We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
Basic Buddhist Teachings 4 - The Four Noble Truths
Suffering is not only bitterness but also a state of non-joy, non-equanimity—a disagreeable feeling that lies between sweetness (pleasant feeling) and neutrality (neutral feeling). In Pali/Sanskrit, dukkha means “not pleasant” (ill-being), the opposite of well-being. To study the Four Noble Truths, we need to use the two truths (conventional truth and ultimate truth) together with dependent co-arising, like a ruler and a compass, acknowledging the coexistence of suffering and happiness—like the left hand and the right hand—so that we can go deeply from conventional truth into ultimate truth without skipping the intermediate stage.
First, we recognize suffering in the five aggregates, especially feeling (vedana), which has three types: unpleasant feeling, pleasant feeling, and neutral feeling. Unpleasant feeling arises from the form aggregate (physical imbalance) or from wrong perceptions (mistaken views), leading to psychological suffering. Some schools say that suffering is only the object of feeling, but most believe that all aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—carry suffering. Repeating “this is suffering” is only the beginning; we need to practice deep mindfulness to call each suffering by its true name (for example, headache, toothache), then contemplate its causes (origin: delusion, craving, anger…) in order to arrive at the ultimate truth of transformation.
Basic Buddhist Teachings 5 - The Noble Eightfold Path