The Buddha's Second Noble Truth: Suffering

Life in pre-modern societies is a precarious and often unpleasant affair. Life guided by desire keeps us stuck in the never-ending cycle of reincarnation, with rebirth offering nothing but another opportunity to suffer. This is why the Buddha gave up his life as a royal prince - he would still have to fear those universal perils of illness, age, and death. Following his example, many Buddhists have abandoned the so-called life of the householder,. They became renouncers, who withdrew from society to live a monastic lifestyle.