The third noble truth of freedom from suffering teaches that relief from suffering is possible. Liberation from the vicious cycle of craving and suffering is often referred to as Nirvana. Nirvana does not refer to some other-worldly realm of bliss nor to a nihilistic destruction of thought or being. It actually means “to extinguish.” This refers to the extinguishing of the flames of selfish craving.

Craving transforms our life into a state of subtle agitation and anxiety, even under the best circumstances. For example, we worry about paying the bills, losing a job, or not getting a promotion. In the worst circumstances, it makes life an ongoing cycle of agony and unbearable suffering, such as when we face serious illness or the death of a loved one. While external circumstances can indeed bring about uncomfortable or tragic experiences, it is our internal craving that turns pain – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual – into suffering. The Buddha tells us that though pain and discomfort exist in everyone’s life, suffering is optional.

The second noble truth of the cause of suffering is that suffering arises when we refuse to recognize the reality of life and instead attempt to make reality conform to our desires. This truth is often expressed as “the cause of suffering is craving.” This craving is the result of the unrealistic expectation that life should be a source of unchangeable happiness.

The first noble truth of suffering is that we are bound to meet with trouble, pain, and disappointment in Life. This suffering includes all minor and major forms of discomfort and pain, whether physical, mental, or emotional. The Buddha specifically spoke of the suffering resulting from major changes such as birth, old age, sickness, and death, as well as the suffering that comes from loss, frustrated desires, unwanted situations, and the basic, changing nature of life. The truth of suffering teaches us to recognize these facts courageously.

The Four Noble Truths are the fundamental teachings of the Buddha, a straight-forward application of the law of cause and effect. The Four Noble Truths are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of freedom from suffering, and the truth of the way to eliminate suffering that is the Eightfold Path. The first two truths describe the effect and the cause of suffering. The last two truths describe the effect and cause of freedom from suffering.

The Buddha also saw beyond the Six Worlds. He realized that it was possible to transcend these states and become free of both the suffering of the four lower worlds and the limited happiness of both the human and heavenly realms. The Buddha wished to share with others the ultimate happiness of the state of Buddhahood itself. However, be knew that most people would have trouble even imagining such a state, and that even fewer would have the confidence in themselves or in the Buddha to try to attain such a state. In order to help us, the Buddha provided many preparatory teachings so we could better understand our lives, free ourselves of suffering and attain the confidence to realize our own Buddhahood.

According to the Buddha, there are Six Worlds, or basic states of existence, that we can experience from moment to moment and even from lifetime to lifetime. These are the worlds or the hell-dwellers, hungry ghosts, animals, fighting demons, human beings, and the heavenly beings. Depending upon the positive or negative causes we make, the very nature of our body, mind, and environment can change to resemble one or more of these worlds. When we give in to despair or unreasoning hatred we experience life as hellish. When we are so dominated by selfish craving that we can never get enough of what we desire, then we are in the half-alive state of a hungry ghost. When we live only for immediate gratification and ignore the consequences of our actions, then we have become like animals who live only by instinct. When we puff ourselves up with pride and compete with others for money, power or sex, then we have become like fighting demons. When we are able to act reasouably and are not overwhelmed by pleasure or paain, then we are in the basic state of a human being. On those rare occasion when our desires are temporarily fulfilled and we are in a state of joyful harmony and wellbeing, then we are experiencing the heavenly realms. These different states are ever-changing and flow from one to the next.

The Buddha was aware that the process of cause and effect extends beyond a single lifetime. Based upon his deep insight into the processes of life and death and of cause and effect, the Buddha saw that who we are and what we are faced with in this life are the result of our actions in previous lifetimes. Furthermore, what we will become in future lifetimes will be determined by what we do in the present. In other words, our every thought, word, and deed has the power to create our own destiny, both now and in the future.

The Buddha taught that what we are today is a result of what we have thought and done in the past, and what we shall be in the future will be a result of what we think and do in the present.

Unfortunately, we trap ourselves in a vicious cycle of suffering by not recognizing the impermanent nature of things. Neither do we realize the ways in which we are setting in motion the various causes that will eventually determine the nature of our lives. Because of this ignorance, in our attempts to get those things that we mistakenly believe will bring permanent self-fulfillment, we act in ways that are far from beneficial, both for ourselves and for others. Most of us are familiar with the phrase “what goes around comes around,” but how many of us actually make sure that all of our words, actions, and thoughts are the kind that we would like to see mirrored back to us by the people, places, and events in our daily lives?

In general, the law of cause and effect explains how all phenomena appear and disappear as a result of actions and their consequences. Everything that exists, from people to planets to subatomic particles to states of mind, are the effects of previous causes and will in turn generate the causes that will bring about future effects. When we become aware of this process, we realize that nothing exists independently of its causes and conditions, and that nothing possesses any kind of permanent existence. Everything exists as a momentary and mutually supportive element in the dynamic process of cause and effect. This also means that when we try to grasp onto anything within this process, it invariably slips away and fails to provide us with the lasting satisfaction and security that we are seeking.