The Dharma or Dhamma

The second member of the Triple Gem of Buddhism is the Dharma or Dhamma. This is known as the Middle Way of the Four Noble Truths, which includes the Noble Eightfold Path. Regardless of which sect of Buddhism one is exploring, this would be the basic teaching or "Truth" of Buddhism. The Buddha first taught these truths to his former ascetic friends from the woods in a Deer park near Benares.

The Four Noble Truths

Truth #1: Life is dukkha. Dukkha is usually translated as "suffering" and it is related to two other "marks" of our human existence: impermanence (anicca) and no-self (anatta). Nothing lasts. Everything changes. No one steps in the same river twice. Life is somehow disjointed, like driving a shopping cart from the wrong end, or having a vertebra out of whack. There is just something not right about the way things are. We do not have access to any lasting identity or self.

Truth #2: The source of dukkha is "tanha," or desire. We desire what we can't have: permanence, a lasting identity, individuality. In our ignorance ("avidya") we are deluded as to the true nature of reality. Our senses deceive us. We are set in a seemingly never ending cycle of birth and destruction, all of which is rooted in this ignorance, fueled by the fire of desire that cannot be quenched by anything we can accomplish or possess. All that happens to us is a result of the karmic energy that is transmitted through each individual act, both in this life and our previous past lives. Karma, or will, along with desire, fuels the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara). Everything about our identity is contingent. All is rooted in a cycle of dependent origination. Desire leads to birth, birth leads to ignorance, to death, etc. and then the cycle of birth and rebirth begins again.

Truth #3: The truth of the ending or cessation of suffering, or "nirvana." Nirvana means, literally, to quench or extinguish, as in the cooling of the fires of desire. When there is no desire, there is no birth, death, or rebirth and the individual is returned to the primal, uncreated, unconditioned state of nonbeing, a state that cannot be described by means of any tools of the phenomenal world because it transcends this world, a state where the illusion of individuality no longer holds sway.

Truth #4: The way to the cessation of suffering, or the Noble Eightfold Path (magga). There is a wheel of truth that enables one to become freed from ignorance, hatred, and greed that keep us clinging to life when, in reality, there is nothing to which we can really cling. In order to undertake this Path, one must first place him or herself in association with those who have trodden this path before. If, for instance, you are trying to quit smoking, it might make sense to hang out with those who've already done so, not because they can do it for you, on your behalf, but because you can watch and learn from their experiences. Having done so, any of the eight components of the path, in any order, can reveal the path that is not really a path at all, because it does not go anywhere. The path simply enables one to see things as they really are, to see things as they have been all along. Here is the path:

Wisdom:

1. Right Understanding: If you can trust that something is actually worthwhile or workable, you are more likely to undertake the action and to sustain it. If you know, for instance, that airplanes rise up into the air, and, more often than not, they land on the ground, safely, then there are grounds for believing that you will most likely be safe upon your departure in a plane. If, however, you see that planes typically crash, but yet you still are willing to get on the plane, this is more like blind faith than real understanding. While there is still risk involved with flying, it becomes somehow reasonable to do so, because you see the typical results and, perhaps, because you know how flying works, e.g. the Bernoulli Principle. People should investigate their conditions, not just believe on the basis of someone else's recommendation.

2. Right Thought: According to one of the most sacred of Buddhist scriptures, the Dhammapada, "All we are is a result of what we have thought." According to Buddhism, humans are 80% mind. Therefore, to have an effect on our lives, we must put a good deal of attention to that mind, even more so than to the body. But we should be careful not to cling to the mind because mind, even more rapidly than body, changes. Finally, think about what your intentions are at any given moment. Notice how the mind affects the outcomes.

Morality:

3. Right Speech: Monitor what you say and don't say, how many times you lie or just stretch the truth, whether or not your speech is intended to build up or destroy.

4. Right Action: Observe the following basic precepts: Do not kill; do not steal; do not lie; do not use intoxicants; do not be unchaste.

5. Right Livelihood: Choose a profession that promotes life and avoids harm.
6. Right Effort: Commit oneself. As an ox pulls a cart through mud, so the practitioner trudges along, not intent on the destination but on the process of the travel itself.

Concentration

7. Right Mindfulness: An essential practice in Buddhism: the realization of the holistic nature of the world and the call to be aware of each present moment.

8. Right Concentration: A person is freed from passion and evil thoughts so as to perfect wisdom or insight which is capable of removing all impurities.