The Four Noble Truths are fundamental Buddhist principles provided by the Buddha himself more than 2,500 years ago. He uncovered them upon obtaining enlightenment and based his philosophy on them.

His path to the truth started long before he became the Buddha and was yet a young prince, Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama has never been exposed to any kind of need or misery, living isolated from the cruelties of the outside world. It had lasted up until he was an adult. He realized that death, suffering, illnesses, and aging are inevitable, and even money becomes nothing but dust at that time. Then, Gautama transformed his lifestyle and devoted years to the search for a solution to end human suffering. However, it didn’t seem to bring any relief. So, Gautama sat under the Bodhi tree, pondering his experiences for 49 days until he reached enlightenment and, therefore, the four truths of life.

Life is suffering — is the First Noble Truth. It doesn’t mean we’re doomed to be unhappy or that our existence is miserable. This Truth addresses relatively trivial discomfort, which seems to persist no matter what we do. It derives from the ephemeral nature of things people tend to value most. What we love and want to keep forever inevitably fades away, whether it is our youth, wealth, or a beloved person. This leads to never-ending regrets about the past and constant worry about the future.

Nevertheless, we don’t suffer just from things being temporary. The Second Noble Truth states that the real cause of suffering is attachment. It’s just too hard to let go of something we’ve become attached to. The Third Noble Truth mentions that it’s possible to end suffering. The way to do so lies in acceptance. We must get used to the transience, accommodate it, and eliminate attachments to the best possible extent.

The Fourth Noble Truth reveals an exact way to enlightenment: the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of diverse components such as the right view, intention, speech, action, effort, livelihood, mindfulness, and concentration. Thoroughly followed, it is supposed to lead to the end of suffering.

These Four Noble Truths of Buddhism are a foundation for the Four Noble Truths of Love.