As we recognize there is suffering, dissatisfaction and unreliability in life, we can begin to accept that it is our attachment to and craving after impermanent things that causes our suffering. We see that the things we hope will bring us stability and happiness just don’t live up to their promise. Ultimately, we understand that the end of suffering will depend on changing our own states of mind and our views about our experience, not on relying on the impermanent things we desire. So, how do we begin the work of changing our relationship to the suffering we find in life?

A common analogy used as a model for the Four Noble Truths is that of a physician treating illness. We recognize the illness is present by the symptoms we experience, we see the cause of the illness and we understand the cure for the illness. Finally we lay out a path of treatment. That path, the Fourth Noble Truth, is called the Noble Eightfold Path.

The path, despite it’s name, is not a linear path of increased achievement, but really an interconnected collection of steps the we cultivate in the areas of conduct, mental development and wisdom. We’ll briefly look at each of the steps: Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood (Good Conduct); Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration (Mental Development); Right Attitude and Right View (Wisdom).