[stoogecristi]

For the Buddha, the essential problem of humanity was not one of sin, but of suffering and misery. But how could suffering be alleviated? His “enlightenment” on the matter led him to formulate the four noble truths and the eightfold path that are the foundation of Buddhism.

According to Buddhist history, Siddhartha Gautama was raised in a wealthy family, sheltered and protected from life's unpleasantness and tragedies. One day, however, he saw the world as it really was. In observing a decrepit old man, a corpse, a diseased man and a beggar, he realized the fundamental condition of man was one of suffering. For the Buddha, the essential problem of humanity was not really one of sin or selfishness or rebellion against God, as Christianity teaches. It was suffering and misery. But how could suffering be alleviated? This occupied the Buddha's thoughts and he eventually received "enlightenment" on the matter. Buddha formulated the foundation of Buddhism: the four noble truths and the eightfold path.


From a Christian perspective, Siddhartha attempted to find a solution to the symptoms of man's problem instead of the basic or underlying problem itself . Thus, in Christianity, suffering and misery in life are caused largely by sin and rebellion against God. By rejecting God and the dynamics of man's relationship to God, Buddha's only option was to deal with symptoms (e.g., suffering) instead of causes (e.g., sin). This basic misdiagnosis conditions everything subsequent in Buddhism.

In brief, the four noble truths are:

all life involves suffering,
suffering is caused by desire (e.g., "selfish" craving defined, in part, as the desire to exist as an independent self),
desire can be overcome, and
the means to overcome desire is the eightfold path.
The eightfold path consists of the proper or correct exercise of eight conditions or actions which aim at eliminating desire and hence suffering. These include:

right vision (knowledge or views,)
right conception (aspirations,)
right speech,
right behavior (conduct),
right livelihood,
right effort,
right concentration or mindfulness, and
right one-pointed contemplation (or meditation).
However, we must remember to interpret these eight requirements from a Buddhist rather than a Western or Christian perspective. Since these are defined in light of a Buddhist worldview and its presuppositions, they take on distinctly Buddhist implications. As such, they are implicitly or explicitly non-Christian. In fact, given Buddhist premises, the Christian world view is easily considered a spiritual detriment or evil.[2] For example, right understanding is the correct understanding and acceptance of the four noble truths and the Buddhist perception of the world and self. Right concentration or mindfulness in the sense of awareness of one's own actions is achieved by meditation (often leading to occult states of trance and/or development of psychic powers). Right morality "does not consist in passive obedience to a code imposed by a God..." but is determined by tradition (ultimately determined by the Buddha, i.e., the first Buddhist traditions).[3] In fact, according to Buddha, belief in the Christian God and morality are delusive, harmful beliefs. He thus argued, "It is no wonder that people holding these conceptions lose hope and neglect efforts to act wisely and avoid evil."[4]