The Four Noble Truths, the foundation of all Buddhist thought, describe the beginning and end of suffering, as well as the process to end it. Buddha’s Thesis of Emptiness (Sunyata) asserts that our world isn’t real. Our lives are a realistic dream; furthermore, we only assume our environment and experiences are real. Additionally, we cannot wake up from this dream until we realize that reality is a delusion. At this point, we can then “terminate our attachment, our discernment, our perception, our conception, and enter the realm of Emptiness (nirvana)” (Liu 210). Buddhist denial of our perceived world is based on a “dogmatic conviction that only the Enlightened ones (Buddhas) know the Truth, and that the Truth is simply not what we as sentient beings come to believe as true through our sense perception and our conviction” (Liu 211).
The Four Noble Truths are as follows: (1) The Truth of Suffering, (2) The Truth of the origin of suffering, (3) The Truth of the cessation of suffering, and (4) The Truth of the way leading to cessation of suffering. The Truth of Suffering teaches that life unavoidably involves suffering. “Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, sorrow and lamentation is suffering; association with the disliked is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering—in short the five aggregates affected by clinging are suffering” (Dhammacakka-ppavattana-sutta). The Truth of the origin of suffering teaches that suffering is caused by craving and rooted in ignorance. “It is the craving that produces renewal of being accompanied by relish and lust, and relishing this and that; in other words, craving for sensual desires, craving for being...
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...ssibility. However, his third argument counters that teaching of Buddha. Chuang Tzu’s third argument states that “when we are awake, we could also be dreaming” (Liu 161). Furthermore, Chuang Tzu’s final teaching regarding dreams asserts that “we can never be sure of our judgment that we are awake” or dreaming (Liu 161).
If Chuang Tzu is indeed correct in his teachings, how then can Buddha be positive that our reality is a dream? Couldn’t it also be true that our reality is real? Couldn’t flying free as a butterfly or living in a state of nirvana be the dream? Buddha would contend that neither what I perceive as real nor the butterfly is real. My ignorant craving for a sense of self creates a delusional fantasy where I am real. Perhaps he is correct; however, if so, then I would need proof that I, Chris, am not real. If Chris is not real, then who wrote this paper?
Premise 2: Hence, even when you are awake, you cannot tell whether or not you are dreaming.
Any truth that can exist in one can exist in the other. Because of this, there is no definite way to tell if an experience is dreamt or not. The arguments against this are purely speculative, based on personal experiences, and perhaps experiences of others, but that is not enough. Just because one person may not feel pain during a dream, signifying some sort of differentiation between the two states, does not mean another person doesn’t. Because all the evidence against this argument are purely speculative and circumstantial, it proves that we cannot prove consciousness at any given moment with Cartesian certainty. A waking state does exist, however, our ability to differentiate it from a sleeping state is impossible, leading to confusion about experiences. Having Cartesian certainty about whether or not we are dreaming at any given moment allows us to evaluate all the other aspects that might be skewed our findings. Because we may be asleep at any moment, who is to say our knowledge and experiences aren’t all dreamed? The brain, although a complex mechanism, is not complex to come up with the ideas that we have experienced within them. We may form new ideas based on our experiences, but the basis of it must have been experienced at one point or another. Our brain’s need reference for knowledge, and for us to know absolute truths, we need to understand that some truths may not be as
In order to understand the concepts of the Four Noble Truths, one needs to understand the aim of Buddhist practice. “The aim of Buddhist practice is to cure craving, the desire conditioned by ignorance that leads to suffering” (Demoss 1).2 Buddhism advocates meditation, and a “…goal of Buddhist meditation is to produce right mindfulness, an alert awareness of what is happening in body, mind, and world at the present moment” (Demoss 318).3 “Traditionally, ‘right action’ is defined in Buddhist ethics by the five percepts: do not kill, do not steal, do not engage in illicit sex, do not lie, and do not become intoxicated” (Demoss 319).4 “According to Buddhism a person does not have an intrinsic permanent changeless identity. There is no core self. The self is empty” (Demoss 1).5 The Four Noble Truths provide a conceptual framework for all Buddhist thought. According to the Four Noble Truths, craving leads to suffering, but craving can cease if one cultivates a path of mental discipline, wisdom, and moral conduct (Demoss 309).6 An understanding of Buddhism is...
applies the "Dream Argument, " (32) where he states that based on senses alone, there is
Buddhist teachings focus on the idea that letting go of attachment and accepting the four noble truths will provide everlasting happiness: Nirvana. Nihilism, as argued by William T. Stace, focuses on truth’s opposition to happiness. Truth does not equal happiness; nonetheless, truth does not stand as happiness’ adversary either. Understanding the truth of the universe allows one to finds peace within themselves, as the illusions of attachment lead to suffering.
first part of the Buddhist salvation. Knowing that all is futile and there is nothing externally that
In the Buddha’s first sermon, he laid out the four main ideas that he had been enlightened with; he called them the Four Noble Truths. 1) Everything in life is suffering and sorrow. 2) The cause of all suffering is people’s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world. 3)
Buddhism is one of the prominent and influential religions and philosophies of the world. A basic tenet of Buddhism is that worldly desires and possessions cause all suffering. To absolve one’s self of necessities beyond basic human survival is one of the many plateaus that Buddhists strive to achieve. Furthermore, Buddhists free themselves from temptation via seclusion from society and attempt to allow nature to support them. They believe that Nirvana, the ascension to heaven, can be achieved by freeing oneself of earthly desires.
230). There are two main “types” Buddhism that are practiced around the world. The first is Theravadin, and the second is Mahayana (Smith-Stoner, 2005, p. 228). Buddhism contains a “message of salvation” that considered the “Four Noble Truths” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011 p. 134). They are, the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. Leming and Dickinson (2011) describe how the combination of ethics and meditation are the eightfold path to enlightenment (Leming & Dickinson, 2011 p. 136). The author believes it is important for practitioners to recognize the increasing numbers of people practicing Buddhism in the United States in order to enhance their ability to care for end of life needs in this population. Smith-Stoner (2005) states that Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States and that Colorado is one of the main population centers (Smith-Stoner, 2005, p. 229). In Buddhism, it is extremely important to be able to tame emotions and the mind which is done through meditation. The author thinks it is pertinent to know the
Furthermore, even the happiest and carefree of people will eventually experience some kind of suffering. The Buddha taught people to recognize that suffering is part of life and that it cannot be avoided. However, this suffering does not only come from the body—it also comes from within. Those who experience loneliness, depression, anxiety, or cannot satisfy their needs and wants are suffering. Despite the negative aspects of suffering, Siddhartha also spoke of happiness through friendships, family life, or health. Though, the downfall to this is that happiness is impermanent—or annica—and will not end all suffering. Buddhists believe that the way to end suffering is to first accept the fact that suffering is a fact of life. The next aspect to recognize is what causes such suffering?
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism capture ethos of the spirituality and its teachings. By just these four lessons, Buddha preaches the principles of tranquility within meditation of mere concentration. From these truths he developed a guidance referred to as the Eightfold Path, a series of principles that lead to awakening when practiced and understood. He preaches that inevitable suffering comes from desire, however he concludes with a solution to a life lived in nirvana. The first two of the Four Noble Truths are Dukha and Avidya, focusing on the primitive presence of suffering within day to day life. The other two are Nirodha and Magga, contributions to having faith that solvents for all suffering do exist and how it is accomplished. The combination of each understanding is a simple recipe to ultimate salvation, hence the contribution to development of self awareness and happiness within cultures across the map.
The Second Noble Truth points to the origin of suffering, namely craving or tanha (literally thirst'). At its most simple, this relates to our constant craving for what is pleasurable in what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch and think. (Hanh 44)
The Buddha stated that to live means to inescapably experience sorrow and dissatisfaction. Each new obstacle needs to be analyzed and understood so a solution can be found. Suffering cannot be avoided but the four noble truths indicate how each person can respond to it (Ellwood, McGraw, 121).
real, one might actually think their dream is in fact reality. He goes on further saying
To claim that lucid dreaming is “just a theory” is the same as saying that evolution and gravity are “just theories”, which in fact are real and proven by hard evidence and in no way should equate to belittle the subject of lucid dreaming at hand. In th...