After attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, Buddha Shakyamuni expounded the truths he had realized for the first time. These truths are known as the Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering, the truth of the origin of suffering, the truth of the cessation of suffering, and the truth of the path.
The first noble truth is the truth of suffering. “Truth” means reality. The Buddha taught that sentient beings experience three types of suffering: the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and all-pervasive suffering. Our lives are filled with these three types of suffering. Those who haven’t learned them cannot understand the truth of suffering. Only by thoroughly understanding the truth of suffering can we truly embark on the path to liberation. The first step in practicing the path to liberation is to comprehend the truth of suffering. Mountains move, valleys change, seas become fields. Youthful faces of the past are now adorned with gray hair. Emotions fluctuate between joy and sorrow, laughter and anger. Day and night rotate; winter and summer alternate. Cloudy or sunny, dark or bright, the weather is unpredictable; the sun and moon are chasing after each other. Life is filled with cycles of wealth and poverty, gains and losses, rise and fall, without a fixed pattern. Relationships are changeable: yesterday’s flattery may turn into today’s conflict. Nothing is under our control. Sentient beings are constantly driven by karma. This is all-pervasive suffering. The Suffering of Suffering As the karmic force of our body and mind grows stronger, all-pervasive suffering becomes more evident and intense. As all-pervasive suffering intensifies and continues, compulsion turns into affliction. This feeling of affliction is known as the “suffering of suffering”. Human beings experience eight types of suffering of suffering.