The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path

The Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath set out the Four Noble Truths, often compared to a doctor's diagnosis. First, life involves dukkha: suffering, dissatisfaction or unease. Second, suffering arises from tanha, craving or attachment. Third, suffering can end; this cessation is nirvana, the 'blowing out' of craving. Fourth, the way to end it is the Noble Eightfold Path: right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration, usually grouped into wisdom, ethics and meditation.

Buddhism also teaches anatta (no permanent self) and anicca (impermanence), which distinguish it from the Hindu idea of an eternal atman. Karma and rebirth remain, but liberation means ending the cycle by uprooting craving and ignorance. Critics sometimes called the teaching pessimistic, while Buddhists answer that it is realistic and ultimately hopeful, since it insists suffering can be overcome by human effort.