THE 3 TRUTHS OF LIVING

The 3 Truths of Living are borrowed from Buddhism, condensed from the Four Noble Truths, and updated slightly with modern thought. Here “suffering” translates the Pali word *dukkha*, often rendered “unsatisfactoriness” or “stress.”

The 3 Truths are:

1. Life is suffering 
2. The cause of suffering is craving, control, and judging 
3. The cessation of suffering can be achieved by following the 6 Paths of Self-Discipline

Life is suffering, even for the wealthy although, let’s be honest, it probably not as much as others – different sure, but not primitively. General suffering though includes birth, illness, old age, separation from friends or family, addiction, and negative emotions. Being alive is suffering.

The root cause of this suffering ultimately is due to our craving for something we currently can’t have or want to have. This is desire. We want to live in abundance and infinite happiness, but one day we will die. All that we strived for and accumulated will be for naught unless we have children.

We want to spend time with our children, but as they grow, they will seldom talk to us because you are in the middle of a divorce. Maybe you are a millionaire without a prenup and your husband cheats on you. We want the pretty girl in class to go out with us, but we have no self-esteem to ask her out. The new iPhone 32 was released today but you have terrible credit from unforeseen circumstances and simply can’t obtain it. Suffering has no bounds. It doesn’t care about your identity. It is all-encompassing and brutal.

When we encounter suffering, we attempt often in vain to control the situation. Sometimes we even try to control the good things. When we grasp for control, we can create even more suffering. Suffering can build on suffering when we try to control. When we judge the people and events around us that is also control and creates suffering. Often times craving, control, and judging are cyclical and feed off one another which creates self-replicating feedback loops.

Only through self-discipline and letting go can we achieve the end of suffering and craving. This is where Buddhism and the Novum Carta depart. Buddhism teaches us to observe our thoughts and accept them as they come. Novum Carta teaches discipline: choosing the next thought and the next action rather than only watching them pass. Utilizing discipline through mindfulness, identifying the negative thoughts or actions, and redirecting them into meaningful outputs is the correct way to live in our age.

The means by which one obtains self-discipline are called the 6 Paths. We will go into greater detail now.