The Four Noble Truths: The Foundation Of Buddhism

Mental health used to be the province of priests, shamans, and gurus. As society is moving further and further away from organized religion, mental health is instead becoming more and more the responsibility of therapists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals. In a postmodern society, authority is accepted not on the basis of faith but of reason. People are increasingly more inclined towards seeking advice from a scientific orientation rather than a theosophical one. Buddhism, not fitting into the categories of religion, philosophy, or science quite so neatly, seems to fit into the mental health conversation seamlessly.
The foundation of Buddhism’s teachings can be summarized by the Four Noble Truths: there is suffering, suffering is caused by craving, there is a way out of
If the Four Noble Truths are the foundation of Buddhist philosophy, then the twelve links of dependent origin serve as the foundation of Buddhist psychology. The twelve links supplement the first two Noble Truths, by describing the way our mind functions to create suffering. The twelve links are thus: Due to our ignorance, we behave according to our habitual tendencies. For example, one might have a habitual tendency to enter relationship after relationship with emotionally unavailable partners, never knowing why, due to one’s ignorance of one’s own unavailability. Our habitual tendencies shape our consciousness. For example, one’s mind might be constantly preoccupied with thoughts of food, due to one’s habitual tendency to fill a void with overeating. Our consciousness shapes our sense of self and is