The Four Noble Truths

Today, we’re going to learn...

...what the Buddha has in common with Doctor Who

(not a huge deal)

Learning aim: Today we’re learning the Four Noble Truths.

Success criteria

 

By the end of the lesson I will be able to…

1. Give the Buddhist names for the Four Noble Truths.

2. Know what each of them means.

3. Explain in detail the First Noble Truth.

1. Give a diagnosis2. Identify the cause3. Tell you if you can be cured4. Give you a prescription

Imagine you are feeling ill…

You go and see the doctor.

What would you expect him to do?

E.g.

Greig goes to the doctor with a sore foot. The doctor asks Greig some questions about his lifestyle, and has a look at the foot (maybe with an X-ray).

Then he says the following…

1. Greig, you have broken your foot.2. You probably did it playing football.3. We will heal your foot by making

the bone grow back together.4. We’ll put it in a cast to help it, you

just need to rest and not walk on it.

Diagnosis

E.g.

Greig goes to the doctor with a sore foot. The doctor asks Greig some questions about his lifestyle, and has a look at the foot (maybe with an X-ray).

Then he says the following…

1. Greig, you have broken your foot.2. You probably did it playing football.3. We will heal your foot by making

the bone grow back together.4. We’ll put it in a cast to help it, you

just need to rest and not walk on it.

Cause

E.g.

Greig goes to the doctor with a sore foot. The doctor asks Greig some questions about his lifestyle, and has a look at the foot (maybe with an X-ray).

Then he says the following…

1. Greig, you have broken your foot.2. You probably did it playing football.3. We will heal your foot by making

the bone grow back together.4. We’ll put it in a cast to help it, you

just need to rest and not walk on it.

Cure

E.g.

Greig goes to the doctor with a sore foot. The doctor asks Greig some questions about his lifestyle, and has a look at the foot (maybe with an X-ray).

Then he says the following…

1. Greig, you have broken your foot.2. You probably did it playing football.3. We will heal your foot by making

the bone grow back together.4. We’ll put it in a cast to help it, you

just need to rest and not walk on it.

Prescription

Why all this nonsense about Diagnoses, Causes, Cures and Prescriptions?

The Buddha was likened to a doctor when he gave his first sermon in a deer park in a place called Benares.

First Noble Truth: the diagnosisSecond Noble Truth: the causeThird Noble Truth: the cureFourth Noble Truth: the prescription

It was in this sermon that the Buddha taught his five followers the Four Noble Truths.

Silent Pictionary

To work out what each of the Noble Truths are, we’re going to play pictionary in a sensible manner.

Any messing about, and I’ll just get you to copy them down!

In groups, one of you will come out, and I will show you what the First Noble Truth is in one/two words.

Your group has to guess the correct word and write it next to the picture. THERE MUST BE NO TALKING!

The next person will then come up, show me the correct word, and get the next word for the Second Noble Truth...and do the same.

And the same for the Third and Fourth...

Copy the following into your jotters...

1st Noble Truth (Dukkha) - Life is suffering.

2nd Noble Truth (Samudaya) - Suffering is caused by craving/thirst.

3rd Noble Truth (Nirodha) - If you stop craving you will stop suffering and reach Nirvana.

4th Noble Truth (Magga) - To achieve Nirvana, you must follow the Eightfold Path.

1st Noble Truth - Dukkha

The Buddha said people suffer because they don’t understand __________________that everything changes

The word is usually translated into English as "suffering." But it also means temporary, limited and imperfect.

Explain why the following pictures may be considered dukkha by a Buddhist...

16

17

18

Dukkha is commonly explained according to three different categories:

Obvious physical and mental suffering.

The anxiety or stress of trying to hold onto things

that are constantly changing.

Generally being a bit glum or dissatisfied because

everything is impermanent.

Life is dukkha

Life does not contain dukkha, life is dukkha, because life itself is temporary, and we cling onto

that pointlessly.

Dukkha doesn’t just mean suffering. It is more than

that - it is also just dissatisfaction/frustration.

Exam question

1 b. Describe what is meant by dukkha. (4 marks)

Time: 5 mins

Marking Instructions

You will get one mark for any of the following answers:

• 1 Mark of Existence and the First Noble Truth • Literally means suffering • Sometimes translated as unsatisfactoriness, as ‘more’ than just suffering • All life is full of suffering and dissatisfaction • Caused by not understanding anicca and anatta (impermanence and no-soul) • Caused by unrealistic expectations / attachment • 3 types of suffering: ordinary / produced by change / conditioned states • Caused by Tanha

Come up with three questions you could ask the person in the hotseat about

what we learned today.

Learning aim: Today we’re learning the Four Noble Truths.

Can I…?

 

By the now you should be able to…

1. Give the Buddhist names for the Four Noble Truths.

2. Know what each of them means.

3. Explain in detail the First Noble Truth.