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In Buddhism there were "Four Noble Truths" that Siddhartha Gautama Buddha taught to his followers. They were Suffering, Cause, Cessation, and Path. After explaining these truths, Buddha defined a practical way to salvation and individual emancipation through diligently developing wholesome, virtuous qualities and eliminating unwholesome, non-virtuous qualities from the personality. Meant to carry Buddhists to safety, peace, happiness, tranquility and the attainment of Nirvana "The Middle Way", extols the efficacy of being moderate and of avoiding both of the extremes of asceticism and of hedonism. A compassionate man of philosophical intellect and inspirational wisdom, Gautama Buddha called this new spiritual Middle Way path, "Turning the Wheel of Dharma". If one followed the Buddhism Middle Way, it would bring the Buddhist spiritual pilgrim awakening, clear vision, enlightenment, insight, nirvana, tranquility, and wisdom. Since Buddha taught that a good society was casteless and everyone was equal under karmic law, basic Buddhism principles included treating all sentient beings like oneself, and the necessity of cultivating compassion, kindliness, empathy, and fairness. Suffering was the first of the Noble Truths. Birth, illness, death, sadness, depression, despair, grief, unfulfilled desires, yearnings, cravings, and contact with unpleasant things are all painful experiences which bring about suffering in our lives.
Causation was the second of the Noble Truths. Our cravings, pleasure seeking activities, and lusty attempts to fulfill our desires
result in pain and keep us riveted to the road most traveled that of the treadmill cycles of karma and rebirth.
Cessation was the third of the Noble Truths. The way to stop this unremitting pain and suffering in our lives is to eliminate these cravings, yearnings, and desires through a conscious relinquishment of them or deliberate non-attachment, forsaking, release, and abandonment. Path was the fourth of the Noble Truths. The upward growth spiral from the Right Views and Right Intentions of Wisdom led one to the Morality of Right Action, Right Livelihood and Right Speech. When Wisdom and Morality were combined with the Concentration of Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration, the synergetic blend of them all formed the "The Noble Eightfold Path". The cornerstone for Buddha's entire system of Buddhism teachings was the Karmic Law of Causation. Under this Law of Dependent Origination, all occurrences in one’s life are conditioned by others and with a turn of the wheel then form conditions for other occurrences. One event, action, or reaction, results in an effect and that in turn causes other events, actions, and reactions. In order to get off the karmic wheel one must initiate potent moral action in any moment of time so that one's five skandhas, (bodily form, feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness), are properly configured. Any future blended patterns are the result of prior causations.
Moral actions result in more
propitious circumstances while wrongful acts lead to unfortunate conditions.
This causal linkage continues from lifetime to lifetime until the Middle Way and
resulting Buddha Consiousness liberate one from the karmic cycles of rebirth.
The Path then leads the Buddhist to "Enlightenment" and "Nirvana" and the eventual
Cessation of all pain and all suffering.
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