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User:Robertinventor/FourNobleTruthsColour

Here I have simply coloured each sentence in the lede {{font color | violet|violet}} if it is cited to a Western academic scholar and {{font color | red|red}} if cited to an Eastern sutra tradition scholar. If cited to both, uncited, or unsure what the cite is, then I leave it black. I have made no attempt to evaluate whether the statements are western academic or sutra tradition in flavour, this is just to show the tendencies in choice of WP:RS. It's of course much easier to do that than to evaluate the actual slant of each sentence and even more so to explain that slant to someone and the reason for your choice.

The old lede has notes with a long list of quotes that consist of roughly equal numbers of Western and Eastern academics - for those sections I have left them black as NPOV.

It would be possible to go through both articles in their entirety in the same way. Many later sections would be almost entirely red in the old article and almost entirely violet in the new version.

= New version =

[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Four_Noble_Truths&oldid=777942113]

{{font color | violet|The Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: catvari aryasatyani; Pali: cattari ariyasaccani) are "the truths of the Noble Ones,"}}{{sfn|Williams|2002|p=41}} the truths or realities which are understood by the "worthy ones"[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/34073/arhat Encyclopædia Britannica, Arhat (Buddhism)] {{font color | violet|who have attained Nirvana.}}{{sfn|Warder|1999|p=67}} The truths are dukkha, the arising of dukkha, the cessation of dukkha, and the path leading to the cessation of dukkha.

{{font color | violet|In the sutras, the four truths have both a symbolic and a propositional function.}}{{sfn|Anderson|1999|pp=223-231}}{{font color | violet| They represent the awakening and liberation of the Buddha, but also the possibility of liberation for all sentient beings, describing how release from craving is to be reached.}}{{sfn|Anderson|1999|p=56}} {{font color | violet|In the Pali canon, the four truths appear in a "network of teachings,"}}{{sfn|Anderson|2001|p=85}}{{font color | violet| as part of "the entire dhamma matrix,"}}{{sfn|Anderson|2001|p=86}}{{font color | violet| which have to be taken together.}}{{sfn|Anderson|2001|p=85}}{{font color | violet| They provide a conceptual framework for introducing and explaining Buddhist thought, which has to be personally understood or "experienced".}}{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993}}{{sfn|Anderson|1999}} {{sfn|Makransky|1997|p=27-28}}{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=60}}{{refn|group=note|name="Gethin_framework"}}

{{font color | violet|The four truths defy an exact definition, but refer to and express the basic orientation of Buddhism{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=59}} in a formulaic expression:}}{{sfn|Norman|2003}}{{refn|group=note|name="Moksha"}}{{font color | red| we crave and cling to impermanent states and things,}}{{sfn|Nyanatiloka|1980|p=65}} {{font color | red|which is dukkha,}}{{sfn|Khantipalo|2003|p=41}}{{font color | red| "incapable of satisfying"}} and painful.{{sfn|Nyanatiloka|1980|p=65}}{{sfn|Emmanuel|2015|p=30}}{{sfn|Williams|2002|p=74-75}}{{sfn|Lopez|2009|p=147}} This craving keeps us caught in samsara,{{refn|group=note|name="Samudaya"}} the endless cycle of repeated rebirth and dying again, and the dukkha that comes with it.{{refn|group=note|name="Samsara"}} {{font color | violet|But there is a way to end this cycle and reach real happiness,}}{{sfn|Warder|2000|p=45-46}}{{refn|group=note|name="Pleasure"}}{{font color | violet| namely by letting go of this craving and attaining nirvana, whereafter rebirth and dissatisfaction will no longer arise again.}}{{refn|group=note|name="Nirodha"}}{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2003|p=304}} This can be accomplished by following the eightfold path,{{refn|group=note|name="Moksha"}}{{font color | violet| restraining oneself, cultivating discipline, and practicing mindfulness and meditation.}}{{sfn|Raju|1985|p=147–151}}{{sfn|Eliot|2014|p=39–41}}

{{font color | violet|The function of the four truths, and their importance, developed over time, when prajna, or "liberating insight," came to be regarded as liberating in itself,}}{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=99-100, 102-111}}{{sfn|Anderson|1999}} instead of or in addition to the practice of dhyana.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=99-100, 102-111}}{{font color | violet| This "liberating insight" gained a prominent place in the sutras, and the four truths came to represent this liberating insight, as part of the enlightenment story of the Buddha.}}{{sfn|Gombrich|1997|p=99-102}}{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=93-111}}

{{font color | violet|The four truths became of central importance in the Theravada tradition,}}{{sfn|Anderson|1999|p=55-56}}{{sfn|Anderson|1999|p=230-231}} {{font color | violet|which holds to the idea that insight into the four truths is liberating in itself.}}{{sfn|Carter|1987|p=3179}} {{font color | violet|They are less prominent in the Mahayana tradition, which sees the higher aims of insight into sunyata and following the Bodhisattva-path as a central elements in their teachings and practice.}}{{sfn|Carter|1987|p=3179-3180}}{{font color | violet| The Mahayana tradition reinterpreted the four truths to explain how a liberated being can still be "pervasively operative in this world."}}{{sfn|Makransky|1997|p=346-347}}{{font color | violet| Beginning with the exploration of Buddhism by western colonialists in the 19th century and the development of Buddhist modernism, they came to be often presented in the west as the central teaching of Buddhism.}}{{sfn|Harris|2006|p=72-73}}{{sfn|Anderson|2001|p=196}}

old version

[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Four_Noble_Truths&oldid=629066305]

The Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: catvari aryasatyani; Pali: cattari ariyasaccani) are regarded as the central doctrine of the Buddhist tradition, and are said to provide a conceptual framework for all of Buddhist thought. These four truths explain the nature of dukkha (Pali; commonly translated as "suffering", "anxiety", "unsatisfactoriness"{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=translation|For clarification of translations, see Dukkha#Translating the term dukkha.}}), its causes, its cessation, and the path leading to its cessation.

The four noble truths are:{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=thefourtruths|Contemporary translators have used a number of variations in presenting the essential list (i.e. the names or titles) of the Four Noble Truths. For example:

  • Bhikkhu Bodhi states: "The Four Noble Truths are as follows: 1. The truth of Dukkha; 2. The truth of the origin of Dukkha; 3. The truth of the cessation of Dukkha; 4. The truth of the path, the way to liberation from Dukkha".
  • John T. Bullit (Access to Insight) states: "What are these four? They are the noble truth of dukkha; the noble truth of the origin of dukkha; the noble truth of the cessation of dukkha; and the noble truth of the way to the cessation of dukkha."[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/index.html Four Noble Truths - cattari ariya saccani]
  • Ven. Dr. Rewata Dhamma states: The Four Noble Truths [...] are: 1. The Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha); 2. The Noble Truth of the origin of suffering (samudaya); 3. The Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering (nirodha); 4. The Noble Truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga).{{sfn|Dhamma|1997|p=55}}
  • Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism states: "1. The noble truth that is suffering; 2. The noble truth that is the arising of suffering; 3. The noble truth that is the end of suffering; 4. The noble truth that is the way leading to the end of suffering."{{sfn|Buswell|2003|loc=Volume One, p. 296}}
  • Geshe Tashi Tsering states: "The four noble truths are: 1. The noble truth of suffering; 2. The noble truth of the origin of suffering; 3. The noble truth of the cessation of suffering and the origin of suffering; 4. The noble truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering and the origin of suffering."{{sfn|Geshe Tashi Tsering|2005|loc=Kindle Locations 246-250}}
  • Joseph Goldstein states: "The four noble truths are the truth of suffering, its cause, its end, and the path to that end.{{sfn|Goldstein|2002|p=24}}
  • Mark Epstein states: "[The Buddha] formulated his first teaching as the Four Noble Truths: suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the path to its cessation".{{sfn|Epstein|2004|p=42}} }}
  1. The truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, unsatisfactoriness{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=translation}})
  2. The truth of the origin of dukkha
  3. The truth of the cessation of dukkha
  4. The truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha

The first noble truth explains the nature of dukkha. Dukkha is commonly translated as “suffering”, “anxiety”, “unsatisfactoriness”, “unease”, etc., and it is said to have the following three aspects:{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=seedukkha|See the article Dukkha for further details and citations.}}

  • The obvious physical and mental suffering associated with birth, growing old, illness and dying.
  • The anxiety or stress of trying to hold on to things that are constantly changing.
  • A basic unsatisfactoriness pervading all forms of existence, due to the fact that all forms of life are changing, impermanent and without any inner core or substance. On this level, the term indicates a lack of satisfaction, a sense that things never measure up to our expectations or standards.

{{font color | violet|The central importance of dukkha in Buddhist philosophy has caused some observers to consider Buddhism to be a pessimistic philosophy. However, the emphasis on dukkha is not intended to present a pessimistic view of life, but rather to present a realistic practical assessment of the human condition—that all beings must experience suffering and pain at some point in their lives, including the inevitable sufferings of illness, aging, and death.}}{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=61}} Contemporary Buddhist teachers and translators emphasize that while the central message of Buddhism is optimistic, the Buddhist view of our situation in life (the conditions that we live in) is neither pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=realistic|For citations and further clarification, see Dukkha#Neither pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic; in particular, see the footnotes in this section for detailed information on sources.}}

The second noble truth is that the origin of dukkha can be known. Within the context of the four noble truths, the origin of dukkha is commonly explained as craving or thirst (Pali: tanha) conditioned by ignorance (Pali: avijja). On a deeper level, the root cause of dukkha is identified as ignorance (avijja) of the true nature of things. The third noble truth is that the complete cessation of dukkha is possible, and the fourth noble truth identifies a path to this cessation.

According to the Buddhist tradition, the Buddha first taught the four noble truths in the very first teaching he gave after he attained enlightenment, as recorded in The Discourse That Sets Turning the Wheel of Truth (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), and he further clarified their meaning in many subsequent teachings.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=repeatedly}}

{{font color | red|The two main traditions of Buddhism, the Theravada and Mahayana, have different approaches to learning about the four noble truths and putting them into practice. The Theravada tradition strongly emphasizes reading and contemplating The Discourse That Sets Turning the Wheel of Truth—the first discourse of the Buddha—as a method of study and practice. In the Mahayana tradition, practitioners are more likely to learn about the four noble truths through studying various Mahayana commentaries, and less likely to study the first discourse directly. The Mahayana commentaries typically present the four noble truths in the context of the Mahayana path of the bodhisattva.}}{{sfn|Geshe Tashi Tsering|2005|loc=Kindle Locations 275-280}}