²⁹For completeness, I will briefly describe the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths in their entirety. They can be seen as a psychological theory of why suffering comes about and how it can be avoided. The four truths are a logical sequence: 1) All phenomena (i.e. external objects, perceptions, feelings, thoughts, etc.) in the world are unsatisfactory in the sense that they have the potential to produce suffering. 2) Suffering is produced by desire for any of these phenomena (or desire to avoid any of them, i.e., aversion). 3) Suffering disappears if desire is eradicated. 4) Desire can be eradicated by following a certain combination of meditation techniques, philosophical attitudes, and ethical behaviour. (For references, see footnote 20 in Chapter 2.)