Buddha aptly taught and demonstrated what are known as The Four Noble Truths that:

1. Suffering exists and is unavoidable:
   To be alive is to suffer, and we suffer because human nature and the world we live in is not perfect.
   
   All of us endure suffering in some way or form from the pain of birth to  sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death and in the process we must also endure psychological suffering like repression, sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression.
   
   There are different degrees of suffering dependent on our potion in our environment and suffering is usually counterbalanced by the positive life  experiences we experience as ease, comfort, joy and happiness which are opposites of suffering.
    
2. The cause of suffering is attachment:
   We suffer because we attach ourselves to things and ideas in life which are imperfect, incomplete and fundamentally impermanent. All around us, people are changing, the Earth and even our universe is constantly changing. Nothing in this universe is fixed, so therefore, if we try to hold on to things and or people we will be let down and experience suffering
   
   The reasons for suffering are the misdirected desires and passions in pursuit of wealth, possessions, prestige, fame, popularity, craving and clinging. All these ideas including even the idea of a "self" is a delusion, because there is no eternally abiding self, rather what we call "self" is only an imagined entity, and in reality we are merely a part of the endless growth of the universe.
    
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable
   Suffering is overcome simply by removing the cause of suffering, but this is not an easy task and we most often need help and support.
   
   The cessation of suffering can be attained through the practise of nirodha which translated means meditation; a state of intense concentration in which the distinction of subject and object is destroyed, so that the mind attains realization of non-duality.
   
   The practice of nirodha or meditation helps to cut our attachments to the roots of discord and unhappiness and leads to Nirvana which is a state of freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas.
    
4. The prescribed path to the cessation of suffering
   Is the Eightfold Path of gradual self-improvement described as the middle way between the extremes of excessive self-indulgence or hedonism, and excessive self-mortification or asceticism.
   
   The Eightfold Path leads to the end of not only suffering, but to an end of the cycles of rebirth and the attainment of enlightenment while gradually during the process, all craving, ignorance and delusions as well as the effects of suffering will disappear as progress is made on the path.

The Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path describing the way to end suffering was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama who we call Buddha today although the Buddha principal is an inherent aspect of human nature that exists within every person.

The Eightfold Path is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachment and delusion which eventually lead the practitioner to understand the truth of all things.

Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.

1. Right View
   Right view is both the beginning and the end of the path. It simply means to see and accept things as they really are and to realise the Wisdom of the Four Noble Truths.
   
   Right view is:
   • The cognitive aspect of wisdom.
   • To see through things, to perceive the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas
   • To understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Every action of body, speech, and mind will have karmic results or reaction. Wholesome and unwholesome actions will produce results and effects that correspond with the nature of that action which is deemed the right view about processes in worldly affairs.
   • Not necessarily an intellectual capacity as wisdom, it is not simply a matter of intelligence, rather right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of one's mind. The intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering which only ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things.

   Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields the wisdom to produce right thoughts actions that are positive for ourselves and those around us.
    

2. Right Intention
   Also translated as right thought, right resolve, right conception, right aspiration or the exertion of our own will to change. This aspect is about developing the mental energy or attitude which controls our actions and can best be described as a commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement with the renunciation of worldly things good will; and a commitment to non-violence, or harmlessness, towards other living beings.
   
   In this factor, the practitioner should constantly aspire to rid themselves of whatever qualities they know to be wrong and injurious to themselves and the world and the correct understanding of right view will help the practitioner to discern the differences between right and wrong intention in others although one is cautioned not to fall into the trap of judgement.
   
   Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions:
   • The intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire
   • The intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion
   • The intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.
      
3. Right Speech
   The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious as words and gossip can destroy or save lives, make enemies or friends, divide or join communities, create wars or peace. So this requires great wisdom, commitment and restraint.
   
   Buddha explained right speech as follows:
   • Abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully
   • Abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others
   • Abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others
   • Abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth

   Positively phrased, right speech means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary and is part of the process of the cultivation of ethical conduct or action.
    

4. Right Action
   Refining the practice of harmlessness, with this precept the practitioner trains to be honest in all actions and activities while not acting in any ways that would corrupt or bring harm to oneself or to others. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind and bad karma, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind and good karma.
   
   Right action means to:
   • Abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently
   • Abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty
   • Abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others.
      
5. Right Livelihood
   This means that practitioners ought not to engage in trades or occupations which, either directly or indirectly, result in harm for other living beings.
   
   Avoid:
   • dealing in weapons
   • dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade
   • working in meat production and butchery
   • selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs
   • any trade that prevents individuals from following their darmha of right speech and right action.
      
6. Right Effort
   A process of mental development whereby one trains/conditions oneself to abandon all the wrong and harmful thoughts, words, and deeds and to persist in developing what would be good and useful to themselves and others in their thoughts, words, and deeds, without a thought for the difficulty or weariness involved
   
   Without effort and willpower, nothing can be achieved and here one cultivates the mental energy and puts some force behind the right views, thoughts, actions. Here you take the energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence and shape it as the burning desire for self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, kindness ultimately enlightenment.
   
   Right effort is to:
   • Prevent development of unwholesome states not yet arisen
   • Destroy unwholesome states that have already arisen
   • Arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen
   • Support and perfect wholesome states that have arisen.
      
7. Right Mindfulness
   Also translated as "right memory", "right awareness" or "right attention". Here practitioners practise keeping their minds continuously alert to all phenomena that affect the body and mind while being mindful of the body, feelings, the mind and it's mental qualities while putting away worldly distractions
   
   Going beyond right view, right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition with with clear consciousness and the mental ability to see the true nature or reality of all things.
   
   It is well known that what we see is not always real, our minds perceive a part of something and then unconsciously our mind fills in the blanks. We experience this most often when seeing faces in the pattern or texture of wall coverings or curtains. Also when we are attempting to understand something, the mind just keeps on dancing, (some call this the monkey mind) it keeps us confused.
   
   Right mindfulness helps us to become aware of the process of conceptualisation by contemplation of/on:
   • The body
   • Feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral)
   • States of mind
   • Phenomena
      
   By mindfully observing these phenomena, we begin to discern its arising and subsiding and the Three Characteristics of Dharma in direct experience, which leads to the arising of insight and the qualities of dispassion, non-clinging, and release from delusion.

 
8. Right Concentration
   Here the practitioner concentrates on an object with complete attention until reaching state of meditative absorption (Jhana) where the separation between the person concentrating and the object of concentration merge into one.
   
   This is state of meditation helps suppress and cut the roots of the five hindrances and helping develop wisdom by cultivating the insight to examine true nature of phenomena with direct cognition. This leads to cutting off the defilements, realizing the dhamma and, finally, self-awakening. In the process, right knowledge arises followed by liberation.

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path
• http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/

Reference books