The Buddha's Four Noble Truths: A Logical Basis For Philosophy

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of ever-changing physical and mental forces or
energies...." - Walpola Rahula{2}

In order to fully understand the Four Noble Truths, it is necessary to
investigate the Buddhist view of the individual and its makeup. In some
respects, the manner in which Buddhism deals with the mind/body problem is much
more advanced than most religious views, and closer to science's understanding
of the mind and body. Rather than postulating the existence of an eternal soul
with no physical manifestation, the Buddha taught that the person is really a
collection of five skandhas or aggregates. These include rupa (matter), vedana
(sensations), sanna (perceptions), samkhara (mental formations), and vijnana
(consciousness). The aggregate of matter encompasses all tangible aspects of
the world. The aggregate of sensations is akin to the process of sensory input;
e.g., the activation of retinal cells in the eye. Vedana does not include the
process of perception, however; the act of ...

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it is used to convey the
idea that the very act of living is one of imperfection and impermanence, and
hence is a situation that must be remedied in order to achieve true happiness.
There are three types of dukkha: dukkha-dukkha (suffering in the conventional
sense), viparinama-dukkha (suffering caused by the ephemeral nature of happiness
in life), and samkhara-dukkha (suffering caused by existence itself). Suffering
in the conventional sense of the word, such as that caused by pain, disease, and
poverty, is classified as dukkha-dukkha. The Buddha also noted that happiness
itself, being a fleeting emotion, usually resulted in an eventual loss of
happiness greater than the initial ...

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