The Four Noble Truths are the central tenets of Buddhism that were first taught by Buddha after he attained enlightenment. They are: 1) Life involves suffering, 2) Suffering is caused by craving and attachment to impermanent things, 3) Suffering can be eliminated, and 4) The Eightfold Path provides a way to eliminate suffering by cultivating right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. Following this path can lead to the transcendent state of nirvana in which all suffering is overcome.

1. The Four Noble
Truths

2. The basic tenets of Buddhism are embodied
In these Four Noble Truths, which are said
To be the first teachings of Buddha after
After attaining enlightenment.
1. Life is suffering. Suffering is such an
inevitable part of life that some believe
there cannot be life without suffering.
One’s senses, feelings, and capacity to
love are all windows to suffering. Humans
experience suffering through them.
Buddha teaches that suffering,
nevertheless, should be understood as a
foundation for understanding the
possibility of happiness and improvement,
while acknowledging that is inescapable.
Consequently , life becomes a continuous
struggle to be happy.

3. 2. Suffering is due to attachment. The source of
a person’s suffering is really not from the
outside but from within. Much of his/her
sufferings come from his/her desire to hold onto
things that are impermanent, unsubstantial, and
imperfect. She/he yearns for permanence,
substance, and perfection, but wants to avoid
pain and anguish.
 One aspect of this attachment is called trishna,
which means “thirst, desire, lust, craving, or
clinging.” People tend to look for permanence
and perfection in things, and as they do, they
cling to these things in the hope that these will
make them feel permanent and perfect as well.
Then again, It should be remembered that
nothing is permanent in this world all will fade
away.

4. Another aspect of attachment is
duesha, which means “avoidance or
“hatred”. Humans have to avoid hating
anybody or anything because hatred
brings about anxiety. Hating someone
or something only means that we are
giving that person or thing importance.
And humans only give importance to
those they have attributed with the
permanence and perfection they desire.

5. The final aspect of attachment is avidya, or
“ignorance”. It refers to a person’s inability
to distinguish between the perfect and
imperfect, the substantial and non-substantial,
etc. It also pertains to one’s
failure to directly experience reality, as it is
tainted by personal prejudices.
3. Suffering can be extinguished. Humans
can extinguish sufferings that they have
control over sufferings that they
unnecessarily add to what is already
inescapable. The sufferings come from
people’s clinging to imperfect things.
Thus, the least they can do is to reduce
the anguish of the mind.

6. There are Buddhists who, after devoting
much time for practice, have attained
transcendence or total elimination of pain.
This state is called nirvana when all
imperfections and sufferings have been
overcome.
4. The practice of the Eightfold Path is
necessary to extinguish suffering. If
nothing is permanent, then suffering is
not permanent. There is a path for
gradual improvement, which ultimately
leads to the end of suffering. This part
start with the belief that sufferings are
limited and that it can be extinguished.
And from this 4th noble truth, the dharma
of Buddhism is born.

7. The Eightfold Path
1. Right view. Right view is also known as
sammaditthi, truths in struggle for
happiness, and to understand that the
nature of all things is imperfection and
impermanence. Most of the pains man
incurs are self-inflicted; they are rooted in
craving, hate, and ignorance.
2. Right aspiration. Sammasankappo or right
aspiration is an essential way to free
oneself from selfish desires, hate, and
ignorance. One starts to become free the
moment one aspires liberation from these
things. Happiness also resides in aspiring
only what is essential. It means freeing
oneself from excess baggage.

8. 3. Right speech. This is known as
sammavaca. Speech is the most
common cause of suffering. By lying,
gossiping, and speaking harsh words,
one can hurt others and himself/herself.
Buddhism teaches that being true to
others is a necessary way to become
happy.
4. Right action. Otherwise known as
sammakammanto, right action is a way
of behaving oneself by refraining from
doing things that harm others, such as
murder, graft and corruption, and theft.
To attain happiness, one must not only
intend to but actually do good to others.
One must be responsible for others.

9. 5. Right livelihood. Also called samma-ajivo,
right livelihood implies an honest
way of making a living. Dishonest
business conduct and greediness
cause much suffering. Noteworthy
here is the concept of karma, which
refers to actions and their
consequences. It holds actions are
interconnected. The past, present,
and the future are connected in such a
manner that what one has today is
because of his/her yesterday, and
what one has today is what his/her
tomorrow will be. Karma also refers to
the law of cause and effect.

10. 6. Right effort. Right effort or
sammavayamo is to abandon thoughts
that are not sound to the mind. It
consist of making the self and the
mind free from worldly disturbance.
Bad thoughts should not be cultivated,
while good thoughts should be
nurtured. One’s actions should not
harm others. The bodhisattvas
(virtuous men) believe that the practice
of right effort should always be
cultivated to improve the self.

11. 7. Right mindfulness. Otherwise known
as sammasati, it refers to the ability of
man to see things without prejudice and
attachment to see things as they are. It
is being able to control the way one’s
mind perceives things, with complete
awareness, in the present moment.
8. Right concentration. Sammasamadhi
(right concentration) refers to the highest
Buddhist form of meditation, where the
mind focuses on a specific object,
directing all the mental faculties to it.
Their meditation involves lotus position,
breathing, and chanting of mantras. This
is known as the practice of improving the
state of mind.

12.  Right concentration also involves
simplification of lifestyle. It entails
concentrating on the essentials and
veering away from the non-essentials.