Noble Truth (Ariya-Sacca) is short for "truth of the Noble ones (or of those who have attained a high degree of advancement)", "truth attainable by the noble ones", "truth by which one is ennobled". It should first be understood that it is not simply truth that is agreeable to the world or to oneself, but truth that is directly born of wisdom. The four Noble Truths are :-
1. Dukkha or suffering; which means birth, decay and death which are the normal incidents of life. It also means sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair which are at times experienced by our body and mind. To be separated from the pleasant, to be disappointed, or to be in contact with the unpleasant are also suffering. In short our body and mind are subject to suffering or, in other words, we may say that our existence is bound up with suffering.
2. Samudaya; which means the cause of suffering, which is desire. It is a compelling urge of the mind, such as the longing to own what we desire, to be what we desire to be, or to avoid those states to which we feel aversion.
3. Nirodha; which means cessation of suffering, which connotes extinction of desire or such longings of the mind.
4.Magga; which means the way to the cessation of suffering, which is the Noble Eight fold Path, namely Right Understanding, Right Intention, Right speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
Some people believe that Buddhism is pessimistic in outlook because its teachings deal only with suffering and are of so high a standard that ordinary people are unable to practise it because it advocates extinction of desire, which is very difficult to accomplish. Since such misunderstanding exists, clarification is necessary before the noble Truths can be dealt with. The Buddhist religion