Four Noble Truths The Truth of Suffering -- the First Noble Truth

The Buddha believed that humans suffer and struggle, which is the problem of existence. He believed that all existence comes down to dukkha, which translated means roughly "anguish," or "pain," or "suffering"; dukkha also suggests a word that isn't in the English dictionary -- "unsatisfactoriness" (the Buddhist Center). Dukkha also suggests that life / existence is temporary and conditional, and before humans can contemplate life and death people must come to terms with the self.

The Truth of the Cause of Suffering -- the Second Noble Truth

Buddhism teaches that humans suffer because people are constantly craving, searching, seeking for answers outside ourselves that will bring happiness to us (about.com). The Buddhist Center explains that the "root" reason for suffering is the mind; people tend to "grasp at things (or alternatively push them away)" which makes humans "at odds" with the way life actually is.

The Truth of the Cessation of Craving -- the Third Noble Truth

The Buddhist Center points out that because people are the real reason they suffer, and are the "ultimate cause of ... difficulties," they also have the solution to their suffering. Understanding the Four Noble Truths can be understood in these...

Buddha believed that humans can put an end to craving, and the cure is to change responses to the things that happen to us because we cannot always change the things happening to humans.
The Path that Frees Humans from Suffering -- the Fourth Noble Truth

The belief that humans can change themselves, and basically put an end to suffering, is equivalent to the doctor's advice bringing health and satisfaction to the patient. Moreover, in Buddhism, the path that will help one move away from suffering involves embracing the Noble Eightfold Path (the Buddhist Center). That Path entails: (Samma-Ditthi) perfected vision; (Samma-Sankappa) perfected emotion; (Samma-Vaca) perfected or whole speech; (Samma-Kammanta) taking the right action; (Samma-Ajiva) the right livelihood; (Samma-Vayama) putting forth full energy; (Samma Sati) thorough awareness; and (Samma Samadhi) full concentration, absorption, fixed on a single object (BuddhaNet).

Person Observation of the Four Noble Truths

Living in the home of a very conservative family was trying for a young person like me, whose friends at school were…