The three (or four) seals of the Law, the law of dependent origination, and the Four Noble Truths express basic Buddhist views, all of which are closely related. From the theoretical viewpoint, the law of dependent origination, which describes life and society as they actually exist, is central. The focal point of religious practice, on the other hand, is the Four Noble Truths, which embody not only the logical truth of dependent origination but also moral values and the path of action whereby the Buddhist ideal can be attained.

The insight gained through an understanding of the law of dependent origination makes it possible to see the true condition of the world. Once the vast gap separating the actual world and humanity from the ideal is realized, the individual begins to yearn to abandon the flawed and sullied and to seek perfection. Realistic observation of life inspires the pursuit of the ideal once a person has come to see that actuality and the ideal, though apparently different, are not two totally separate things after all. To inspire this realization is the function of faith.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

Those who could not learn [the] simple lesson in karma could not hope to comprehend the law of dependent origination or the Four Noble Truths. Comprehension of the triple doctrine enabled aspirants to cleanse their minds of false doctrines and preconceptions. Once the dross had been purged away, they were ready to move on to more advanced teachings. In other words, the Buddha employed a method of gradual guidance leading from the easy to the hard. Several primitive sutras contain passages like the following, explaining this gradual approach:

“To one seated before him, the World-honored One preached the Law gradually. First he taught giving, obeying the precepts, and [thereby] rising to heaven. Then he explained that selfish desires are evil and the cause of both misfortune and impurity, whereas separating oneself from selfish desires is a great virtue. This teaching made the heart of the listener malleable and receptive; the person put aside prejudices and experienced the ecstasy of faith. When this happened, the World-honored One for the first time preached the Four Truths of suffering, desire, nirvana, and the Way. As freshly washed and bleached fabric receives the dye, the listener received the Four Truths. While still seated there, the listener acquired the pure and unsullied Eye of the Law [which sees that all things arising from causes are ultimately extinguished].”
Basic Buddhist Concepts

The law of dependent origination and Buddhism are identical. The Buddha said, “The person who understands the Law understands dependent origination, and the person who understands dependent origination understands the Law.”
Basic Buddhist Concepts

The Judeo-Christian God commanded, “Thou shalt not kill,” and Jesus enjoined his followers, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Believers are expected to obey God and emulate Jesus. The question of whether Christian love applies to animals and non-Christians, however, has remained unresolved. In this instance love is a matter of obedience, not reason. A believer whose faith is strong regards God’s commandment as absolute and obeys it. One of less faith may well stray from the path. In short, the basis for Christian love is not a logical principle of universal applicability but a creed accepted on faith.

The fundamental Buddhist viewpoint, based on the law of dependent origination, is that society is an organic macrocosm composed of interrelated individuals, all sharing responsibility for the common welfare.

Two factors distinguish dependent origination, the Buddhist doctrine of causation, from contemporary Indian philosophies. First, it confines itself to the world of actual experience and makes no attempt to deal with universal absolutes, which are beyond the realm of human cognizance and influence. Second, while teaching that given the requisite conditions each cause produces its inevitable effect, it rejects both the idea that human fate is fortuitous and the idea that it is completely governed by any single, fixed cause.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

The idea that meditation or self-destruction through asceticism frees a spirit after the death of the body posits the existence somewhere of a spirit world. Once again, the general Buddhist view is that even if it exists, such a spirit world has no relation to the ordinary world of human experience. The goal of Buddhism is not the attainment of a fictitious paradise but the conversion of the actual world into an ideal realm—a Buddha Land. In practice, believers in meditation and asceticism as ways to nirvana are usually seeking personal escape from this life. They may achieve their end, but true happiness is not to be gained by self-centered means. It can be realized only when all humankind has reached a state of peace and happiness.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

[A]ll actions, good and bad, are stored within human beings as latent energy influencing all subsequent conduct and attitudes. Not the slightest action is lost. Whether or not others see, whether or not the gods observe, whether or not the perpetrator is fully aware, every act remains as a phase of experience. And the accumulation of past experience shows in conduct and countenance. When continually committed, wickedness becomes a habit, evident in a gruff or insolent tone of voice, a shifty eye, a cruel look, and a scornful attitude that incurs dislike and distrust. Conversely, a person who repeatedly does and thinks good acquires a pleasant voice quality and an air of benignity that inspire admiration and affection. In other words, good or bad, ordinary habits become an unconscious part of an individual’s being, apparent to all. No more eloquent testimony for the cumulative effect of experience could be furnished.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

The six internal sense fields refer to the five physical senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch plus mind (the mind is always included with the five senses in Buddhist thought, for a total of six, not the usual Western five). These internal sense fields are the base of all perception, physical or mental. The six external sense fields are the objects perceived by the six internal sense fields. The six consciousnesses are the awarenesses that arise as a consequence of perception at the juncture of internal and external sense fields. The six contacts are the result of the combination of internal sense fields, external sense fields, and consciousness. The six feelings refer to the arising of pain or pleasure with regard to the object perceived immediately after the emergence of consciousness. The six cravings are the reactions of like or dislike born of the feeling of pain or pleasure.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path constitute an eminently rational method for curing spiritual malaise that is similar in approach to the method used by medical science in curing physical illness. In addition, the Buddha’s system agrees fundamentally with the scientific approach in studying phenomena – natural, cultural, or social – to arrive at general principles, work in accord with these principles, and apply them to the creation of human ideals. On the basis of an understanding of the principle of cause and effect, the Buddhist system accurately identifies mental actions and fate as the effects of causes and applies this principle to the creation of an ideal spiritual condition. This is the basic meaning of the Four Noble Truths.
Basic Buddhist Concepts

Ignorance, the first link, means lack of knowledge of correct Buddhist principles and the truths of the world and of human existence. Failure to know the truth leads to faulty judgments and misdeeds, which bring on failure and grief. Ignorance is the fundamental cause of errors and the misfortunes they yield.

Action, the second link, is the mistaken conduct caused by ignorance. It is identical with karma. Lacking a correct view of the world and humankind, human beings think, judge, and act wrongly. Instead of ending when committed, good and bad actions persist and accumulate to reappear as causes of later actions. In other words, good and evil deeds that go undetected by others nonetheless have karmic effects on the perpetrator. In the Buddhist context, the term action means both the present deed and the accumulated deeds of the past. The sum of past deeds is of especially great importance in the Twelve-linked Chain of Dependent Origination.

Not only actions resulting from ignorance but also general experiences, whether good or bad, physical or spiritual, become a latent force constantly exerting an influence on thought and conduct. An accumulation of good deeds makes it easier to perform still more good deeds, while an accumulation of evil acts offers little to hinder the perpetration of further wickedness and aggravates the difficulty of turning in the direction of good. Each individual has a store of past actions and experiences that manifest themselves in various ways. They determine memory or intellectual capacities, temperament, skills or talents, and physique and health – in short, the total person. A person is the total of all he or she has done in the past, and action in the Twelve-linked Chain of Dependent Origination means the total of past mistaken experiences caused by ignorance within the cycle of transmigration.

In the context of the Twelve-linked Chain of Dependent Origination, consciousness signifies perception as a whole, which is based on and incorporates past experiences. Human awareness is not pure but is colored by past actions. It looks through a filter tinted by preconceptions derived from past experiences, preconceptions that make totally objective judgment and understanding impossible. Since consciousness includes elements derived from actions based on ignorance, its perceptions and their results are always mistaken.
Basic Buddhist Concepts