The Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths

A reflection on practice by Venerable Dhammadinna

Red & white poppy with grain (1)Of course, it’s true that mindfulness holds the presently arising moment with an attitude of non-judgment.  In order to learn we have to bear with undesirable experience without condemning— and desirable experience without becoming fixated. Condemnation and fixation are kinds of judgments we make about what is worth experiencing.

The path of practice is not merely non-judgment. Mindfulness has a view. Right view guides mindfulness. This means there is discernment regarding what is dukkha, where it comes from, and how to escape from its oppression. There is a simile from The Questions of King Milinda, “Grasping a handful of barley in the left hand and a sickle in the right, the reapers cut the barley. Even so does one who is devoted to mental training take hold of the mind with wise attention and cut off the defilements with wisdom.”

Throughout the entirety of our lives we continue to review and refine our practice in the light of the Four Noble Truths. Those with an excellent understanding of these truths are likewise possessed of unhesitating energy, resolve, and fearlessness in the face of the sufferings of the world.


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