Thus I have heard: One time, the Buddha was staying at the Residence of Sages in the Deer Preserve of Bārāṇasī.
It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “There are four noble truths. What are the four? They are the noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of suffering’s formation, the noble truth of suffering’s cessation, and the noble truth of the path to suffering’s cessation.
“Supposing that a monk will know the noble truth of suffering, then he will understand [suffering] … will know the noble truth of suffering’s formation, then he will end [its formation] … will know the noble truth of suffering’s cessation, then he will realize [its cessation] … will know the noble truth of the path to suffering’s cessation, then he will cultivate [that path].”
After the Buddha spoke this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved.