Truth of Suffering

The Four Noble Truths

Four Noble Truths is the basis of the Buddha's teachings. They are

1. The Truth of Suffering
2. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering
3. The Truth of the End of Suffering
4. The Truth of the Path leading to the End of Suffering

The Buddha showed that there is suffering in the world. He explained the cause of this suffring. He taught that this suffering could be ended. Finally, he showed the way leading to the end of suffering.

Suffering

The Buddha's discovery of the solution to the problem of suffering began with the recognition that life is suffering. If people examine their own experiences or look at the world around them, they will see that life is full of suffering or unhappiness. Suffering may be mental of physical.

Physical suffering takes many forms. People must have observed at one time or another, how their aged relatives suffer. Most of them suffer aches and pains and many find it hard to move about by themselves. With advancing age, the elderly find life difficult because they cannot see, hear or eat properly. The pain of disease, which strikes young and old alike, can be unbearable. The pain of death brings much suffering. Even the moment of birth gives pain, both to the mother and the child who is born.

The truth is that the suffering of birh, old age, sickness and death are unavoidable. Some fortunate people may now be enjoying happy and carefree lives, but it is only a matter of time before they too will experience suffering. What is worse, nobody else can share this suffering with the one that suffers. For example, a man may be very concerned that his mother is growing old. Yet he cannot take her place and suffer the pains of aging on her behalf. Also, if a boy falls very ill, his mother cannot experience the discomfort of his illness from him. Finally, neither mother nor son can help each other when the moment of death comes.

Besides physical suffering, there are also various forms of mental suffering. People feel sad, lonely or depressed when they lose someone they love through separation or death. They become irritated or uncomfortable when they are forced to be in the company of those whom they dislike or those who are upleasant. People also suffer when they are unable to satisfy their needs and wants. People, for example, may be unhappy if they are unable to gain wealth, power and fame.

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods or Tsunami can cause a lot of suffering to people. People also have to face hardship caused by war and social injustice.

Lets look at the story of Kisa Gotami which explains the truth of suffering in the next post.