Summary: Episode 1, 1 December 2014, Gautama Buddha’s First Truth Gautama Buddha’s First teaching, the first of the Four Noble Truths, is that there is suffering. Suffering is inescapable and manifests in three forms: the suffering of pain, the suffering of happiness and, the all pervasive suffering. Through fully understanding this first teaching, and appreciating the true nature of our relationship with the world, we see how suffering is unavoidable and necessarily manifests in our lives. Only then are we are able to seek a solution; firstly, through identification of its causes, the teaching of the Second Noble Truth. Intro - Welcome to Buddhism Guide’s Audio blog, a contemporary look at Gautama Buddhist Teachings, from Karma Yeshe Rabgye. * Find out more at http://buddhismguide.org [00:19] This episode: Gautama Buddha’s First teaching. * On the Four Noble Truths; * The foundation on which Buddhism is built. [00:47] The First Noble Truth: There is suffering. * The definition of suffering; * A dissatisfaction, discontentment, an uneasy feeling running through our lives. * Gautama Buddha stated that there are three types of suffering: 1. The Suffering of pain - our daily, physical and mental suffering; 2. The Suffering of happiness - the lurking, just around the corner suffering of the the sadness that comes from loss - the change of happiness; 3. The all pervasive Suffering - a condition that exists because of how we perceive ourselves in relation to the world. You could say that our entire worldly experience is a definition of suffering that we can’t even see. [03:50] How do we see ourselves in the world? * Separate: I’m here, and the world is outside of me. In other words as subject and object. We see ourselves as the solid, independent self. * This is not true, we are actually the coming together of 5 things. [04:20] The Five Aggregates * So the way we look at things: subject and object, me and everything else, is in some way, the cause of our suffering and that will come back to us in the future. * Like eating a wonderful meal but not knowing it has been poisoned. [04:56] So why did Buddha want us to know that we have suffering in our lives? * To help us understand we have a problem. If we don’t know we have a problem we will not look for a solution; * If we know we are suffering we will look for the causes of the suffering and a cure; * If we fully understand this First Truth we can move onto the the next Noble Truth - The causes of suffering. [05:55] Outro * You can find more information about this subject in Karma Yeshe Rabgye’s books at http://buddhismguide.org/books/ 1. The best way to catch a snake – A Practical Guide to the Buddha’s Teachings; 2. Life’s meandering path – A Secular Approach to Gautama Buddha’s Guide to Living; 3. Ripples in the stream – A Pragmatic Journey Through Gautama Buddha’s Teachings. * They’re available now, from Amazon and Kindle. * Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoyed this blog post.
