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by: Aryadasa Ratnasinghe

Since the beginning of time, one of the greatest objectives of human endeavour has been in the pursuit of truth, or the agreement with reality as the established fact. It was recognised that human existence had always been subject to a great deal of hazards and disappointments, unless based upon reliable information. The search for this phenomenon pertaining to human behaviour and conduct in life was woven into the fabric of truth.

The concept of revealed truth is as old as recorded history, and it implies that truth has to be seen through some sort of contact between man and a higher authority or divinity. Intuitive truth is much the same as revealed truth, except that the divine power, to have absolute knowledge, is assumed to rest with certain people rather than with an outside deity. However, truth is considered an established fact.

Empirical truth is that nothing should be considered or believed to be true, unless it has been borne by observation and experience. This concept has been modified to fit the needs of modern science and technology. According to Christianity, the Holy Bible says:

"But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth" (Romans 2:2.) As science progressed, it became increasingly evident that almost nothing in the world, as it seems to be, has come out of nothing. Buddha preached to the world the importance of truth as discovered by him, based on the Four Noble Truths, which is the crux of Buddhism.

He said "This is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering and this's the way leading to the cessation of suffering. These are the four truths I have discovered, which bring benefit, and advancement in the holy life, because they lead to dispassion, to fading, to ceasing, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment and, finally, to Nibbana", (the summum bonum in Buddhism). - Samyutta Nikaya.

At the time of the Buddha, India was undergoing a great spiritual revolution the world had not been aware of, or not seen before. Many youngmen of noble families left their homes in quest of truth, having renounced the world to achieve their objectives.

The 'sramanas' (ascetics) went among the people, teaching and preaching their doctrines, in search of a panacea for the evils of suffering, which is part and parcel of human life. It was at this time that the Buddha entered into the arena of such religious combatants, expounding his doctrine which none had discovered before.

The Four Noble Truths are the very important aspect of the teachings of the Buddha. Their importance has been stated in no uncertain terms by the Buddha. He has said that it is because we fail to understand the four Truths that we run on so long in this cycle of birth and death, which is known as the 'samsara'. The Buddha's first discourse on Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, to the five brahmin ascetics at the Isipatanaramaya in Varanasi (modern Benares), was primarily about the Four Noble Truths, the last of which is the Middle Path.

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