සන්සාරෙය් පියසටහන

sendawe mihira vidanna…………..

Four Noble Truths

1. Life means suffering. <#truth1>

2. The origin of suffering is attachment.

3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.

4. The path to the cessation of suffering.

1. Life means suffering.

To live means to suffer, because the human nature is not perfect and

neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we inevitably have

to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness,

old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological

suffering like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and

depression. Although there are different degrees of suffering and there

are also positive experiences in life that we perceive as the opposite

of suffering, such as ease, comfort and happiness, life in its totality

is imperfect and incomplete, because our world is subject to

impermanence. This means we are never able to keep permanently what we

strive for, and just as happy moments pass by, we ourselves and our

loved ones will pass away one day, too.

2. The origin of suffering is attachment.

The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the

ignorance thereof. Transient things do not only include the physical

objects that surround us, but also ideas, and -in a greater sense- all

objects of our perception. Ignorance is the lack of understanding of how

our mind is attached to impermanent things. The reasons for suffering

are desire, passion, ardour, pursuit of wealth and prestige, striving

for fame and popularity, or in short: /craving/ and /clinging/. Because

the objects of our attachment are transient, their loss is inevitable,

thus suffering will necessarily follow. Objects of attachment also

include the idea of a “self” which is a delusion, because there is no

abiding self. What we call “self” is just an imagined entity, and we are

merely a part of the ceaseless becoming of the universe.

3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.

The cessation of suffering can be attained through /nirodha/. Nirodha

means the unmaking of sensual craving and conceptual attachment. The

third noble truth expresses the idea that suffering can be ended by

attaining dispassion. Nirodha extinguishes all forms of clinging and

attachment. This means that suffering can be overcome through human

activity, simply by removing the cause of suffering. Attaining and

perfecting dispassion is a process of many levels that ultimately

results in the state of /Nirvana/. Nirvana means freedom from all

worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas. Nirvana is not

comprehensible for those who have not attained it.

4. The path to the cessation of suffering.

There is a path to the end of suffering – a gradual path of

self-improvement, which is described more detailed in the Eightfold Path

<eightfoldpath.html>. It is the middle way between the two extremes of

excessive self-indulgence (hedonism) and excessive self-mortification

(asceticism); and it leads to the end of the cycle of rebirth. The

latter quality discerns it from other paths which are merely “wandering

on the wheel of becoming”, because these do not have a final object. The

path to the end of suffering can extend over many lifetimes, throughout

which every individual rebirth is subject to karmic conditioning.

Craving, ignorance, delusions, and its effects will disappear gradually,

as progress is made on the path.