Four Noble Truths.

'Seven weeks after his enlightenment, Buddha taught humans for the first time in a Deer Park near Sarnath, a town seven miles from Benares, today known as Varanasi.

(...)

Five seekers came to him there, true moralists. They had become holy in the wrong sense of the word, not whole and full of energy, but stiff and joyless instead.

(...)

They thought only of themselves, judged others, and aimed solely to get rid of their own suffering. Before Buddha's enlightenment, when he nearly fasted himself to death, they had been quite impressed. However, when Buddha discovered this approach to be useless and resolved to restore his health, they considered him too worldly and left him.

Coming upon him at the Deer Park in Sarnath, they were disturbed by his joy and effortless radiance. First they tried to ignore him, but as his power-field enveloped them, they had no choice but to pay attention and asked: "Why do you shine? How did you get this way?" In answer to these seekers Buddha gave Four Noble Truths:

1. Conditioned Existence is suffering.
2. This suffering has a cause.
3. It has end.
4. There's way leading to that end.'

-- Quoted from 'The Way Things Are' by Lama Ole Nydahl.


Blog author's comments.

Four Noble Truths are beginning of the Way for Liberation & Enlightenment.

Those with better Karma quickly understand these lessons & move to more advanced lessons - on the altruist level & beyond.

Egoists start from beginnings however - focus on Four Noble Truths & simplest of lessons, to work with their karma & prepare for more of a progress.

Beginnings on the Buddha Way are not pleasant at first, but with time practicioner's life & happiness gets better & better.

i think that only when someone wants to advance too fast, when someone reaches for too advanced lessons - without working with karma enough, without learning proper wisdom first, without practicing compassion enough - the more advanced lessons are not pleasant yet, nor worthwhile yet as well.

... but then, certain people prefer a very fast advancement - even if it hurts - for example because losing time hurts them more, as is in my case. Even then, a certain dose of moderation & self-restraint is sane & effective, i think.