http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/fourtruths.html
The Four Noble Truths
1. Life
means suffering.
2. The
origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The
cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. The
path to the cessation of suffering.
1. Life
means suffering.
To live means to suffer, because the human nature is not perfect
and neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we
inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain,
sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death; and we
have to endure psychological suffering like sadness, fear,
frustration, disappointment, and depression. Although there are
different degrees of suffering and there are also positive
experiences in life that we perceive as the opposite of suffering,
such as ease, comfort and happiness, life in its totality is
imperfect and incomplete, because our world is subject to
impermanence. This means we are never able to keep permanently what
we strive for, and just as happy moments pass by, we ourselves and
our loved ones will pass away one day, too.
2. The
origin of suffering is attachment.
The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and
the ignorance thereof. Transient things do not only include the
physical objects that surround us, but also ideas, and -in a
greater sense- all objects of our perception. Ignorance is the lack
of understanding of how our mind is attached to impermanent things.
The reasons for suffering are desire, passion, ardour, pursuit of
wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short:
craving and clinging. Because the objects of our
attachment are transient, their loss is inevitable, thus suffering
will necessarily follow. Objects of attachment also include the
idea of a "self" which is a delusion, because there is no abiding
self. What we call "self" is just an imagined entity, and we are
merely a part of the ceaseless becoming of the universe.
3. The
cessation of suffering is attainable.
The cessation of suffering can be attained through
nirodha. Nirodha means the unmaking of sensual craving and
conceptual attachment. The third noble truth expresses the idea
that suffering can be ended by attaining dispassion. Nirodha
extinguishes all forms of clinging and attachment. This means that
suffering can be overcome through human activity, simply by
removing the cause of suffering. Attaining and perfecting
dispassion is a process of many levels that ultimately results in
the state of Nirvana. Nirvana means freedom from all
worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas. Nirvana is
not comprehensible for those who have not attained it.
4. The
path to the cessation of suffering.
There is a path to the end of suffering - a gradual path of
self-improvement, which is described more detailed in the Eightfold Path. It is the
middle way between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence
(hedonism) and excessive self-mortification (asceticism); and it
leads to the end of the cycle of rebirth. The latter quality
discerns it from other paths which are merely "wandering on the
wheel of becoming", because these do not have a final object. The
path to the end of suffering can extend over many lifetimes,
throughout which every individual rebirth is subject to karmic
conditioning. Craving, ignorance, delusions, and its effects will
disappear gradually, as progress is made on the path.