The Four Noble Truths

The entire Buddhist philosophy and religion is simply an elaboration of four noble truths: Suffering-Dukha, the cause of suffering-Dukha-Samudaya, the cessation of suffering-Dukha-Nirodha and the way leading to the cession of suffering-Dukha-Nirodhagainipratipat.

The noble eightfold path consists of eight steps which are: Right Path (Samyak Dristi), Right Resolve (Samyak Samkalpa), Right Speech (Samyak Vak), Right Action (Samyak Karma), Right Living (Samyak Ajiva), Right Effort (Samyak Vyayama), Right Thought (Samyak Smrti), and Right Concentration (Samyak Samadhi).

Out of the eightfold paths the first two combined together are called prajna. The last three paths combined together are called sila. These three have been termed as three jewels- Ratna-Traya. They correspond to the three jewels Jainism-Samyak Jnana, Darsana and Charitra.

The first sermon taught by the Buddha at Sarnatha was the Madhyama Pratipat-the Middle Path. "There are two extremes, O Monks, a religious man must abstain. One is a life of pleasure, devoted to desire and enjoyment: that is base, ignoble and unworthy. The other is a life of mortification: it is gloomy and unworthy. The perfect one, O Monks, must abstain from both extremes and he should follow the middle path which leads to enlightenment, knowledge, to Nirvana."

The early Buddhists were Saravastivadins. They denied only soul, i.e. Pudgalanairatmyavada which culminated into Nagarjuna's philosophy of Sunyata which negates both Pudgala as well as Dharmas, i.e. Pudgalanairatmyavada and Dharma-Nairatmyavada. The Vijnanavadins realised the lacuna of the absolute negation of Nagarjuna, and therefore, accepted the ultimate reality of Vijnana, Consciousness and rejected the reality of the external world. The later developments of Mantrayana and Tantra have their significance and Buddhism never ceased to develop and modify its position through the centuries. In the early Buddhism Buddha was an exalted person (Samyak Sambuddha). He was still a human being who by his preservance and accumulation of meritorious deeds (Punya Sambhara) in his several past births could actually shake off all the causes of bondage to attain Buddhahood. It is the concept of Pratyeka Buddha, who attains enlightenment without guidance from others but liberates only himself without teaching others. Another attempt was made by the Mahayana Buddhism thereby divinity enters into it through the personality of Buddha and the transcendence of Buddha (Lokottarvada) was accepted. The Buddhist concept of Trykayavada is the answer to the orthodox Hindu conception of Isvara. The divinising effect of Buddhism was universal and the traditional Hindu worship entered not only in the Mahayanistic countries but in the Hinayanistic countries as well. The temples, images and statutes of Buddha are found in all these countries.