A Primer on the Four Noble Truths

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Buddha is not a name, but a title. It is a Sanskrit word that loosely translates  ‘one who is awake’. A buddha is 'awake' to is the true nature of reality - suffering and our relationship to it.

The Buddha’s basic teaching highlight a practice or framework to work with and through suffering, which is the Four Noble Truths:

1. The TRUTH of suffering -  Life is full of suffering (suffering can also mean pain, impermanence,  conditioned states, or change).

2. The ORIGIN of suffering - Attachment and craving are the cause of suffering (craving meaning a continual hunger/thirst/unhealthy desire for more)

3. The CESSATION of suffering - The end of suffering is possible when we liberate ourselves from attachment.

4. The PATH TO THE CESSATION of suffering -  The "prescription" for the liberation from suffering is a set of principles called the Eightfold Path. (The Eightfold Path is a whole other convo/post lol) 

Shawn Moore