The Four Noble Truths • Dukkha• Tanha• Nibbana• Eightfold Path

Dukkha The first noble truth is dukkha, the starting point for Buddhism's penetrating analysis of man's condition. Of course, you don't need to be a Buddhist to know that suffering is a part of human life. 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.
Beyond Palace Walls
It was this basic awareness of suffering that impelled Siddhattha to leave his palace, his life of luxury and even his wife and child. As the traditional story has it, before the Buddha was born, it was predicted that he would either be a great monarch or a holy man. His father, Suddhodhana, fearing that his son would forsake his inheritance, endeavored to provide him with as much pleasure as possible, hoping to shield him from suffering. Of course, this proved impossible. On his excursions beyond the palace walls, Siddhattha encountered a sick man, an aged man, and a corpse, three of what are known as the 'four sights'. The fourth person he encountered was a holy man.
The Buddha, therefore, gave up all he had to find out if life could offer anything more than temporary pleasure, old age, sickness and death. The sight of the holy man offered some hope. Perhaps this was a way of getting to the cause of this suffering and find an escape from it. Perhaps there was an answer...
The beginning and the end
Of course, the Buddha did find an answer, that our destiny doesn't have to be suffering. First he saw that suffering was caused by craving or tanha, the second noble truth. Our desire for sensuous things, our clinging to things that are by their nature impermanent, were what led us again and again into suffering. He also saw that there was state beyond suffering, Nibbana - the third noble truth - and that this could be attained by following the noble eightfold path, the fourth noble truth.
If Buddhism was a pessimistic religion, it would have got no further than suffering. In fact, Buddhism is anything but a pessimistic religion. It faces suffering head on and says 'let us have no illusions about life'. Yet it also teaches that there is a place beyond suffering, Nibbana. The Buddhist path starts with suffering and ends with suffering in the sense that suffering is brought to an end!
Craving Buddhism takes a very logical approach in its analysis of the human condition. In the first noble truth, the 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?
The second noble truth offers an explanation. 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.
Sensuous Desire
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.
Getting Rid
But how do we get rid of something so deep rooted in our psychological make-up? 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.
Nibbana (Nirvana) A World Beyond Words
One of the basic questions of any Buddhist is 'What is Nibbana?' A simple question but not an easy one to answer. This is because, in a sense, it's a question that doesn't have an answer. The answer is in the experience - beyond words, beyond concepts, like all mystical experiences, ineffable. A state - if we can use the word 'state' - that is far beyond our normal consciousness. This does not mean, however, that we can't discuss Nibbana in a meaningful wayThe Ultimate Goal
Most importantly, Nibbana 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 'Nibbana' literally means 'extinction' (from the Sanskrit Nirvana meaning 'to cease blowing', 'to be extinguished'). Nibbana 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. (See what the scriptures say).
King Milinda
Despite the difficulty of putting Nibbana into words, the questions of the Greek King Milinda to the monk Nagasena lead to some useful insights. Along with other metaphors, the venerable monk likens Nibbana to a lotus - just as the lotus is unstained by the water, Nibbana is unstained by defilements. Nibbana is also likened to medicine - just as medicine protects one from poisons, Nibbana protects one from the passions. Of course, elsewhere Nibbana is referred to as the highest peace, a state of perfect bliss - but even when we use these descriptions we are still falling short of what Nibbana must be.
Getting There!
To reach Nibbana 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 Nibbana too much and concentrate on practicing in the right way. As the Dalai Lama advises: 'I myself feel, and also tell other Buddhists that the question of Nirvana will come later. There is not much hurry. 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'
'I myself feel, and also tell other Buddhists that the question of Nirvana will come later. There is not much hurry. 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.
Practical Approach
The Buddha taught that the world is a place suffering, that there is cause for this suffering, which is craving, and an escape from or end to suffering, which is Nibbana. These are the first three noble truths. First there is an analysis of our present state. Second, the Buddha explains the cause of this sorry state we are in. Third, he promises a place beyond suffering which can be realized in the near or distant future, depending on our own efforts. The missing link, of course, is how do we achieve this place of peace in which all craving and suffering have come to an end? The answer to this question is provided by the fourth noble truth, the Noble Eightfold Path.
Three Strands
The eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path (often symbolized by a wheel consisting of eight spokes) can be grouped into three strands - wisdom, morality and concentration. Wisdom consists of two factors, Right Understanding and Right Thought. The first of these is to do with developing an understanding of the Buddha's principal teachings, including the four noble truths, the law of kamma (good deeds lead to happy states, bad deeds to miserable ones) and the three marks of existence (suffering, impermanence and not-self). Right Thought is thought free form ill-will, cruelty and lust.
Morality
Like all other religions, Buddhism encourages its followers to adhere to a robust moral code. In the Noble Eightfold Path, this is represented by Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. Consequently a Buddhist endeavors to abstain from lying, harsh or malicious speech, gossip and tale-bearing. Similarly, by Right Action, a Buddhist abstains from killing (including animals), stealing and unlawful sexual intercourse. The last of these would include rape, cheating on your partner and visiting prostitutes. Right Livelihood would preclude any occupations that would involve the breaking of the five precepts. Consequently, jobs which involve killing (a butcher, for example) or drinking (a publican) would be seen as unwholesome.
Concentration
The final three factors, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration can be classed under the umbrella term 'Concentration'. Right Effort involves avoiding or overcoming unwholesome states and developing and maintaining wholesome states. For example, you decide to avoid losing your temper and instead develop and maintain a sense of equanimity. Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration relate to two approaches to meditation that are seen as vital to one's spiritual development. Without meditation, nibbana can't be won - morality and understanding on their own are not enough. In fact, all three strands, all eight factors are necessary.
Own Efforts
Although the way to nibbana is described as a 'path', this does not mean that each of the eight factors needs to be followed in sequence. For example, one doesn't perfect Right Thought, then Right Understanding, followed by Right Speech. All parts of the path can be worked on concurrently. At the same time that one is developing Right Understanding, one can also be working on Right Speech and Right Concentration. In the Theravada tradition, the significance of the Eightfold Path is that it offers a practical path to Enlightenment based on one's own efforts rather than reliance on a celestial being.