The 4 Noble Truths of Buddha - An end to suffering
Description
The Four Noble Truths of Buddha: In his first teaching after attaining liberation, the Buddha taught The Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering, the truth of the origin of suffering, the truth of the cessation of suffering, and the truth of the path to liberation from suffering.
The First Noble Truth recognizes the existence of suffering. We humans will do everything we can to resist or deny the existence of suffering. Paradoxically, resisting or denying the existence of suffering only increases our suffering. Recognizing the existence of suffering, without additional thoughts or denial, is the first step to letting go of the suffering that accompanies my chronic pain.
The Second Noble Truth, the cause of suffering, is clinging to things – especially ourselves – as real and permanent. My knee-jerk reaction when my pain flares up is self-pity. My self-centered thoughts and negative judgments increase my suffering. When I let go of my thoughts and focus instead on the direct experience of my pain, there is an immediate sense of relief and spaciousness.
Focusing on the pain itself, rather than clinging to it as something unique to myself, leads to the cessation of suffering – The Third Noble Truth. Working directly with the energy of physical pain has become my path out of the suffering that accompanies my pain. This path is related to the Fourth Noble Truth, the path to liberation from suffering.
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