Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Path

The original teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, diagnose human suffering and its causes, and explain how to overcome it. This list covers vocabulary from "Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion," translated by Thanissaro Bhikku.

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sensual
    marked by the appetites and passions of the body
    "There are these two extremes that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable.
  2. ignoble
    dishonorable in character or purpose
    ...are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable.
  3. mindfulness
    the state of being aware of something
    Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
  4. lamentation
    the passionate activity of expressing grief
    "Now this, monks, is the noble truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful...
  5. relish
    derive or receive pleasure from
    "And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of stress: the craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there — i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming."
  6. cessation
    a stopping
    "And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving."
  7. renunciation
    rejecting or disowning or disclaiming as invalid
    "And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving.
  8. insight
    clear or deep perception of a situation
    "Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before."
  9. discernment
    perception of that which is difficult to perceive
    "Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before."
  10. illumination
    an interpretation that removes obstacles to understanding
    "Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before."
  11. cosmos
    the universe considered as a whole
    ...I did not claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its deities, Maras, & Brahmas, with its contemplatives & brahmans, its royalty & commonfolk.
  12. retinue
    the group following and attending to some important person
    ... the devas of Brahma's retinue took up the cry: "At Varanasi, in the Game Refuge at Isipatana, the Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Dhamma that cannot be stopped by brahman or contemplative, deva, Mara, or God or anyone at all in the cosmos."
  13. radiance
    the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
    And this ten-thousand fold cosmos shivered & quivered & quaked, while a great, measureless radiance appeared in the cosmos, surpassing the effulgence of the devas.
  14. surpass
    be greater in scope or size than some standard
    And this ten-thousand fold cosmos shivered & quivered & quaked, while a great, measureless radiance appeared in the cosmos, surpassing the effulgence of the devas.
  15. effulgence
    the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
    And this ten-thousand fold cosmos shivered & quivered & quaked, while a great, measureless radiance appeared in the cosmos, surpassing the effulgence of the devas.
Created on Wed Aug 19 14:45:22 EDT 2026 (updated Wed Aug 19 15:15:45 EDT 2026)

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