flux. (Visualize a leaf growing on a tree. It dies and falls off the tree but is soon replaced by a new leaf.)
Anatta (Sanskrit anatman) or non-Self. The human personality, "soul", or Self, is a conventional appellation applied to the assembly of physical and psychological components, each individually subject to constant flux; there is no central core (or essence); this is somewhat similar to a bundle theory of mind or soul.

By bringing the three seals into moment-to-moment experience through concentrated awareness, we are are able to achieve Wisdom - the third of the three higher trainings and the way out of Samsara. Thus the recipe for leaving Samsara is a deep-rooted change to our world view.