Friday, June 20, 2025
Via FB \\ Buddhism, Zen, Tao & Meditation
Four Noble Truths, by the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
His Holiness clarified that the ignorance that is at the root of suffering refers to the contradiction between appearance and reality. The appearance that things exist independently is unreal, but gives rise to disturbing emotions in our minds. Any action motivated by ignorance is a source of suffering, while actions motivated by wisdom are a source for overcoming suffering. Wisdom is to understand reality, while ignorance is to misconceive it.
“Just as heat displaces cold, light eliminates darkness. We will not overcome suffering just by making prayers or engaging in thoughtless meditation, but by understanding reality. The third noble truth, cessation, refers to the elimination of suffering and the way to it is the path of the fourth noble truth. The ultimate method to overcome ignorance is wisdom understanding reality.”
The three trainings in morality, concentration and wisdom constitute the path. To achieve them we need mindfulness and determination and His Holiness outlined the four mindfulnesses of body, feelings, mind and phenomena that are included, along with the four restraints and so forth in the Thirty-seven Wings of Enlightenment. These culminate in the eightfold noble path that we can observe in practice in our daily lives.
His Holiness concluded that the desire to overcome ignorance is an aspiration for liberation. Once we cultivate that in relation to other sentient beings we develop the awakening mind of bodhichitta, the aspiration for enlightenment. We embark on the practice of the six perfections and engage in the four classes of tantra. Once we have a basic understanding of the teaching, we can follow the path gradually, step by step.
“This,” he declared, “is a realistic approach.”
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