The Second Noble Truth - “Samudaya"
The Truth of the Origin or the Cause of Suffering
According to the philosophy of Buddhism is the Second Noble Truth : "Samudaya", the truth of the origin or the cause of suffering. Buddhists also believe that the origin of suffering is `attachment'.
The Second Noble Truth invites us to understand the principle, that the origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance thereof. Transient things do not only include the physical objects that surround us, but it also encompasses ideas, and, in a greater sense, all objects of our perception. Perhaps it could be said that ignorance is the lack of understanding of how our mind is attached to impermanent things. Some of the reasons for suffering are, desire, passion, pursuit of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short: craving and grasping. We create our own suffering through our egotistical craving and desires. Because the objects of our attachment are impermanent their loss maybe inevitable and so suffering will follow.
The Second Noble Truth has three aspects of attachment to desires. These three types of desire are the desire for sensual pleasure (kama tanha), the desire to become (bhava tanha) and the desire to get rid of (vibhava tanha).
It is human nature to want more, more of what we like and to have better than what we have. This desire is not just for ourselves but for our children and the people we care about. It is in these desires that we can find the source of our suffering. We crave for the formation of states or realms of being that are not currently happening.
As human beings we believe that the way of happiness is through sensual pleasure. We have five senses which respond to the world and through which we enjoy a lot of pleasure. For example we obtain great pleasure from the taste of food, viewing lovely sights, the feeling of a sea breeze or sexual pleasures. It is said that trying to satisfy our craving for pleasant experiences is like drinking saltwater when thirsty: it only increases our thirst. Even by means of the sixth sense in Buddhism, there is great pleasure to be had in fantasies and mental states of excitement, infatuations and so on. Our technological society extends all types of ways to extend our sensual pleasure, from viewing and listening to DVD’s, CDs, TVs and many other high-tech options.
The Three Jewels, the Five Precepts, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path greatly influence individuals and the Buddhist community through their everyday lives, whether it be guiding the adherent’s actions, ethical decision making, or practice. Adherents who follow the teachings become more aware that having an ignorant mindset distracts one from living a good life and happy life; “The purpose of life is to be happy” (Dalai Lama). This was explained in Buddha’s first Sermon, “There is addiction to indulgence of sense-pleasures, which is low… the way of ordinary people, unworthy, and unprofitable; and there is addiction to self-mortification, which is painful, unworthy and unprofitable.” (Buddha), thus avoiding both these extremes,
... the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists; it has a cause; it has an end; and it has a cause to bring about its end. The notion of suffering in Buddhism then, is not intended to convey a negative world view, but rather, to connote a pragmatic perspective that deals with the world as it is, and subsequently attempts to remedy it. The concept of pleasure is not denied, but is rather acknowledged as fleeting in that the pursuit of pleasure can only sustain what is ultimately an unquenchable thirst.
The first noble truth is the full understanding of suffering. In an obvious way, people are aware of suffering and know when they have unpleasant sensations such as hunger, cold, or sickness. However, the first noble truth includes “awareness of all the ramifications of suffering because it encompasses the very nature and essence of suffering” (Gethin, 1998). This includes knowledge of the subtle as well as the obvious aspects of suffering.
These types of desires are ones that we live for, they give us reasons for wanting to live and not die so that we can fulfill them. An example of a categorical desire would be that I want to spend time with my loved ones and my friends, and help people in suffering, ultimately I look forward to accomplishing these desires and it gives me a reason to continue to live and progress through life. Additionally, categorical (unconditional) desires are also things that keep our interest in living. Consequently, if I were to know that I would not be able to achieve my categorical desires my interest in life would substantially decrease (Jacobsen, p. 104). Further, if we are not capable of satisfying our categorical desires, death can be more reasonably seen as
The first noble truth of Buddhism is about the truth of suffering and explains that suffering is a part of life. The truth of suffering covers a variety of areas in human life from the inevitability of death to unavoidable sickness; life, by definition, forces people to suffer. The Buddhacarita helps explain the first of the four noble truths in a couple different ways. The first, and most blatantly obvious way, in which these are shown is at the beginning of the story where the bodhisattva first sees suffering in the form of an old man, a sick man and a dead man. While through an enormous amount of luck it is possible to avoid sickness, both old age and death are unavoidable facts of life and the bodhisattva learns this fact from his charioteer who tells him “death is certain for all in this world” disregarding one’s dharma (B 3.59). Not even the bodhisattva, who is destined to become the Buddha and enlighten the world about how to end suffering, is able to break free from the grasp of death and this is of vital importance to the Buddhist doctrine as it stresses that no one, not even the main religious figure, is above the laws of the earth that is the law that all things must eventually succumb to death. Although the Buddha knew that “[he] must die” it was still even hard for the gods themself to understand this fact and not even they were able control
The second noble truth is The Cause of Suffering. Dalai Lama states that “ … the ultimate cause of suffering is the mind; the mind that is influenced by negative thoughts such as anger, attachment, jealousy, and s...
to state suffering as the entirety of the first noble truth, is not enough because the expression of
In this paper, I will be explaining how Siddhartha had arrived at the Four Noble Truths. The first paragraph contains how Siddhartha’s life was full of suffering, pain, and sorrow. The second paragraph will be the cause of suffering is the desire for things that are really illusions in Siddhartha’s life. Following, in the third paragraph I will be explaining how the only way to cure suffering is to overcome desire. Finally, I will be explaining that the only way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.
Buddhism tell us to bring an end to suffering by seeking a liberation from the cycle of birth and death .
Desires play a very important role in our everyday lives. That yearning or thirst can cause problems in our lives that may not be in our best interest. We often choose to over look signs that are caused by desire and end up hurting someone or even ourselves for the sake of satisfaction. Our hope is that desires along will bring us enjoyment and satisfaction once they are accomplished. Not being able to attain certain desires can also lead to a state of greed and suffering.
Duḥkha: Translated to suffering, it is one of the main principles of the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha created the four noble truths in order to cease the suffering of the material
Every human being has needs. On the most basic level, humans are animals, all animals, and all organisms, for that matter, have needs that act as a ‘motivation’ to ascertain their survival. Henry Murray defined needs as “potentiality or readiness to respond in a certain way under certain given circumstances" (1938).One distinguishing feature between us and other organisms however, is that humans may also posses wants or ‘goals’ whereas animals do not. Wants do not occur until needs have been satisfied, animals, especially in the wild, do not know when to expect their next meal, so are in constant pursuit of food, this means their needs are never fully satisfied, so, according to Isidoro Martínez, wants cannot materialise. “Once material needs satisfied, we may discover some intangible needs, like being valued by others, and self-esteem” However, arguably, these ‘intangible needs’ may be better preponderantly described as emotional wants, as being valued is not a necessity for survival in the short term. As our population has grown, society has decided to lay out these needs and wants in the form of human rights, endeavouring to ensure that everyone is able to fulfil their needs and can work towards achieving their desires.
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 First Noble Truth is suffering or dukkha. This includes physical, emotional and mental forms of suffering but can also be interpreted more widely as a feeling of dissatisfaction'. (Hanh 43)
Each higher order of motivational need is built upon a more basic need. After physiological and safety needs are met then the individual looks to belong and be accepted by peers and groups that they identify with. Once accepted, one looks to improve their self-esteem and garner the respect and esteem of their peers and the groups to which they belong. Finally an individual is driven by the need to become self-actualized, becoming all that one has the potential of becoming.