Ito Jakuchu Wild Goose and Reeds, from Colorful Realm of Living Beings set of 30 vertical hanging scrolls ca. 1757-66 ink and colors on silk Sannomaru Shozokan Tokyo
Following the procedure of the physician of his day inspecting a patient, the Buddha makes four statements concerning the case of man. These are the so-called “Four Noble Truths” which constitute the heart and kernel of his doctrine. The first, All life is sorrowful, announces that we members of the human race are spiritually unhealthy, the symptom being that we carry on our shoulders a burden of sorrow; the disease is endemic. No discussion of any question of guilt goes with this matter-of-fact diagnosis; for the Buddha indulged in no metaphysical or mythological dissertations. He inquired into the cause on the practical, psychological level, however, hence we have, as the second of the “Four Noble Truths,” The cause of suffering is ignorant craving.
