In general, we can say that all liberated beings (aryas), such as arhats and buddhas, have thoroughly penetrated the Four Noble Truths. And because these truths pervade the understanding of these holy beings, we call them noble. They are also called noble because by understanding and practicing them, we too can reach liberation.

The aryas awakened to the first noble truth of suffering and its many origins. First there is suffering from catastrophe, calamity, natural disasters, and other threats from the environment. Second, we can isolate fear and uncertainty as sources of suffering. And third are the endless kinds of self-generated afflictions we experience. These latter types of suffering are more clearly mental in origin and manifestation. Thus, the awakened ones are fully aware of the manifold origins of suffering that keep us in the oceanic suffering of samsara, the cycle of birth and death.

The second noble truth is that the fundamental cause of suffering is ignorance manifesting as greed, aversion, and delusion. Ignorance in turn leads us to engage in actions that cause suffering. Action, the literal meaning of karma, includes overt actions as well as thoughts and words. So what we call the origin or cause of suffering is actually karma--the force that propels existing conditions in our life to a future result, a kind of momentum that leads us in a certain direction. It is a composite energy generated by the illusions and afflictions of sentient beings, causing them to engage in certain actions. These actions themselves plant further 'seeds' (causes and conditions) for further consequences. When the seeds ripen the resultant force becomes a potential that propels us into the future, leading us to particular experiences of suffering.