An introduction to the teachings and philosophies of Buddhism is fascinating. While it can take many years to have a complete understanding of Buddhist beliefs you can begin to understand them by reading some simple articles about the Buddhist religion online. This article will provide a basic introduction to Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths teach about the concepts of suffering and attachment. The Eightfold Path teaches about achieving a deep understanding of the Four Noble truths, living a life based on morality ethical principles and how achieve these goals through meditation.

The Four Noble Truths

In Buddhist teachings there are four basic principles known as the Four Nobel Truths. The First Truth is that suffering is part of life. Suffering is referred to as Duhka. Buy suffering Buddhist teachings mean imperfectness, stress, anguish and the desire for attachment and permanence in life. Attachment is referred to as Trishna. Buddhism teaches that all things are impermanent, interconnected and don't exist individually. The Second Truth teaches that suffering is due to attachment. The truth teaches that by not understanding impermanence and we have clinging, craving, greed and lust in our lives. This truth teaches not to hate, avoid ignorance and seek wisdom. The Third Truth teaches to let go of greed, hate and ignorance and to overcome attachment. This state of being is referred to as Nirvana and describes accepting imperfections and impermanence. The Fourth Truth teaches that there is a path or way to reaching this state of being. This refers to following the Middle Way, which describes a happy medium between comfort and suffering.

The Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path Buddhist teachings go on further to offer the Eightfold Path. These teachings describe how to take the Middle Way and provide a set of guidelines for how to attain wisdom (prajna), live one's life (Shila or morality) and approach meditation (Samadhi). In the Eightfold Path the first two teachings are to have a deep understanding of the Four Truths and to have true desire to free oneself from hatefulness, ignorance and attachment. The third, four and fifth teachings of the Eightfold Path teach using proper speech, including not lying and cheating, not hurting other people and pursuing one's livelihood in an honest way. The sixth, seventh and eighth teachings of the Eightfold Path teach to meditate in a proper way, focus on positive mental qualities, pay attention to the body and mind to avoid negative thoughts, and how to meditate in a way to continuously focus on understanding imperfection, impermanence and interconnectedness.

On this hub we've only just scratchd the surface on the The Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path. Below I've listed books available now on Amazon for your further learning.

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

The Four Noble Truths & Eightfold Path

Quotes: In the Words of Buddha

The Philosophy of Buddhism

Basic Beliefs of Buddhism

How and What Buddhists Worship

The Origin of Buddhism

History of Buddhism

The Spread of Buddhism

Do Buddhists Worship Buddha