True Cessations: The Transformative Journey of the Third Noble Truth

A practical guide to cessation practices that make the mind more peaceful and life more joyful.

The young prince, Siddhārtha Gautama, grew up in opulence, but he found that he was not happy. His pleasures were fleeting, and he came to believe he would never be truly happy, enjoying a life free from the many forms of human suffering.

He saw that pursuing pleasure and engaging in worldly matters was pointless, and his real desire to be happy was a futile endeavor. He came to see suffering was endemic to human existence, yet he believed there must be a solution to the problem.

The First Noble Truth

See: Human Suffering: Understanding Dukkha in the First Noble Truth

Siddhārtha was so distraught over the meaninglessness of his own life that he abandoned his family and his palace life, and spent six years living as an ascetic in the tradition of Jainist princes who renounced their worldly lives in pursuit of the elusive goal of ending human suffering — starting with their own.

He had gone from one extreme to the other and found no happiness at either end.