subject: Loving All Things Is An Ancient Precept In Buddhism [print this page] More and more these days it seems that some of humanity's sharpest and brightest ideas are actually ancient ones. Among the insights that Buddha received during his enlightenment more than 2,600 years ago under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, is the most fundamental teaching of the Buddhist tradition, that of the "Four Noble Truths." In broad terms, these truths relate to the existential human condition of suffering-its nature, its origin, and its end. The Four Noble Truths appear again and again throughout the Pali Canon, a collection of the most ancient and sacred Buddhist texts, thought to be the direct teachings of Buddha himself. However, the Four Noble Truths do not just pertain to adherents of Buddhism; Buddhists conceive the Four Noble Truths as pertaining ubiquitously to all of humanity. What is more, the Four Noble Truths do not interfere in the slightest bit with traditional Western religious orthodoxies and can be assimilated by non-Buddhists as supplemental rather than substitutive dogma, though they are antithetical to our now failing, out of control American consumerism.
The Four Noble Truths are:
1. There is suffering in the world; everything and everybody endures it,
2. There is a cause for suffering; the cause of suffering is desire,
3. There is an end to suffering; it is possible to end suffering by ending desire,
4. There is the Eightfold Path; the Eightfold Path will help you end your desire and will lead to the end of suffering
What is the Eightfold Path? The Eightfold Path is another principal teaching of the Buddha, who described it as the path that leads to the end of suffering and the achievement of self-realization.
The elements of the Eightfold Path are:
1. Right view; there is suffering in the world and the end of suffering is the end of desire (the Four Noble Truths),
2. Right intention; in your life aim to decrease suffering and desire,
3. Right speech; choose your words thoughtfully, use them to comfort others,
4. Right action; do not add to desire or suffering in the world,
5. Right livelihood; whatever you do for a living, do it to decrease suffering and desire of yourself and for others,
6. Right effort; do not worry about the outcome, always try to comfort those who suffer and abate desire,
7. Right mindfulness; keep your mind free of desire, greed, and prejudice,
8. Right concentration; think about suffering in the world, think about what is at its root
Buddha understood that you have to be willing to let go to truly possess; you have to let go of your dreams in order to achieve them. In hard times such as our own, when everything is uncertain and the status quo just won't do, the best thing we can do is keep our eye on the prize: universal and worldwide end to needless suffering.
