Four Noble truths
The central teachings of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths. They are believed to provide a framework of Buddhist thought. Buddha related these with the steps of an elephant, meaning that other animal’s footprints can fit in the steps of an elephant, in the way that Buddha’s teachings are contained within the Four Noble Truths. They lay down the framework for individual enlightment and Buddha’s thoughts and practices. The noble truths are believed to be based on Buddha’s personal experiences. These four truths are supposed to explain “dukkha” or suffering, its causes and how to overcome. These four truths are dukkha (suffering), origin of dukkha, cessation of dukkha and the path leading to the cessation of dukkha.
Dukkha is the first of the noble truths. Dukkha is explained using three pattern or categories called: the dukkha of ordinary suffering, the dukkha produced by change, the dukkha of conditioned states. Dukkha embraces not only the meaning of suffering, but the deeper ideals as pain, irritation and disharmony. The importance of it in Buddhist philosophy has caused some people to think that Buddhism is a pessimistic philosophy. This is not true because dukkha is meant to show a realistic assessment of human condition-that all things must experience pain and death in their lives. Buddha has acknowledged that there is happiness and sorrow in the world. He taught that even when people have happiness, it is not permanent and subject to change. Due to this everything we go through is said to have some sort of dukkha.
The second of the Four Noble Truths is the truth of the origin of dukkha. The origin of dukkha is defined as craving conditioned by ignorance, which runs on three channels, Cravings for sense-pleasure, craving not to be and craving to be. Buddha taught that the problem of all suffering is desire and that it comes in three forms or roots of evil and that these are the cause of all suffering; these cause...