The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

Thích refers to the Four Noble Truths as “the existence of suffering, the making of suffering, the possibility of restoring well-being, and the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to well-being” (6). Understanding and living out these truths is an essential aspect of Buddhism. In Chapter 1, he describes how the Four Noble Truths was the Buddha’s first sermon to the monks in Deer Park, and he includes his translation of this teaching in the passage “Discourse on Turning the Wheel of Dharma.”

Thích emphasizes the continued relevance of these truths, writing, “This teaching was of great value during the lifetime of the Buddha, is of great value in our own time, and will be of great value for millennia to come” (7). He teaches the reader that mindfulness is the key to practicing the Four Noble Truths, as it helps people recognize the existence and causes of their own suffering, and to take action to stop it by living according to the fourth truth, the Noble Eightfold Path.

Mahayana Buddhism is a tradition of Buddhism and one of the three major streams of Buddhism as explained by Thích. He traces its origins to the 1st or 2nd century CE, when Buddhists wanted to remedy the extreme lifestyle differences between Buddhist monks and laypeople by popularizing Buddhist practices and making them more accessible to everyone in society. Thích explains, “From this sprouted the Mahayana way of thinking. It was a movement aimed at developing the deep sources of Buddhist thought and reviving the tremendous energy of bodhicitta (the mind of love) and bringing Buddhism back into contact with life” (16-17).

Thích combines several different schools of Buddhist thought, calling them Many-Schools Buddhism. He acknowledges that some schools have been misinformed by certain monks who distorted the Buddha’s teachings, and that translation and interpretation problems have plagued Buddhism for generations. However, he maintains that all of Buddhism’s schools have something of value to offer, and that the streams complement one another.

The Noble Eightfold Path is a series of eight steps which the Buddha outlined to live a moral life and liberate oneself from suffering and to cultivate compassion. These steps make up the fourth Noble Truth. The author describes this path as “Right View, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration” (11).

The author reiterates that the Noble Eightfold Path must be lived rather than merely understood or thought about. It includes detailed guidance on which actions to embrace and which to avoid, banning killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, and embracing concentration, generosity, honesty, and compassion. By living according to these principles, Thích argues that people will reduce their own suffering and extend peace and compassion to others, thereby helping society as well.

Thích explains that the six paramitas, or the six “perfections,” are a Mahayana Buddhist teaching. The paramitas are meditation, understanding, giving, mindfulness training, inclusiveness, and diligence. They reflect the Buddha’s advice that practitioners must put in effort to move from “the land of sorrow” to the “land of joy” (192). The author visualizes the paramitas as six petals of the same flower.

Thích identifies Source Buddhism as one of the three main streams of the religion. It is named for its commitment to going back to the “source”—i.e., the Buddha—by recording and explaining all of his teachings.

The Three Jewels of Buddhism consist of the Buddha, or the enlightened one, the Sangha, or one’s community, and Dharma, or the way of love and understanding. Thích emphasizes the interrelated nature of these “jewels,” encouraging practitioners to tend to all of them. He writes, “Looking into any of the Three Jewels, you see the other two” (165). By engaging in Buddhist practices both while alone and with the support of their Sangha, people can foster the growth of each of these “jewels” in their own lives.