Wisdom Across Traditions

The Four Noble Truths
and Eightfold Path

from The Buddha

The foundation of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. These were taught by the Buddha (meaning “Enlightened One”) thousands of years ago. As scholar Rupert Gethin describes, these teachings form the doctrinal core from which all Buddhist thought and practice flows (Gethin, 1998). If you consider aspects of the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels, one may find some striking alignment. See how similar these are to some Judeo-Christian scriptures.

Four Noble Truths

1.
All life is suffering and suffering unavoidable.
2.
All suffering is caused by attachment to desire.
3.
For cessation of suffering, one must overcome attachment to the desires.
4.
Walking the Eightfold Path is the way to cessation.

The Noble Eightfold Path

After Gethin (1998, p. 81), Table 1

Wisdom

(prajñā)

Right View

•Seeing the four truths

Right Intention

•Desirelessness
•Friendliness
•Compassion

Conduct

(śīla)

Right Speech

•Refraining from false speech
•Refraining from divisive speech
•Refraining from hurtful speech
•Refraining from idle chatter

Right Action

•Refraining from harming living beings
•Refraining from taking what is not given
•Refraining from sexual misconduct

Right Livelihood

•Not based on wrong speech and action

Meditation

(samādhi)

Right Effort

•To prevent unarisen unwholesome states
•To abandon arisen unwholesome states
•To arouse unarisen wholesome states
•To develop arisen wholesome states

Right Mindfulness

•Contemplation of body
•Contemplation of feeling
•Contemplation of mind
•Contemplation of dharma

Right Concentration

•Practice of the four dhyānas

References

Gethin, R. (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press.

Teaching attributed to the historical Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama, c. 563–483 BCE); scholarly framing and table after Gethin (1998).

For more contemplative practices across traditions, visit the Meditations page. For community mindfulness practice, see the Community Sitting Practice.