Buddhist Belief –The Noble Truths
“By means of meditation we can teach our minds to be calm and balanced; within this calmness is a richness and a potential, an inner knowledge which can render our lives boundlessly satisfying and meaningful. While the mind may be what traps us in unhealthy patterns of stress and imbalance, it is also the mind which can free us. Through meditation, we can tap the healing qualities of mind.”~~~ Tarthang Tulku
We left our discussion last time talking about the fact that our true nature, the essence of who we are, is the only place where we will always find inner peace. Our true nature will always be there. It won’t die. It won’t go off and leave us. It has always been there and it always will be. It is that part of us which is perfect. It isn’t something that we can go out and buy. It isn’t something that we will find outside of ourselves.
One of the best ways to tap into and rediscover this true essence of who we truly are is through the practice of meditation. Meditation is one of the basics of Buddhist Belief. It is a way of quieting the “mind-chatter” that goes on minute by minute and begin to recognize that satisfying, joyful and most meaningful part of ourselves. It might help to understand that we’re not talking about a religion, or a strict dogma, or a set of rituals that will be needed to find this true self of ours. It’s not about having to join something or becoming a member of some organization. This is about developing a wonderful, intimate relationship with our own true nature. It’s about finding that place within ourselves that is connected to all the other beings on this planet.
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhist Belief are one of the best ways to gain an understanding of Buddhism. When we look carefully at each of them we can then determine how they relate to our own personal life experiences. We can also see if they are, in fact, true. Will they work for us? Will they help us to find that inner peace that we all desire? The one way to find out is to learn about them. What I’m going to do in this article is make a brief mention of each of them and then delve into them in much more detail in the articles to follow.
The First Noble Truth, as we learned in the previous articles, is that all of those things in our life that have been created by us, and have the conditions placed on them that we put there, are ultimately not satisfying. They don’t last. They’re unreliable and uncertain. While some things may seem fine for awhile, they will eventually cause us to become dissatisfied for one reason or another.
The Second Noble Truth tells us what causes of all that dissatisfaction. We need to learn the cause so we can take the steps to fix it. That’s what Buddhist Belief is all about. It’s about ending the suffering of the First Noble Truth. The reason things in life aren’t satisfying is because of our attachments, our cravings, our desires for more and more things to help us to feel less dissatisfied. It’s our resistance to change. It’s our unwillingness to accept the fact that things aren’t permanent. We want things and then we get them. When we get them we start to worry about whether we can hang onto them. But, then the thing breaks, or falls apart. Or the person leaves us or we leave them. We grow weary of something or someone, or the thing deteriorates or the person tires of us. Our greed, our constant desires for more and more are what lead us into dissatisfaction. Let’s face it, even we aren’t permanent, are we?
The Third Noble Truth is a much more optimistic truth. It tells us that there is a way to end this cycle of suffering. It tells us that there is a way to end our cravings and constant desires for more. It tells us that nirvana is possible and that we can all be released from dissatisfaction. It tells us that there is a way to find lasting inner peace.
The Fourth Noble Truth is the crux of Buddhist Belief — it tells what the path is to find this relief from the dissatisfying aspects of our life. The path to follow is the Eightfold Noble Path. It is the path that teaches how to live our lives so that we can get off the wheel of dissatisfaction. The Eightfold Noble Path, which we will discuss in greater detail in future articles, is divided into three sections: the ethics, the meditation and the wisdom.
Now, I know that some of the readers of this blog are thinking that, “Hey! I don’t have a problem! I’m not unhappy. I think everything is perfectly fine in my life.” If your life is everything you want it to be, that’s great. Get out there and enjoy your life. If things aren’t as good as you’d like them to be, then stick around and we’ll see if we can help you to find out how to make some improvements. The Dalai Lama has said on many occasions that the purpose of life is to be happy. The purpose of this blog is to see if there is a way for you to find the long-lasting happiness that is possible for all of us.
Last week we showed you a short 10-minute video of a series produced by the BBC called “The Life of Buddha.” Last week was Part One. This week we’ll show you Part Two. I hope you enjoy it. If, for some reason the video doesn’t play when you press the play button, here’s a link to take you directly to it :
Be in Peace,
Ron Rink
Tags: Buddhism, Buddhist Belief, Meditation, Peace