The Buddha’s teaching is based on the Four Noble Truths:
The Noble Truth about Suffering
The First Noble Truth tells us that wherever living beings are and in whatever form they are, dissatisfaction and suffering are present everywhere – in a gross or refined form. There is old age and death everywhere. Everywhere there is contact with unpleasant sensations and situations.
The noble truth about the origin of the causes of suffering
The second Noble Truth identifies the causes that lead to suffering. The Buddha called the insatiable desires and passions of living beings the cause of suffering. Wherever there is a thirst for pleasure and pleasantness, there is always frustration and dissatisfaction from not getting what you want, from losing what you want, or from getting fed up with what you want.
The noble truth about the possibility of ending suffering and its causes
The third Noble Truth indicates a state free from any kind of suffering. The Buddha called this state “nirvana.”
The noble truth about the path leading to the cessation of suffering
The Fourth Noble Truth reveals a method that leads to happiness, well–being, reduction of life’s problems, and ultimately to the attainment of nirvana – complete liberation from suffering. Since this method contains eight components, it is called the Noble Eightfold Path.
