The Four Noble Truths constitute a "middle way" between rigorous asceticism and sensual indulgence. The Noble truths focus on craving and ignorance. Craving to hold onto what is impermanent, grasping for significantly where there is no permanent essence, and not knowing that this path ultimately leads to an unsatisfactory state. Consequently, the truths draw attention to the primary cause of suffering. Meditation on suffering leads to a conclusion that craving and ignorance are its prevailing conditions. Buddhism goes far beyond the simple observation of suffering by identifying its causes. Buddhism shows the way in which you can rise above suffering and bring it to an end.
The Noble Truth of suffering is the endless cycle of birth, ageing, sickness and death. Grief, despair and pain are suffering. Association with the unpleasant is suffering and dissociation from the pleasant is suffering. Not getting what one wants is suffering. The Noble Truth of the origin of suffering is the craving that produces re-existence and re-becoming. Suffering originates in uncontrollable greed and desire for sense-pleasure. The Noble Truth of the end of suffering is the complete termination of the very thirst, giving it up, rejecting it, releasing oneself from it, detaching oneself from it. The Noble Truth of the path leading to the end of suffering is simply the Noble Eightfold Path, namely; right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
The word suffering has a common reference to pain, grief, or misery, and in that sense it is the opposite of happiness or contentment. It also refers to impermanence, worthlessness, or perfection. Hence, suffering refers more to the general nature of being than to particular examples of suffering.
Suffering can be understood and experienced on three levels: first, there is the fact of suffering inherent in the life process - birth, old age, sickness, death, and all other events to which life is subject.