Questions tagged [four-noble-truths]

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What to do when experience is different to teaching examples?

What does Buddhism say to do when a specific Buddhist teaching or example of a teaching, is in disagreement with lived experience? This is not about rejecting the whole way but maybe small parts based ...
P.S.'s user avatar
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What is meant by 'dukkhe loko patiṭṭhito'?

In SN68 Pihitasutta; Kenassu pihito loko, kismiṁ loko patiṭṭhito; Kenassu uḍḍito loko, kenassu parivāritoti. Maccunā pihito loko, dukkhe loko patiṭṭhito; Taṇhāya uḍḍito loko, jarāya parivāritoti. ...
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What exactly is a Desire? [duplicate]

What exactly is the anatomy of a Desire and why does it have such a potent effect on our psyche and life? Is it a thought of wanting something we don't have, but then we have so many thoughts about so ...
The White Cloud's user avatar
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6 answers
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How to reconcile the "right view" in the Noble Eightfold path with Snp 4.5?

The Four Noble Truths include the Noble Eightfold Path which importantly includes “right view” as the first step on that path. However, it is said in Snp 4.5 that a Realized One does not hold any “...
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Is liberation possible for those practicing unskillful means?

Is it possible for a person to gain liberation while simultaneously practicing unskillful means? Is it possible for a person to understand profound universal truths while simultaneously practicing ...
Yeshe Tenley's user avatar
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How to juggle between the need for Prosperity and Desires for a Samsaric mind?

I completely understand the second noble truth which says origin of dukkha, which arises or "comes together" with taṇhā ("craving, desire or attachment") in plain English, ...
The White Cloud's user avatar
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What does "this" stands for in the observation "This is suffering."?

This is suffering is one of the noble truths. But it is not clear what does "this" stands for ? Similarly in the statement "This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering." ,...
SacrificialEquation's user avatar
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Are these simple sentences right? They are about 4 noble truths, 3 characteristics, craving, etc

The sentences I want to check with you are: Reducing suffering (or eliminating it) is the main goal. The main reason we keep suffering is desire and aversion. We can experience craving to any of the ...
Sora's user avatar
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4 answers
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What is the most accurate translation of the word 'dukkha'?

This question is a sequel to my previous question about First Noble Truth. It seems that there is discord about the exact rendering of the word 'dukkha'. Sorry if I sound like a pedantic dou*h. I am ...
The White Cloud's user avatar
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What is the most accurate translation of the First Noble Truth?

If I search for the 4 noble truths of Buddha on Google I get the following different translations of the first noble truth: Life is suffering. There is suffering in life. Life is unsatisfactory. and ...
The White Cloud's user avatar
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Buddhism, Symbolism, and Notions

In reading about Zen I see encouragement to question "notions". Understand them as to some extent misrepresenting the things they represent. The map is not the territory. I'm not sure how to interpret ...
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Is there such a thing as craving for enlightenment and would it be unwholesome?

I was wondering if for example an obsession or craving that someone has for attaining Nirvana would be considered something unwholesome. On one hand it seems to me like it would, since that person ...
sirangelo's user avatar
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What do Birth, Age, and Death mean in the first noble truth?

Below is from Ariyapariyesana Sutta "Monks, there are these two searches: ignoble search & noble search. And what is ignoble search? There is the case where a person, being subject himself ...
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What is the Reason for Noble Dukkha and How? [duplicate]

The direct answer to this question is attachment (upadana). To be more specific my question is how attachment become the cause for the Noble Dukkha? Eg: If I like a car, its an attachment. And how ...
Isuru's user avatar
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What is Aarya dukkha Sacca?

In buddhism what is aarya dukkha? And what’s the reason for it? Dukkha is one of four noble truth. And as I heard it’s because of the impermanence. Can in permanence be the cause for the Dukkha? Is ...
Isuru's user avatar
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The four noble truths

H.E Tsem Rinpoche says the following on his website. "Through a lack of understanding of how things truly exist, we create and recreate an independent self entity called “me.” The whole of our ...
Arturia's user avatar
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Someone has an illness which is inevitably going to kill them. Why?

Imagine following situation: A person who thinks of themself as a good person, meaning they are mostly nice to people and act and think almost always morally. Said person is diagnosed with an illness ...
palkonimo's user avatar
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Noble Eightfold Path - applicable by lay practitioners?

To my understanding, the 8 factors are of course something that require cultivation (practise/training). However, noble right view, for example, is an experiential part, and not an intellectual one. ...
Val's user avatar
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Did the Buddha teach the four noble truths to laypeople?

Sometimes I see comments like, "the Buddha never taught the four noble truths to laypeople". Is that so? If so, why didn't he? Aren't the 4NT the best, most succinct and most helpful, part of the ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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Is there a mistranslation of definition of ignorance?

Ignorance is the cause of suffering. Buddha says in SN 12.2 : “And what, bhikkhus, is ignorance? Not knowing suffering, not knowing the origin of suffering, not knowing the cessation of ...
Dheeraj Verma's user avatar
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2 answers
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how desire for cessation, never to be reborn, is different from desire for non-being?

The Second Noble Truth identifies three aspects of craving, one of them being craving for non-being. How does the desire for cessation, to attain final Nibbāna, never to be reborn, differ from the ...
user avatar
2 votes
8 answers
595 views

Why aren't there 5 Noble Truths?

Consider the fact that our Nirvana depends on one crucial truth and that is law of Karma. Good karma bear good fruit and bad karma generates bad results. Why didn't Buddha say that Fifth Noble Truth ...
Dheeraj Verma's user avatar
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What is meant by setting the "wheel" of Dharma in motion?

Namo Buddhaya. At many places in the texts it is said that the Buddha had set the wheel of dhamma in motion and that it can not be rolled back by anyone. This sutta is devoted to the understanding of ...
Dheeraj Verma's user avatar
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4 answers
211 views

Why does the third noble truth not include the ten fetters?

The Four Noble Truths are defined in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta as: "The Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha), monks, is this: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, ...
ruben2020's user avatar
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Can someone address this critique?

I found a rather compelling critique on the Internet and would like to ask you to answer this. He probably misunderstood dukkha, however, he is somewhat right on the nihilism aspect of buddhism. In ...
Val's user avatar
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Cessation of suffering is the main goal of Buddhism, but is cessation of suffering the end goal or does Buddhism pursue Joy beyond end of suffering?

I ask the above because Socrates in the Republic has proven that the cessation of suffering is a quietude of the mind, an illusion or a jugglery not real. What we should we aim according to him is not ...
user12965's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
191 views

How does the 2nd Noble truth explain the cause of suffering-as-suffering (e.g. resulting from a severe burn)?

I would like to ask question regarding the 4 Noble Truths. The second Noble Truth broadly speaking is that suffering is a result of craving, aversion and ignorance. I can see how this can been seen as ...
user12231's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
726 views

Justifying the Four Noble Truths without rebirth [duplicate]

In the article entitled A Secular Evaluation of Rebirth, Doug Smith, of the Secular Buddhist Association, wrote: It is for reasons such as these that any contemporary, scientifically informed ...
ruben2020's user avatar
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Second Noble Truth

I am reading multiple interpretations of the 2nd noble truth. Most of the sources indicate that it is craving, desires, wanting. Some sources talk about wrong understanding of reality and itself, ...
Ilya's user avatar
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5 answers
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Who was ignorant about the Truth in the beginning?

In the dependent origin co-arising, ignorance came before consciousness and self.In fact we begin with ignorance. This ignorance is the ignorance about the 4 noble truths. My questions are : Who is ...
Dheeraj Verma's user avatar
6 votes
6 answers
2k views

Does Buddhism focus on suffering too much?

The core of the Buddhist teachings are the four noble truths which talks about the existence of suffering. Other religions criticize Buddhism telling that this focusing on suffering makes the ...
Luis Orantes's user avatar
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1 answer
623 views

The path and the desire to reduce the suffering of others?

It seems to me that the Noble Eight-fold Path is designed to reduce the suffering of the self. But how do we use its guidance to reduce the suffering of others? If the Buddha was walking down a road ...
Vasu Devan's user avatar
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6 answers
1k views

Why do the Noble Truths talk about 'craving', instead of about 'attachment'?

Further to these comments, why do the Noble Truths talk about 'craving', specifically, instead of about 'attachment'? Wouldn't they make as much sense, or even make more sense, if they identified ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
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Does it make any sense to read the four noble truths parallel to the Buddhaghosa's 4 interpretations of the nidanas

The Twelve Nidānas are explained in detail in the Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa, the central text of the Mahāvihāra commentarial tradition. Buddhaghosa recounts four methods to interpret the Twelve ...
user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
810 views

'Dukkha': What is the difference between 'suffering' & 'unsatisfactoriness'?

In Buddhism, the English words 'suffering' & 'unsatisfactoriness' are often used as translations of the Pali word 'dukkha'. What is the difference between 'suffering' & 'unsatisfactoriness'?
Dhamma Dhatu's user avatar
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3 votes
6 answers
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Sequence in the noble eightfold path

It's clear right view is the foremost factor as without the right view one would not go for practicing the noble eightfold path at all. But when the rest is considered, is there a real sequence? My ...
seeker's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
3k views

Was Buddhism a rebellion against the Aryans?

I read and learned many areas in Buddhism, for example the Seven Arya Dhana (Saptharyadhana - The Sevenfold Noble Wealth), the Four Noble Truths (Chathurarya Sathya) and the Eightfold Path (arya ...
Lasitha Benaragama's user avatar
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4 answers
165 views

Is dukkha conventional or ultimate? Is it different from the other two marks of existence?

Is the existence of dukkha a conventional or ultimate truth? I am confused, because on the one hand, it is usually mentioned together with two other marks of existence, which clearly look like the ...
michau's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
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Good method to start finding the core values of Buddhism?

I've recently joined a meditation center that is very welcoming. I have went to a few meditation sessions, and so far I have felt focus on a deeper level. The community is small, though so they don't ...
tuskiomi's user avatar
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8 votes
8 answers
2k views

Why is the Heart Sutra so important in Mahayana Buddhism?

So the Heart Sutra is one of the most popular sutra in Mahayana Buddhism, said to be the summary and heart of the Prajna Paramita Sutra. It was popularized by the famous monk Xuanzang. It was said ...
Yinxu's user avatar
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7 votes
5 answers
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How does the first noble truth associate dukkha with each of the five skandhas?

I'm looking at this definition of dukkha: Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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2 votes
7 answers
983 views

Four Noble Truths contradicting?

I don't even like to post a question like this but I just want to share a misconception that people from other beliefs have regarding Buddhism. Please what this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
Heisenberg's user avatar
7 votes
4 answers
335 views

What is the object of Faith in Buddhism

I am quite new to Buddhism. One of the reasons for starting practice was that I don't believe in God. But I belive in the four Noble Truths. I believe it because the more I think about it, the more I ...
Mr. Concept's user avatar
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-2 votes
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Lord Buddha's First teaching and its meaning?

Can anybody provide a full translation of Lord Buddha's First teaching. I am referring to a Sutta called "Dhamma chakka pawaththana".
Theravada's user avatar
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What is the relation between Pratītyasamutpāda and Four Noble truths?

First two truths are relate to "samsara". But how 3rd and 4th truths relate to Pratītyasamutpāda?
Shrawaka's user avatar
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4 answers
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Does the saṅ­kha­ta­lak­kha­ṇa of dukkha apply to the noble path?

Dukkha is usually clarified as an intrinsic characteristic of everything conditioned and to be as such a direct derivative of the characteristic of impermanence. Does this also apply to the noble ...
Simo's user avatar
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What is idle chatter?

In AN 10.176 idle chatter is defined as He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accordance with the goal, the Dhamma, & the Vinaya. He speaks words worth treasuring, ...
Crab Bucket's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
138 views

Trouble understanding the path factor of Right Effort

The path factor Right Effort in the noble eight-fold path contains 4 steps which are; Prevent the unwholesome that has not yet arisen in oneself. Let go of the unwholesome that has arisen in oneself. ...
user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
90 views

How do we focus on stress for the first noble truth?

Do we focus on suffering as the suffering we're experiencing in the present moment or do we focus on suffering how the Buddha and Sariputta put forth and analyzed the four noble truths like: "Now what,...
Buddhistdude's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
221 views

Aversion and dukkha

I seem to have only a rough understanding of the first two noble truths. dukkha and dosa Apparently 'dukkha' and 'aversion (dosa)' are not the same thing. So, why or how not: in what way are they ...
ChrisW's user avatar
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