The first noble truth of Buddhism is that suffering is an inescapable part of life. The legends say that when Gautama, who later became the Buddha, left his palace, he saw an old man, a diseased man, and a decaying corpse. He realized that our lives include struggle, anguish and pain.
The second noble truth is that this suffering stems from the greed, ignorance and hatred that arises in our minds: our craving to avoid the difficulties life throws up.
The third noble truth is that we can end all this, if we stop craving and respond differently. Doing so brings nirvana, or awakening: a state of complete wisdom and compassion for all beings.
The fourth noble truth is the Buddha’s recipe for achieving happiness, virtue, and eventually nirvana. It is the eight-fold path of: developing understanding, positive intentions, skillful speech, action, and livelihood, making the right kind of effort, cultivating mindfulness, and mastering meditation.
The Buddha compared his teachings to a raft that a man uses to cross a raging river. Once you crossed the river using the raft; once you’ve understood the truth of life for yourself… there’s no point in remaining attached to it.
(shamelessly transcribed from the BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK-MbNj83NM)
Note from Tainley: I keep circling back to Buddhism at the moment, among other reasons is because the argument that to be atheist is to be without faith, or religion, annoys me. It’s not true. Buddhism is a large, ancient, faith… above are its core precepts. God is not mentioned.
Sir Tainley