The major forms of the tradition represent the Buddha as teaching an exoteric, practical Yoga which followed the so - called "Middle Path" - a mean between the extremes of bodily indulgence, self - mortification, and speculative philosophy. This is a qualitative , not merely an expedient mean. It is based on the conviction that neither ritual manipulation of external physical forms - including radical asceticism (e.g. Jainism) - nor abstract intellectualism can touch the real core of the human problem - the habitual errors of the mind and the inward perversion of the will and motivational processes. The Buddha's unique diagnosis and soteriology are emboided clasically in the "Four Noble Truths". They are:
The Noble Truth of Suffering:All creaturely existence is marked by "Dukha" (pain), an agonized bondage to the meaningless cycle of rebirths amid a transitory flux which is impermanent and without essential being.
The Noble Truth of Arising of Suffering: Craving according to the Buddha, the cause of suffering is not the wrath of gods or God or due to the arbitary will of unknown powers above us. The cause of this suffering is our craving or ignorance, of the illusory nature of phenomenol existense and particularly the pernicious notion of the eternality of the soul, which ironically perpetuates the "Trishna" (Desire) for life. As individual consciousness is dissolving in death this residual ignorance and desire once again - in an exorable casual sequence - form the empirical self from heterogenous phenomenol elements and chain it to the process of Rebirth.
The Noble truth of Cessation of Suffering or Nirvana: The removal of ignorance about and desire for phenomenal life will break the casual sequence and so percipitate final Salvation.
The Noble Truth of Way to the Cessation of Suffering - The Eight Fold Path: For this purpose the proper Yoga is the "Eightfold Path", and integral combination of ethics and mediation, which jointly purify the motivations and mind. The eightfold path is acknowledged as an excellent course of spiritual training, and has eight constituents or "angas":
Right Understanding
Right Thought
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration by the practice of Four Dhayanas.
The noble Eightfold path is thus a practical way shown by the Buddha for a tensionless, tranquil and peaceful life. It is a self-discipline of body, word and mind. It is the path of Self - Purification.
This leads to the attainment of wisdom to Enlightenment, and to the ineffable Nirvana, the Final Release from the incarnational cycle and a mystical trancendence beyond all conceptualization.
Thus it can easily be interpretted from the above that Buddha never claimed to promulgate a new religion as such, but rather expounded what seemed to him an underlying fundamental order in all nature (i.e. society) which he had observed, and which seemed to him to transcend every particular set of group observances which also enjoyed the same name 'Dharma'. This was a scientific advance, as it analyzed, in a rather elementary way, the causes of social suffering and showed the way to its negation. Understanding of the necessity led to freedom from the necessity, to the extent that the analysis was accurate.
