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The Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: catvāri āryasatyāni; Pali: cattāri ariyasaccāni) are the central teachings of the Buddhist tradition. They were taught repeatedly by the Buddha throughout his lifetime. The Buddha first taught the four noble truths in the very first teaching he gave after he attained enlightenment, recorded in the discourse Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma (Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra). The Buddha further clarified the meaning of the four noble truths in many subsequent teachings. The teachings on the four noble truths explain the nature of "unease" (Pali: dukkha; Sanskrit: duhkha), its causes, and how it can be overcome.

The Four Noble Truths

The Pali terms for the four noble truths are presented by Walpola Rahula as follows:

1. Dukkha,
2. Samudaya, the arising or origin of dukkha,
3. Nirodha, the cessation of dukkha,
4. Magga, the way leading to the cessation of dukkha.

These terms can be translated as:

1. Dukkha - "uneasy"; "unsteady, disquieted"; unsatisfactoriness.
2. Dukkha Samudaya - "arising", "coming to existence"; the origination of Dukkha.
3. Dukkha Nirodha - to confine, release; "control or restraint"; the cessation of Dukkha.
4. Dukkha Nirodha Gamini Patipada Magga - The way of practice leading to the cessation of Dukkha.

The Sanskrit terms arya satya (Pali: ariya sacca) are commonly translated as "noble truths".

• Arya means "noble", "not ordinary"
• Satya means "truth" or "reality"

Centrality of the Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths are central to the teachings of Buddhism.

Walpola Rahula states:

The heart of the Buddha’s teaching lies in the Four Noble Truths (Cattāri Ariyasaccāni) which he expounded in his very first sermon to his old colleagues, the five ascetics, at Isipatana (modern Sarnath) near Benares. In this sermon, as we have it in the original texts, these four Truths are given briefly. But there are innumerable places in the early Buddhist scriptures where they are explained again and again, with greater detail and in different ways. If we study the Four Noble Truths with the help of these references and explanations, we get a fairly good and accurate account of the essential teachings of the Buddha according to the original texts.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu states:

The four noble truths are the most basic expression of the Buddha's teaching. As Ven. Sariputta once said, they encompass the entire teaching, just as the footprint of an elephant can encompass the footprints of all other footed beings on earth.

Ringu Tulku states:

The first instruction of the Buddha was the teaching on the Four Noble Truths... They are everything. Apart from the Four Noble Truths, there is nothing else in Buddhism. So they are the most important thing. The Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths in accordance with the way a person would normally solve a problem. That is, when a problem arises, first we try to find out what the problem is, we try to see its nature and depth and how much of it is actually there. Once this is seen clearly, we can look further and find its causes. The first teaching of the Buddha is very down to earth. No matter what kind of problem we have, first we need to see it clearly. Then we have to recognize its causes, and after recognizing these we have to find a way to eliminate them in order to achieve the result, which is freedom from the problem. This is the most important part. In this context mere understanding is not enough. We have to learn how to make use of our understanding and apply it to our lives.

Explanation of the Four Noble Truths

The formulation of the Four Noble Truths

In the Buddhist discourses, the Buddha is often referred to as a doctor, and the four noble truths are formulated according to the ancient Indian medical model as follows:

1. There is an illness
2. There is a cause(s) of the illness (the diagnosis)
3. There is a possibility of a cure of the illness (the prognosis)
4. There is a prescription or treatment for the illness that can bring about a cure

Bhikkhu Bodhi explains:

The Buddha sets out the Four Truths as a formula a doctor uses to deal with a patient. The Buddha first sets out the basic affliction of human life, the problem of dukkha . Thereafter he makes the diagnosis, explaining the cause for the disease; this is the second truth as craving. As a third step the doctor gives a prognosis. He determines the possibility of a cure, the cessation of dukkha. The Buddha says that suffering can be ended . As the fourth step the doctor prescribes the course of treatment. So too Buddha prescribed the fourth truth, the Noble Eightfold Path.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes:

These four truths are best understood, not as beliefs, but as categories of experience. They offer an alternative to the ordinary way we categorize what we can know and describe–in terms of me/not me, and being/not being. These ordinary categories create trouble, for the attempt to maintain full being for one's sense of "me" is a stressful effort doomed to failure, in that all of the components of that "me" are inconstant, stressful, and thus not worthy of identifying as "me" or "mine."

To counter this problem, the four noble truths drop ideas of me/not me, and being/not being, and replace them with two sets of variables: cause and effect, skillful and unskillful. In other words, there is the truth of stress and suffering (unskillful effect), the truth of the origination of stress (unskillful cause), the truth of the cessation of stress (skillful effect), and the truth of the path to the cessation of stress (skillful cause). Each of these truths entails a duty: stress is to be comprehended, the origination of stress abandoned, the cessation of stress realized, and the path to the cessation of stress developed. When all of these duties have been fully performed, the mind gains total release...

Thus the study of the four noble truths is aimed first at understanding these four categories, and then at applying them to experience so that one may act properly toward each of the categories and thus attain the highest, most total happiness possible.

Chogyam Trungpa writes:

The four noble truths are divided into two sections. The first two truths–the truth of suffering and the origin of suffering–are studies in the samsaric versions of ourselves and the reasons we arrived in certain situations or came to particular conclusions about ourselves. The second two truths–the truth of cessation and the truth of the path–are studies of how we could go beyond or overcome it. They are related with the journey and the potentiality of nirvana, freedom, and emancipation. Suffering is regarded as the result of samsara, and the origin of suffering as the cause of samsara. The path is regarded as the cause of nirvana, and the cessation of suffering is the result. In this regard, samsara means ongoing agony, and nirvana means transcending agony and such problems as bewilderment, dissatisfaction, and anxiety.

First truth: suffering

The first noble truth is the truth of suffering. The term "suffering" is used as a translation of the Sanskrit term duhkha (Pali: dukkha), which has a broader meaning than the typical use of the word "suffering" in English.

Bhikkhu Bodhi explains:

The word dukkha has often been translated as suffering, pain and misery. But dukkha as used by the Buddha has a much wider and a deeper meaning. It suggests a basic unsatisfactoriness pervading all existence, all forms of life, due to the fact that all forms of life are changing, impermanent and without any inner core or substance. The term, dukkha, indicates a lack of perfection, a condition that never measures up to our standards and expectations.

Traleg Kyabgon writes:

The first of the Four Noble Truths is suf­fering, which is the usual translation of the Sanskrit word duhkha (Pali, dukkha). We should qualify that translation by saying that this does not mean that the Buddha didn’t acknowledge the existence of happiness or contentment in life. The point that he was making is that there is happiness and also sorrow in the world; but the reason why everything we experience in our everyday life is said to be duh­kha is that even when we have some kind of happiness, it is not permanent; it is subject to change. So unless we can gain insight into that truth and understand what is really able to give us happiness, and what is unable to provide happiness, the experience of dissatisfac­tion will persist.

Normally we think our happiness is contingent upon external circumstances and situations, rather than upon our own inner atti­tude toward things, or toward life in general. The Buddha was saying that dissatisfaction is part of life, even if we are seeking happiness and even if we manage to find temporary happiness. The very fact that it is temporary means that sooner or later the happiness is going to pass. So the Buddha said that unless we understand this and see how pervasive dissatisfaction or duhkha is, it is impossible for us to start looking for real happiness.

According to the Buddha, even when we think we are trying to find real happiness, we are not doing it effectively, because we don’t have the right attitude and we don’t know where to look for it. The Buddha was not against happiness; rather, he gave us a method of finding out how to overcome that sense of dissatisfaction, and this method is part of the last Noble Truth.

Ajahn Sumedho explains:

It is important to reflect upon the phrasing of the First Noble Truth. It is phrased in a very clear way: "There is suffering", rather than "I suffer". Psychologically, that reflection is a much more skilful way to put it. We tend to interpret our suffering as "I’m really suffering. I suffer a lot–and I don’t want to suffer." This is the way our thinking mind is conditioned.

"I am suffering" always conveys the sense of "I am somebody who is suffering a lot. This suffering is mine; I’ve had a lot of suffering in my life." Then the whole process, the association with one’s self and one’s memory, takes off. You remember what happened when you were a baby...and so on.

But note, we are not saying there is someone who has suffering. It is not personal suffering anymore when we see it as "There is suffering". . . To let go of suffering, we have to admit it into consciousness. But the admission in Buddhist meditation is not from a position of: "I am suffering" but rather, "There is the presence of suffering" because we are not trying to identify with the problem but simply acknowledge that there is one.

Second truth: origin of suffering

The second noble truth is the truth of the origin of suffering.

Bhikkhu Bodhi explains:

Buddha declares that the origin of Dukkha is craving, in Pali 'Tanha'. The Buddha recognizes that there are three types of craving. There can be wholesome desires such as desire to practise the Dhamma, the desire to give, etc. There are also neutral desires, the desire to take a walk, the desire to sleep, etc. And there are unwholesome desires. Tanha means the unwholesome desire - the desire grounded in ignorance, the drive for personal gratification.

Although desire is singled out as the cause of dukkha, it is not the only factor involved in the origination of suffering. However, it is the chief factor. But craving always works within a complex of factors. It is conditioned by ignorance, by the psycho-physical organism and it requires objects.

Third truth: cessation of suffering

The third Noble Truth is the truth of the cessation of suffering. This is the goal of one's spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition. In the first truth, we find out about the human condition, how it is pervaded by a sense of dissatisfaction, then–in the second truth–we look at the cause of that dissatisfaction, and after that we look at the goal, which is the cessation of suffering–the attainment of nirvana.

Thubten Chodron states:

Nirvana is the cessation of all the unsatisfactory experiences and their causes in such a way that they can no longer occur again. It’s the removal, the final absence, the cessation of those things, their non-arising.

Chögyam Trungpa states:

The truth of cessation is a personal discovery. It is not mystical and does not have any connotations of religion or psychology. It is simply your experience... Likewise, cessation is not just a theoretical discovery, but an experience that is very real to you–a sudden gain. It is like experiencing instantaneous good health: you have no cold, no flu, no aches, and no pains in your body. You feel perfectly well, absolutely refreshed and wakeful! Such an experience is possible.

Joseph Goldstein states:

Ajahn Buddhadasa, a well-known Thai master of the last century, said that when village people in India were cooking rice and waiting for it to cool, they might remark, “Wait a little for the rice to become nibbana.” So here, nibbana means the cool state of mind, free from the fires of the defilements. As Ajahn Buddhadasa remarked, “The cooler the mind, the more Nibbana in that moment.” We can notice for ourselves relative states of coolness in our own minds as we go through the day...

Ajahn Buddhadasa spoke of how the coolness of Nibbana continuously nourishes and sustains our life because it puts out the mental fires of greed, anger, and delusion. It would be impossible to live if these fires raged all the time. Temporary Nibbana is the temporary absence of defilements. The supreme state of Nibbana is when all forces of the defilements are extinguished. It’s helpful for us to see and experience this temporary Nibbana, because it inclines us to experience absolute reality, the Unconditioned, the “Ultimate Cool.”

Fourth truth: path to the cessation of suffering

The fourth noble truth is the path to the cessation of suffering.

Traleg Kyabgon states:

The fourth Noble Truth is the path, and this is the essence of Buddhist practice. Known as the Eightfold Noble Path, it is oriented toward developing three things in an individual: moral sensitivity, meditation or the concen­trated mind, and wisdom. Through the practice of moral sensitivity we become better individuals, able to overcome our egocentric ten­dencies. We become more compassionate and more sensitive to the needs of others. Through the practice of meditation our mind be­comes more focused, more resilient, and more aware, which in turn gives rise to wisdom.

Ajahn Sucitto states:

Just as the arising of suffering is a compound of ignorance and craving, and the ceasing is a mix of doing and not-doing, likewise the path isn’t made up of a single track. It consists of eight interconnected factors. Even though it’s called a path, it challenges the temporal and spatial metaphors of “I’m here and I’m going to get there.” We are presented with a path out of suffering, but it’s not about going to another location. It’s about widening and exploring our psychological space, to include it all. . .

The eightfold path has eight limbs but it is only one path, not eight paths going in different directions. It weaves the general understanding of cause and effect into guidance over the way we speak and act and make a living; it blends the application of effort with the balanced composure of concentration. It starts in the resolve and consideration of our own mind, goes out with a sense of scrupulousness and integrity in our relationships with others, and penetrates the workings of our unconscious reflexes and assumptions. It’s a mandala of interconnected factors that support and moderate each other.

Chögyam Trungpa states:

The nature of the path is more like an exploration or an expedition than following a path that has already been built. When people hear that they should follow the path, they might think that a ready-made system exists, and that individual expressions are not required. They may think that one does not have to surrender or give or open. But when you actually begin to tread on the path, you realize that you have to clear out the jungle and all the trees, underbrush, and obstacles growing in front of you. You have to bypass tigers and elephants and poisonous snakes.

Buddha said:

I have shown you the path that leads to liberation

But you should know that liberation depends upon yourself.

Textual accounts of The Four Noble Truths

Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

The Buddha taught on the four noble truths repeatedly throughout his lifetime. The four truths are presented within his first discourse, Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma (Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra). An English translation is as follows:

"This is the noble truth of dukkha: birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, illness is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are dukkha; union with what is displeasing is dukkha; separation from what is pleasing is dukkha; not to get what one wants is dukkha; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are dukkha."

"This is the noble truth of the origin of dukkha: it is this craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there, that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination."

"This is the noble truth of the cessation of dukkha: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, nonreliance on it."

"This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of dukkha: it is the Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration."

Mahaparinibbana Sutta

The Mahaparinibbana Sutta was given near the end of the Buddha's life. The four noble truths are presented within this discourse as follows:

And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying:

"Bhikkhus, it is through not realizing, through not penetrating the Four Noble Truths that this long course of birth and death has been passed through and undergone by me as well as by you. What are these four? They are the noble truth of suffering; the noble truth of the origin of suffering; the noble truth of the cessation of suffering; and the noble truth of the way to the cessation of suffering. But now, bhikkhus, that these have been realized and penetrated, cut off is the craving for existence, destroyed is that which leads to renewed becoming, and there is no fresh becoming."

Thus it was said by the Blessed One. And the Happy One, the Master, further said:

Through not seeing the Four Noble Truths,

Long was the weary path from birth to birth.

When these are known, removed is rebirth's cause,

The root of sorrow plucked; then ends rebirth.

Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sūtra is a highly regarded sutra in the Mahayana tradition, particularly within Chinese Buddhism, and within the Nichiren tradition of Japan. It has been pictured as the "king of sutras" that "included the essence of all the other teachings", and "downgraded the early discourses as mere fodder for the unintelligent disciples who surrounded the Buddha". The text of the Lotus Sūtra views the Four Noble Truths as the first teaching of the Buddha, but not the final teaching. In the third chapter, Similes and Parables, the sūtra introduces what it calls "the most wonderful and unsurpassed great Dharma":

In the past at Vārāṇasī, you turned the wheel of the Darma of the Four Noble Truths, making distinctions and preaching that all things are born and become extinct, being made up of the five components (skandhas). Now you turn the wheel of the most wonderful, the unsurpassed great Dharma. This Dharma is very profound and abstruse; there are few who can believe it. Since times past often we have heard the World-Honored One's preaching, but we have never heard this kind of profound, wonderful and superior Dharma. Since the World-Honored One preaches this Dharma, we all welcome it with joy.

Nichiren, in his letter "Comparison of the Lotus and Other Sūtras", stated that the doctrine of the Four Noble Truths was only a specific teaching expounded especially for the śrāvakas disciples, while the Lotus Sūtra was taught equally for all.

Textual differences

Some versions of the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sutra contain elaborate descriptions of the Four Noble Truths, while other versions do not. In the Theravada version and the version translated by An Shigao, the Four Noble Truths are given elaborate descriptions. The Sarvastivadin versions portray the truths as principles to be contemplated in various methods, and no definitions are given.

In the version of the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra contained in the extant Saṃyukta Āgama, there is no mention of the Noble Eightfold Path. Instead, contemplation of the Four Noble Truths is taken to be the path itself.

Summaries and interpreations of the Four Noble Truths

Traditional summaries

The four noble truths were summarized by the Buddha in the the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon. This summary is translated by Ajahn Sumedho and other Pali translators as follows:

The Noble Truth of Suffering,

The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering,

The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, and

The Noble Truth of the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering.

Contemporary translators have used a number of variations on this summary. Joseph Goldstein informally summarizes the truths as:

The four noble truths are the truth of suffering, its cause, its end, and the path to that end.

Ajahn Sumedho summarizes the truths as:

...there is suffering; there is a cause or origin of suffering; there is a end of suffering; and there is path out of suffering which is the Eightfold Path.

In the Mahayana tradition, a summary of the four truths is included within the first teaching of the Buddha. This summary is translated as follows:

• Thich Nhat Hanh translates:

Brothers, there are four truths: the existence of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path which leads to the cessation of suffering. I call these the Four Noble Truths.

Ringu Tulku translates:

There is suffering in this world. There are causes of this suffering. There is cessation of suffering, and there are ways to reach this cessation of suffering."

The meaning of dukkha

Some translators, such as Walpola Rahula and Bikkhu Bodhi, suggest that the use of the English word suffering is an inadequate translation for the Pali term dukkha, which can lead to a misunderstanding of the first noble truth. These translators prefer to leave the Pali term dukkha untranslated within their commentaries of the four noble truths. For example, Walpola Rahula summarizes the four noble truths as follows:

1. Dukkha,
2. Samudaya, the arising or origin of dukkha,
3. Nirodha, the cessation of dukkha,
4. Magga, the way leading to the cessation of dukkha.

The traditional translations of samudhaya and nirodha are "origin" and "cessation". Coupled with the translation of dukkha as "suffering", this gives rise to a causal explanation of suffering, and the impression that suffering can be totally terminated. The translation given by David Brazier gives a different interpretation to the Four Noble Truths:

1. Dukkha: existence is imperfect, it's like a wheel that's not straight into the axis;
2. Samudhaya: simultaneously with the experience of dukkha there arises tanha, thirst: the dissatisfaction with what is and the yearning that life should be different than it is. We keep imprisoned in this yearning when we don't see reality as it is, namely imperfect and ever-changing;
3. Nirodha: we can confine this yearning (that reality is different than it is), and perceive reality as it is, whereby our suffering from the imperfectness becomes confined;
4. Marga: this confinement is possible by following the Eightfold Path.

In this translation, samudhaya means that the uneasiness that's inherent to life arises together with the craving that life's event would be different. The translation of nirodha as confinement means that this craving is a natural reaction, which cannot be totally escaped or ceased, but can be limited, which gives us freedom.

The meaning of Arya satya

The Sanskrit satya (Pali: sacca) means "truth" and "real" or "actual thing." With that in mind, Rupert Gethin argues that the four noble truths are not asserted as propositional truths or creeds. Instead, they can be seen as "true things" or "realities" that the Buddha experienced. The original Tibetan Lotsawas (Sanskrit: locchāwa; Tibetan: lo ts'a ba), translators who studied Sanskrit grammar thoroughly, used the Tibetan term bden pa, which reflects this understanding. This understanding is also reflected by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, who states that the Four Noble Truths are best understood not as beliefs, but as categories of experience.

Contemporary interpretations

Sylvia Boorstein summarizes the four truths as follows:

I. Life is challenging. For everyone. Our physical bodies, our relationships-all of our life circumstances-are fragile and subject to change. We are always accommodating.

II. The cause of suffering is the mind’s struggle in response to challenge.

III. The end of suffering-a non-struggling, peaceful mind-is a possibility.

IV. The program for ending suffering is the Eightfold Path. It is:

1. Wise Understanding: realizing the cause of suffering;

2. Wise Intention: motivation to end suffering;

3. Wise Speech: speaking in a way that cultivates clarity;

4. Wise Action: behaving in ways that maintain clarity;

5. Wise Livelihood: supporting oneself in a wholesome way;

6. Wise Effort: cultivating skillful (peaceful) mind habits;

7. Wise Concentration: cultivating a steady, focused, ease-filled mind;

8. Wise Mindfulness: cultivating alert, balanced attention.

See also

• Four Noble Truths and the medical model
• Enlightenment in Buddhism
• List of Buddhist topics

Commentaries

The following commentaries have been written on the four noble truths:

In book form:

• Ajahn Sucitto (2010). Turning the Wheel of Truth: Commentary on the Buddha's First Teaching. Shambhala.
• Ajahn Sumedho (eBook). The Four Noble Truths. Amaravati Publications. (also available online)
• Bhikkhu Bodhi (2006)The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering. Pariyatti Publishing.
• Chögyam Trungpa (2009). The Truth of Suffering and the Path of Liberation. Shambhala.
• Dalai Lama (1998). The Four Noble Truths. Thorsons.
• Ringu Tulku (2005). Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism. Snow Lion. (Part 1 of 3 is a commentary on the four truths)
• Thich Nhat Hanh (1999). The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. Three Rivers Press.

Online commentaries:

• http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma2/fourtruths.html - Ajahn Chah
• http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm - Ajahn Sumedho
• http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/truths.html - Thanissaro Bhikkhu
• http://www.beyondthenet.net/dhamma/fourNoble.htm - Bhikkhu Bodhi
• http://www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/buddhism/basics/four-truths.cfm - Traleg Kyabgon (brief commentary)
• http://nyimc.org/index.php/site/article/the_four_noble_truths/ - Tamara Engel (brief commentary)
• http://www.dharmanet.org/lc4nobletruths.htm - Dharmanet, links to several online commentaries

Eightfold path:

• http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/waytoend.html - Bhikkhu Bodhi
• http://dharmastudy.org/the-four-noble-truths/ - Bhikkhu Bodhi, Richard Blumberg

Notes

1. Entry for "duḥkha", a Prakritized form of duh-stha
2. sam+ud+i-
3. Buddhism with Attitude: "Both meanings, cessation and ‘escaping,’ are supported by common usages and the etymology of nirodha. To begin, the prefix ni- / nir- is the same as the English ex-. It usually means ‘outside’, ‘out of,’ ‘without’, or ‘free from.’ This is frequently a sort of reversal of the base word, but not always. To complicate matters, it can also be used as an intensifier. Worse yet, it has a positive sense of ‘into.’
   Rodha consists of ro, possibly meaning ‘go up,’ grow, increase, or expand; plus dha, meaning hold. In common use, rodha can mean ‘ to sprout,’ or ‘to grow upward.’ Or it can mean a far opposite; holding back growth, checking, restraining, impeding, terminating — a confinement. From this latter sense, rodha can mean a prison or jail.
   Those who support the meaning of nirodha as a release, read it as ‘out of confinement or prison,’ no longer being held back or impeded.
4. In this translation, Bodhi elides the six middle factors of the Noble Eightfold Path (between right view and right concentration). Thus Bodhi's translation for the six middle factors was taken from his translation of Samyutta Nikaya 45.1
5. In Anguttara Nikaya 3.61, the Buddha provides an alternate elaboration on the second and third noble truths identifying the arising and cessation of suffering in accordance with Dependent Origination's Twelve Causes, from ignorance to old age and death

References

1. ^ Walpola Rahula (1974), Kindle Locations 514-524.
2. ^ Monier-Williams & 1899, 1964, p. 483. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMonier-Williams1899,_1964 (help)
3. ^ Brazier 2001.
4. ^ Ringu Tulku (2005), p. 22
5. ^ Goldstein (2002), p. 24
6. Chogyam Trungpa (2009), p. viii (preface by Judith Leif)
7. ^ The Four Noble Truths: A Study Guide by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
8. ^ The Four Noble Truths - By Bhikkhu Bodhi
9. Thich Nhat Hanh (1999), p. 9
10. Ajahn Sumedho (eBook), p. 5
11. The Four Noble Truths, by Tamara Engel
12. Beyond Coping: The Buddha as Doctor, the Dhamma as Medicine by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
13. The Four Noble Truths by Peter Della Santina
14. The Doctor Is Within by PICO IYER. New York Times Opinionator. July 22, 2009.
15. Emphasis added
16. Chogyam Trunpa (2010), p.13-14
17. ^ The Four Noble Truths by Traleg Kyabgon
18. Ajahn Sumedho (eBook), p. 14
19. Thubten Chodron. Articles & Transcripts of Teachings on Lamrim: The Gradual Path to Enlightenment. Dharma Friendship Foundation. (The Twelve Links, part 2 of 5)
20. Chögyam Trungpa (2009), p. 64
21. See Three poisons (Buddhism)
22. Goldstein, Joseph (2011-03-15). One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism (p. 158). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
23. Sucitto, Ajahn (2010). pp. 87-88
24. Chögyam Trungpa (2009), p. 91
25. Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
26. Bikkhu Bodhi (translator) 2000, p. 1844. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBikkhu_Bodhi_(translator)2000 (help)
27. Bikkhu Bodhi (translator) 2000, p. 1523-24. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBikkhu_Bodhi_(translator)2000 (help)
28. Feer 1976, p. 421f.
29. ^ Maha-parinibbana Sutta: Last Days of the Buddha, translated from the Pali by Sister Vajira & Francis Story
30. ^ Snelling 1987, p. 154.
31. Kalupahana 1992, p. 161.
32. Watson 1993, p. 55.
33. Ajahn Sumedho (eBook), p. 6 (excerpted from Digha Nikaya, Sutta 16)
34. Ajahn Sumedho (eBook), p. 9
35. Thich Nhat Hanh (1991), p. 25 (translated the first teaching of the Buddha according to the Mahayana tradition)
36. Ringu Tulku (2005), p. 22 (translated from the first teaching of the Buddha according to the Mahayana tradition)
37. Gethin 1998, p. 60.
38. http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1644

Web references

1. ^ Digital Library & Museum of Buddhist Studies, College of liberal Arts, Taiwan University: Samudaya
2. ^ Fraught with peril, Buddhism with attitude: Nirodha; Cessation or Release?
3. Babylon.com: nirodha
4. Anguttara Nikaya 3.61
5. Text of the Lotus Sutra
6. The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin As of 2 November 2010]
7. ^ Lapis Lazuli Texts: Saṃyuktāgama 379. Turning the Dharma Wheel

Sources

• Barber, Anthony W. (2008), Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley
• Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) (2000), The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, Boston: Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-331-1 {{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help)
• Bhikkhu Nanamoli (translator) (1995), The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, place =Boston, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-072-X {{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help); Missing pipe in: |title= (help)
• Bhikkhu Thanissaro (translator) (1997), Tittha Sutta: Sectarians ([[Anguttara Nikaya|AN]] 3.61) {{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |Retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• Brazier, David (2001), The Feeling Buddha, Robinson Publishing
• Chogyam Trungpa (2009), The Truth of Suffering and the Path of Liberation (edited by Judy Leif), Shambhala
• Duff, Tony (2008), Contemplation by way of the Twelve Interdependent Arisings, Kathmandu, Nepal: Padma Karpo Translation Committee {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• Feer, Leon (editor) (1976), The Samyutta Nikaya, vol. 5, London: Pali Text Society {{citation}}: |first= has generic name (help)
• Gethin, Rupert (1998), Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press
• Goldstein, Joseph (2002), One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, HarperCollins
• Harvey, Peter (1990), Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press
• Kalupahana, David J. (1992-B), A history of Buddhist philosophy, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Kelsang Gyatso, Geshe (2005, US ed. 2007), How to Solve Our Human Problems: The Four Noble Truths, Tharpa Publications, ISBN 978-0-9789067-1-9 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Monier-Williams (1899, 1964), A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (PDF), London: Oxford University Press {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Unknown parameter |retrieved= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Potter, Karl (2004), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Vol. IX: Buddhist philosophy from 350 to 600 AD
• Ringu Tulku (2005), Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism, Snow Lion
• Rockhill, William (Year unknown), The Life of Buddha And the Early History of His Order Derived from Tibetan {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Snelling, John (1987), The Buddhist handbook. A Complete Guide to Buddhist Teaching and Practice, London: Century Paperbacks
• Walpola Rahula (1974), What the Buddha Taught, Grove Press
• Wardner, A.K. (1970), Indian Buddhism, Delhi{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Watson (1993), The Lotus Sutra, Columbia University Press {{citation}}: Text "first Burton" ignored (help)

External links

Theravada

• The Four Noble Truths: A Study Guide (by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
• Section 3.H.i: The Four Noble Truths - Wings to Awakening (translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
• The Buddhist: The Four Noble Truths by Nalaka Priyantha
• Lecture on the Four Noble Truths by Bhikkhu Bodhi
• Buddhanet.net: The Four Noble Truths: Teachings by Ajahn Sumedho (eBook)
  • An online version of the above text by Ajahn Sumedho
• Four Noble Truths, DharmaNet

Chinese

• 轉法輪經 ChineseBodhiDhammacakka at CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripitaka As of 2008-10-28

Tibetan

• Buddhism: The Four Noble Truths by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
• A View on the Four Noble Truths
• Buddhism - the Four Noble Truths
• Sixteen Aspects of the Four Noble Truths

Nichiren

• The Four Noble Truth in Nichiren Buddhism

Western

• The Light of Asia (Book Eight), a poem in iambic pentameter by Sir Edwin Arnold
• Buddhism in the National Capital of Canada: 4 Noble Truths

v t e    Topics in Buddhism
Outline Glossary Index
Foundations	Four Noble Truths Three Jewels Buddha Dharma Sangha Noble Eightfold Path Nirvana Middle Way
The Buddha	Tathāgata Birthday Four sights Eight Great Events Great Renunciation Physical characteristics Life of Buddha in art Footprint Relics Iconography in Laos and Thailand Films Miracles Family Suddhodāna (father) Māyā (mother) Mahapajapati Gotamī (aunt, adoptive mother) Yaśodharā (wife) Rāhula (son) Ānanda (cousin) Devadatta (cousin) Places where the Buddha stayed Buddha in world religions
Bodhisattvas	Avalokiteśvara Guanyin Mañjuśrī Mahāsthāmaprāpta Ākāśagarbha Kṣitigarbha Samantabhadra Vajrapāṇi Skanda Tārā Metteyya/Maitreya
Disciples	Kaundinya Assaji Sāriputta Mahamoggallāna Ānanda Mahākassapa Aṅgulimāla Anuruddha Mahākaccana Nanda Subhūti Puṇṇa Mantānīputta Upāli Mahapajapati Gotamī Khema Uppalavanna Asita Channa Yasa
Key concepts	Avidyā (Ignorance) Bardo Bodhicitta Buddha-nature Dhamma theory Dharma Enlightenment Five hindrances Indriya Karma Kleshas Mental factors Mindstream Parinirvana Pratītyasamutpāda Rebirth Saṃsāra Saṅkhāra Skandha Śūnyatā Taṇhā (Craving) Tathātā Ten Fetters Three marks of existence Anicca Dukkha Anattā Two truths doctrine
Cosmology	Ten spiritual realms Six Paths Deva realm Human realm Asura realm Hungry Ghost realm Animal realm Naraka Three planes of existence
Branches	Mahayana Zen Chinese Chan Japanese Zen Korean Seon Vietnamese Thiền Pure Land Tiantai Huayan Risshū Nichiren Madhyamaka Yogachara Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism Chinese Esoteric Buddhism Shingon Dzogchen Theravada Navayana Early Buddhist schools Pre-sectarian Buddhism Basic points unifying Theravāda and Mahāyāna Southern, Eastern and Northern Buddhism
Practices	Bhavana Bodhipakkhiyādhammā Brahmavihara Mettā Karuṇā Mudita Upekkha Buddhābhiṣeka Dāna Devotion Deity yoga Dhyāna Faith Five Strengths Iddhipada Meditation Mantras Kammaṭṭhāna Recollection Smarana Anapanasati Samatha-vipassanā (Vipassana movement) Shikantaza Zazen Tukdam Koan Ganana Mandala Tonglen Tantra Tertön Terma Merit Mindfulness Mindful Yoga Satipatthana Nekkhamma Nianfo Pāramitā Paritta Puja Offerings Prostration Music Refuge Sādhu Satya Sacca Seven Factors of Enlightenment Sati Dhamma vicaya Pīti Passaddhi Śīla Five precepts Eight precepts Bodhisattva vow Pratimokṣa Threefold Training Śīla Samadhi Prajñā Vīrya Four Right Exertions Twenty-two vows of Ambedkar
Nirvana	Bodhi Bodhisattva Buddhahood Pratyekabuddhayāna Four stages of awakening Sotāpanna Sakadagami Anāgāmi Arhat
Monasticism	Bhikkhu Bhikkhunī Śrāmaṇera Śrāmaṇerī Anagārika Ajahn Sayadaw Zen master Rōshi Lama Rinpoche Geshe Tulku Western tulku Kappiya Donchee Householder Upāsaka and Upāsikā Achar Śrāvaka Ten principal disciples Shaolin Monastery
Major figures	The Buddha Nagasena Aśvaghoṣa Nagarjuna Asanga Vasubandhu Kumārajīva Buddhaghosa Buddhapālita Dignāga Bodhidharma Zhiyi Emperor Wen of Sui Songtsen Gampo Xuanzang Shandao Padmasambhava Saraha Atiśa Naropa Karmapa Hōnen Shinran Dōgen Nichiren Shamarpa Dalai Lama Panchen Lama Ajahn Mun B. R. Ambedkar Ajahn Chah Thích Nhất Hạnh
Texts	Early Buddhist texts Tripiṭaka Mahayana sutras Pali Canon Chinese Buddhist canon Tibetan Buddhist canon Dhammapada Sutra Vinaya Madhyamakālaṃkāra Abhidharmadīpa
Countries	Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan Cambodia China India Indonesia Japan Korea Laos Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Pakistan Philippines Russia Buryatia Kalmykia Tuva (ru) Singapore Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Tibet Vietnam Africa Senegal South Africa Central Asia Uzbekistan Middle East Iran Saudi Arabia Western countries Argentina Australia Brazil Canada Costa Rica Czech Republic France Germany Italy Mexico New Zealand Norway Poland Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom United States Venezuela
History	Timeline Ashoka Kanishka Buddhist councils History of Buddhism in India Decline of Buddhism in India Huichang persecution of Buddhism Greco-Buddhism Gandharan Buddhism Texts Menander I Buddhism and the Roman world Buddhism in the West Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Persecution of Buddhists In Afghanistan In Vietnam Rimé movement Banishment of Buddhist monks from Nepal Dalit Buddhist movement Chinese invasion of Tibet 1959 Tibetan uprising Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism Buddhist modernism Vipassana movement 969 Movement Engaged Buddhism Women in Buddhism
Philosophy	Abhidharma Atomism Buddhology Creator Buddhism and democracy Economics Eight Consciousnesses Engaged Buddhism Eschatology Ethics Evolution Humanism Logic Reality Secular Buddhism Socialism The unanswerable questions
Culture	Architecture Temple Vihāra Kyaung Wat Ordination hall Stupa Pagoda Burmese pagoda Candi Dzong architecture List of Buddhist architecture in China Japanese Buddhist architecture Buddhist temples in Korea Thai temple art and architecture Tibetan Buddhist architecture Art Greco-Buddhist Bodhi Tree Budai Buddha in art Calendar Cuisine Funeral Holidays Vesak Uposatha Māgha Pūjā Asalha Puja Vassa Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Kasaya Mahabodhi Temple Mantra Om mani padme hum Mudra Music Pilgrimage Lumbini Maya Devi Temple Bodh Gaya Sarnath Kushinagar Poetry Prayer beads Hama yumi Prayer wheel Symbolism Dharmachakra Flag Bhavacakra Swastika Thangka Temple of the Tooth Vegetarianism
Miscellaneous	Abhijñā Amitābha Brahmā Dharma talk Hinayana Iddhi Kalpa Koliya Lineage Māra Siddhi Sacred languages Pāḷi Sanskrit
Comparison	Baháʼí Faith Christianity Influences Comparison East Asian religions Gnosticism Hinduism Jainism Judaism Psychology Science Theosophy Violence Western philosophy
Lists	Bodhisattvas Buddhas Buddhists Suttas Sutras Temples Festivals
Category Buddhism portal

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