Four Noble Truths

According to Siddhartha Gautama, to pursue the middle way of life between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, one must recognize the Four Noble Truths:

1. human life is an existence of suffering
2. human suffering is caused by desire for things that cannot satisfy the spirit
3. suffering can be ended and humans set free by renouncing these desires, which are rooted in ignorance
4. humans can free themselves of desire by following the Eightfold Path