Four Noble Truths
Encyclopedia
The Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit
: चत्वारि आर्यसत्यानि catvāri āryasatyāni, Sinhala language: චතුරාර්ය සත්ය) are an important principle in Buddhism
, classically taught by the Buddha
in the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra
.
However, the Sanskrit and Pali words satya and sacca, respectively, mean both "truth" and "real" or "actual thing." With that in mind, one scholar argues that the four noble truths are not asserted in the way they just have been above, 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), who studied Sanskrit grammar thoroughly, used the Tibetan term bden pa, which reflects this understanding. In that light, and according to the Saṃyukta Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda
school, the basic teachings of the Four Noble Truths are as follows:
Going further, some versions of the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sutra contain definitions of the Four Noble Truths while others do not. For example, the Sarvastivadin versions portrays the truths as principles to be contemplated in various methods, and no definitions are given. In the Theravada version and the version translated by An Shigao, the Four Noble Truths are given definitions:
. Instead, contemplation of the Four Noble Truths is taken to be the path itself.
, the Ekavyāvahārikas held the doctrine that the Buddha speaks with a single and unified transcendent meaning, and that the Four Noble Truths are perfectly realized with one wisdom. Another Indian sect, the Mahīśāsakas
, held that the Four Noble Truths should be meditated on simultaneously.
According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, the Four Noble Truths are best understood, not as beliefs, but as categories of experience.
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":
Nichiren
, whose teachings were based on the Lotus Sūtra, stated in his letter "Comparison of the Lotus and Other Sūtras" that the doctrine of the 4 Noble Truths was only a specific teaching expounded especially for the śrāvaka
s disciples, while the Lotus Sūtra was taught equally for all.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
: चत्वारि आर्यसत्यानि catvāri āryasatyāni, Sinhala language: චතුරාර්ය සත්ය) are an important principle in Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, classically taught by the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
in the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is traditionally the Buddha's first discourse after he attained Bodhi and Nirvāṇa.-Sources:In the Pali Canon, this sutta is contained in the Sutta Pitaka's Saṃyutta Nikāya, chapter 56 The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Pali; Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra, Sanskrit;...
.
Definitions of the Four Noble Truths
According to various sources, a simple rendition of the Four Noble Truths is as follows:- Life is suffering
- Suffering arises from attachment to desires
- Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases
- Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the eightfold path.
However, the Sanskrit and Pali words satya and sacca, respectively, mean both "truth" and "real" or "actual thing." With that in mind, one scholar argues that the four noble truths are not asserted in the way they just have been above, 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), who studied Sanskrit grammar thoroughly, used the Tibetan term bden pa, which reflects this understanding. In that light, and according to the Saṃyukta Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda
Sarvastivada
The Sarvāstivāda were an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all dharmas in the past, present and future, the 'three times'. Vasubandhu's states:-Name:...
school, the basic teachings of the Four Noble Truths are as follows:
- Thus is the Noble Truth of Suffering
- Thus is the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
- Thus is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
- Thus is the Noble Truth of the Path that leads to the Cessation of Suffering
Going further, some versions of the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sutra contain definitions of the Four Noble Truths while others do not. For example, the Sarvastivadin versions portrays the truths as principles to be contemplated in various methods, and no definitions are given. In the Theravada version and the version translated by An Shigao, the Four Noble Truths are given definitions:
- The Nature of SufferingSufferingSuffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
(or unhappiness/unsatisfactoriness or DukkhaDukkhaDukkha is a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, discontent, unsatisfactoriness, unhappiness, sorrow, affliction, social alienation, anxiety,...
):
"This is the noble truth of suffering: birthJati (Buddhism)In Buddhism, Jāti refers to the arising of a new living entity in saṃsāra.-Truth of suffering:As with "Old Age & Death" , the Buddha includes "Birth" in the canonical description of "suffering" in the First Noble Truth:Elsewhere in the canon the Buddha further elaborates:The canon additionally...
is suffering, agingJaramaranaJarāmaraa is Sanskrit and Pāli for "old age" and "death" . In Buddhism, jaramarana refers to the inevitable end-of-life suffering of all beings prior to their rebirth in the cycle of .Synonyms:...
is suffering, illnessIllnessIllness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...
is suffering, deathJaramaranaJarāmaraa is Sanskrit and Pāli for "old age" and "death" . In Buddhism, jaramarana refers to the inevitable end-of-life suffering of all beings prior to their rebirth in the cycle of .Synonyms:...
is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregatesSkandhaIn Buddhist phenomenology and soteriology, the skandhas or khandhas are any of five types of phenomena that serve as objects of clinging and bases for a sense of self...
subject to clingingUpadanaUpādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism.*In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering.*In Hinduism, upādāna is the material manifestation of Brahman.-Buddhism:...
are suffering." - Suffering's Origin (Dukkha Samudaya):
"This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this cravingTanha' or ' literally means "thirst," and is a synonym for "desire" or "craving," traditionally juxtaposed with upekkha .Synonyms:*愛 Cn: ài; Vi: ái...
which leads to renewed existenceBhavaThe term bhāva is often translated as feeling, emotion, mood, devotional state of mind. In Buddhist thought, bhāva denotes the continuity of life and death, including reincarnation, and the maturation arising therefrom...
, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there, that is, craving for sensual pleasuresKamaKāma is often translated from Sanskrit as sexual desire, sexual pleasure, sensual gratification, sexual fulfillment, or eros54654564+more broadly mean desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, without sexual connotations.-Kama in...
, craving for existenceBhavaThe term bhāva is often translated as feeling, emotion, mood, devotional state of mind. In Buddhist thought, bhāva denotes the continuity of life and death, including reincarnation, and the maturation arising therefrom...
, craving for extermination." - Suffering's Cessation (Dukkha Nirodha):
"This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: 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." - The Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering: (Dukkha Nirodha Gamini Patipada Magga)
"This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is the Noble Eightfold PathNoble Eightfold PathThe Noble Eightfold Path , is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effortFour Right ExertionsThe Four Right Exertions unarisenarisen unskillfulqualitiesguardabandonskillfulqualitiesarousemaintain ...
, right mindfulness and right concentrationSamadhi (Buddhism)In Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.-In the early Suttas:In the Pāli canon of the Theravada tradition and the related Āgamas of other early Buddhist schools, samādhi is found in the following contexts:* In the noble eightfold path, "right concentration" In Buddhism,...
."
Relation to the Noble Eightfold Path
In the version of the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra contained in the extant Saṃyukta Āgama, there is no mention of the Noble Eightfold PathNoble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path , is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
. Instead, contemplation of the Four Noble Truths is taken to be the path itself.
Interpretations
Among the early Buddhist schoolsEarly Buddhist schools
The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which, according to most scholars, the Buddhist monastic saṅgha initially split, due originally to differences in vinaya, and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separation of groups of monks.The original saṅgha split into the...
, the Ekavyāvahārikas held the doctrine that the Buddha speaks with a single and unified transcendent meaning, and that the Four Noble Truths are perfectly realized with one wisdom. Another Indian sect, the Mahīśāsakas
Mahisasaka
Mahīśāsaka is one of the early Buddhist schools according to some records. Its origins may go back to the dispute in the Second Buddhist Council...
, held that the Four Noble Truths should be meditated on simultaneously.
According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, the Four Noble Truths are best understood, not as beliefs, but as categories of experience.
The Four Noble Truths and the Lotus Sutra
The text of the Lotus SūtraLotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
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 VārāṇasīVaranasi-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, 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 (skandhaSkandhaIn Buddhist phenomenology and soteriology, the skandhas or khandhas are any of five types of phenomena that serve as objects of clinging and bases for a sense of self...
s). 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
Nichiren
Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
, whose teachings were based on the Lotus Sūtra, stated in his letter "Comparison of the Lotus and Other Sūtras" that the doctrine of the 4 Noble Truths was only a specific teaching expounded especially for the śrāvaka
Sravaka
Shravaka or Śrāvaka or Sāvaka means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple".This term is used by both Buddhists and Jains. In Jainism, a shravaka is any lay Jain...
s disciples, while the Lotus Sūtra was taught equally for all.
External links
- The Four Noble Truth in Nichiren Buddhism
- The Buddhist: The Four Noble Truths by Nalaka Priyantha.
- Buddhism: The Four Noble Truths by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.
- At Access to Insight:
- The Four Noble Truths: A Study Guide (by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
- Wings to Awakening Section 3.H.i: The Four Noble Truths (translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)
- Talks given by Ajahn Sumedho:
- At Amaravati Monastery's web: The Four Noble Truths
- PDF version at Buddhanet.net: The Four Noble Truths eBook
- From the Ten Lecture Series, Lecture on the Four Noble Truths by Bhikkhu Bodhi: The Four Noble Truths
- A View on the Four Noble Truths
- The Light of Asia (Book Eight), a poem in iambic pentameterIambic pentameterIambic pentameter is a commonly used metrical line in traditional verse and verse drama. The term describes the particular rhythm that the words establish in that line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet"...
by Sir Edwin Arnold. - Buddhism - the Four Noble Truths
- The Feeling Buddha: An alternate interpretation of the Four Noble Truths.
- Sixteen Aspects of the Four Noble Truths