Midterm Essay
Lucas Hunter
AHSS 2410 – Religious Traditions of Asia
Prof: Danielle Lagrone
There is simplicity in Buddhist teachings. A way of cutting through the noise to reach a
clear and logical point. ‘…the Buddha thus states that he has always made known just two
things, namely suffering and the cessation of suffering’ (Gethin, 1998). These two things,
suffering and its cessation, “…can be regarded as the basic orientation of Buddhism for all
times…” (Gethin, 1998). Sounds simple enough, but what does that mean? What is suffering?
How does it stop? To understand we have to look at the fundamental teachings of Buddhism;
The Four Noble Truths, and The Eight-Fold Path.
To understand Buddhism, and the teachings of the Buddha, we have to start with the
Four Nobles Truths. It is important to identify that the Four Noble Truths are not meant to be
received as, “‘truth claims’ that one must intellectually assent to on becoming a Buddhist”
(Gethin, 1998). As with many aspects of the Buddhist way, it is not as complicated as strictly
adhering to some form of dogma, but ‘realities’ that the Buddha came to understand and share.
The Four Noble Truths are: the truth of the nature of suffering, the truth of the nature of it’s
cause, the truth of the nature of it’s cessation, the truth of the nature of the path leading to it’s
cessation. If it is viewed as everything causing suffering, and everyone suffers, it leads people
to believe that Buddhism has an extremely negative world view and looks to convince people
that the world is a terrible place. But if we turn back to the simplicity or realism that can be
found in the teachings, the Buddha is simply pointing out that it is a, ‘…basic fact of existence.
Sooner or later, in some form or another, no matter what they do, beings are confronted by
and have to deal with duhkha’ (Gethin, 1998). But the Buddha doesn’t just draw attention to
suffering and abandon things there. As Rahula (1998) tells us, ‘Both translation and
interpretation are highly unsatisfactory and misleading’ (p. 16).
The translation of the language that is used can either be a strictly understood and
accepted definition, or it can expand ones understanding of the Buddhist view. We have talked
about dukkha meaning ‘suffering’, also encompassed in this definition would be: ‘pain’,
‘sorrow’, ‘misery’ (Rahula, 1998). It is not to suggest that these meanings aren’t included in the
Buddhist view, but as Rahul (1998), tells us it “…has a deeper philosophical meaning…’ and
includes ‘…ideas such as ‘imperfection’, ‘impermanence’, ‘emptiness’, ‘insubstantiality’” (p. 17).
It would likely surprise anyone with a simple understanding of Buddhism, that the
Buddha includes happiness in his teachings. This isn’t referring to the ‘happiness’ one might
imagine they would feel, were they to be successful in the cessation of suffering, and one could
even argue that the imagining of such a happiness and the desire for its attainment would, in
itself, keep someone in the endless cycle of death and rebirth. The Buddha acknowledges
different types of happiness, but all happiness is still considered dukkha. (Rahula, 1998). One of
the meanings of dukkha, as mentioned above, is impermanence, and it is the idea of
impermanence that causes happiness to be dukkha. When we are enjoying something, we are
experiencing happiness, and for however long we have what we are enjoying, we are likely
happy. However, because nothing is permanent, even the things that make us happy are
dukkha, because in their absence there is suffering.
It is logical that a surface-level understanding of Buddhism leads to a misunderstanding
of Buddhism, so it is important to remember that the Buddha’s teachings provide a path to the
‘cessation of suffering’, which is where we see the other side of his view. Referred to as the
‘Noble Eightfold Path’, it includes: “…’right’ view, intention, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort,
mindfulness, and concentration” (Gethin, 1998). That said, it is not to viewed as a sequence of
steps that if followed in order lead to the cessation of suffering. Rather than thinking of it as a
path to a goal, it is better viewed as a way of being. Gethin (1998) states that the Eightfold Path
are, “…eight significant dimensions of one’s behavior…that are regarded as operating in
dependence on one another and as defining a complete way of living’ (p. 82). It is through this
way of being that one can reach the ‘cessation of suffering”.
References
Gethin, R. (2014). In Foundations of Buddhism (pp. 59–84). essay, Oxford University Press.
Rahula, W. (2017). In What the Buddha Taught (pp. 16–28). essay, Motilal Banarsidis.