Noble Truth Of The Cessation Of Sufferings example essay topic

The Buddhist reality One can say that Buddism is one of the most tolerant and natural religion of the world, as the teachings are not vague but clear and logical. Whatever reality may be, it is beyond the conception of the finite intellect as it follows that attempts at description are misleading, unprofitable and a waste of time. Buddism is probably the most tolerant religion of the world, as the teaching can coexist with any other religion. Other religions however, aim to be exclusive and cannot accommodate Buddism at the same time. The Buddhist teaching on God - in the sense of an ultimate Reality - is neither agnostic (as is sometimes claimed), nor vague, but clear and logical. For these good reasons the Buddha maintained about Reality a noble silence.

If there is a Causeless Cause of all Causes, an Ultimate Reality, a Boundless Light, an Eternal Noumenon behind phenomena, it must clearly be infinite, unlimited, unconditioned and without attributes. It follows that we can neither define, describe, nor usefully discuss the nature of THAT which is beyond the comprehension of our finite consciousness. It may be indicated by negatives and described indirectly by analogy and symbols, but otherwise it must ever remain in its truest sense unknown and unexpressed, as being to us in our present state unknowable. In the same way, Buddhism denies the existence in man of an immortal soul. The Enlightenment which dwells in life does not belong to one form of life. All that is man's changing and mortal; the Immortal is not any man's.

The Buddha examined the phenomenal life objectively. Studying effects, and tracing their causes, he produced a science of living which ranks with any other science known to man. Having analysed form, he described the life which uses it, and showed it to be one and indivisible. Man, he declared, can become Buddha, Enlightened, by the principle of Enlightenment within. The process, therefore, is to become what you are, to develop to the full the innate Buddha-Mind by destroying the ignorance-produced, desire-maintained illusion of self which binds us from life to life on the Wheel of Becoming. All forms of life, said the Buddha, can be shown to have three characteristics in common; impermanence, suffering, and an absence of permanent soul which separates each from the other forms of life.

The Buddha pointed out how no thing is the same at this moment as it was a moment ago. Even the everlasting hills are slowly being worn away, and every particle of the human body, even the hardest, is replaced every seven years. There is no finality or rest within this universe, only a ceaseless becoming and a never-ending change. Buddism is a natural religion; it does not violate either mind or body. Its ethics closely approximate the Natural Law.

The Buddha became cognizant of how men are born and die according to their good and evil actions, according to their self-created Karma (or the consequence of meritorious and de meritorious deeds). Buddhism is a teaching of the Buddha who was born a prince of Kapilavatthu, at the part of the Himalaya near the border of Nepal in 623 B.C. He married and had a son. Although surrounded by all the Court's glamour and luxuries, the sight of a decrepit old man, sick man, dead man and mendicant monk, these four signs left such a deep impression upon His Mind that, at the age of twenty-nine, He decided to leave His palace and enter 'the homeless life' of a monk to seek the truth and find a way to salvation for all sentient beings. In His search for salvation among the teachers, He surpassed them and found that their doctrines were insufficient, not leading to Awakening, to Extinction and to Enlightenment and Insight. He departed those teachers and turned to practice self-mortification for six years with great zeal and effort. Buddha met five ascetics who offered their services to Him, and finally, the Buddha realized that the ascetic exercises were not the right way to attain salvation.

He had practiced self-mortification to the limit of His endurance and felt very weakened without achieving anything. So, He partook of food, regained strength and began to practice meditation which finally led to His enlightenment under the Holy Body tree near the town of Uruvel a, the present Buddha-Gaya when he was only thirty-five years old. The Four Noble truths 1. The Noble Truth of Suffering: Rebirth, old age, disease, death, sorrow, la mention, pain, grief and despair, association with objects we dislike, separation from objects we love, not to obtain what one desires cause suffering. There are also many happy hours and pleasure in man's life-time, but according to the law of nature, they are impermanent and these last only for a short time and vanish into nothing.

Only sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are left by them behind. 2. The Noble Truth of The Arising of Suffering: The Threefold Craving leads every being from birth to birth and is accompanied by joy and lust, seeking its gratification here and there, namely: Sensual Craving, Craving for Existence and Craving for Wealth and Power. There are also a sixfold craving, namely the eye craves for forms, the ear craves for sounds, the nose craves for odours, the tongue craves for taste, the body craves for objects, and the mind craves for noun, dreams or illusions. These Cravings and ignorance of the law of nature are the condition of origin of individual sufferings. 3.

The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Sufferings: The condition of cessation of suffering is the complete fading away and extinction of this three fold craving, forsaking it and giving it up, the liberation and detachment from it. The condition of mind of a person who has been giving up his threefold cravings or this sixfold craving together with ignorance can realize Nirvana (or the Extinction of the Cravings). 4. The Noble Truth of The Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering: It is the Noble Eightfold Path (or the Middle Path because it avoids the two extremes of sensual pleasure and self-mortification), that leads to the Cessation of Sufferings. To weed out cravings and ignorance, these two chief evil-doers of individual existence and to overcome rebirth, old age, disease, death, sorrows, lamentation, pain, grief and despair, to make an end of this whole mass of misery and thus to attain Nirvana, Liberation and Salvation one should practice the Noble Eightfold Path (or the Middle Path) The Noble Eightfold Paths are: 1. Right Knowledge, which means an intellectual grasp of the Teaching of Dharma, the Four Noble Truths and the Law of Karma - 2.

Right Intention, which involves the elimination of all ambitions, revenge, hatred, greed lust and violence - 3. Right Speech, which means stamping out all lies, controlling speech, being courteous, considerate, scrupulously true, no evil words escape from lips, compassionate and full of sympathy, with a heart full of loving-kindness and free from secret malice - 4. Right Action, which means the avoidance of destruction of any living being, of taking what has not been given, indulging in sensuality, slander and intoxicating liquor or drugs - 5. Right Livelihood, which means pursuing a trade or occupation compatible with the above - 6. Right Effort, means to prevent new evil entering one's mind, to remove all evil already there, to develop such good in one's mind and to maintain a good and meritorious state of mind that has already arisen - 7. Right Attentiveness, which means the continual recollection of all phenomena about bodily structure, all parts of the human body, all states of health, all impurity and purity of mind, contemplation of various states of mind and all kinds of temperaments - 8.

Right Concentration, which is the threshold of Nirvana, consist of the Four Great Efforts, namely, the effort to avoid and to overcome evil states of mind, and the effort to develop and to maintain good states of mind. It also composes a state of mind which is accompanied by Right Knowledge, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort and Right Attentiveness. The purpose of attaining Right Concentration is to develop the eye of wisdom. The most simple teaching which the Buddha taught, was to do good, to avoid evil and purify the heart. According to the Buddha, the hearts of ordinary men are not pure. They are filled with greed, ill will and delusion.

Greed and hatred are impurities caused by desires which ignorance is the cause of delusion, especially delusion of self. Ignorance, in fact, is the cause of desire itself and thus the primary cause of all suffering and of rebirth. The Lord taught, purifying the heart: . By practicing self-control, and self restraint. By.