The Four Noble Truths
“The Four Noble Truths” are
the Truth of Suffering, the Truth of Cause, the Truth of Extinction, and the Truth of the Path.
The
first of the Four Noble Truths is
the Truth of Suffering. This means
that all things in this world are comprised of suffering for those who do not
listen to the Buddha's teachings. Human
life is filled with spiritual, physical, economic and other forms of suffering.
To acknowledge the real condition of suffering and see it through, without avoiding
it or meeting it only halfway, this is the Truth
of Suffering.
The
Truth of Cause means that we must
reflect on what causes have produced these human
sufferings,
and we must investigate them and understand them clearly. The investigation of
the cause of suffering is shown clearly in the doctrines of the Reality of All
Existence and of the Law of the Twelve Causes explained in chapter 7 of the
Lotus Sutra, “The parable of the Magic City.”
The
Truth of Extinction is the state of
absolute quietude wherein all the sufferings in human life are extinguished. It
is the state in which we cut off spiritual, physical, economic, and all other
forms of suffering, and realize in this world the Land of the Eternally
Tranquil Light (referred to in the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva
Universal Virtue as the land of the Buddha Vairocana). This is a state attained
only by awakening to the three great truths that Shakyamuni has taught us: “All things are Impermanent”, “Nothing has
an Ego”, and “Nirvana is Quiescence.”
These three great truths are also called the “Seal of the Three Laws”. They are so important that they are be
the three fundamental principles of Buddhism.
However,
an ordinary person cannot easily realize these three great truths. In order to
do so, it is necessary for you to practice them and endeavor to achieve them in
your daily life. You must practice the Bodhisattva-way with your mind, body,
and actions. This means that he must devote yourself to the practice of the
doctrines of the Eightfold Path and
the Six Perfections. The Truth of the Path shows the way to
absolute peace and the state of quietude that we can attain by practicing these
two doctrines.
The
Law of the Four Noble Truths teaches
us to face the reality of human suffering (the Truth of Suffering), to
grasp its real cause (the Truth of Cause), to practice daily the
Bodhisattva-way (the Truth of the Path) and thereby to
extinguish various sufferings (the Truth
of Extinction). The diagram of the Four
Noble Truths illustrates this progress.
Following is a brief explanation of
the three great truths known as the “Seal
of the Three Laws” to help the reader gain a fuller understanding of true
Buddhism and thus the ability to lead a better daily life.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
TRUTH OF SUFFERING
(Awareness) TRUTH OF THE
PATH (Reasons)
Spiritual
__________ Investigation of the
cause of suffering
Physical __________ based on the principles of
the Reality of
All Existence and the Law of the Twelve
____Sufferings Causes.
Economic __________
Other __________
TRUTH OF EXTINCTION (Hope and Faith) TRUTH
OF THE PATH (Tools)
The
tranquil state Method
of practice for extinguishing;
Spiritual suffering;
the Eightfold Path and the Six
Physical Perfections
of the Bodhisattva-way.
Without
Economic Sufferings
Other