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Buddhism
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The
Four Noble Truths
are a
Buddhist
teaching
. They show Buddhists why they should follow the
Middle Way
.
The first noble truth is called
Dukkha
, which means
suffering
. It says that life is full of
suffering
. To say it in a different way, in life, there is
sickness
, poverty (being
poor
), old age, and
death
. People can not keep what they want. People can not avoid what they do not want. If that is all a person
learns
, they suffer.
The second noble truth is
Samudaya
, which says that there is a reason for suffering in the world. It says that the reason there is suffering is that people want things. It also says that the reason there is suffering is that people want what they think is real. They do this because they are
ignorant
. People do wrong actions because they want things and because they do not see what is real. Those evil actions lead to suffering.
The third noble truth is
Nirodha
. It says that people can be free from suffering when they no longer want things.
The fourth noble truth is called
Marga
. It says that for a person to stop wanting things, they must follow a set of rules. The rules are called the
Noble Eightfold Path
.
- See main article:
Noble Eightfold Path
The eightfold path says that truth is found in the
Middle Way
. A person can get to the
Middle Way
by following the eightfold path. The eight parts are these:
- Right Vision
. A person should try to see things the way they really are.
- Right Values
. A person should try to turn their mind away from the world and towards the
Dharma
.
- Right Speech
. A person should try to be
truthful
and
kind
when they talk.
- Right Actions
. A person should try to do good things. If they cannot do a good thing, then they should try to not do a bad thing.
- Right Livelihood
. A person should not work at something that can hurt themselves or other people.
- Right Effort
. A person should try to increase their goodness and get rid of their evil.
- Right Mindfulness
. A person must remember the
Dharma
and use it all the time
- Right Meditation
. A person must try to reach
enlightenment
through
meditation
.