On 2/28/2003 3:25:58 PM, Samuel
Rutledge wrote:
>The four noble truths of
>Buddhism
>1) All of life is suffering
>2) Suffering is caused by
>ignorant desire
>3) Suffering can be eliminated
>4) The way is the noble
>eightfold path

You've got the Buddhist philosophy down,
Samuel, though the second noble truth
doesn't specify IGNORANT desire, only
desire. It uses the word "tanha" which is
usually translated desire or craving. The
Buddha came out of the Hindu faith
where desire itself was seen as the
source of suffering. In the Bhagavad-Gita,
Lord Krishna exhorts Prince Arjuna to
"Slay desire, the powerful enemy of the
soul." The solution prescribed by both
Hinduism and Buddhism is
"detachment", that is, attempting to r
eliminate one's desires and act
according to the dictates of practical
reason and social obligation (dharma),
not from desire. If you don't want
something, then you won't suffer when
you don't get it or when it's taken away
from you.

The cure for ignorance, of course, is
enlightenment. The two problems, though
separate, are related. If you're ignorant of
the four noble truths, you'll be under the
erroneous assumption that some day
you'll be able to fulfill all your desires and
in doing so will reach final happiness.

Prof. Borrowdale
borrowdalej@lanecc.edu