The Four Noble Truths
Now this, monks, is the noble truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair are stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from the loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five aggregates for sustenance are stressful.
And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of stress: the craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion and delight, relishing now here and now there — i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.
And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading and cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release and letting go of that very craving.
And this, monks, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of stress: precisely this Noble Eightfold Path — right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before: 'This is the noble truth of stress'...'This noble truth of stress is to be comprehended'...'This noble truth of stress has been comprehended'...
'This is the noble truth of the origination of stress'...'This noble truth of the origination of stress is to be abandoned'...'This noble truth of the origination of stress has been abandoned'...
'This is the noble truth of the cessation of stress'...'This noble truth of the cessation of stress is to be directly experienced'...'This noble truth of the cessation of stress has been directly experienced'...
'This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of stress'...'This noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of stress is to be developed'...'This noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of stress has been developed.'
And, monks, as long as this knowledge and vision of mine — with its three rounds and twelve permutations concerning these four noble truths as they actually are — was not pure, I did not claim to have directly awakened to the unexcelled right self-awakening... But as soon as this knowledge and vision of mine — with its three rounds and twelve permutations concerning these four noble truths as they actually are — was truly pure, then did I claim to have directly awakened to the unexcelled right self-awakening... The knowledge and vision arose in me: 'Unshakable is my release. This is the last birth. There is now no further becoming.'
