Summary of the Four Noble Truth

Gautama Buddha was a philosopher, mendicant, meditator, spiritual teacher, and religious teacher. Through his reflection of life and reality during meditation, he gained insight into the true nature of existence, and taught his followers about the Four Noble Truths (អរិយសច្ច៤) – a practical way of dealing with the reality of suffering.

1. Dukkha (ទុក្ខអរិយសច្ច) (suffering, incapable of satisfying, painful)

The noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, dying is suffering, sorrow, grief, pain, unhappiness, and unease are suffering; being united with what is not liked is suffering, separation from what is liked is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in short, the five aggregates of grasping are suffering.

The first truths provide a framework for the application of the Buddhist solution to the problem of suffering.

2. Samudaya (ទុក្ខសមុទយអរិយសច្ច) (origin of Dukkha, which comes with Tanha – craving, desire or attachment)

The noble truth of the origin of suffering: the thirst for repeated existence which, associated with delight and greed, delights in this and that, namely the thirst for the objects of sense desire, the thirst for existence, and the thirst for non-existence.

Craving and desire lead to suffering because there is a discrepancy between our expectations and the way things are. Our craving is based on a misjudgement that when our craving gets what it wants we will be happy, that when our craving possesses the objects of its desire we will be satisfied. But such a judgement in turn assumes a world in which things are permanent, unchanging, stable, and reliable. But the world is simply not like that. In short, in craving we fail to see how things truly are, and in failing to see how things truly are we crave. In other words craving goes hand in hand with ignorance and misapprehension of the nature of the world. The second truth suggests that we must recognize that the mind has deep-rooted tendencies to crave the particular experiences it likes, and that this craving is related to a fundamental misapprehension of ‘the way things are’: the idea that lasting happiness is related to our ability to have, to possess and take hold of, these experiences we like. In a world where everything is constantly changing beyond our control, such an outlook brings us not the happiness we seek, but discontent.

3. Nirodha (ទុក្ខនិរោធអរិយសច្ច) (ending of Dukkha by letting go of Tanha)

The noble truth of the cessation of suffering: the complete fading away and cessation of this very thirst—its abandoning, relinquishing, releasing, letting go.

If craving is the cause of suffering, then the cessation of suffering will surely follow from ‘the complete fading away and ceasing of that very craving’: its abandoning, relinquishing, releasing, letting go. The cessation of craving is, then, the goal of the Buddhist path, and equivalent to the cessation of suffering, the highest happiness. The third truth suggests that lasting happiness lies in the stopping of craving and grasping, in the rooting-out of greed, aversion, and delusion.

4. Magga (ទុក្ខនិរោធគាមិនីបដិបទាអរិយសច្ច) (path leading to renouncement of Tanha and cessation of Dukkha)

The noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: the noble eightfold path, namely right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

We all have certain views, ideas, beliefs, and opinions about ourselves, others, and the world (1); depending on these we turn towards the world with various intentions and aspirations (2); depending on these we speak (3), act (4), and generally make our way in the world (5). So far so good, but the meaning of the last three items of the eightfold path is not so transparent. Effort (6), mindfulness (7), and concentration (8) are in effect technical terms of Buddhist meditation practice whose expression in everyday language is less obvious. The list of eight items suggests that there is a basic relationship between one’s understanding, one’s actions, and one’s underlying emotional state. It is a gradual and cumulative process involving a hierarchical progression of practice, the early stages of the practice of the path are more concerned with establishing good conduct on the basis of the ethical precepts; these provide the firm foundation for the development of concentration, which in turn prepares for the perfection of understanding and wisdom.

Three Marks of Existence

Buddhists believe that there are three characteristics that are common across everything in life. These are known as the Three Marks of Existence.

1. Anicca (អនិច្ចំ)

   Impermanence. Things in life are always changing. Nothing stays the same as everything is subject to change.

2. Dukkha (ទុក្ខំ)

   Frustration or dissatisfaction (often understood as suffering). Life does not necessarily provide people with what they want and things are always changing. Therefore, people usually do not achieve complete satisfaction as everything has limitations, which causes them to be dissatisfied.

3. Anatta (អនត្តា)

   No soul. There is no fixed sense of self because everything is constantly changing. Another way of expressing this is the idea that people have no soul.

dharma/dhamma

the underlying law of reality; the teaching of the Buddha

dhyāna/jhāna

a meditation attainment

prajñā/paññā

‘wisdom’, ‘understanding’

Śamatha/samatha

‘calm’ (one of two main types of Buddhist meditation); cf. vipaśyana

śila/sīla

ethics, good conduct

Gethin, Rupert, M.L. (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press