Zen Buddhism: The Four Noble Truth Of Suffering

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Shaolin Temple is known for its teachings of Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism, is based on several factors: The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, Karma and Reincarnation, and Sutras. Each of these factors has numerous sections and as Buddha once said. Words can’t describe the path to enlightenment as this paper will never be able to express the depth of the essence of Zen Buddhism. I will attempt to describe the Zen factors in a nutshell. The Four Noble Truths include: The truth of Suffering, The Causes of Suffering, The End of Suffering, The Truth of the Path Leading to the End of Suffering. The first of the Four Noble Truths is the Truth of Suffering. This relates to all human suffering has a human attachment which one needs to let…show more content…
Karma and Reincarnation go hand in hand. Karma is described as an intentional action that is done deliberately through body, speech or mind. Karma can be good or bad depending. “Karma is the law of moral causation. It is action and reaction in the ethical realm”, (Chontri). While Karma is an action, Reincarnation is described as a fact. According to the Buddhists, rebirth takes place at the end of this life. “At the moment of death, when this life is over, and the body can no longer survive, the mind is separated from the body. At that time, the craving for life causes one to seek a new existence, and the previous karma determines the place of one's rebirth”, (Chondri). There are the six realms of existence which are: gods, the demigods, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts and the hells. The six realms of existence include three relatively happy states, and three relatively miserable states. The realms of the gods, the demigods and human beings are considered to contain more happiness and less suffering. The realms of animals, hungry ghosts and the hells are considered to be relatively miserable because living beings there suffer more from fear, hunger, thirst, heat, cold and pain. People who understand karma and rebirth see life in a better perspective. They are convinced that they will experience the good effects of their wholesome actions either in the short-term or in the
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