Three Steps for Each Noble Truth

When I first heard the Four Noble Truths, it was a revelation to me. It felt like this was something I had been waiting for all my life without knowing it.

Here was a map, a path pointed out for me. I was surprised to find that such a path actually existed. I received these teachings during my first ānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing) retreat in Thailand, and when I heard them, it was like a wake-up call. I saw that there was something to be changed, that it was possible to change, that there was actually a way out.

Looking at the Four Noble Truths, I saw, ‘Yes, there is suffering; I can understand that. I have had suffering in my life and still have it.’ And I thought: ‘Okay, now I understand suffering.’ But, actually, as you all know, there’s a bit more to it than that! Just understanding suffering with our rational minds is not the way out of the dilemma.

The Buddha pointed out that there are three steps for each Noble Truth. The first step is understanding each Truth on a theoretical level: there is suffering; there is a cause – craving; there is the cessation of suffering; there is the way out of suffering.

However, this theoretical understanding doesn’t lead us to liberation, and so the second step requires us to practise with each Truth: suffering needs to be understood; the cause needs to be abandoned; cessation needs to be realized; the path needs to be developed.

The third and final step is the fruit of the practice; here the tasks have been completed, and so we can say ‘suffering has been understood’, ‘the cause has been abandoned’, ‘cessation has been realized’ and ‘the path has been developed.’

This reflection by Ajahn Metta is from the book The Body, “The Gradual Path” (pdf), pp. 88-89.