The Essence of Buddha's Teaching: The Four Noble Truths
The Essence of Buddha's Teaching: The Four Noble Truths
The Essence of Buddha's Teaching: The Four Noble Truths
Right Determination
Right Speech
Right Understanding of the following facts
Right Effort
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Concentration
Right Mindfulness or wakefulness
1. __________________________:
the truth about suffering ... (The Four Truths);
everything is impermanent and changes;
there is no separate individual self- this is an illusion. (We are one!)
2. __________________________:
give up what is wrong and evil;
undertake what is good;
abandon thoughts that have to do with bringing suffering to any conscious being; cultivate
thoughts of loving kindness, that are based on caring about others' suffering, and sympathetic
joy in others' happiness.
3. _________________________:
Abstain from telling lies.
Abstain from talk that brings harm or discredit to others (such as backbiting or slander) or
talk that creates hatred or disharmony between individuals and groups.
Abstain from harsh, rude, impolite, malicious, or abusive language.
Abstain from idle, useless, and foolish babble and gossip. Abstain from recrimination and
negative statements.
Abstain from harsh speechpractice kindly speech.
Buddha said:
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in
traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe anything
because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is written in
your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and
elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and
is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
The following prose, attributed to Buddha, expresses the way he perceived the world.
Buddha said:
I consider the _________ of kings and rulers as that of dust _______.
I observe _______of gold and gems as so many bricks and ________.
I look upon the finest silken robes as __________ rags.
I see myriad worlds of the universe as small seeds of fruit, and the greatest lake in India as a
drop of oil upon my_______.
I perceive the teachings of the world as the ____________ of magicians.
I discern the highest conception of ____________ as a golden brocade in a dream, and view
the holy path of the illuminated ones as flowers appearing in one's eyes.
I see meditation as a _______ of a mountain, nirvana as a nightmare of daytime.
I look upon the ________ of right and wrong as the serpentine dance of a dragon, and the
rise and fall of belief as traces left by the four _________ .
a. Treasures
b. positions
c. foot
d.
e. motes
f. tattered
g. illusions
h. emancipation
i. pillar
j.
k. seasons
pebbles
judgments