����ý

When the Buddha began giving sermons about his enlightenment, the subject of his first sermon was the Four Noble Truths. The teaching of the Four Noble Truths is known as ‘Setting in motion the Wheel of Dhamma (Dharma)’. The Pali canon, which is a set of scriptures that Buddhists use to guide them in Buddhist practice and teaching, records the sermon. It is widely accepted that this was the first teaching that the Buddha gave. It is known as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.

The Four Noble Truths give Buddhists the opportunity to examine and reflect upon why they are suffering in life. For example, this means they may attempt to overcome the Three Poisons, which are hate, greed and ignorance. They may also attempt not to become jealous of what others have.

Buddhists widely accept that suffering exists. The teachings of the Four Noble Truths allow Buddhists to accept this suffering as they believe that it can be overcome.

The First Noble Truth - Dukkha

Dukkha means suffering. It is the idea that everything leads to suffering and therefore unsatisfactoriness.

Buddhists believe in three different types of suffering. These are:

1. dukkha, which is ordinary suffering
2. viparinama-dukkha, which is suffering through change
3. samkhara-dukkha, which is suffering through attachment (or dissatisfaction)

To overcome suffering, a Buddhist may meditate more, in order to attempt to spiritually overcome the Three Poisons. In addition, they may become more charitable, as this will help them to overcome suffering by helping with the root cause of their pain.