Four Truths and Eight Walkways

The kernel of the Buddha's teaching as detailed at Benares lies in the Four Noble Truths: (1) suffering is universal and, since life continues in an infinite chain of reincarnations, unending. (2) The cause of suffering is craving for things of this life and for what might be in the after life. (3) The cure for suffering is the "destruction of craving." (4) The way to achieve this is by following the Noble Eightfold Path which leads to Nirvana (literally a "blowing out"), liberation from the cycle of life's suffering.