Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Four Passing Sights

As Siddhartha was exploring the real world for the first time on his chariot, he came across what are called the four passing sights. The first passing sight was an old man. Channa, Siddhartha's charioteer explained that the old man represented aging. Then they moved along. The second sight they saw was a person suffering from a disease. Channa told Siddhartha that this man represents that suffering and illness are inevitable in a human's life. They moved along. the third sight was of a corpse. Channa explained how deaath eventually comes to everyone during someone's lifetime. The last sight is of an ascetic which is a normal person who leads a healthy life full of self-discipline and religion. This ascetic represents the rebirth in Buddhism. From these four sights are which Siddhartha composed his four noble truths from.  

The Fourth Noble Truth

The last noble truth is journey to the end of sufering. This journey is called the Eightfold path. The Eightfold path is a journey with eight steps on how one can obtain peace or Nirvana. These eight simple steps are: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mind, and right concentration. The eight steps all depend on eachother in order to reach Nirvana. In order to reach Nirvana, a person must obtain all these different traits.

The Third Noble Truth

After Siddhartha discovered what was ailing the people, he found a way to cure it. The third noble truth is the end of the suffering. It is called the Niordha. Niordha means the end of the suffering. Buddha said that in order to end our sufferings, we must put and end to our desires and cravings. We must learn not to be so attached. If people can do this, than they can go to an eternal peace called Nirvana. In order to get to Nirvana, people must meditate and practice Buddhism. Meditating helps strive towards no troubles and worries. People should also learn to follow Siddhartha and his teachings and they can obtain this peaceful life.

The Second Noble Truth

When Siddhartha was exploring the world, he noticed why the people were suffering. People suffer because of thir cravings and desire, or in other words, a personal attachment. These people suffer from a longing that is gone, or can no loger be obtained. This ails the people. So the second noble truth is the cause of suffering. This second noble truth is known as the Tahna. People are attached to things that they should let go of  and that is what is causing them all the pain.

Turning the Wheel of Dharma



The Four Seals of Dharma:


All phenomena are impermanent
All phenomena are suffering
All phenomena are selfless
Nirvana alone is peace



These four teachings, became the number one reason for the first turning of the wheel of Dharma taught by Buddha Shakyamuni, which took place in Varanasi.


The second turning of the wheel of Dharma came from the teachings of Mahayana or great vehicle( one of the branches of Buddhism) . This turning took place in the Indian City of Rajgir, at an area which is known as the Vulture Peak.


The third turning was presented to an audience of Italicbodhisattvas in Shravasti and area located in India. Buddha made out the difference between the meaning of the Dharma and the commonly held meaning, in third and final turning.



*For what I have read the Dharma means law. The Dharmachackra is translated to the wheel of Dhrama, which is a symbol which represents Buddhist teaching. It is presented as a cartwheel in which the circular rim suggests perfection and the eight spokes the eightfold way to enlightenment. The story of have Buddha Shakyamuni recieved the cartwheel is a rather interesting one that begins with a man named Brahma, the greatest sovereign of the unvirse, and another man named Indra,the lord of the gods and angels. Brahma offered Buddha Shakyamuni a thousand spoken golden wheels, and Indra offered him the most rare clockwise spiraling conch shell. Thankful for what they offered him, they both insist though that Buddha turn the Wheel of Dharma. In response all three of them consented into turning the Wheel of Dharma. Over the course of the rest of his life, Buddha Shakyamuni set in motion what are known as the three great turnings of the wheel of Dharma, the wheel of the teachings. ( Buddha Shakyamuni is the Buddhism name for Siddhartha Gautama.) *


Source: http://www.kbi.coa.au/cgi-bin/engine.pl?Page=page.html&Rec=61



The First Noble Truth

The first noble truth is that life is filled with pain and suffering. These sufferings are like sicknesses and depression. When Siddhartha left his palace, he was wandering aroud and exploring the real world. He noticed that people were in pain. he came to the conclusion that all people suffer from pain and sickness. This first noble truth is called the Dukkah. The Pali term Dukkah translates to "bad wheel." This bad wheel is the never-ending cycle from birth, life, death, over and over again.

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