Gotama Buddha spoke a lot of wisdom,
But he spoke it two and a half thousand years ago.
Language has changed a lot since then.
So Pali was a language rich in allegory,
Which is notoriously difficult to translate.
Take a look at various translations of any one sutta,
And you'll likely find substantial differences.
A translation goes through many filters.
The understanding of the original recipient of the Buddha's teaching.
The chanting that was used to pass this on.
The original scribe's understanding of what was chanted.
The translator's understanding of Pali.
The translator's understanding of the Dharma.
The translator's writing.
And finally,
Your own reading,
Interpretation and understanding.
That's a lot,
Isn't it?
Fortunately what the Buddha was talking about all those years ago has a practical value that we can understand in our direct experience.
And we can use this direct experience to confirm the teaching of the Four Noble Truths for ourselves.
Here I will explain this teaching to you using no Pali terms whatsoever.
First of all,
Why the word noble?
Noble in our dialect means one of two things,
Aristocratic or good.
Obviously it's the latter that we're claiming.
The use of this word noble doesn't mean superior or better or special.
In fact,
Understanding of these Four Noble Truths makes one ordinary,
Natural.
You see,
Enlightenment or awakening as the Buddha taught it is a subtractive process.
Through understanding of these Four Noble Truths,
One ceases to create what he called the five mental hindrances and the ten fetters,
Which are things like conceit,
Restlessness,
Lust,
Etc.
We are not creating something when we practice as the Buddha recommended.
Rather,
We're deconstructing something.
What something?
The Self.
The selfish self.
The self that wants things to be a certain way and has a tantrum when they're not that way.
The self that creates dissatisfaction.
The word dissatisfaction is the most practical expression of the First Noble Truth,
Which could also be expressed as,
1.
Shit happens.
I love it when conventional wisdom agrees with ancient teachings.
We've probably all had this phrase,
Shit happens,
Slurred at us over a beer at some point.
When that merry individual makes this offering,
They are in fact invoking the First Noble Truth.
What they may not be aware of,
Though,
Is that,
2.
It's all in your head.
Or,
More accurately,
In the mind.
But since people are mostly of the opinion that the mind is in the head and I'm attempting to keep things casual,
Let's not go into that.
Where that First Noble Truth,
Left on its own,
Can seem somewhat nihilistic,
The Second Noble Truth brings the flavour of responsibility to the table.
The First Noble Truth says that your boss is going to do things you hate sometimes.
The Second Noble Truth says that your hating it is nothing more than a self-created fabrication.
The Third Noble Truth says,
3.
Chill.
Or in other words,
You don't have to hate it.
Hate is a strong reaction,
Which rarely leads to anything good or useful.
One of the most powerful distinctions I ever made in my practice was to understand the difference between an emotional reaction,
Like hate,
And simply disagreeing with something.
In hate,
I might lash out at my boss on a personal level,
Which will only exacerbate whatever tension already exists.
In disagreement,
Though,
I retain full agency.
Agency with which I can,
For example,
Look for a different job,
While remaining on good terms with my current employer.
In this picture,
I may even get a good reference,
Which gets me out of the situation I don't like,
And,
Hopefully,
Into one that's more agreeable.
This is all good,
You might be thinking,
But how?
How does one stop short of emotional outbursts and maintain balance?
Well,
The Buddha had our backs here too,
When he shared that Fourth Noble Truth of,
4.
How to Chill.
This truth is,
Basically,
The how-to of spiritual practice.
The Buddha listed eight items here,
Which you can find all over the internet,
But to summarize,
We're talking seeing that we can chill,
No matter what's going on in the mind.
Enjoying relief and an attitude of success when we do this.
Remembering to remember this,
Which is what is called mindfulness,
And,
Basically,
Cleaning up our act so that we're not causing ourselves trouble with things like lying,
Cheating,
Overindulgence,
Etc.
So there you have it,
The Buddha's Four Noble Truths in plain language.
There are all kinds of resources to be found that will take you into more depth on this teaching.
Having some understanding of it in your direct experience will,
Perhaps,
Give you some cause for dealing with some Pali terms here and there,
But that direct experience will always be what's most important.
Test these four truths out in your own life.
See if you can spot them going on,
And see how they work together.
Come back to this recording for reminders if you need them,
And do further study in whatever quantity supports your investigation.
And in the words of jazz vocalist kumbuda Bobby McFerrin,
Don't worry,
Be happy.
