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Buddhism

Chapter 4: THE FOURFOLD SACRED TRUTH.
By Annie H. Small
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Philosophy & EthicsReligion/Spirituality

About This Book

The author presents a concise study of Buddhism, tracing the life and spiritual quest of Gautama, the development of Indian religious responses to suffering, and core doctrines such as transmigration, ascetic practices, the middle way, and the goal of emancipation. Chapters compare Buddhist concepts of universal law, confession, and moral discipline with Christian ideas of salvation, highlighting both convergences—ethical compassion and renunciation—and contrasts, particularly over the notion of a personal God and differing remedies for human sorrow. The tone is reflective, intended to invite sympathetic understanding and comparative reflection rather than exhaustive history.

THE FOURFOLD SACRED TRUTH.

[1]

♦ The sum of the teaching ♦ “Now this, O recluses, is the noble truth concerning suffering. Birth is painful, and so is old age; disease is painful, and so is death. Union with the unpleasant is painful, painful is separation from the pleasant; and any craving that is unsatisfied, that, too, is painful....”

“Now this, O recluses, is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering. Verily it originates in that craving thirst which causes the renewal of becomings, is accompanied by sensual delight, and seeks satisfaction now here, now there—that is to say, the craving for the gratification of the passions, or the craving for a future life, or the craving for success in this present life.”

“Now this, O recluses, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of suffering. Verily it is the destruction in which no craving remains over, of this very thirst; the laying aside of, the getting rid of, the being free from, the harbouring no longer of, this thirst.”

“Now this, O recluses, is the noble truth concerning the way which leads to the destruction of suffering. Verily it is this Eight-fold noble path; that is to say: Right Views, Right Aspirations, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Rapture.”