What needs to be overthrown is our steadfast clinging to the belief of distinct, self-existing phenomena, not the standpoints of the atheists or some other philosophies. Once that clinging is gone, nothing that others preach can impair our true view anymore. For no matter how eloquent they are, they cannot affect someone who has realized emptiness. The means by which one can thoroughly destroy clinging to the idea of self-existing phenomena is to generate renunciation, arouse bodhicitta and cultivate the critical view of emptiness.

Why is realization of emptiness so powerful? It is because the cause of our endless rebirth in samsara is not something external but our own views and attachment, a kind of thought actually. And thoughts can be overthrown, but not all of them. Those that are formed on a solid base with logical reasoning are very difficult to be overthrown.

Is clinging to the idea of a real self well grounded and sensible? Not so. Ever since birth, we have always had this notion of a self. Now take a look and see if this self truly exists. And how does it exist? If we examine closely, we will discover that it does not exist. But why do we have this compelling sense of a real self? The truth is that it is all just an illusion. Like when running a high fever, one may see hallucinations as real or have strange thoughts popped up in mind. This is because the causes for seeing hallucinations or having twisted thoughts are already formed such that whatever one sees or thinks is nothing but the illusions created by these causes.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

Theravada practitioners aim to free only themselves from samsara, while the bodhisattvas aspire to do that for themselves and all other sentient beings. Frankly, to single-handedly lead all sentient beings to liberation is an extremely difficult task, one that not even the Buddha could have accomplished in a single lifetime. But the infinite power and aspiration of the Buddha have continued to benefit all those who are receptive to his teachings until this day. Even so, he cannot deliver all sentient beings. What matters is not that everyone can be saved but that we all strive toward that worthy end.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

The Noble Truth of Suffering encompasses the non-sentient world of land, rivers, mountains and so forth, as well as the sentient world of all living beings in the six realms. In other words, all sentient beings and what their six consciousnesses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind) come in contact with are all included in the domain of the Noble Truth of Suffering. Because we are in constant contact with both the sentient and the non-sentient world, suffering manifests around us all the time. We ourselves are also part of it. Even so, people have hardly known correctly the nature of suffering, which in turn leads to much distress. It is therefore so important to understand it well.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

No sentient being is in samsara voluntarily other than certain bodhisattvas. Although some people, after being hypnotized, claim that they purposely took rebirth in samsara, it may just be a lie or their imagination. The fact is that none of us is here by choice. Why do we keep coming back to samsara? It is due to all the defilements caused by karmic power. Like growing crops, seeds do not plan what kind of fruit to yield, or any at all. Given the right temperature and humidity, fruit will grow naturally. Similarly, when people are in the bardo state, they just aimlessly drift around, not knowing specifically what to do. Most of them end up taking rebirth, as the cause for rebirth has long been committed. And with all the necessary conditions fall into place, they have no choice but to be reborn again. If one could choose, why would anyone choose to be reborn as an ox or a horse or to live in misery?

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

There is a classic story on impermanence in The Words of My Perfect Teacher. A practitioner did a retreat in a cave for nine years. At the entrance of the cave, there were some nettles. His robes always got caught by the prickly plants every time he left the cave. As it was kind of a bother, he thought about cutting the nettles. Then the thought of possibly not being able to return to the cave again crossed his mind, he decided to do something more meaningful with his time instead. When going into the cave, his robes got caught as well. The thought of removing the nettles arose again. But considering the possibility that this might be his last time leaving the cave, he decided against it and saved the time for training the mind. He continued like this for nine years until he attained accomplishment in his practice while the nettles remained standing at the entrance. It was his firm conviction that all phenomena are impermanent that made him treasure every moment of his life by not spending it on something meaningless but practicing the Dharma. His accomplishment came as the result of realizing impermanence, not emptiness, of all phenomena.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

The Buddha once said, “I do not argue with worldly people, but they argue with me.” It means that the Buddha understands where people’s desire and attachment come from. But when people hear the Buddha speak of impermanence, emptiness and not-self, they refuse to accept and constantly raise objections. Actually, it is no surprise that people object since the Buddha’s viewpoints are something they have never heard of or thought about before and are entirely contrary to their usual way of thinking. So object they must. Still, truth is truth. Worldly people can object all they want at first, but eventually they will have to accept it. By worldly people, I do not mean the atheists or the materialists, but people like us who either have not yet learned Buddhadharma or attained realization of emptiness. It is in fact our very own established ideas that are opposing the new perspective.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

An analogy used by Maitreya Bodhisattva in the Uttaratantra Shastra aptly defines the Four Noble Truths. When treating any illness, doctors need to take four steps: 1) to ascertain the nature of the illness; 2) to eliminate the cause of the illness, since it would be ineffective to treat only the symptoms; 3) to prescribe remedies; 4) to heal. All doctors must go through this four-step process to treat an illness. Not knowing the cause of the illness, the doctor cannot prescribe a cure. Even knowing the cause of the illness but having no suitable medicine or the requisite pharmacological knowledge, or worse, giving the wrong prescription, the doctor will still be rendered ineffective. Nevertheless, everything that is concerned with treating a patient starts with identifying the cause of the illness. The Four Noble Truths also correspond to the four steps of treating an illness. The nature of suffering is what to be ascertained, the origin of suffering to be eliminated; the path leading to the cessation of suffering is what to be practiced (prescription), the cessation of suffering to be attained (cure).

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

The opposing view of impermanence is the view of the eternalists, which holds that all phenomena abide forever. The eternalist view is an inborn belief of ours. People tend to regard all appearances as permanent and thus develop either a sense of desire for or dislike of them. However, if one has acquired certain understanding of impermanence, one is unlikely to bear a grudge against others for long because enemies do not stay enemies forever. From a subtler perspective, enemies, like all phenomena, also intrinsically cease and arise every instant. If one were to look for some truly existing enemies, one would not find any in the end. The same goes with desire. People commonly believe that wealth and fame are something dependable and therefore pursue them with all their might. Would they still have been so enthusiastic about their pursuits had they known the impermanent and unreliable nature of all things in the material world?

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

The Four Noble Truths explain the nature, the origin, the cessation and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. Why are there not three or five truths? It is because all that is known or existent can be assigned to either samsara or nirvana; there is no other kind of existence in between. Samsara has its cause and effect; so does nirvana. Two sets of cause and effect make the Four Noble Truths. To explain nirvana and samsara by way of cause and effect is essentially what the Four Noble Truths are all about.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"