The Four Noble Truths are elementary yet profound, and form the basis for all Buddhist schools of thought. Life is painful. Any person can see that much of human life is made of pain and suffering. Birth itself, the way by which all humans enter the earth, is painful both for the person being birthed as well as the mother. Once we have entered into the world, we all know the bitterness of sorrow, loss, old age and grief.
Selfish desire is the origin of pain and suffering.
Human cravings are bound up in pleasure and desire by way of the five senses. Our taste, sight, hearing, smell and touch are the root causes of selfish desire, and can produce an attachment to material things and worldly pleasures. Craving, the origin of suffering, can be eliminated. If a person can see worldly delights and pleasures for what they are fleeting and miserable they can overcome selfish craving. This belief supports a lack of attachment, the loss of ego, the cessation of anger and delusions.