Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

    1    There is suffering.
    2    There is a cause of suffering.
    3    There is an end to suffering.
    4    The way out is the eightfold path.
The first noble truth—there is suffering. This isn’t to be considered pessimistic, as is often believed, but realistic. The Buddha didn’t mean that ordinary life is nothing but misery—of course there’s happiness, he said. It’s just that even happy moments are ultimately unsatisfying, because everything changes. Good, bad or indifferent, nothing lasts.

Second noble truth: there is impermanence. Impermanence is one of the three inescapable facts of existence. We all, without exception, are subject to aging, sickness, and death. Even the self isn’t fixed or enduring. Also, trying to get what we want and hanging onto what we have while avoiding or rejecting what we don’t want inevitably leads to disappointment. Ignorance of this reality is the root cause of suffering, the second noble truth tells us.

The third noble truth—there is an end to suffering​. This is the saving grace. Pain and dissatisfaction are not all there is. Just as suffering is the human condition, so too is the possibility of an end to suffering.

The fourth noble truth—the eightfold path​. The eightfold path spells out practical action we can take toward our own awakening and freedom from the suffering of samsaric life. The eightfold path guides us in living ethically, training the mind, and cultivating wisdom.
​The Buddha began and ended his teaching years with a discussion of the eightfold path, guidelines for living ethically, training the mind, and cultivating wisdom that brings an end to the causes of suffering. Suffering is the disease, and the eight steps are a course of treatment that can lead us to health and well-being; we avoid the extremes of self-indulgence on the one hand and total self-denial on the other. For this reason the Buddha called the path “the middle way.”

The Eightfold Path

    1     Right view. Also called right understanding. We need to see clearly where we are headed before we begin.
   2    Right intention. Right intention means the resolve to follow this path. 
   3     Right speech. Right speech refers to what we say—to not harm other people or ourselves with our words.
    4   Right action​. Right action refers to what we do—to not harming other people or ourselves with our behavior.
   5   Right livelihood. Right livelihood refers to how we live day to day, making sure our habits and our work don’t cause harm to ourselves and others.
   6    Right effort. Right effort refers to focusing our energy on the task at hand.
   7    Right mindfulness. Right mindfulness means awareness of the mind and body with discernment. With mindfulness, we might pause and consider our motivations, whether what we are doing is harmful to ourselves or others. 
    8    Right concentration​. Right concentration refers to dedicate to practice, whether it is meditation, dharma study, chanting, etc.. In other words, once we have directed our minds and lives toward awakening, we can proceed.
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the doors to the world of the wild self are few but precious.
if you have a deep scar, that is a door,
if you have an old, old story, that is a door.
if you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door.
​if you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.​

~ clarissa pinkola estés
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The essential nature of the sun is pure and clear radiance, 
Which even a thousand aeons of darkness cannot obscure.
So too the essence of your own mind is Clear Light,
That cannot be obscured by aeons’ worth of delusions.
Just as the nature of the sky or space exceeds the limits of colour or shape
And is not stained by either black or white clouds,
So too, mind’s nature exceeds all limits of color and shape.

— Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol, Flight of the Garuda