Four Noble Truths, classic version:
The Nature of Suffering (Dukkha):
“This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death 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 aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.” Suffering’s Origin (Samudaya):
“This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there, that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination.” Suffering’s Cessation (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 Way (Mārga) Leading to the Cessation of Suffering:
“This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is the Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.”
Time was, I saw these as self-evidently true. Not so any more. More importantly, I find now that they weren’t one hundred percent relevant. As an exercise, I will try to reformulate them so that they are self-evidently true, and so that their relevance is maximized.
Suffering comes, bidden or unbidden. It’s not all about you and your suffering. You should do what you can to ameliorate your own suffering and that of others, prioritized on a basis of compassion, urgency of need, and the degree to which the nature of the suffering permits your intervention. Relinquishing certain attachments can help with some of your own suffering, and whether the suffering is your own or not, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, can all be helpful in ameliorating it. They have other worthwhile effects also. Bear in mind that life is not all about trying to avoid suffering for yourself or anyone else, and that gaining joy for yourself and others is also important.I was hoping to pare it down to three… apparently there’s something holy about the number four. Or something.
Good morning!
I am beginning to think it isn’t about alleviating suffering at all – it is about leaning into it and learning from it as it passes through. Now, this doesn’t mean to say that we aren’t supposed to solve issues that create suffering (famine, violence, ism’s), but that we aren’t supposed to, as I understand it, run around looking for what makes us happy.