Right Living, Right Mindfulness: Navigating the Fourth Noble Truth
True spiritual paths lead to true cessations of suffering and complete peace of mind.
Siddhārtha Gautama became the Buddha, the awakened one. His first teachings were the Four Noble Truths.
The first noble truth in Buddhism acknowledges the fundamental reality of suffering or unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) in human existence. It's important to note that the term "suffering" doesn't fully capture the depth of dukkha, as it encompasses a broader range of human experiences and conditions.
In the Second Noble Truth, the Buddha teaches us to “abandon origins.” Known as "The Truth of the Cause of Suffering" or "Samudaya," the Buddha states that the mind causes suffering.
The Second Noble Truth identifies the root cause of suffering as "tanha," which translates to craving, attachment, or desire. It asserts that the fundamental reason people experience suffering is their insatiable and clinging desires for objects, people, and even their “self.”
In the Third Noble Truth, the Buddha states that true cessations exist. The problem of suffering can be overcome. It offers hope and motivation to Buddhist practitioners, as it underscores that suffering is not an inherent, unalterable part of existence. It invites individuals to embark on a path of inner transformation and liberation.
The Fourth Noble Truth: Navigating True Paths
A true path is any spiritual path that leads to a true cessation. As external paths lead from one destination to another, internal paths are related contemplations and realizations that lead from a mind of suffering to a peaceful mind of liberation.
In order to reach a true cessation, a practitioner must first discover a true path they must navigate. There are many kinds of true cessations, and there are many true spiritual paths.
The Fourth Noble Truth presents the three higher trainings and the Eightfold Path. The three higher trainings are as follows:
Moral discipline,
higher concentration, and
higher wisdom.
Moral discipline is important for everyone in order to prevent future problems for ourselves and others. Without practicing moral discipline, it’s very difficult to make progress in spiritual training.
Sadly, many religious people live double lives. They act non-virtuously much of the time, but then on Sunday, they attend a church service, hear a few good words, and convince themselves they are good, moral people. That’s not a spiritual practice; it’s indulging in rationalization and delusion.
A true spiritual practice with moral discipline invites practitioners to look honestly at their own behavior, abandon rationalizations for their misdeeds, and modify their activities accordingly. It’s a more difficult path to follow, but it’s essential to making real spiritual progress.
Higher concentration is meditation on virtuous objects without distraction. By far, the biggest downfall among spiritual seekers is the failure to meditate on their realizations. Intellectual learning only resides on the surface and fails to penetrate the heart.
It’s one thing to read about compassion and learn that people are suffering. It’s something much deeper to meditate for hours on compassion and feel a strong empathy for other people’s pain and want to do something about it.
Selfish and greedy individuals know that their pleasures and enjoyments often come at the expense of others, yet they don’t think about it too deeply, as evidenced by the fact they continue their selfish, non-virtuous behavior without remorse.
All hypocrisy lies in the chasm between intellectual knowledge about spiritual teachings and what people actually do about it. Thin rationalizations and willful ignorance help people ignore their hypocrisy.
Higher concentration is essential to turn a spiritual teaching into a feeling that actually motivates your behavior.
Higher wisdom is the body of spiritual teachings and studiously learning the various paths toward true cessations.
In the writing on true cessations, a few of these paths were outlined:
The suffering of anger ceases with the practice of patient acceptance.
The suffering of attachment ceases by meditating on impermanence.
And the suffering of jealousy ceases with the practice of rejoicing.
But the main path, the ultimate goal of Buddhist teachings is to directly realize the emptiness of self and all phenomena.
The three higher trainings are essential to all Buddhist practitioners.
The Eightfold Path
The Fourth Noble Truth also presents the Eightfold Path, which is a set of ethical and mental guidelines for living a life that leads to the cessation of suffering.
Other practitioners may disagree, but I view the Eightfold Path as a guideline rather than a rulebook. It isn’t something you set out to do and judge yourself or others by how well they follow it, a common failing in Western religious traditions.
When practitioners focus on the three higher trainings, and meditate on virtuous objects as outlined in the Lamrim, walking the Eightfold Path comes naturally. It doesn’t require constant reminders and a harsh internal critic to force one to toe the line.
It’s been my observation that you can tell where a practitioner is in their practice by watching how closely their actions align with the Eightfold Path, not because they are forcing themselves to, but because it’s a natural expression of their internal state of mind.
Right Understanding (Samma-ditthi):
This is the first step of the path and involves understanding the Four Noble Truths and the nature of suffering, the impermanence of all things, and the principle of non-self (Anatta).
Right Intention (Samma-sankappa):
Right intention refers to the development of wholesome and ethical intentions, such as renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness. It involves cultivating a mindset aligned with the path to liberation.
Right Speech (Samma-vaca):
Right speech emphasizes truthful, kind, and helpful communication while avoiding harmful speech, such as lying, gossip, and divisive speech. [Few politicians succeed here.]
Right Action (Samma-kammanta):
Right action involves ethical conduct in one's physical actions, refraining from harming others, stealing, and engaging in sexual misconduct.
Right Livelihood (Samma-ajiva):
Right livelihood focuses on choosing an occupation or means of living that is ethical and does not harm others. It encourages engaging in work that supports one's spiritual growth. [Very hard to achieve in a society subservient to unbridled capitalism.]
Right Effort (Samma-vayama):
Right effort involves cultivating positive qualities, eliminating negative ones, and maintaining mindfulness and concentration on the path. It is the persistent and balanced effort in one's practice.
Right Mindfulness (Samma-sati):
Right mindfulness is the cultivation of moment-to-moment awareness and presence. It involves observing thoughts, feelings, and sensations without attachment or aversion.
Right Concentration (Samma-samadhi):
Right concentration refers to the development of deep mental focus and meditation. It leads to heightened states of awareness and insight, allowing one to directly experience the cessation of suffering.
The Fourth Noble Truth teaches that by following the Eightfold Path, individuals can transform their minds, cultivate wisdom and compassion, and ultimately attain the cessation of suffering and liberation from samsara.
Meditation on the Fourth Noble Truth
Many people come to practice Buddhism because they recognize they are not as happy as they believe they should be. They already recognized the First Noble Truth.
Once they discover Buddhist practice, they realize the cause of their unhappiness is not in the outside world, but inside their own mind. They realize the Second Noble Truth.
Because all they’ve known is unhappiness and lingering dissatisfaction, when they hear there is a path to cessation, the Third Noble Truth, they must suspend their disbelief and attempt the practice.
Those who find a diminishment of suffering early in their practice, which is most people, gain faith in the Buddha’s teachings, and they decide to go deeper. They embrace the Fourth Noble Truth and develop a practice capable of eliminating all their suffering at the source.
For those fortunate enough to be exposed to Tibetan Buddhism, they are exposed to Lamrim, the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha.
Contemplation
Consider what you read in this post and review the linked postings on the practices of cessation. Then focus on the following first-person narrative:
I should not be satisfied with temporary cessations. I must attain permanent cessation of all sufferings caused by self-grasping ignorance through sincerely practicing the three higher trainings and walking the eightfold path.
Object of Meditation
You meditate on this determination continually until you feel a strong commitment to follow the path to the cessation of all suffering.
You should hold this determination in your mind for as long as possible.
When you are out of the meditation session, you should feel a strong desire to find and follow the paths to the cessation of your sufferings.
