The starting point for understanding Buddhism is the Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths. In his early life, despite the pleasures that were readily available to him, the Buddha saw that the world was a place of suffering or 'unsatisfactoriness'. Whatever happiness could be attained could not withstand the inevitable onslaught of old age, sickness and death.

1. Suffering or dukkha is the first noble truth that in his search for enlightenment the Buddha came to see very clearly. As human beings, suffering is part of our lives, whether physical, mental or emotional. More fundamentally, there is a sense within us that life cannot bring lasting satisfaction. Life is impermanent and ever-changing, and any happiness that we enjoy is unstable. But why is this so?

2. Craving or tanha is the second noble truth. If we suffer it is a result of selfish desire - wanting to satisfy our senses with pleasurable experiences and wanting to avoid what is unpleasant. This craving is also connected with bolstering our sense of ourselves as having a permanent self rather than a personality, which is subject to change.

3. The end of suffering is Nibbana, the third Noble Truth. Buddhism would be a bleak religion if it stopped at the first two truths. When he attained enlightenment, the Buddha saw and experienced that there was an end to suffering, a place of ultimate peace and understanding. He taught that this state was here and now and could be experienced through following the right path.

4. The Noble Eightfold Path, the Fourth Noble Truth (ariya-sacca), is the Buddha's practical method for attaining Nibbana. In short, the Noble Eightfold Path requires us to develop wisdom, morality and meditation. All three are necessary and inform each other. The eight factors that make up this path are: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.