Dear Friends, 

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The Covid-19 Pandemic has proved challenging in many ways. It has not only been a threat to physical health, but also a threat to mental health. For us, this includes having to cut off spiritual activities at the temple, and closing in-person services such as Dharma retreats. However, these obstacles also create opportunities to learn and to practice the Buddha's teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path provides the path of Dharma practice that leads to the end of Suffering, changing our negative mental habits, and achieving Enlightenment. There are many innovative ways to practice and to apply the Noble Eightfold Path as the Pandemic continues to challenge us. Practicing and applying the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path is an opportunity to cope with the Pandemic and at the same time contribute to spiritual growth.

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We invite you to read our four part series reflecting on the Fourth Noble Truth. As we began writing the conclusion to our Noble Truth series, we realized that there were many parts to this final chapter, and decided to separate it into four distinct blogs. It may be helpful to read these four blogs in order: 

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Part I: The First Five Sets of Requisites 

Part II: The Seven Factors of Enlightenment 

Part III: The Noble Eightfold Path

Part IV: The Dharma Wheel 

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The culminating blog, Part IV: The Dharma Wheel, brings together many other concepts and understandings from the Dharma and from our discussions of the first three Noble Truths. If you haven’t already read our reflections on the first three Noble Truths, you can find them here: The Four Noble Truths series

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The First Noble Truth: Suffering Exists

The Second Noble Truth: The Cause of Suffering

The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

The Third Noble Truth: The End of Suffering 

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Wishing you a Happy Lunar New Year!

February 10, 2024

Year of the Wood Dragon

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Wisdom Blogs 

For those who would like an introduction to the Teachings of Buddha, please check out our Life of Buddha series.

Let’s be Friends!  

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We pray that you continue to reside in tranquility, awareness, acceptance, and the Present Moment.

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About the authors:

Phuong Pham is the creator of this website. In 2019, Phuong transitioned to become a Buddhist nun and transformed her home into Thong Tri Temple in Santa Clara, California. Her Buddhist name is Hanh Lien. You can read more about Phuong’s story on our Profiles page. 

Christina Shon is the content editor of this website. She is a former high school English teacher, program coordinator in an Education non-profit, and program manager in Higher Education. She currently lives in Timnath, Colorado and provides care for a 92 year old Amida Buddhist woman. 

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