Not Understanding and Not Penetrating The Four Noble Truths

Monks, it is because of not understanding and not penetrating The Four Noble Truths that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of The Cycle of Rebirth.

What four?

It is, Monks, because of not understanding and not penetrating the noble truth of discontentedness that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of The Cycle of Rebirth.

It is because of not understanding and not penetrating the noble truth of the cause of discontentedness that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of The Cycle of Rebirth.

It is because of not understanding and not penetrating the noble truth of the elimination of discontentedness that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of The Cycle of Rebirth.

It is because of not understanding and not penetrating the noble truth of the way leading to the elimination of discontentedness that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of The Cycle of Rebirth.

(Reference: SN 56.21)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares the importance of learning, reflecting, and practicing The Four Noble Truths as due to the lack of wisdom of this Teaching, a being will continue to “roam and wander through this long course of The Cycle of Rebirth”.

It is not just that one needs the intellectual learning of The Four Noble Truths but reflection to understand the truths then moving The Teachings into practice fully establishing “Right View”. It is only when one practices The Teachings that the condition of the mind is improved.

While some may value memorization and recitation of scriptures or text, a Practitioner would need to not only learn intellectually, but also ensure the mind is deeply practicing The Teachings through a well developed life practice while seeking guidance from a Teacher. One will need to “penetrate” The Four Noble Truths.

Today, we do not need to memorize or recite texts as that content is captured in a way to reference it at any time. A Practitioner needs to “understand and penetrate” the meaning of The Teachings so that they can practice The Teachings to improve the condition of the mind.

As one learns, reflects, and practices The Teachings, the condition of one’s mind and life gradually improve. There is nothing in these Teachings that one should believe.

In order to progress on The Path to Enlightenment, a Practitioner will need a Teacher to receive guidance. One would not be able to only read a book and attain the results of an Enlightened mind.

Nothing in Gotama Buddha's Teachings is based on belief. All his Teachings can be learned and practiced to independently observe the truth as the mind "gradually" acquires wisdom through independent verification of his Teachings through practice of his Teachings.

This new found wisdom "gradually" improves the way the mind functions in the world through eliminating discontentedness of mind. The mind can completely eliminate all discontent feelings such as sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, boredom, loneliness, shyness, jealousy, resentment, stress, anxiety, etc. on The Path to Enlightenment.

Through learning and practicing Gotama Buddha's Teachings with guidance, the mind becomes Enlightened in that you can observe the improvement in the condition of the mind as you eliminate all discontent feelings where the mind can reside peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy - permanently. You are not believing The Teachings wishing for a positive outcome at some point in the future or after death. Instead, you are observing the improvements to the condition of the mind right now - in the present moment.

Only a Buddha would be able to attain Enlightenment on their own without Teachers. These are some of the criteria that make a Buddha a Buddha, is that they discover The Teachings on their own attaining Enlightenment without help from a Teacher, shares their independently discovered Teachings to guide countless others to Enlightenment during the remaining time of their life, and they leave their Teachings in a condition that they guide countless others to Enlightenment after their death.

The last Buddha currently known to the world existed over 2,500 years ago.

That means you and everyone else will need Teachers on this Path to Enlightenment.