What did the Buddha teach?
The Buddha preached that human beings, and to a large extent all lifeforms, undergo four stages of existence, namely from birth, old age, to illness and eventually, death. Even an enlightened being is not exempted from perishing in worldly existence when all the elements disintegrate. The difference between an ordinary being and an enlightened being lies in what happens after death.
In the Buddhist view, when ordinary people die and their physical bodies disintegrate, each person’s karma passes on to a new birth; it is this karmic inheritance that causes one to be reborn in one of the six realms of existence or samsara in a cyclic manner. The six realms are further subdivided into the three higher realms of heavenly gods, demi-gods and human while the three lower realms refer to beings in the animal, hungry-ghost and hell existence. The subdivision of “higher” connotes relatively lesser sufferings whilst “lower” connotes tremendous extent of sufferings experienced in the realm. Regardless which realm one goes to, one still experiences sufferings.
In contrast, when a person attains nirvana, he is liberated from karmic rebirth. When such a person dies, his physical body disintegrates and this marks the end of the cycle of rebirth.
The four stages of a human life, namely birth, old-age, illness and death, undisputedly demonstrated the law of impermanence that the Buddha repeatedly preached. All phenomena, including lifeforms, are subject to changes, a manifestation of impermanence at work.
These teachings bring out the essence of the Buddha Dharma, or the Truth, known as the Four Dharma Seals:
1. All compounded things are impermanent;
2. All emotions are sufferings (everything influenced by delusion is suffering);
3. All phenomena are without inherent existence (empty and devoid of self);
4. Nirvana is True Peace: (Nirvana is beyond description).
It is said that if a teaching contains the Four Dharma Seals, it can be considered Buddha Dharma.
2564 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama sat under the bodhi tree and realised these truths. 2564 years later, the Four Seals of Dharma remain relevant in every aspect of our lives.