The Sequence of Practicing the Four Noble Truths

The sequence of practice of the Four Noble Truths is: knowing suffering, eliminating origination, aspiring to cessation, and cultivating the path; or alternatively: knowing suffering, aspiring to cessation, cultivating the path, and eliminating origination. Eliminating origination is divided into provisional elimination of origination and fundamental elimination of origination. Provisional elimination means that when one has neither meditative concentration (samādhi) nor has realized any fruit, the mind consciousness subdues and suppresses itself so as not to create unwholesome karma, or to create less unwholesome karma. Fundamental elimination of origination is ultimate elimination: after the afflictions have been eradicated, the manas no longer has the thought or impetus to create unwholesome karma, and without the subduing and suppression by the mind consciousness, it spontaneously and consciously ceases to create unwholesome karma. In this way, the old karmic seeds of unwholesome karma are dissolved, and new karmic seeds of unwholesome karma no longer accumulate, so there will be no suffering in future lives.

How does suffering come about? At the very beginning of a life, there is no world of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), and no suffering. Because of ignorance (avidyā), the manas reaches outward, seeking to know; thereupon the tathāgatagarbha gives rise to the world, and then gives rise to the body of the five aggregates. Living in the world, the five aggregates, due to the ignorance of the manas, will create unwholesome karma that is not in accord with reality; thus karmic seeds accumulate, resulting in suffering retribution in later lives. After studying Buddhism and cultivating practice, one continually contemplates the truth of suffering, understanding that the source of suffering is the unwholesome karma accumulated in past lives. One then seeks ways to eliminate suffering and begins to cultivate the path, no longer accumulating unwholesome karmic formations. After realizing no-self, one eliminates ignorance and afflictions, and only then is suffering gradually extinguished.