Footprints of the Buddha

Images of footprints made by Buddha are from the earliest Buddhist art forms. Another word used when describing Buddhas footprints is “Buddhapada”, they are highly revered in all all Buddhist countries, especially Sri Lanka and Thailand, where the Buddha himself once walked. Buddhapada is a symbol that has been respected in India because for it's representation of the grounding of the transcendent.

In Modern Buddhism the Footprints have many different meanings, but they are all related to Buddhism, ultimately it is undisputed that they are a symbol of the existence of the Buddha. Some people believe that after the Buddha attained enlightenment, his feet made an imprint in the stone where he stood.

In a different tradition, the infant Buddha stood and walked for seven steps after his birth as a symbol of his spiritual domination of the universe. Ether way the footprints of the Buddha symbolize the Buddha's presence. Even today the Buddhapada are still revered in the Buddha's absence, now that he has entered nirvana they are a reminder of the Buddhist strides toward a life of nonattachment.

Physically the Buddha's footprints can come with different images, but most commonly they are depicted with the toes of all one length and a dharmachakra wheel on the soul. Other symbols that often
appear on the heel and toes are a lotus flower the swastika and the three Jewels or triratna.

On very large Buddhapada's there is enough room for more detail, so there is room for 32, 108 or even 132 distinctive marks of a Buddha usually in a checkerboard pattern. Any or all of these symbols can also seen on the bottoms of the feet of large statues of the Buddha when he is reclining.

The oldest and most precious sculptures of Buddha's footprints are protected in special temples and structures, where Buddhist monks and others who are faithful will bring offerings such as flowers, fruit, incense and money.

Buddhas' Fourth Noble Truth

For those of you who have been following along in this guide to the four noble truths of the Buddha you now know that life is filled with suffering, that suffering comes from being attached to things and that there is a way to end suffering. The fourth and final noble truth is the path to the end of suffering.
Thats right there is a path that anyone can follow to end all of our suffering, it is a gradual path of self-improvement, with the ultimate goal to reach nirvana, which most people are trying to do consciously or unconsciously. In order to move this process along we can follow the details as they are described in the Eightfold Path.
It is the middle way between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence (hedonism) and excessive self-mortification (asceticism). Eventually it will lead us to the end of the cycle of rebirth and to Nirvana, but for now we must be conscious of our behavior and work towards bettering humanity.
The difference between improving yourself on a small scale and following the Eightfold Path is that when you do it by yourself you run the risk of "wandering on the wheel of becoming", because there is no final objective you can become lost or confused.
The path to the end of suffering can be extended over many lifetimes, throughout which every individual rebirth is subject to certain karmic conditioning. Essentially we are starting over each time we are reborn we can fall trapped in the cycle by craving, ignorance and delusions. Its effects will disappear gradually as long as we remain conscious to the process and learn from our mistakes, then progress can be made on the path.
It will take a long time there is no doubt about that, but the ultimate end to suffering can be found buy following the Buddhas' Eightfold to enlightenment. The path is gradual but thought many lifetimes of gradual self-improvement.

Buddhas' Third Noble Truth

For those of you who know the noble truths taught by the Buddha, you already know that to live is to suffer and that the good things in life must be taken in context and not for granted. The good news is that the Third Noble Truth is that the end of suffering is attainable.

The end (cessation) of suffering can be attained through something called nirodha. Nirodha means the unmaking of sensual craving and conceptual attachment, in other words it means that to stop our suffering we must first let go of our attachments. Which is easier said than done, because right now we are attached to everything and everyone around us! We must remember that when we pass on we will not be able to take anything with us, we must let go of everything but our minds.

The third noble truth is an expression of the idea that suffering can be ended by attaining dispassion or letting go living in the moment with peace. Nirodha extinguishes all forms of clinging and attachment, from the cloths we wear to the people we love. This means that suffering can be overcome through human activity, simply by removing the cause of suffering. This does not mean to only do things that feel good because you will inevitably suffer again when the pleasure wares off.

Attaining and perfecting dispassion is a process of many levels, including meditation and deep thought, that ultimately results in the state of Nirvana. Nirvana is a state of freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas. Nirvana is not comprehensible for those who have not attained it, but that does not mean that it is not impossible to reach this state with lots of time, practice, patience and following the teachings of the Buddha.

Buddhas' Second Nobel Truth

Buddha's Second Noble truth is that the root of all suffering is attachment, which means that from the day we are born we are suffering. There is not one person on this planet that can say that they are not attached to something. First it is our mother who gives us food and warmth, then as we grow we become accustom to different things, not only physical but emotional and spiritual as well, in other words we become attached to all of the objects that our mind perceives.

As humans we have genetic dispositions that allow us to desire anything that brings pleasure, things as simple as a song that we liked, a gift someone gave to us for our birthday or a religious belief we were taught as a child, or it can be as complicated as believing we have our whole lives ahead of us. Our suffering is inevitable the only way to not suffer is to over come it, but pleasure is deceiving because we allow ourselves to believe that in order to be happy we need a home, family, nice car, a good job and so on. The need for these things means that we have become attached to transient things and with that comes ignorance.

Ignorance is the lack of understanding of how our mind is attached to impermanent things. The reasons for suffering are desire, passion, pursuit of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or as modern Buddhist will say humans suffer because of craving and clinging. The objects of our attachment are transient, their loss is inevitable when we die we will lose our family, or home, and our thoughts, and then suffering will necessarily follow. It is inescapable.

Another common object of attachment is the idea of a "self" which is a major delusion, because there is no such thing as an abiding self. The thing we call "self" is just an imagined entity a mass of cells and electrical currents. We are merely a part of the ceaseless becoming of the universe. It is naive of us to say that we are more than just a collection of matter that will continue to erode the same way the earth does.

Throughout our short life on this earth we become attached to all of the objects that our mind perceives, which is everything. Think of it as if we are born into a video game that we cannot turn off until we die. We must free our minds of attachment and let go of everything. Live with compassion, patience, tolerance and trust that there is and end to this life.

Buddhas' First Nobel Truth

The word Dhukka suffering. In The Buddhas' teachings he taught the Four Noble Truths, The first of the Noble truths is that Life is suffering. Buddha spoke of how to live is to suffer in countless forms of pain, anguish, fear, and physical torments,as well as psychological maladies and emotional discomforts. There is no way to over come the outer causes of suffering but we can over come our internal suffering by following the Buddhas' teachings.

The main reasons for the suffering in the world is the nature of incarnate life, it is not perfect and neither is the planet we live on. During all of our lives, we will be unable to avoid physical suffering like bodily pain, sicknesses, injuries, fatigue, old age, and eventually death. There are all kinds disagreeable psychological forms of Suffering, including Sadness, Fear, Frustration, Disappointment, and Depression, that we all must endure.

Every unpleasant experience we have in this life time has an equal and pleasurable reaction. All the different levels of Dhukka will pass and be replaced by pleasurable experiences while we are still living. We generally like to think of suffering as the opposite of pleasure, but in fact it is the opposite.

Ease, Comfort and Happiness, are thought of as being the opposite extreme to displeasure. Life is complex but in order to make it tolerable for the masses there must be ease and pleasure to look forward to. Complexity is simply imperfect and incomplete, because humans, plants and every living being in this world are subject to impermanence, there is a means to an end.

Impermanence means that we will never be able to keep permanent hold of the things that we strive for, including our homes, cloths and jobs. Even though we are able to enjoy pleasurable moments, sadness and reality of misfortune to come are always looming. Eventually we ourselves and our loved ones will have to pass on and leave this body and life behind.

Suffering is the first noble truth. We must come to terms with this reality, learn from our misfortunes and let them pass. Every experience we have in this life is an opportunity to take wisdom with us as we pass through on our journey to enlightenment.