Gautama Buddha Essay

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The Four Noble Truths
Many years ago a new religion was born - Buddhism. It originated in Asia and was founded by the mortal person - the Buddha, a man who was born in 563 BCE as Prince Siddhartha Gautama. Although he was the prince, he could not find fulfillment in his life despite the fact that he had every possible advantage. Therefore, he decided to find peace, harmony, knowledge, and enlightenment by isolating himself and renouncing the whole world. By reaching enlightenment, he found the Four Noble Truths, which became the focal point of the Buddhist tradition and the Buddha Enlightenment. This is known as perfect Buddhahood, which became the goal of the Buddhist path (“Gautama Buddha”). Through mastery of these truths, a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to be possible for any being (“Gautama Buddha”). The Buddha described Nirvana as the ultimate goal in Buddhism, which ends suffering, greed and ignorance, which leads us to the lasting state of joy and peace (“Following the Buddha's Footsteps”). Therefore, the Four Noble Truths, the Truth of Suffering, the Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Truth of the End of Suffering, and the Truth of Path to the Cessation of Suffering, lead to Nirvana.
First truth of the Four Noble Truths is the Truth of Suffering. According to the Buddha, a man life filled with suffering from the beginning and it leads him through life. For instance, a man suffers not only when he cannot get what he wants, but also when he gets what he does not want. Moreover, most of all, the man suffers when he becomes old, sick, and encounters death. The Buddha does not deny that there is no happiness, but he explains that happiness is short lived and there is no long validation for this core emotion, because the man will fall into a stage of suffering after temporary joy. The man encounters three groups of suffering, which can occur or overlap at the same time or not. The first category is suffering of suffering, which is when a person feels physical or mental pain. The second category is suffering of change. This occurs when the man loses somebody, or something, what causes changes in the man’s life. The last category of suffering is all-pervasive suffering; it means that he always has potential and reasons for suffering even if he has to search for it (“The Four Noble Truths“). Therefore, the truth of suffering says that a man suffers because he cannot sustain happiness. This is the truth.
The second truth of the Four Noble Truths is the truth of the Origin of Suffering; the cause of suffering. Everything that causes a man’s suffering is created in his mind and his resulting thoughts, because man has images, opinions, delusions, and illusions about himself and everything that surrounds him. When he does not get what he expects, or everything goes awry, it leads to suffering. There are the three root origins of suffering: greed and desire; ignorance or delusion; hatred and destructive urges (“The Four Noble Truths”, BBC).
When a man knows the root and cause of his suffering, he ends the suffering by changing his mind set. This is called the Truth of the End of Suffering.
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