The Buddha teaches the four noble truths regarding friends—suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the practice leading to its cessation.

SN 56.26 Friends

“Ye hi keci, bhikkhave, anukampeyyātha, ye ca sotabbaṁ maññeyyuṁmittā amaccā ñātī sālohitā te vo, bhikkhave, catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ yathābhūtaṁ abhisamayāya samādapetabbā nivesetabbā patiṭṭhāpetabbā.

Katamesaṁ catunnaṁ? Dukkhassa ariyasaccassa, dukkhasamudayassa ariyasaccassa, dukkhanirodhassa ariyasaccassa, dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ariyasaccassa. Ye hi keci, bhikkhave, anukampeyyātha, ye ca sotabbaṁ maññeyyuṁmittā amaccā ñātī sālohitā te vo, bhikkhave, imesaṁ catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ yathābhūtaṁ abhisamayāya samādapetabbā nivesetabbā patiṭṭhāpetabbā.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti.

Chaṭṭhaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Ye hi keci, bhikkhave, anukampeyyātha, ye ca sotabbaṁ maññeyyuṁmittā amaccā ñātī sālohitā te vo, bhikkhave, catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ yathābhūtaṁ abhisamayāya samādapetabbā nivesetabbā patiṭṭhāpetabbā.

“Mendicants, those who you have sympathy for, and those worth listening to—friends and colleagues, relatives and family—should be encouraged, supported, and established by you in the true comprehension of the four noble truths.

Katamesaṁ catunnaṁ?

What four?

Dukkhassa ariyasaccassa, dukkhasamudayassa ariyasaccassa, dukkhanirodhassa ariyasaccassa, dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ariyasaccassa.

The noble truths of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.

Ye hi keci, bhikkhave, anukampeyyātha, ye ca sotabbaṁ maññeyyuṁmittā amaccā ñātī sālohitā te vo, bhikkhave, imesaṁ catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ yathābhūtaṁ abhisamayāya samādapetabbā nivesetabbā patiṭṭhāpetabbā.

Those who you have sympathy for, and those worth listening to—friends and colleagues, relatives and family—should be encouraged, supported, and established by you in the true comprehension of these four noble truths.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti.

That’s why you should practice meditation …”

Chaṭṭhaṁ.

Topics & Qualities:

Compassion

Compassion

A mental quality of wise empathy in response to suffering, which counters qualities of harm or cruelty.

Also known as: benevolence, concern, sympathy, kindness towards those who are suffering
Pāli: karuṇā, anukampa
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Cultivation

Cultivation

The active practice of 'bringing into being' wholesome states. It is the deliberate nurturing of the bright state of mind.

Also known as: development, improvement, meditation, nurturing, growth
Pāli: bhāvanā
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Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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Jhana

Jhana

An abiding with a steady, collected awareness that is attained through seclusion from the five hindrances and unwholesome mental states. When supported by right view, a jhāna can be a basis for the wearing away of taints and directing the mind toward the vision of Nibbāna.

Also known as: meditation, undistracted awareness, absorption, mental absorption
Pāli: jhāna, samāhita, susamāhita, sammāsamādhi
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Suffering

Suffering

Unpleasantness, discontentment, dissatisfaction, stress, pain, disease, i.e. mild or intense suffering that is inherent in conditioned existence.

Also known as: discomfort, unpleasantness, discontentedness, dissatisfaction, stress, pain, disease, distress, affliction
Pāli: dukkha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026