Tibetan Tantric buddhism Dharma

What is the 1st Noble Truth of Buddhism: Suffering

1st Noble Truth of Suffering

Conditioned existence has 3 types of suffering:

  • Suffering of conditioned existence – Birth, aging, sickness, and death
  • Suffering of negative emotions
  • All pervasive suffering

In this 1st post of a four-part series, we review the 4 Noble Truths and take a deep dive into the 1st Noble Truth of Buddhism – Suffering.

series

Overview of the 4 Noble Truths

4 Noble Truths in Buddhism simplified
EnglishSanskritkey points
Life is Sufferingdukkha3 types – conditioned existence, attachment, all-pervasive
Origin of suffering is attachmenttaṇhā5 skandhas, 12 nidanas
Cessation of sufferingNirvanaExtinction of craving, realizing non-self, no rebirth
PathMargaMeditation, 8-fold path, non-returning

Almost any teaching in Buddhism can be contained or categorized in terms of the 4 Noble Truths. The history: when the Buddha first became enlightened, he chose not to teach, believing that no one would understand his truth. He had found a state beyond concept, so no explanation was possible in words.

Indra and Bramha, however, saw his enlightenment and supplicated him to teach. They said there are beings with ‘little dust on their eyes,’ who could understand what was being taught. He agreed.

He traveled along the road and met a group of 4 practitioners he knew. He had practiced with them earlier and they banished him for not being ascetic enough. When he returned, they sensed a difference. As they conversed, they asked him, “What is your truth, Siddhartha?”

I have discovered a self-existent, unchanging state, empty in essence and uncompounded

Buddha

They didn’t understand, so he said, “Life is suffering.” This was the First Noble Truth – a truth seen by wisdom beings. Instead of teaching his highest truth, which was beyond the comprehension of these very serious meditators, he chose to teach the 4 Noble Truths. In a sense, these are basic and gut level. Classically, they are associated with the Hinayana, though they can be seen in Mahayana and Vajrayana. Their most traditional expression, however, is the Hinayana.

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The 1st Noble Truth: Suffering (dukkha)

1st noble truth suffering

Dukkha is an inherent part of any existence. It suffuses the 6 realms. When people say, “Life is suffering,” this statement is confused. The Buddha did not claim that suffering was the sole experience in life. There is certainly pleasure and joy, love and other good feelings. What he really meant was that no existence escapes suffering altogether and more profoundly, the seed of suffering exists in every experience. A hint of suffering pervades everything, even the greatest joy. It is, after all, temporary.

Suffering, therefore, is an inherent and suffusing aspect of existence. Existence here has a specific meaning, which we will get to in the second Noble Truth. Briefly, however, the karmic round of existence gives rise to perception, feeling, craving, and grasping. This cycle cannot create lasting satisfaction, but the being cannot simply stop because they don’t understand what is happening and why.

Is dukkha pessimistic? Not really. If it were inescapable, it would feel that way. However, the idea that everyone will suffer is pretty undeniable. Even the best life has some pain, some loss, and eventually ends. So it’s just a statement of fact. Moreover, since the 3rd Noble Truth is cessation, the whole point of Buddhism, it’s quite optimistic. You can end it.

Now, let’s detail the various aspects of suffering, per se.

3 types of suffering

  • Suffering of conditioned existence – Birth, aging, sickness, and death
  • Suffering of negative emotions
  • All pervasive suffering

Conditioned Existence – Understanding Dukkha

Conditioned existence basically means birth, aging, sickness, and death. Birth, though talked about as quite beautiful and amazing, is not easy. Classically it is thought of as the mother experiencing tremendous pain. But who knows what a baby experiences?

If we think about it, a baby is just resting in the womb, minding its own business, when the world tightens in violent contractions. Its head is pushed through a narrow canal. It can take hours. It might get stuck. Suddenly, there is something completely foreign we call ‘light,’ shining brightly in never-before-used eyes. There are strange new sounds instead of the regular heartbeat of the mother. It has to breathe. Babies don’t look too happy when they’re born. They’re usually crying. They don’t like what’s going on. They don’t understand it. It’s frightening and confusing.

Aging: This is typically taught in the West as old age, but that’s not correct. The Buddha said, ‘aging.’ Even going from one age to another – toddlerhood to being a young child – is aging and carries its own suffering. A young child notices that everyone else can do a lot of things that he can’t. I know a 4-year-old child who cannot keep up with his 9 and 11-year-old siblings. He chases them and feels constantly frustrated. He didn’t notice it as a baby.

There is a cognitive dysphoria that happens as one grows older and the stabilized sense of self forms at 7 or so. As a teenager, there is tremendous hormonal dysphoria. The body changes rapidly leading to uncertainty and awkwardness, sometimes growing pains. In the 20’s people are often lost as to their place in the world and looking for a mate.

Suffering is the essence of the world.

In middle age, the body begins to feel older, not so spry and strong. A sense of not accomplishing one’s goals arises. You don’t feel like the person you thought you would be. In late middle age and entering old age, the body becomes much weaker, and more fatigued. The nearness of death approaches and the certainty of death becomes quite obvious. Aging pervades all of life and carries with it a measure of suffering. Of course, not all of aging is suffering per se, but it carries suffering as part of the package.

Sickness: obviously, it’s not fun to be sick. There’s little to say that isn’t relatively obvious. We feel feeble and can’t do our normal routine. We can be afraid of dying. Concentration is difficult and almost impossible for longer periods. Nausea, headaches, body aches, fevers, and other issues are common.

Death is frightening. We are going to lose the body and lose everything in our lives. We may lose our mind and vanish forever. The sense of uncertainty is profound. We have no idea what death will bring. Almost everyone has fear of death. When someone else dies we lose them. Not only is our own death suffering but others’ death causes us to suffer. The thought of it creates fear and anxiety.

Teachings about being in the bardo, the state between death and rebirth, are quite frightening. Loud noises, disembodied wandering, completely alone, and fearful visions arise. On top of that, it’s a continual round of rebirth in the Buddhist system, which is why anyone even practices Buddhism, to escape from that cycle. This is the round of existence, the pain of conditioned existence, which continues without end unless you apply yourself and discover the method of escaping from it – the teachings on the 3rd Noble Truth of cessation.

Flow Meditation

Flow, the profound mental state, also called Peak Performance, can be attained with meditation and can be ‘triggered’ at will, with enough discipline. Guide to Flow Mastery will teach you how.

Negative Emotions

The second type of suffering covered by the first noble truth is the kleshas or negative emotions. Generally, this comes down to the dukkha of desire/wantingness and aggression, which, in this view, is a type of desire – the desire for something to end or go away.

3 categories of emotional pain

  • Not getting what we want
  • Losing what we had
  • Getting something we don’t want

When we desire something badly and can’t get it, we suffer. A lot of people want money, love, a better home, fame, etc. All sorts of things people want they can’t get. When they do get them, it fails to provide any lasting happiness and generally does not match the suffering caused by being unable to get them. We get a new car and we like it. It provides a measure of happiness, but it gets old, the thrill is gone and things start to break. The happiness turns to unhappiness.

Losing what we love or care for. When a loved one dies, it is painful. When you get dumped, your children leave home, you are evicted, or lose a job, it causes dukkha. When the peace of your neighborhood is violated because someone puts up a motocross track 500 meters away, or when a neighbor becomes so unpleasant and attacks you, or a nasty boss, but you can’t leave because of the money, you start fighting with your spouse and they aren’t the person you thought, or when a teenager becomes sullen and aggressive – these are the loss of a happier state.

Suffering is how we extend our existence.

Shyunru Suzuki Roshi

All sorts of things in life can happen. This crosses into the third aspect – having unpleasant situations that you cannot leave or stop. Your child is on drugs, has autism, or is depressed after being normal, happy, and well-adjusted, for example.

A more subtle version of this is the suffering of impermanence of happiness. Within every joyful and pleasant situation is the certain knowledge that it will end. This creates a bit of mild discomfort and sadness that is almost always there.

All Pervasive Suffering

The third overall type of dukkha in the 1st noble truth of Buddhism is all-pervasive suffering. Supposedly, this level is quite subtle, so much so that we ordinary beings cannot detect it. Only the more realized beings can perceive it. Or perhaps in strong meditation, we sense it, perhaps by its absence in a state of strong shamatha.

The feeling is a sense that something in one’s mind, being is not right. We’re sensing that we’re not quite in tune with reality. And we’re correct – we’re out of tune with reality. This intuition is a subtle sense of being fundamentally mistaken, of taking something essential as true when it is false.

This low-level suffering is persistent and consistent. It doesn’t have a lot of modulation, nor does it come and go like the other dukkhas. Being always there, it is called all-pervasive suffering. Apparently, this feeling dissolves during meditation on vipashyana, when a powerful insight into reality occurs, when selflessness. This makes sense because we are correcting the basic problem – wrong view, incorrect seeing.

The source of this pain is believing in a solid, truly existent, permanent self, which does not actually exist. This dukkha is also a sort of driver for the Hinayana path. It’s an inability to be truly comfortable, to genuinely relax, even in the easiest, most agreeable situation. Relaxation always has a slight edge – when is dinner? How is my friend? Should I take a walk or indulge in a morning Mai Tai on the beach? You need to adjust the chair, it’s too hot, too many dumb people, or whatever. It’s just a sense that something is always a bit wrong, an ability to be at ease with reality as it presents itself.

faq

What is dukkha 1 The First Noble Truth?

Dukkha 1, the first Noble Truth of Buddhism is the truth of suffering of conditioned existence.

What are the 4 noble truths of the Sutras?

The 4 noble truths of the Sutras are
The suffering of conditioned existence – dukkha
Origin of Suffering – Illusion of Ego
Cessation of Suffering – Nirvana
Path to Cessation – Meditation on the view of nonself

What does the first noble truth say?

The first noble truth says that suffering is inescapable for any being who believes in an inherently existent self.

Why are the 4 Noble Truths important?

The 4 Noble Truths are important because they lay out the entire explanation and path of Buddhism. Suffering is unavoidable because of ego. Overcoming ego ends suffering and you can do that.

What is the first noble truth for kids?

The first noble truth for kids is that disappointment and pain are going to be a part of life. Learning to accept such things is essential for developing strength and hopefully finding the path of dharma to escape the round of conditioned existence.

What is the first teaching in Buddhism?

The first teaching in Buddhism is the 4 Noble truths.

Why are they called noble truths?

They are called noble truths because they are seen by noble beings as the truth of relative reality. There is no winning the game of samsara. No matter how successful and happy you are, you will still die. Then another life ensues.

What is the noble truth of suffering?

The 1st noble truth of suffering in Buddhism is the idea that any being believing in the existence of a true, immutable, singular, permanent self will suffer because that belief is false.

Conclusion: The First Noble Truth of Suffering

The 4 Noble Truths begin with Suffering – the pain of existence. This pain takes on multiple forms, physical, emotional, and existential. Relating to and being honest about these dukkhas, seeing them in your existence (or not, but looking clearly) is the first step to a genuine spiritual path. Acknowledging your own suffering, not pretending you are completely happy when that pain exists in your life, is a powerful, almost magical means to break the illusory spell of false reality.

Dedication of Merit

May all beings be happy

May all beings be peaceful

May all beings be safe

May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature

May all beings be free

Series Navigation2nd Noble Truth of Buddhism: Origin of Suffering >>

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