samudaya

In Buddhist philosophy, samudaya is the second of the Four Noble Truths, which are fundamental doctrines of Buddhism. The term samudaya refers to the origin or cause of suffering. While the Four Noble Truths are often translated as "four truths for the noble," they are actually four facts understood by those with insight into reality.1

The Buddha identified craving or attachment as the cause of suffering in his first sermon. Other Buddhist texts expand on this, linking suffering to negative actions and the mental states that motivate them, such as desire, hatred, and ignorance. Ignorance, in this context, means a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of things, such as perceiving permanence where there is impermanence, or self where there is no self. This recognition of suffering as a core aspect of existence, alongside impermanence and the absence of a self, is considered "right knowledge" in Buddhism.12