Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) | Homeless One Is Ever At Home Egoless One Is Ever Full 566 BCE INDIA 486 BCE INDIA
Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) is a philosopher of impermanence. He believes that suffering, due to our inability to accept impermanence, is at the root of our existence. This is his first noble truth: life is suffering (dukkha in Sanskrit). His second, third, and fourth noble truths teach us the causes of suffering and how to end it. The Buddha wants us to understand that suffering is rooted in attachment. This is his second noble truth. The world is always changing. Situations and people come and go; our feelings and desires come and go. Nothing remains the same. When we realize that the nature of existence is impermanence, that old age, illness, death, and the loss of loved ones are inevitable, then we are more able to embrace the wisdom of non-attachment—the Buddha’s third noble truth. We are then ready to embark on his fourth truth of the eightfold path where we find his ethical practices.