Buddhism: Meaning of the Four Noble Truths - Essay Example

Harvey (1990) pointed out that “If there were a creator of the world, he would be regarded as responsible for the suffering” (Harvey, 1990, p.36). In other words, sufferings in human life are given by God himself. Humans cannot do anything to avoid it. In other words, suffering is inherited in human life. Buddhists also believe that activities in the previous birth or past karma are the major cause of sufferings in human life.

Buddhists argue that the origin of suffering is attachment. In their opinion, desire is the cause of misery. It should be noted that humans have many desires in their life and the destruction of desire is the only way of attaining happiness. The desire for physical and psychological pleasure may not be fulfilled all the time. Since the destruction of desire is practically difficult humans are forced to lead a life of misery most of the time.

“The cessation of suffering can be attained through nirodha. Nirodha means the unmaking of sensual craving and conceptual attachment. Attaining and perfecting dispassion is a process of many levels that ultimately results in the state of Nirvana” (The Four Noble Truths, n.d) Nirvana is the ultimate state of human life. It is similar to the concept of heaven. It is a state in which human experiences full happiness. “During life or beyond death, Nibbana is the unconditioned cessation of all unsatisfactory, conditioned phenomena (Harvey, 1990, p.62)

“There is a path to the end of suffering - a gradual path of self-improvement” (The Four Noble Truths, n.d). Buddhists believe that the cycle of rebirth would end only after a person attains nirvana. The long cycle of rebirths may help a person to control his desires and lead a purified life.

What is Nirvana? Why is it important?
Nirvana is the ultimate stage of human life. As mentioned earlier, human life develops through plenty of rebirths. In other words, the death of current life results in the rebirth of another life. The destiny of new life would be highly dependent on the activities in the present life. In other words, those who commit fewer sins may get a better new life whereas others may get the worst life. On the other hand, if a person was able to defeat his desires fully in his present life, he will get Nirvana, the ultimate goal of human life. Nirvana is similar to heaven which is explained earlier in this paper.

Basic differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
Pali Canon is the scripture of Theravada Buddhism whereas Theravada Tripitaka is the major scripture of Mahayana Buddhism. Maitreya is the Bodhisattva of Theravada Buddhism whereas Maitreya, Avalokitesvara, Manjushri, Ksitigarbha, and Samanthabadra are the Bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. Arhat is the goal of training for Theravada Buddhism and Buddhahood via bodhisattva-path is the goal of training for Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhists speak the Sanskrit language. At the same time, pali are the language for Theravada Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism has only a few rituals even though Mahayana Buddhism has plenty of rituals (Theravada vs. Mahayana Buddhism, 2013)

The challenge of happiness in Buddhism
As mentioned earlier, desire is the cause of misery according to the beliefs of Buddhists. Humans have inherited traits for material life. When a human fails to get such a life, misery will develop in his life. Both physical and psychological displeasures may arise because of the failure to fulfill the desire. Buddhists do believe that those who are capable of overcoming the pressure of desire may get ultimate happiness. Since the destruction of desire is not an easy task, attainment of happiness is a big challenge in human life.

Understanding Buddhism
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, speaking to a capacity audience in the Albert Hall in 1984 united his listeners instantly with one simple statement: "All beings want to be happy; they want to avoid pain and suffering." I was impressed at how he was able to touch what we share as human beings. He affirmed our common humanity, without in any way dismissing the obvious differences (Candasiri, 2009).

Both Buddhism and Christianity have many similarities. Both religions stress the importance of avoiding material life. Both religions teach us that heaven or nirvana is waiting for humans. In other words, current life is only a temporary one and permanent life is waiting for everyone.