Who cares about the Four Noble Truths?

Ajahn Sumedho (The Buddhist Society); Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Long ago when I was teaching at a Buddhist temple in LA's San Gabriel Valley, someone suggested the topic of the Four Noble Truths for the next class. I thought it was a simple but brilliant suggestion, as there was so much that could be done with the subject. But the chaplain (Ho Bang, a mon who lived a long time in Thailand and had married a Thai woman) rolled his eyes and protested in anger that it was too basic. I realized in that moment that he didn't understand these four unifying principles but had merely learned them as a list to be so upset. I commiserated with the abbot that most know-it-alls must feel the same as Ho Bang. And why was he called Ho Bang anyway? It meant something in Thai, he explained. Yes, I countered, but it also means something in English, and that man was raised speaking English and must realize it for a visitor to Thailand. Why can so much be done with the inexhaustible subject of the Truths? It is shorthand for all of Buddhism. I'm willing to believe that it wasn't there in the beginning but added or, more likely, deduced and made explicit. The First Sermon, the "Turning of the Wheel Discourse," uses them as a central theme. Why? From the ancient Indian (proto-Indian) idea of what a physician is for comes the answer as regards the Buddha, the Master Physician:

• What is the problem? (diagnosis)
• What is the cause? (etiology)
• What is the likelihood of getting better? (prognosis)
• What is the solution? (prescribed course of treatment)

There's a better way to put it:

• Suffering sucks.
• Here's why.
• It's curable.
• Here's how.

If there were no suffering in life (in all planes of existence), there would be no need for a solution and therefore no need to awaken from this illusion, this maya, The Awakened awakened because things suck. That's why he set out to find a cure from the ill of things being unfulfilling, unsatisfactory, disappointing. When he came upon the solution, he thought to tell others but decided against it because they were immersed in sensuality -- the disappointing temporary distraction of ephemeral pleasures. Then he was reminded (by Brahma and Sakka) that in this world-system there were a few being with just a little dust in their eyes who would go on suffering for lack of hearing the Truth. But should they hear the Awakened One's Dharma or Doctrine, they would awaken and be freed from suffering, even while did not seem to realize there was any problem to solve, any disease in need of curing. The Buddha agreed and set out to teach, set up a community of dedicated and awakened practitioners (the noble ones being those along the stages of awakening). So how could anyone say the Four Ennobling Truths, the knowing of which leads to awakening, is a boring subject for a teacher? Someone who hasn't fathomed thier importance and their purpose. They are not a list to memorize or believe. They are things to ponder because they urge us on toward the goal of purification of view to make an end of ignorance. Need a "list"? Here it is:

1. Dukkha (disappointment)
2. Tanha (craving)
3. Nirvana (release)
4. Magga (path).

The second and third factors are not usually spelled out but noted as samudaya ("origin" or) and nirodha ("extinction," cessation, or ending of the problem). if this were the first thing one learned about Buddhism, it would oddly also be the last. Because it is only because one has fathomed the true meaning of these words that one awakens. One has to see what is meant by "suffering," to appreciate the predicament we are in. Only then can one recognize that craving (incessant desire based on ignorance and usually accompanied by aversion to other things) is the immediate cause of it. Then one will yearn for an actual solution, since getting what one wants has never been able to bring about the cessation of craving which causes suffering/disappointment/ill and woe. Then one will ask, What is the way to the end of suffering. That is the path set out by the Awakened One for others to awaken. This is usually summarized broadly as the Noble or Ennobling Eightfold Path. But that's just another list. In depth, the "path" means realization for oneself what is path and what is not-path, what leads to the goal and what is superfluous. This is a supramundane realization even if there were not a buddha who had fathomed these things, made them explicit, expressed and explained them and set them out as a vital teaching.

This being the case, what will the great Ajahn Sumedho (formerly Robert Karr Jackman) do with the topic?

The Four Noble Truths by Ajahn Sumedho

Ajahn Sumedho with Ajahn Chah

Revered Western Buddhist monk Luang Por (an honorific title that simply means great monk) Sumedho was born in Seattle, Washington state, in 1934. After serving four years in the US Navy as a medic, he completed a BA in Far Eastern Studies and an MA in South Asian Studies. In 1966, he went to Thailand to practice meditation at Wat Mahathat in Bangkok.

Not long afterwards, he went forth as a novice monastic in a remote part of the country called Nong Khai, before receiving full ordination as a monk in 1967. A year of solitary practice followed. Although fruitful, it showed him the need for a reliable teacher who could more actively guide him.

A fortuitous encounter with a visiting monk led him to Ubon Province in the northeast to practice with Ajahn Chah. He took dependence from Luang Por Chah and remained under his close guidance for ten years.

In 1975, Luang Por Sumedho established Wat Pah Nanachat, the International Forest Monastery where Westerners could be trained in English.

In 1977, he accompanied Luang Por Chah to England and took up residence at the Hampstead Vihara, with three other monks. Ajahn Sumedho was made an upachaya ("ordination preceptor") in 1981. Since then he has given upasampada (monastic precepts) to more than 100 aspirants of many nationalities. 

Venerable Sumedho was integral to establishing the Forest Tradition Sangha (Monastic Community) in the United Kingdom. He was central to establishing Amaravati Buddhist Monastery and Chithurst Buddhist Monastery.

He remained the senior incumbent at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire until November 2010, at which time he handed over the duties of abbot to Ajahn Amaro. Ven. Sumedho is now based in Thailand, where his monastic life began in 1966.