The Four Noble Truths
and the Eightfold Path
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
Suffering arises: sorrow, dissatisfaction, stress, struggle, discontent.
The causes of suffering are craving, aversion, jealousy, pride, and delusion.
The end of suffering comes by letting go of the causes.
The path to the end of suffering is the eightfold path.
THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
Right View: drsti: view, understanding, knowing how things are
knowing the four noble truths: dissatisfaction exists; its origin is craving; struggle and suffering can end; there is a path leading to the end of suffering
knowing that no thing or state is permanent, separate, or ultimately satisfying
knowing the truth of karma: actions evolve into experienced results
Right Intention: samkalpa: thought, aim, resolve, aspiration, intention: renouncing the causes of suffering: clinging, ill-will, harming, etc.
Right Speech: refraining from lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, idle chatter
Right Action : karmanta: refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and other harmful actions.
Right Livelihood: abandoning dishonest livelihood and taking up right livelihood; refraining from trading in weapons, living beings, meat, intoxicants, and poison.
Right Effort abandoning the unskillful and unwholesome, cultivating the skillful and the wholesome.
Right Mindfulness: sati: remembering; awareness and clear comprehension; not clinging to sense-objects, aware, clearly comprehending the four aspects of experience:
body (physical sensations)
feeling-tones (like, dislike, indifference)
mind and mental events (thoughts, emotions, images, memories, impulses)
dharmas (objects, phenomena, the way things work)
Right Attention: samadhi: stable, non-reactive attention: cultivating stable clear attention and investigating experience deeply leads to joy, happiness, unification, and unshakeable equanimity, peace, power, and knowing-and-freedom.