Demystifying Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths (the way out of suffering)

An ancient insight for modern minds.

Buddhism is amazing.

Complicated.

But amazing.

Even the most advanced Buddhist scholars acknowledge that “the Buddha’s discourses are linked through a complex network of allusions and cross-references.”¹

But with a little intellectual rigor, we can go beyond a superficial understanding of Buddhism.

Buddhism has a lot to say about how we organize and interpret information and experiences, including pain. Buddha was kind of like the first cognitive neuroscientist.

And, evidence-based therapies like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy are based on Buddhist principles.

Although Buddhism doesn’t exactly include the equivalent of something like the Ten Commandments, it does include an organizing framework: the Four Noble Truths.

“The four noble truths serve as the most concise statement of the dharma, a ‘matrix’ that generates all the other teachings and a framework into which most of those teachings can fit.”²

This article summarizes the Four Noble Truths. Below, I also provide some thoughts on practical application in day-to-day life.

Understanding the 4 Noble Truths

The Buddha outlined the 4 Noble Truths in his very first discourse.

That discourse is known by the catchy title Dhammacakkappavattanasutta.

Or, in English, the equally catchy Discourse Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dhamma.

On the surface the Four Noble Truths are:

1. Suffering is a part of life.

2. Our suffering comes from craving and attachment.

3. We can free ourselves from suffering by letting go of craving.

4. There’s a path we can follow to end suffering.

Truth 1: Suffering is a part of life.

The First Noble Truth tells us that life inevitably involves suffering (dukkha). This is not only in obvious forms of pain, but also in the fact that the human default is dissatisfaction, restlessness, or striving.

Some of this is conditioned, and some of it is genetic.

Evolutionarily this truth makes a lot of sense. Humans aren’t wired to sit in bliss. We’re wired to survive and perpetuate. Chase resources, flee danger.

The truth that life involves suffering and dissatisfaction doesn’t mean that we’re always miserable. Buddhism acknowledges that day-to-day life can include joy and happiness.

But, all experiences are imperfect and unable to provide complete satisfaction. In this sense, all experiences are associated with dissatisfaction. Even happy experiences, in part because they will inevitably end, carry the seeds of suffering.

Truth 2: Our suffering comes from craving and attachment.

We have a desire (craving) for things to be – or not be – a certain way. We want good things to last; we want to hold on to them and own them (clinging to impermanent things). We also think we know what is good and bad (a form of ignorance).

The Second Noble Truth also captures the fact that our cravings are never really fully satisfied. To put it bluntly:

“everything is temporary and impermanent: we will eventually die; we are constantly craving and desiring things, people, and feelings. Samsara isn’t a place but a state of mind where we are never perfectly comfortable or satisfied.”³

This Truth stands up to the contemporary psychological research on hedonic adaption – when we get a thing we want, eventually our happiness reverts to a baseline level, leading us to want and crave the next thing.

Truth 3: We can free ourselves from suffering by letting go of craving.

The Third Noble Truth teaches that freedom from suffering is possible. By letting go of craving, the conditions that give rise to suffering can be brought to an end.

At first glance, the Third Noble Truth might seem like an extension of the Second. If craving causes suffering then, logically, ending craving should end suffering.

The more I reflect on it, the more I appreciate the Third Truth as representing an important shift in perspective. It represents a hopeful awareness that we’re not condemned to endless suffering. It reinforces that we can unlearn our conditioned patterns and build the conditions for equanimity.

Truth 4: There’s a path we can follow to end suffering.

The Fourth Truth builds on the good news of the Third Truth: not only can our suffering end, but there’s a defined path to the cessation of suffering.

The path to this liberation is Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, basically a practical guide for living with Buddhist ideals around wisdom, ethical conduct, and mental discipline.

According to the Buddha, this consists of Right View, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

Right View is the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths….When we have a true understanding of the Four Noble Truths, we realize that the further our perception from reality, the more we suffer.⁴

Although outlining each part of the Eightfold Path is outside the scope of this article (it’ll be the focus of an upcoming article), from the excerpt above you can see that when you’re aware of the Four Noble Truths you’re already on the first step of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Practical Implications

As much as The Truths represent a high-level framework, they can also serve as helpful directives in specific moments of suffering:

1. Notice when you’re suffering. Acknowledge that it’s normal. The human experience includes dissatisfaction, restlessness, and suffering.

2. Understand that part of the suffering comes from craving. Ask yourself if you’re “wanting” or “needing” something to be a certain way. Are you trying to control something – or someone – that you don’t control? Are you assuming that attaining a certain thing will lead to lasting happiness or satisfaction? Are you expecting something impermanent to last forever?

3. Recognize that suffering isn’t a permanent condition. We often project our unhappiness and pain forward (erroneously). Time alone will change the nature and shape of your suffering, to say nothing of following “the path.”

4. Move down the Eightfold path. Part of following “the path” is the practice of redirecting your mind and attention on to foci other than your clinging and cravings. This can be through a mindfulness practice, or simply in redirecting your behaviors towards a values-based action.

I previously wrote a detailed article on craving. It also outlines how to approach mindfulness meditation, which people have found particularly useful for managing focus and attention.

In sum, for in-the-moment suffering, practice the following:

• accept your suffering

• know that there’s a cause (clinging and craving)

• remind yourself that it’s not permanent (even if it feels that way)

• (gently) redirect your attention and behavior toward something you care about.

This is not a panacea. But if you consistently follow these steps in response to suffering I can almost guarantee that you’ll be (at least a little) happier in the long term.

Conclusion

The Four Noble Truths aren’t merely an introductory lesson for beginners. Apparently Buddha saw their dissemination as appropriate only for those whose “minds were ripe enough to understand them clearly and directly”.⁵

I don’t want you to see them as a “simple 4-step strategy” and then beat yourself up when it’s hard to redirect from your cravings and clinging.

We should see our efforts to implement the Four Noble Truths as the mastery move over our human consciousness. They represent the practice of becoming “enlightened” and moving closer to your values.

And, full disclosure, I’m not enlightened either. But I do believe that The Four Noble Truths offer a clear framework for understanding the roots of our suffering while pointing us to ways to move beyond it.

I also believe that they align surprisingly well with the research on what we know contributes to suffering and happiness.

Reflect on them, recognize how they apply to your own life, and begin to make choices that move you toward freedom from craving and dissatisfaction.

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1. Bikkhu Bodhi in the excellent, Noble Truths, Noble Path.

2. Noble Truths, Noble Path, p. 6

3. https://www.namchak.org/community/blog/four-noble-truths-of-buddhism/

4. https://www.namchak.org/community/blog/the-noble-eightfold-path/#:~:text=The%20Noble%20Eightfold%20Path,Right%20Mindfulness%2C%20and%20Right%20Concentration.

5. Noble Truths, Noble Path, p. 14