Four Noble Truths Essay PDF

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Dr. Mullen Religion 100QW-11J 28 March 2017 Scholarly Analysis II: The Four Noble Truths

In various world religions, human suffering and the path to overcoming human suffering and other misfortunes are inevitable and natural to our being. Scholars analyze such concepts through identifying them by the seven Universal Components of a Religious Worldview as introduced in Livingston’s Anatomy of the Sacred. The components include deity, cosmogony, views of the human problem, theodicy, ethics and soteriology in which the latter four are most prominently observed in Buddhism, particularly the Four Noble Truths. In overview, the Four Noble Truths explain the acknowledgement of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path towards fulfilling the cessation of suffering or in Sanskrit known as Dukkha, Samudaya, Niroda, and Magga.

As emphasized throughout all texts, one does not have a central and permanent spirit but rather is composed of energies and feelings, or khandas. However, even then, all experience loss and suffering, as told by the first Noble Truth: Dukkha. According to Rahula, life is nothing but suffering and pain and if one is unable to realize “that the self is empty,” he or she is confined by his or her own selfish desires. In other words humans suffer given that we long for more than what we already have and are consumed by greed, a concept explained by the Second Noble Truth: Samudaya and the root cause tanha or thirst (Rahula 16). Our cravings can be eliminated, however, which is demonstrated by the Third Noble Truth: Niroda

or nirvana meaning the “blowing out” of desire. This cessation of desire occurs if one “cultivates the path of mental discipline, wisdom, and moral conduct” which encompasses the Eightfold Path and is emphasized by the fourth Noble Truth: Magga (DeMoss).

Dukkha, although directly translated and to an extent superficially interpreted as suffering and pain, possesses a far deeper and complex meaning. Imperfection and impermanence are fixed in life and thus dukkha is neither intended to be pessimistic nor optimistic, but instead to be realistic, with an emphasis “to see things as they truly are” (Livingston 225). Such perspective shows one the way to true freedom, peace, tranquility and happiness, a state in which the Buddha embodies. According to the Buddha, suffering is present in all but most visibly in six areas of life: birth, sickness, old age, the phobia of death, association with what we abhor, and separation from what we love (Livingston 225). The Dalai Lama himself experiences a significant amount of dukkha in his life. In the Dalai Lama’s Freedom in Exile, we learn that due to the Chinese invasion, he was forced out of Tibet and subsequently fled to northern India. However, even at such great distance and suffering, he still aided the Tibetan people to well being. The Dalai Lama demonstrates his understanding for loss and suffering as inevitable and illustrates how moral action presents itself and generates a significant impact on not only an individual, the Dalai Lama’s life, but also on the countless lives of the Tibetan community. Ultimately, theodicy, as reiterated by the Dalai Lama, frames human suffering as a set of obstacles individuals must overcome in order to reach greater goals.

In further relation to the first Noble Truth, before dukkha can be overcome as implied by second Noble Truth, one must understand its cause: tanha, or thirst. Tanha encompasses human ignorance and the insatiable desire that manifests itself in various forms, and subsequently lends to suffering. In Buddhism, it is identified as the “root of the human problem” which is further explored in Theravada Buddhism through the Indian doctrine of karma, which means “action” or “doing” (Livingston 211, 223). In Buddhism, the KarmaSamsara Theodicy explains that all beings exist by virtue of an individual force or energy unique to that being and suggests that should individuals find themselves focused on their actions solely based on the notion that their actions determine the direction of their future, they will have failed to understand the Buddhist philosophy of an-atman, or no self. However, the lack of a belief of “self” does not necessarily indicate that we do not possess characteristic elements as individuals as found in the five aggregates which in themselves are dukkha. The five aggregates of matter, sensation, perception, mental formation and consciousness are essentially all that constitutes the so-called being. The both physical and mental aggregates illuminate the idea of impermanence and continuous change and thus consequent loss and suffering. While the deity Amida or the Buddha of Light is present in Amida Buddhism, in Theravada Buddhism, deities and cosmic universes are generally perceived as insignificant to one’s being and path (Livingston 247). Instead, the fundamental laws: dukkha, karma, and samsara explain the origin and reason of all, a concept known as cosmogony (Livingston 247).

While suffering manifests itself in nearly all aspects of our world the Third Noble Truth reassures individuals that there exists “emancipation” from suffering through the “extinction of thirst” (Rahula 25, 35). Two ways to reach such are classified by scholars as the way of faith

and the way of meditation. In Buddhism, the way of meditation and further insight is open to all who possess the strength and discipline to endure it. True meditation is a practice that requires the strength of both the mind and body, as seen in the Dalai Lama’s narrative. Throughout Freedom in Exile the Dalai Lama discusses his difficulty in concentrating to help the Tibetan people as his mind was clouded with the turmoil in China. He claims to have sat prayer every morning and focused on cultivating compassion for not just human beings but all sentient beings. Not only does the Dalai Lama’s account show that prayer and meditation is a skill that must be honed and developed over time and with discipline but it is one that is essential in reaching “higher levels of mindfulness, or true consciousness, wisdom, or insightenlightenment” (Livingston 307). His faith followed by skilled prayer and meditation guided him to fulfill his purpose of saving himself and his people.

In light of the Eightfold Path, which is composed of right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration, is the introduction of the Fourth Noble Truth. Also known as the “Middle Path”, the fourth Noble Truth is a path that avoids the two extremes: one being seeking happiness through pleasure and the other being seeking happiness through self-mortification. The Buddha himself, having explored both extremes, deems the “Middle Path” as the one to follow in order to acquire vision and knowledge leading to nirvana. The Eightfold Path holds a significant role in this soteriology given that rebirth, or samsara, is not the end goal, but instead is to reach the end of life in a sound manner. According to Rahula, the eight divisions are of equal priority, meaning, no division is emphasized more than another and one must perceive them as an interdependent collective. The eight divisions are also categorized by scholars into the “three essentials” of the

quintessential Buddhist way of life: Ethical Conduct, Mental Discipline, and Wisdom. Ethical Conduct focuses on universal love and compassion for all beings. In an ideal state, compassion and wisdom is actively present in one’s thoughts, actions, and way of life. Mental discipline translates to the elimination of negative energy, including ill-willed thoughts and actions. The last essential, Wisdom, highlights the overall significance of understanding in its purest form. The Eightfold Path is a Path of self-disciple, self-development and self-purification that leads to the realization of the Ultimate Reality through fulfillment of “freedom, happiness and peace through moral, spiritual and intellectual perfection” (Rahula 35). Thus, scholars may choose to classify the Eightfold Path as a set of ethical virtues and moral actions that must be cultivated in order to express the highest form of devotion to not only the Four Noble Truths and Dharma Practice but also self and others.

Aside from the Eightfold Path, one can be also guided to overcome the human problem by following the authority of the moral exemplar. In the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, school of Buddhism, the great exemplar is the Buddha, or Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is a charismatic leader, one who possesses “a spiritual gift with special, often extraordinary, endowments” (Livingston 267). The Bodhisattva lives a selfless life of compassion on behalf of all sentient beings and vows to relieve their individual stress in hopes of alleviating the dukkha of the world. Both the Dalai Lama and scholars express that the integration of the Eightfold Path within the Four Noble Truths in harmony with the leadership of the Bodhisattva are conducive to one’s search and journey towards reaching nirvana.

Buddhism and fulfillment of the Eightfold Path of the Four Noble Truths provide individuals with salvation or liberation to the human problem of suffering. Through the Buddhist Dharma, individuals not only learn of and acknowledge life’s suffering, its cause, and the ways to overcome such suffering but also the necessity of such in order to reach true enlightenment. Through his experiences, the Dalai Lama, often seen as the Bodhisattva of Tibet, frames loss and suffering within the universal components of religions and demonstrates the consequent moral actions to be taken. These actions include but are not limited to the eight frameworks encompassed by the Eightfold Path in living an ethical life and reaching nirvana.

Works Cited DeMoss, David. “Empty And Extended Craving: An Application Of The Extended Mind Thesis To The Four Noble Truths.” Contemporary Buddhism 12.2 (2011): 309-325. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. Gyatso, Tenzin. Freedom in Exile. San Francisco: Harper, 1991. Print.

Howard, Veena Rani. “Listening To The Buddha's Noble Truths: A Method To Alleviate Social Suffering.” Pacific World 10. (2008): 23-43. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. Livingston, James C. Anatomy of the Sacred: An Introduction to Religion. New York: Pearson, 2009. Print. Rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. New York: Grove, 1974. Print....