Four Noble Truths Talks
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: चतुरार्यसत्यानि, romanized: caturāryasatyāni; Pali: caturāriyasaccāni; "The Four Arya Satya") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones". The truths are:
dukkha ("not being at ease", "suffering", from dush-stha, "standing unstable,") is an innate characteristic of the perpetual cycle (samsara, lit. 'wandering') of grasping at things, ideas and habits; samudaya (origin, arising, combination; "cause"): there is dukkha (unease, disbalance) when there is, or it arises simultaneously with, taṇhā ("craving," "desire" or "attachment," lit. 'thirst'). nirodha (cessation, ending, confinement): dukkha can be ended or contained by the confinement or letting go of this taṇhā; marga (path, Noble Eightfold Path) is the path leading to the confinement of tanha and dukkha.The four truths appear in many grammatical forms in the ancient Buddhist texts, and are traditionally identified as the first teaching given by the Buddha. While often called one of the most important teachings in Buddhism, they have both a symbolic and a propositional function. Symbolically, they represent the awakening and liberation of the Buddha, and of the potential for his followers to reach the same liberation and freedom as him. As propositions, the Four Truths are a conceptual framework that appear in the Pali canon and early Hybrid Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures, as a part of the broader "network of teachings" (the "dhamma matrix"), which have to be taken together. They provide a conceptual framework for introducing and explaining Buddhist thought, which has to be personally understood or "experienced".
As a proposition, the four truths defy an exact definition, but refer to and express the basic orientation of Buddhism: unguarded sensory contact gives rise to craving and clinging to impermanent states and things, which are dukkha, "unsatisfactory," "incapable of satisfying" and painful. This craving keeps us caught in saṃsāra, "wandering", usually interpreted as the endless cycle of repeated rebirth, and the continued dukkha that comes with it, but also referring to the endless cycle of attraction and rejection that perpetuates the ego-mind. There is a way to end this cycle, namely by attaining nirvana, cessation of craving, whereafter rebirth and the accompanying dukkha will no longer arise again. This can be accomplished by following the eightfold path, confining our automatic responses to sensory contact by restraining oneself, cultivating discipline and wholesome states, and practicing mindfulness and dhyana (meditation).
The function of the four truths, and their importance, developed over time and the Buddhist tradition slowly recognized them as the Buddha's first teaching. This tradition was established when prajna, or "liberating insight", came to be regarded as liberating in itself, instead of or in addition to the practice of dhyana. This "liberating insight" gained a prominent place in the sutras, and the four truths came to represent this liberating insight, as a part of the enlightenment story of the Buddha.
The four truths grew to be of central importance in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism by about the 5th-century CE, which holds that the insight into the four truths is liberating in itself. They are less prominent in the Mahayana tradition, which sees the higher aims of insight into sunyata, emptiness, and following the Bodhisattva path as central elements in their teachings and practice. The Mahayana tradition reinterpreted the four truths to explain how a liberated being can still be "pervasively operative in this world". Beginning with the exploration of Buddhism by western colonialists in the 19th century and the development of Buddhist modernism, they came to be often presented in the west as the central teaching of Buddhism, sometimes with novel modernistic reinterpretations very different from the historic Buddhist traditions in Asia.
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Fall to the Ground, Get Up By the GroundSerial: BZ-00577 Lecture Continuous, Discrimination, Big Mind, Birth-and-Death, Four Noble Truths, Passions,... |
Jul 18 2005 |
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July 16th, 2005, Serial No. 01336 Concentration, Impermanence, Four Noble Truths, Right Speech, Hindrances, Right... |
Jul 16 2005 |
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March 25th, 2005, Serial No. 00593 Triple Treasure, Four Noble Truths, Practice Period, Buddha Mind, Soto Zen, Lotus... |
Mar 25 2005 |
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March 5th, 2005, Serial No. 01312, Side C Mahayana, Four Noble Truths, Heart Sutra, Big Mind, Anger, Interdependence, Ego,... |
Mar 05 2005 |
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Emotions and AttachmentSerial: BZ-00574 Sesshin Day 7 Emotions, Attachment, Attachment, Four Noble Truths, Dream World, Emotions, Two... |
Feb 26 2005 |
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January 31st, 2005, Serial No. 00567 Four Noble Truths, Right Speech, Right Effort, Concentration, Birth-and-Death,... |
Jan 31 2005 |
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January 24th, 2005, Serial No. 00566 Four Noble Truths, Concentration, Buddha's Birthday, Precepts, Culture,... |
Jan 24 2005 |
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January 22nd, 2005, Serial No. 01302, Side D Heart Sutra, Death-and-Dying, Four Noble Truths, confusion, Demons, Non-duality,... |
Jan 22 2005 |
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January 8th, 2005, Serial No. 01300, Side C Four Noble Truths, New Year, Obstacles, Instruction, Lineage, Precepts, Posture... |
Jan 08 2005 |
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Heart SutraSerial: BZ-01296 Conclusion, Rohatsu Day 6 Heart Sutra, Birth-and-Death, Big Mind, Hindrances, Complete Perfect Enlightenment,... |
Dec 04 2004 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Heart SutraSerial: BZ-01294 Dependant Origination; Nirvana Within Samsara, Rohatsu Day 4 Dependent Origination, Samsara, Nirvana, Heart Sutra, Four Noble Truths, Nirvana,... |
Dec 02 2004 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Lay OrdinationSerial: BZ-01266 Saturday Lecture Zaike Tokudo, Three Refuges, Precepts, Priest, Big Mind, Ordination, Lay Practice,... |
Jun 12 2004 Berkeley Zen Center |
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June 10th, 2004, Serial No. 01026, Side A Four Noble Truths, Harmonizing, Intuition, Four Foundations, Complete Perfect... |
Jun 10 2004 |
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May 22nd, 2004, Serial No. 01264 Practice Period, Offering, Four Noble Truths, Practice Position, Heart Sutra,... |
May 22 2004 |
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March 20th, 2004, Serial No. 01256, Side C Heart Sutra, Four Noble Truths, Sanctuary, Liberation, Enemies, Culture, Instruction... |
Mar 20 2004 |
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Bathroom ZenSerial: BZ-01379 One-Day Sitting Daily Life, Monastic Practice, Koan, American, New Year, Culture, Continuous, Four... |
Jan 10 2004 Berkeley Zen Center |
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October 9th, 2003, Serial No. 00288 Four Noble Truths, Two Truths, Dependent Origination, Heart Sutra, Bodhisattva Way,... |
Oct 09 2003 |
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June 19th, 2003, Serial No. 01344 Four Noble Truths, Liberation, training, Hindrances, Lineage, Karma, Attachment, Echo... |
Jun 19 2003 |
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June 12th, 2003, Serial No. 00291, Side A Mindfulness, Concentration, Cultivation, Bell, Four Noble Truths, Four Foundations,... |
Jun 12 2003 |
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May 29th, 2003, Serial No. 00293 Concentration, Mindfulness, Anger, confusion, Four Noble Truths, Monastic Practice,... |
May 29 2003 |
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March 13th, 2003, Serial No. 00491 Four Noble Truths, Birth-and-Death, causation, Right Effort, Bell, Emotions, Passions... |
Mar 13 2003 |
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March 6th, 2003, Serial No. 00490 Four Noble Truths, Mindfulness, Cultivation, Passions, Concentration, training, Karma... |
Mar 06 2003 |
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February 28th, 2003, Serial No. 00462 Anger, Ego, Hindrances, Emotions, Observe, Describe, Four Noble Truths, Greed,... |
Feb 28 2003 |
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February 27th, 2003, Serial No. 00465 Four Noble Truths, Greed, Hate, Sangha, Six Realms, Religion, Doubt, Absolute-and-... |
Feb 27 2003 |
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February 2nd, 2003, Serial No. 00466 Four Noble Truths, Religion, Fasting, Renunciation, Demons, Interview, Chanting,... |
Feb 02 2003 |
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November 2nd, 2002, Serial No. 00170, Side B Four Noble Truths, Right Effort, Right Speech, Anger, Dragons, Samadhi, Liberation,... |
Nov 02 2002 |
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September 14th, 2002, Serial No. 00210, Side A Four Noble Truths, Instruction, Right Speech, Bodhisattva Ceremony, Bodhisattva Vow,... |
Sep 14 2002 |
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September 12th, 2002, Serial No. 00454 Four Noble Truths, Right Speech, Right Effort, Concentration, Peace, Mahayana, Birth-... |
Sep 12 2002 |
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May 4th, 2002, Serial No. 00146, Side B Four Noble Truths, Mahayana, Nirvana, Heart Sutra, Funeral, Samsara, Bodhisattva Vow... |
May 04 2002 |
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April 4th, 2002, Serial No. 00444 Right Speech, Right Effort, Happiness, Concentration, Four Noble Truths, Mindfulness... |
Apr 04 2002 |
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March 28th, 2002, Serial No. 00443 Nirvana, Mahayana, Liberation, Heart Sutra, Four Noble Truths, Six Realms,... |
Mar 28 2002 |
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March 14th, 2002, Serial No. 00468 Four Noble Truths, Ego, Heart Sutra, Karmic Consequences, Nirvana, Karma, Attachment... |
Mar 14 2002 |
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Activity and StillnessSerial: BZ-00065B Saturday Lecture Posture, Stillness, Composure, Pure Existence, Four Noble Truths, Teacher-and-Student... |
Dec 15 2001 Berkeley Zen Center |
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December 3rd, 2001, Serial No. 00097, Side B Right Speech, Renunciation, Four Noble Truths, Daily Life, Building, Impermanence,... |
Dec 03 2001 |