The Four Noble Truths and
The Eight-Fold Path
of The Buddha

The 1st Noble Truth: The Existence of Dukkha

The normal state of existence can be described as one of Dukkha, which is associated with the following concepts: "suffering", "unsatisfactoriness", "impermanence", "imperfection". This does not mean that life is filled only with difficulties, but that even the joyful moments are Dukkha because they will never last forever.
The Three kinds of Dukkha:
Ordinary Dukkha:
  • Sickness
  • Old-Age
  • Death
  • Undesireable Mental States
Dukkha due to Impermanance:
  • All Things Must Pass
  • Even happy states and advanced spiritual states don't last
Dukkha of Conditioned States of Being:

Five Aggregates comprise a Being:
  • Matter (the physical world)
  • Sensation
  • Perceptions
  • Mental Formations
  • Consciousness (the mental world)
We experience these via Six Senses:
  • Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch, Mental States
The Three Roots of Dukkha and the Cycle of Conditioning
The 3 Roots of Dukkha:
  • Greed
  • Ill-Will
  • Delusion
 Produce observations clouded by:
  • Likes and Dislikes
  • Judgements
  • Clinging
 Leading to advanced states of suffering:

The Cycle of Conditioning continues producing more difficult emotional and mental states of suffering

The 2nd Noble Truth: The Origin of Dukkha

Dukkha is defined as and caused by "attachment", "desire", "thirst", and "craving".


The 3rd Noble Truth: The Cessation of Dukkha is Possible

It is possible to live a life without Dukkha. Since language is a representation of mental states (concepts), and Nibbana is a state of being that is not experienced via mental states, Nibbana cannot be accurately expressed in words. When there is no more Dukkha in ones life, there is no being, there is no experience or experiencer. The being that we each normally experience as "me" realizes its own non-existence and in that revelation pure Peace and Truth live.


The 4th Noble Truth: The Eight-fold Path that Leads to the Cessation of Dukkha

Right
Understanding		 Right
Thought		 Right
Speech		 Right
Action		 Right
Livelihood		 Right
Effort		 Right
Mindfulness		 Right
Concentration
Development of Wisdom Development of Ethtical Conduct Development of Mental Discipline
The Four Noble Truths

The Existence of Kamma (Intent+Action) 		"Letting Go" of
- Material Things
- Beliefs
- Fears

Metta

Compassion

"Watch your intentions"		 Let Speech Be:
- Kind
- True
- Useful

Noble Silence is sometimes the best speech. 		The Five Precepts
- No Killing
- No Stealing
- No Lying
- No Sexual Misconduct
- No Misuse of Intoxicants

Eight Training Precepts

Eight Lifetime Precepts 		Your job should NOT:
- Be Inherently Harmful
- Involve Wrong Action
- Aggitate the Mind
- Interfere with Spiritual Growth

Gradually shift your livlihood to support your sprititual path 		Make the efforts to:
- Prevent negative states of mind
- Overcome negative states of mind
- Cultivate postive states of mind
- Maintain positive states of mind

The Ten Fetters
- unwholesome and doubtful thoughts that keep one fettered to suffering

The Five Hindrances
- intense forms of fetters
- overcoming them yields stages of enlightenment

 4 Foundations of Mindfullness:
- Body (breath and posture)
- Sensations (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral)
- Mental States (wholesome, unwholesome, neutral)
- The Dammas:
-- 5 Kandas
-- 4 Noble Truths
-- 7 Factors of Enlightenment
-- 5 Hindrances

Mindfullness is
Bare Attention +
Clear Comprehension