How to Solve all our Problems !!
The Four Noble Truths was the first teaching given by the Buddha after he achieved enlightenment. It is an incredibly powerful, yet simple, concept that can change our whole life and how we feel about it. It doesn’t even need faith in anything or a belief in Buddhism, it is straightforward, ancient advice that we have forgotten about in our busy, hectic, achievement-oriented modern lives.
The first truth is that to be alive is to encounter suffering. We think that if only we do the right things and follow the rules of life, everything will be okay. We are brought up to expect certain things – job, career, happy relationships, supportive family, etc and if we work hard we can achieve it all.
We can’t. This is a complete fallacy. We will have to put up with things and people we neither want nor like, we won’t always get we want or expect, we’ll get sick and die. And so will our loved ones. Get used to this; it’s not going to change.
This in itself is incredibly powerful because it teaches us acceptance, rather than developing anger and bitterness at all the hardships and unfairness we encounter.
The second truth is that this suffering has a cause – us. It’s our own actions and reactions that cause us to suffer. We can’t stop the unpleasant things happening, but we can change our reaction to them so that we don’t suffer as a result.
You will find contented, optimistic disabled people and miserable, wealthy, able-bodied people surrounded by loving families with everything that we can only dream of. So it’s not our circumstances that cause the problems in themselves, it’s how we deal with them.
The third truth is that because our suffering has causes, it also has solutions. We’re not fixed, unchanging people, we are continually evolving and adapting. So our changes need to be to ways that bring us happiness and contentment, rather than anger, bitterness and depression.
The fourth truth explains the path to changing how we feel, thereby bringing us peace, happiness and contentment. It won’t necessarily bring us wealth and good health for us and all our loved ones, but it will reduce the suffering we experience from the inevitable difficulties that life brings us.
Buddha called this path the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’ and it forms the basis of all Buddhist practise. The wisdom contained within it is the ancient teachings that show us a better way to live our lives.
We might read the first truth and think that Buddhism brings us a depressing message, but it isn’t, it’s very hopeful and optimistic. It tells us that we have way out, a way to bring happiness to our lives. What could be more powerful and optimistic than that?