Philosophy
The four noble truths
The four noble truths are the core of the Buddha's teaching: life involves dukkha, suffering or unsatisfactoriness; dukkha arises from craving; it can cease; and the way to its cessation is the Noble Eightfold Path. They were set out in the Buddha's first discourse at the deer park near Varanasi, in the fifth century BCE.
The four noble truths are the core of the Buddha’s teaching. They say that life involves dukkha, suffering or unsatisfactoriness; that dukkha arises from craving; that it can cease; and that there is a path to its cessation.
Almost every Buddhist school, from Theravada to Zen, regards them as the foundation of the path.
Where do the four noble truths come from?
They are set out in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the discourse on setting in motion the wheel of the Dhamma, preserved in the Pali canon. Tradition places it at the deer park at Isipatana, now Sarnath, near Varanasi, where the Buddha taught five former companions after his awakening. The Buddha’s dates are debated, and most scholars place his life in the fifth century BCE.
The discourse opens with the middle way: the path between chasing sense pleasure and harsh self-denial, both of which the Buddha had tried.
What are the four noble truths?
| Truth | Pali | In brief | Task |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dukkha | Life involves suffering and unsatisfactoriness | To be understood |
| 2 | Samudaya | It arises from craving, tanha | To be let go of |
| 3 | Nirodha | Craving and suffering can cease | To be realised |
| 4 | Magga | The way is the Noble Eightfold Path | To be developed |
The first truth is not a claim that every moment is miserable. It covers obvious pain such as illness, ageing and loss, and also the quieter fact that pleasant things change.
The second truth names three kinds of craving: for sense pleasure, for existence and for non-existence. The third truth, cessation, is nirvana, the blowing out of craving. With it comes the end of rebirth in samsara, the round of birth and death.
What is the Noble Eightfold Path?
The fourth truth is the path itself. Its eight factors are usually grouped in three:
- Wisdom: right view and right intention.
- Ethics: right speech, right action and right livelihood.
- Meditation: right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
Right here translates samma, which also means complete or balanced. The factors are not steps taken one at a time. They are meant to grow together, each supporting the others. The path is often shown as a wheel with eight spokes.
It is easy to confuse with Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga, which also has eight parts and ends in deep concentration. The two come from different traditions and texts.
How do other traditions read the four truths?
Mahayana schools keep the four truths but read them through emptiness. The Heart Sutra, a short Mahayana text, even lists suffering, origin, cessation and path among the things that are empty of fixed nature. That reading runs through Zen, the meditation school of China and Japan.
Jain tradition, which grew up in the same period, frames its path differently, as the three jewels of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Hindu traditions speak of moksha and how it differs from nirvana.
How do the four noble truths show up in a modern yoga class?
Mostly through meditation. Mindfulness, right mindfulness in the eightfold path, is the root of much modern meditation teaching, and loving-kindness meditation comes from the same Buddhist sources.
A teacher may also borrow the second truth lightly: notice the grasping for a deeper pose, and let it go. That small act is close to what the teaching describes.
Questions
What is the first noble truth?
The first noble truth is dukkha, often translated as suffering. It covers obvious pain, such as illness and loss, and also the subtler sense that pleasant things change and never fully satisfy. The truth is to be understood, not denied.
Is Buddhism pessimistic because of the first noble truth?
Buddhists usually say no, because the teaching does not stop at suffering. The third truth says it can cease, and the fourth gives a way. The structure is often compared to a physician who names a condition, finds its cause, says it can end and prescribes a course.
Where did the Buddha teach the four noble truths?
At the deer park at Isipatana, now Sarnath, near Varanasi in northern India. According to the tradition, he taught them to five former companions in his first discourse after his awakening, known as the setting in motion of the wheel of the Dhamma.
What is the difference between the eightfold path and the eight limbs of yoga?
Both have eight parts, but they come from different traditions. The Noble Eightfold Path is Buddhist and its factors are developed together. The eight limbs are from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, a Hindu text, and run from ethics and posture through to samadhi.