What Is the Relationship of the Four Noble Truths to the Eightfold Path?

What is the relationship of the Four Noble truths to the Eightfold path? The heart of Buddhist teaching is found in the Four Noble Truths. These truths are what Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened about when he became the â€Å"buddha† or â€Å"enlightened one. † These truths are shared by all the different groups, schools of thought and divisions within Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths are: 1. the truth of suffering – life involves suffering or dissatisfaction. Even the most privileged lives involve suffering or dissatisfaction of some sort. 2. he truth of desire – suffering is caused by desire, specifically unenlightened desire 3. the truth of the cessation of desire – when unenlightened desire is ceased or eliminated from life, suffering ceases as well 4. the truth of the 8-fold path – desire is enlightened through right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right understanding and r ight resolve The Four Noble Truths support the common characterization of the Buddha as a doctor or healer. He assesses the life's condition, makes a diagnosis, and provides a prescription for the cure. Life involves suffering, even for those who lead privileged lives. Bad things happen, people get sick, loved ones die, things don't go as planned, and so on. How does Buddhism explain karma and reincarnation without a soul? Karma is the concept that the individual's actions determine his fate, whether in this or in a future life, and that every action has to be balanced in some way. By doing certain actions, certain energies are set in motion, which bring certain effects. It is a way to restore balance in the Universe, and is not punishment for one's actins. Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul in a new body, while Karma affects the new body and determines the circumstances into which it is born. Both of them can explain a lot of things in each one's life. A life of comfort and success means that the person performed good deeds in a previous life, and a life of difficulties, failure and adversities is a retribution for negative past actions. It is said that it is the soul that reincarnates, but what is the soul? This is an ambiguous term. If someone says, â€Å"my soul reincarnates† or â€Å"my soul is eternal†, he is actually saying that there are two ifferent entities. There is he, and there is his soul, which means that he is not the soul. Forgive me for the comparison, but it is like saying, â€Å"I have a pair of shoes†, â€Å"I have a car† and â€Å"I have a soul†. It is regarded as a possession. This means that it is possible to be â€Å"with a soul† and â€Å"without a soul†. D oes this sound reasonable to you? If a soul is a â€Å"possession†, then who is the owner? This owner must be more important then the soul! people encounter different situations and live in different circumstances, deep within all are indivisible part of the same One Spirit. This Spirit is not touched or affected by situations or circumstances. It means that from the viewpoint of the Spirit, karma and reincarnation are illusory. When one is able to realize this understanding on a deep level, one goes beyond karma and reincarnation. When the Consciousness of the Spirit is â€Å"awakened†, through concentration and meditation, one realizes that he is an integral part of the eternal and undivided Spirit. He experiences a Spiritual Awakening, and then both reincarnation and karma lose their meaning, power and reality. What is a Bodhisattva? The word bodhisattva means â€Å"enlightenment being. † Very simply, bodhisattvas are beings who work for the enlightenment of all beings, not just themselves. They vow not to enter Nirvana until all beings enter Nirvana together. A BODHISATTVA IS an ordinary person who takes up a course in his or her life that moves in the direction of buddha. You're a bodhisattva, I'm a bodhisattva; actually, anyone who directs their attention, their life, to practicing the way of life of a buddha is a bodhisattva View one of the following videos and give a succinct report on its content in relationship to Buddhism: Enlightenment Guaranteed (German film), Babette's Feast, the Matrix, The Little Buddha, What the bleep do we know, Groundhog Day, or the Zen film, Woman of the Dunes. The Little Buddha Little Buddha is an enjoyable, at times powerful, and ultimately highly entertaining movie. Of course, there are quite a few movies today that can also be called entertaining, but they often achieve this with a combination of sex, violence and (admittedly) amazing special effects. It is rare to see a movie essentially devoid of such things that not only does entertain you, but also uplifts your spirit and leaves you with a positive feeling. For me, Little Buddha is also such a movie. However, as I reflect on the powerful depiction in this movie of Siddartha's transformation into the Buddha under the bodhi tree, it seems clear that the powerful force responsible for shaking Siddhartha up and humbling him was none other than the unforgiving truth of impermanence. Every living thing must change and ultimately perish. This of course is a disturbing and negative truth. However, this powerful negative truth was transformed into an equally powerful positive one when he realized that not just he, but that also all living things, even plants and insects, were all suffering from and bound by this same truth. Ultimately, he saw that all life is one. I believe the Buddha's great compassion developed out of this awareness of universal suffering. In Little Buddha, this truth, though perhaps somewhat obscured by the search for the reincarnated teacher, is nonetheless powerfully and unforgettably portrayed. I highly recommend that you see this movie.