How many noble truths did the Buddha teach?

The Buddha taught four noble truths. They form a foundational Buddhist framework explaining suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path leading to its end.

The first truth is dukkha, often translated as suffering or unsatisfactoriness: conditioned life cannot provide permanent security. The second is samudaya, the arising of dukkha through craving and attachment. The third is nirodha, the possibility of ending dukkha by relinquishing craving. The fourth is magga, the path to that cessation, traditionally identified as the Noble Eightfold Path.

These teachings are most closely associated with the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, traditionally regarded as the Buddha's first sermon after enlightenment. The discourse presents the truths not merely as beliefs, but as tasks: suffering is to be understood, its origin abandoned, cessation realized, and the path developed.

A common mix-up is confusing the Four Noble Truths with the Noble Eightfold Path. The latter is one part of the fourth truth, not an alternative number of truths. The phrase “noble” refers to truths understood by awakened beings, rather than truths belonging to a social class.