THE FouR NOBLE TRUTHS THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS Fundamentals of the Buddhist Teachings His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama translated by Geshe Thupten finpa edited by Dominique Side Thorsons An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB Published by Thorsons 1997 21 20 19 18 17 16 ©His Holiness the His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama 1997 XIV Dalai Lama asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 7225 3550 3 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Martins the Printers Limited, Berwick upon Tweed All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any fonn or by any means. electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior pennission of the publishers. C ONTENTS Preface by Kesang Y Takla In troduction I vii Introducing the Four Noble Truths 34 2 The Truth of Suffering 42 3 The Truth of the Origin of Suffering 4 The Truth of Cessation 5 The Truth of the Path 95 1 15 Appendix: Compassion, the Basis for Human Happiness 130 Glossary 15 1 Recommended R eading !58 Notes 160 72 PREFACE In July 1996, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a series of lectures on Buddhist thought and practice at the Barbican Centre in London. These talks were facilitated by the Network of Buddhist Organisations in U.K. - a national association of Buddhist Centres. The central theme of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's lectures at the Barbican Centre, which form the core of this book, is the Buddhist teaching on the principle of the Four Noble Truths, which is the foundation of all Buddha's teachings. In these talks, His Holiness presents a comprehensive explanation of the subject, helping us to gain a better understanding of the Four Noble Truths. The appendix, 'Compassion - the Basis for Human Happiness', is the text of a general T H E F O U R N O B L E T R U T H S public talk by His Holiness at the Free Trade Centre in Manchester. This was organized by the Tibet Society of U.K. - which is one of the oldest Tibetan Support organizations. This chapter on compassion complements the teachings on the Four Noble Truths beauti­ fully as it illustrates how the teachings of the Buddha can he appl ied in our day-to-day life. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama's central message in these talks is compassion and the teachings on how to live a life of human kind­ ness, it is our hope that this book will be of interest and benefit to people of all faiths and also those who do not share in any reli­ gious faiths. The Office of Tibet in London would like to thank Cait Collins and Jane Rasch for tran­ scribing the tapes of the talks, and Dominique Side and the translator Geshe Thupten Jinpa for editing the manuscript for publication. Kesang Y. Takla (Mrs) Representative of H. H. the Dalai Lama London viii