THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS The First Noble Truth: be aware that life brings with it many forms of dissatisfaction, frustration, irritation, and many levels of suffering. The Second Noble Truth: recognise that these different types of suffering are produced by your mind, even if the apparent cause is external. The mind reacts negatively to life experiences that we didn’t want, and does the same when we don’t get things we were hoping for. The Buddha called these wants and dislikes “thirsts”. It is thirsts that cause unhappy states of mind. The Third Noble Truth: we can learn to cultivate skills that stop our thirsts and thus end our various forms of suffering. The Fourth Noble Truth: to cultivate these skills we have to follow a path that contains eight components, as follows. THE EIGHTFOLD PATH As with the word Noble above, the Eightfold Path uses a word that needs a little clarification. Each of the eight paths starts with the word Right. In this case it does not mean right as opposed to immoral, so it is not judgemental. Nor does it mean correct as opposed to wrong. It is best thought of as skilful or wise. Right Speech or Communications: we not only have to control and skilfully manage our thoughts and our intentions or goals; we also have to ensure that when we communicate these - whether by voice, email, on social media, or even body language - our words and gestures too are thoughtful, wise, and as constructive as possible. To find out more about our unique programme and how it can help you and your family business, please follow this link and download our brochure. Alternatively, you can email us [email protected] Copyright 2024 Russ Haworth and Martin Stepek