The Buddha’s Teachings

Four Noble Truths

The first noble truth is Dukkha, which translates to suffering, stress, or dissatisfaction. Life, according to Buddha, involves suffering.
The second noble truth acknowledges Samudāya- the origin of suffering, which Buddha attributed to desire or craving.
The third noble truth is Nirodha, which signifies cessation of suffering. Buddha posited that by eliminating craving or desire, suffering could be ended.
The fourth noble truth is the Eightfold Path, also known as Magga, offering practical guidelines to achieve liberation from suffering.

Right Understanding (Samma ditthi): Understanding truth, specifically the Four Noble Truths.
Right Thought (Samma sankappa): Intention or resolve to resist evil.
Right Speech (Samma vaca): Honesty, refraining from lying, divisive or hurtful language.
Right Action (Samma kammanta): Ethical conduct, abstaining from wrongful deeds like stealing, killing or sexual misconduct.
Right Livelihood (Samma ajiva): Earning one’s living in a righteous way.
Right Effort (Samma vayama): Making an endeavour to discard evil qualities and cultivate good ones.
Right Mindfulness (Samma sati): Developing a clear awareness about the realities of body, mind, feelings, and phenomena.
Right Concentration (Samma samadhi): Meditation or mental concentration leading to deeper levels of realisation.

Anatta: This denotes the idea of ‘no self’, asserting that there is no unchanging, permanent self, soul or essence in living beings.
Anicca: This points to the impermanence of all things, asserting that all components of the human experience are transient.
Dukkha: As part of the Four Noble Truths, Dukkha is a core teaching that outlines life’s inherent suffering due to attachment and desire.

Dependent Origination (Pratityasamutpada): This doctrine describes the chain of causes leading to suffering. Each link in the chain is dependent on the previous one, and the chain can be broken by eliminating ignorance and desire.

Buddha: The acknowledged enlightened being.
Dharma: The teachings of the Buddha.
Sangha: The community of those who have achieved enlightenment and those on the path to achieving it.

Form (Rupa): Relates to the physical world.
Sensation (Vedana): Feeling or sensory experience.
Perception (Sanna): Recognition of stimuli.
Mental Formations (Sankhara): All types of mental habit, thoughts, ideas, prejudices, compulsions, and decisions triggered by an object.
Consciousness (Vinnana): The awareness of a physical or mental phenomenon.