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The basic teachings of Buddhism are called the Four Nobel Truths. The first truth is Life means suffering. To live means to suffer, because the human nature is not perfect and neither is the world we live in. The second truth is the origin of suffering is attachment. This means that we suffer because of desire for possessions. The third truth is the cessation of suffering is attainable. This states that is people no longer desire for possessions, the suffering will stop. They can then achieve a state of nirvana, or a state of happiness and peace. The fourth truth is the path to the cessation of suffering. This truth states that people can escape suffering by following the Middle Way, or a set of guidelines called the Eightfold Path. There is a path to the end of suffering - a gradual path of self-improvement, which is described more detailed in the Eightfold Path. It is the middle way between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence (hedonism) and excessive self-mortification (asceticism); and it leads to the end of the cycle of rebirth. The latter quality discerns it from other paths which are merely "wandering on the wheel of becoming", because these do not have a final object. The path to the end of suffering can extend over many lifetimes, throughout which every individual rebirth is subject to karmic conditioning. Craving, ignorance, delusions, and its effects will disappear gradually, as progress is made on the path.

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15y ago

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