The Last is the 8 Noble Eightfold Paths

The eightfold path is at the heart of the middle way, which turns from extremes, and encourages us to seek the simple approach. From this brief account of the noble eightfold path, one may see that it is a way of life to be followed, practiced, and developed by each individual. It is self-discipline in body, word, and mind, self-development, and self-purification. It has nothing to do with belief, prayer, worship, or ceremony. In that sense, it has nothing which may popularly be called “religious.” It is a Path leading to the realization of Ultimate Reality, to complete freedom, happiness, and peace through moral, spiritual, and intellectual perfection.

Christianity, the Jews, Muslims, and other religious groups also have their own moral codes. While there is a degree of correspondence across these groups, the interpretation of the code in each philosophy is different. In the example of the Ten Commandments, there is an authoritarian feeling of a decree, of a direct order that these be fulfilled.

In Buddhism, the eightfold path is meant as a guideline to be considered, to be contemplated, and to be taken on when and only when each step is fully accepted as part of the life you seek.

The eightfold path, although referred to as steps on a path, is not meant as a sequential learning process but as eight aspects of life, all of which are to be integrated with everyday life. Buddhism never asks for blind faith; it seeks to promote learning and a process of self-discovery.

You Should Practice the Paths to Attain Balance in Life, Wisdom

In this context, “path” does not mean an external path that leads from one place to another but an inner path, a spiritual path that leads to the pure happiness of liberation and enlightenment.

The practice of the stages of the path to liberation can be condensed within the three pieces of training of higher moral discipline, higher concentration, and higher wisdom. These training sessions are called “higher” because they are motivated by renunciation, a sincere wish to attain permanent liberation from the sufferings of this life and future lives. They are, therefore, the actual path to liberation that we need to practice.

The Noble Eightfold Path

1. Right understanding

2. Right thought

3. Right Speech

4. Right action

5. Right livelihood

6. Right effort

7. Right mindfulness

8. Right concentration

Practically the whole teaching of the Buddha, to which he devoted himself for 45 years, deals in some way or other with this path. He explained it in different ways and in different words to different people, according to the stage of their development and their capacity to understand and follow him. But the essence of those many thousand discourses scattered in the Buddhist scriptures is found in the noble eightfold path.

It should not be thought that the eight categories or divisions of the path should be followed and practiced one after the other in the numerical order as given in the usual list above. But they are to be developed more or less simultaneously, as far as possible, according to the capacity of each individual. They are all linked together, and each helps the cultivation of the others.

These eight factors aim at promoting and perfecting the three essentials of Buddhist training and discipline: namely:

· Ethical conduct (sila)

· Mental discipline (samadhi)

· Wisdom (Panna)

It will therefore be more helpful for a coherent and better understanding of the eight divisions of the path if we group them and explain them according to these three heads.

Ethical Conduct

Ethical conduct (sila) is built on the vast conception of universal love and compassion for all living beings, on which the Buddha’s teaching is based. It is regrettable that many scholars forget this great ideal of the Buddha’s teaching and indulge in only dry philosophical and metaphysical divagations when they talk and write about Buddhism.

The Buddha gave his teaching “for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world.”

According to Buddhism, for a man to be perfect, there are two qualities that he should develop equally: compassion on one side and wisdom on the other. Here compassion represents love, charity, kindness, tolerance, and such noble qualities on the emotional side, or qualities of the heart, while wisdom would stand for the intellectual side or the qualities of the mind.

If one develops only the emotional, neglecting the intellectual, one may become a good-hearted fool; while developing only the intellectual side, neglecting the emotional may turn one into a hard-hearted intellect without feeling for others. Therefore, to be perfect, one has to develop both equally. That is, the aim of the Buddhist way of life in its wisdom and compassion are inseparably linked together, as we shall see later.

Right Speech

Right speech means abstention from telling lies, from backbiting and slander and talk that may bring about hatred, enmity, disunity, and disharmony among individuals or groups of people, from harsh, rude, impolite, malicious, and abusive language, and from idle, useless, and foolish babble and gossip. When one abstains from these forms of wrong and harmful speech, one naturally has to speak the truth and has to use words that are friendly and benevolent, pleasant and gentle, meaningful, and useful. One should not speak carelessly: speech should be at the right time and place. If one cannot say something useful, one should keep “noble silence.”

We tend to underestimate the power of the spoken word and often regret words said in haste. Each of us has experienced the disappointment associated with harsh criticism, whether justified or not, and we also are likely to have felt good when kind words encouraged us.

Right speech involves recognition of the truth and also an awareness of the impact of idle gossip and of repeating rumors. Communicating thoughtfully helps to unite others and can heal dissension. By resolving never to speak unkindly or in anger, a spirit of consideration evolves, which moves us closer to everyday compassionate living.

Right Action

Right action aims at promoting moral, honorable, and peaceful conduct. It admonishes us that we should abstain from destroying life, stealing, dishonest dealings, and illegitimate sexual intercourse and that we should also help others to lead a peaceful and honorable life in the right way.

Right Action recognizes the need to take an ethical approach in life, to consider others and the world we live in. This includes not taking what is not given to us and having respect for the agreements we make both in our private and business lives.

Right Action also encompasses the five precepts which were given by the Buddha, not to kill, steal, lie, avoid sexual misconduct, and not take drugs or other intoxicants.

This step on the path also includes a whole approach to the environment, with Right Action being taken whenever possible to safeguard the world for future generations.

Right Livelihood

Right livelihood means that one should abstain from making one’s living through a profession that brings harm to others, such as trading in arms and lethal weapons, intoxicating drinks or poisons, killing animals or being a butcher, owning a gun shop, cheating, etc.,

In his time, he also discouraged the slave trade, which dealt with human workers. And he was also against the practice of fortune telling as this made assumptions about a fixed future, where his teaching stresses that the future is created by what we do today.

One should live in a profession that is honorable, blameless, and innocent of harm to others. One can clearly see here that Buddhism is strongly opposed to any kind of war when it lays down that trade in arms and lethal weapons is an evil and unjust means of livelihood.

Right, Livelihood also implies that a Buddhist who is able will undertake some work, either as part of a Buddhist community, or in the workplace, or, alternatively, do home-based or community service. Many communities of monks ensure that each member has daily chores, which remind him of this step on the Eightfold Path.

These three factors (right speech, right action, and right livelihood) of the eightfold path constitute ethical conduct. It should be realized that Buddhist ethical and moral conduct aims at promoting a happy and harmonious life both for the individual and for society. This moral conduct is considered the indispensable foundation for all higher spiritual attainments. No spiritual development is possible without this moral basis.

If your work has a lack of respect for life, then it will be a barrier to progress on the spiritual path. Buddhism promotes the principle of equality of all living beings and respect for all life.

Mental Discipline

Next comes mental discipline, which is included three other factors of the eightfold path: namely, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Right Effort

Right effort is the energetic will to prevent evil and unwholesome states of mind from arising, and to get rid of such evil and unwholesome states that have already arisen within men, and also to produce, to cause to arise, good, and wholesome states of mind not yet arisen, and to develop and bring to perfection the good and wholesome states of mind already present in men.

This is the step where we become committed to the path. Right Understanding shows us what life really is and what life’s problems are composed of. Right Intent urges us to decide what our heart wants. Right Intent must come from the heart and involves recognizing the equality of all life and compassion for all that life, beginning with yourself.

Right Intent means persistence and a passion for the journey. Setting out to climb a high mountain means you must understand the lay of the land and the pitfalls, the other team members, and the equipment you need. This is similar to Right Understanding. But you will only climb the mountain if you really want to and have a passion for the climb. This is Right Intent. The mountain we climb here is our journey through life.

Right Understanding will eliminate ignorance. With Right Intent and correct understanding, we then remove desire, which in turn causes the suffering defined in the Four Noble Truths.

Right Effort also means cultivating enthusiasm and a positive attitude in a balanced way. Like the strings of a musical instrument, the amount of effort should not be too tense or too impatient, as well as not too slack or too laid back. Right Effort should produce an attitude of steady and cheerful determination. In order to produce the Right Effort, clear and honest thoughts should be welcomed, and feelings of jealousy and anger should be left behind. Right Effort equates to positive thinking, followed by focused action.

Right mindfulness is to be diligently aware, mindful, and attentive with regard to the activities of the body, sensations or feelings, the activities of the mind, and ideas, thoughts, conceptions, and things.

The practice of concentration on breathing is connected with the body for mental development. There are several other ways of developing attentiveness in relation to the body as modes of meditation.

With regard to sensations and feelings, one should be clearly aware of all forms of feelings and sensations, pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral, of how they appear and disappear within oneself. Concerning the activities of the mind, one should be aware of whether one’s mind is lustful or not, given to hatred or not, deluded or not, distracted or concentrated, etc. In this way, one should be aware of all movements of the mind and how they arise and disappear. As regards ideas, thoughts, conceptions, and things, one should know their nature, how they appear and disappear, how they are developed, how they are suppressed, destroyed, and so on.

While Right Effort is a very easy concept for most of us, Right Mindfulness is somewhat trickier to grasp and may involve quite a change of thinking.

Right Mindfulness means being aware of the moment and being focused on that moment. When we travel somewhere, we hear noises, see buildings, and trees, see advertising, feel the movement, think of those we left behind, thinking of our destination. So, it is with most moments of our lives.

Right Mindfulness asks us to be aware of the journey at that moment and to be clear and undistracted at that moment. Right Mindfulness is closely linked with meditation and forms the basis of meditation.

It is also not an attempt to exclude the world. In fact, the opposite. Right Mindfulness asks us to be aware of the moment and of our actions at that moment. By being aware, we are able to see how old patterns and habits control us. In this awareness, we may see how fears of possible futures limit our present actions. Sometimes you may be absorbed in what you are doing. Music, art, and sports can trigger these moments. At that moment, you are mindful, and the Buddha showed us how to integrate that awareness into our everyday lives.

Right Concentration

The third and last factor of mental discipline is the right concentration, leading to the four stages. In the first stage, passionate desires and certain unwholesome thoughts like sensuous lust, ill-will, languor, worry, restlessness, and skeptical doubt are discarded, and feelings of joy and happiness are maintained, along with certain mental activities. Then, in the second stage, all intellectual activities are suppressed, tranquility and “one-pointedness” of the mind are developed, and the feelings of joy and happiness are still retained. In the third stage, the feeling of joy, which is an active sensation, also disappears, while the disposition of happiness still remains in addition to mindful equanimity. Finally, in the fourth stage of Dhyana, all sensations, even of happiness and unhappiness, of joy and sorrow, disappear, only pure equanimity and awareness remaining.

Thus, the mind is trained and disciplined and developed through the right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Once the mind is uncluttered, it may then be concentrated to achieve whatever is desired. Right Concentration is turning the mind to focus on an object, such as a flower or a lit candle, or a concept, such as loving compassion. This forms the next part of the meditation process.

Right concentration implies that we select worthy directions for the concentration of the mind, although everything in nature, beautiful and ugly, may be useful for concentration. At deeper levels, no object or concept may be necessary for further development.

The benefits of Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration are significant as they teach the mind to see things, not as we are conditioned to see them, but as they really are. At the same time, they also lead to a feeling of calm and peace in the world. By being in the moment and being able to concentrate effectively, a sense of joy at the moment is felt. Release from the control of past pains and future mind games takes us closer to freedom from suffering.

Wisdom

The remaining two factors, namely right thought and right understanding, constitute wisdom in the noble eightfold path.

Right Thought

Right thought denotes the thoughts of selfless renunciation or detachment, thoughts of love, and thoughts of non-violence, which are extended to all beings. It is very interesting and important to note here that thoughts of selfless detachment, love, and non-violence are grouped on the side of wisdom. This clearly shows that true wisdom is endowed with these noble qualities and that all thoughts of selfish desire, ill-will, hatred, and violence are the result of a lack of wisdom in all spheres of life, whether individual, social, or political.

Right Understanding

The first step of the eightfold path is the Right Understanding or Right View. Right understanding is the understanding of things as they are, and it is the four noble truths that explain things as they really are. Right understanding, therefore, is ultimately reduced to the understanding of the four noble truths. This understanding is the highest wisdom that sees the Ultimate Reality. According to Buddhism, there are two sorts of understanding.

We generally call “understanding” knowledge an accumulated memory, an intellectual grasping of a subject according to certain given data. This is called “knowing accordingly.” It is not very deep. Real deep understanding or “penetration” is seeing a thing in its true nature without name and label. This penetration is possible only when the mind is free from all impurities and is fully developed through meditation.

This is a significant step on the path as it relates to seeing the world and everything in it as it really is, not as we believe it to be or want it to be. Just as you may read the directions on a map and then make the journey, studying, reading, and examining the information is important, but only the preparation for the journey. At a deeper level, direct personal experience will then lead us to Right Understanding.

In his book " Old Path, White Clouds,” Thich Nhat Hanh tells the story of the Buddha.

The Buddha says:

"My teaching is not a dogma or a doctrine, but no doubt some people will take it as such." The Buddha goes on to say, "I must state clearly that my teaching is a method to experience reality and not reality itself, just as a finger pointing at the moon is not the moon itself. A thinking person makes use of the finger to see the moon. A person who only looks at the finger and mistakes it for the moon will never see the real moon."

Knowing reality is of very little value if we don’t put it to personal use in our lives.