The Eightfold Path
The Eightfold Path is comprised of eight primary teachings which Buddhists follow and use in their everyday lives.
- 1. Right View or Right Understanding, insight into the true nature of reality.
- When the steps of the Eightfold Path are presented in a list, usually Right View is the first step (even though there is no "first" step).Right View supports wisdom. Wisdom in this sense is the understanding of things as they are, as explained in the teachings of the Four Noble Truths.This understanding is not mere intellectual understanding. It is instead a thorough penetration of the Four Noble Truths. Theravada scholar Wapola Rahula called this penetration "seeing a thing in its true nature, without name and label." (What the Buddha Taught)
- 2. Right Intention, the unselfish desire to realize enlightenment.
- - Three Kinds of Right Intention
- The Buddha taught that there are three kinds of Right Intention, which counter three kinds of the wrong intention. These are:
- The intention of renunciation, which counters the intention of desire.
To renounce is to give up or let go of something, or to disown it. To practice renunciation doesn't necessarily mean you have to give away all your possessions and live in a cave, however. The real issue is not objects or possessions themselves, but our attachment to them.
If you give away things but are still attached to them, you haven't really renounced them.Sometimes in Buddhism, you hear that monks and nuns are "renounced ones." To take monastic vows is a powerful act of renunciation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that laypeople cannot follow the Eightfold Path. What's most important is to not attach to things, but remember that attachment comes from viewing ourselves and other things in a delusional way. Fully appreciate that all phenomena are transient and limited -- as the Diamond Sutra says
"This is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world:"Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream;
Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,Or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream."So is all conditioned existence to be seen."
As laypeople, we live in a world of possessions. To function in society, we need a home, clothing, food, probably a car. To do my work I really need a computer. We get into trouble, however, when we forget that we and our "things" are bubbles in a stream. And, of course, it's important to not take or hoard more than we need.
- The intention of good will, which counters the intention of ill will.
Another word for "goodwill" is Metta, or "loving-kindness." We cultivate loving kindness for all beings, without discrimination or selfish attachment, to overcome anger, ill will, hatred, and aversion.
According to the Metta Sutta, a Buddhist should cultivate for all beings the same love a mother would feel for her child. This love does not discriminate between benevolent people and malicious people. It is a love in which"I" and "you" disappear, and where there is no possessor and nothing to possess.
- The intention of harmlessness, which counters the intention of harmfulness.
The Sanskrit word for "non-harming" is ahimsa or avihiṃsā in Pali, and it describes a practice of not harming or doing violence to anything.
To not harm also requires Karuna or compassion. Karuna goes beyond simply not harming. It is an active sympathy and a willingness to bear the pain of others.
The Eightfold Path is not a list of eight discrete steps. Each aspect of the path supports every other aspect. The Buddha taught that wisdom and compassion arise together and support each other.
It's not hard to see how the Wisdom Path of Right View and Right Intention also supports the Ethical Conduct Path of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. And, of course, all aspects are supported by Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration, the Mental Discipline Path.
- 3. Right Speech, using speech compassionately.
- As recorded in the Pali Canon, the historical Buddha taught that Right Speech had four parts: Pali Canon, the historical Buddha taught that Right Speech had four parts:
- Abstain from false speech; do not tell lies or deceive.
- Do not slander others or speak in a way that causes disharmony or enmity.
- Abstain from a rude, impolite, or abusive language.
- Do not indulge in idle talk or gossip.
- 4. Right Action, using ethical conduct to manifest compassion.
- More than anything else, Right Action refers to keeping the Precepts. The many schools of Buddhism have various lists of precepts, but the precepts common to most schools are these:
- Not killing
- Not stealing
- Not misusing sex
- Not lying
- Not abusing intoxicants
- The precepts are not a list of commandments. Instead, they describe how an enlightened being naturally lives and responds to life's challenges. As we work with the precepts, we learn to live harmoniously and compassionately.
- 5. Right Livelihood, making a living through ethical and non-harmful means.
- Along with Right Speech and Right Action, Right Livelihood is part of the "moral conduct" section of the Path. These three folds of the Path are connected to the Five Precepts. These are:
- Not killing
- Not stealing
- Not misusing sex
- Not lying
- Not abusing intoxicants
- Right Livelihood is, first, a way to earn a living without compromising the Precepts. It is a way of making a living that does no harm to others. In the Vanijja Sutta (this is from the Sutra-Pitaka of the Tripitaka), the Buddha said, "A lay follower should not engage in five types of business. Which five? Business in weapons, business in human beings, business in meat, business in intoxicants, and business in poison."
- 6. Right Effort, cultivating wholesome qualities and releasing unwholesome qualities.
- Right Effort, sometimes called Right Diligence, is the sixth part of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism. The Buddha taught that the Eightfold Path is the means to realize enlightenment. Right Effort (in Pali, Samma Vayama), along with Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration, make up the mental discipline section of the Path.The most basic, traditional definition of Right Effort is to exert oneself to develop wholesome qualities and release unwholesome qualities.As recorded in the Pali Canon, the Buddha taught there are four aspects to Right Effort. Very simply -
- The effort to prevent unwholesome qualities -- especially greed, anger, and ignorance -- from arising.
- The effort to extinguish unwholesome qualities that already have arisen.
- The effort to cultivate skillful, or wholesome, qualities -- especially generosity, loving-kindness, and wisdom (the opposites of greed, anger, and ignorance) -- that have not yet arisen.
- The effort to strengthen the wholesome qualities that have already arisen.
- 7. Right Mindfulness, whole body-and-mind awareness.
- The Buddha said there are four frames of reference in mindfulness:
- Mindfulness of body (kayasati)
In the Satipatthana Sutta of the Pali Tipitika (Majjhima Nikaya 10), the historical Buddha taught his disciples to contemplate the body as or in the body. What does that mean?
Very simply, it means to regard the body as a physical form with no self-attached to it. In other words, this is not my body, my legs, my feet, my head. There is just body. The Buddha said:
"Thus he [a monk] lives contemplating the body in the body internally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body externally, or he lives contemplating the body in the body internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in the body, or he lives contemplating dissolution factors in the body, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in the body. Or his mindfulness is established with the thought: "The body exists," to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached and clings to nothing in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk lives contemplating the body in the body."
Be Mindful of Breathing
Mindfulness of breathing is important to mindfulness of body.
If you have been instructed in any type of Buddhist meditation, you probably were told to focus on your breathing. This usually is the first "exercise" for training the mind.
In the Anapanasati Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 118), the Buddha gave detailed instruction for the many ways one can work with breath to develop mindfulness. We train the mind simply to follow the very natural process of breathing, letting ourselves merge into the sensation of breath in our lungs and throat. In this way, we tame the "monkey mind" that swings from thought to thought, out of control.
Following breath, appreciate how the breath breathes itself. It's not something "we" are doing.
If you have a regular meditation practice, eventually you find yourself returning to the breath throughout the day. When you feel stress or anger arising, acknowledge it and come back to your breathing. It's very calming.
- Mindfulness of feelings or sensations (vedanasati).
The first foundation is mindfulness of body. This is an awareness of the body as body—something experienced as breath and flesh and bone. It is not "my" body. It is not a form you are inhabiting.
There is just body. Most introductory mindfulness exercises focus on the breath. This is experiencing breath and being breath. It is not thinking about the breath or coming up with ideas about breath.
As the ability to maintain awareness gets stronger, the practitioner becomes aware of the whole body.
In some schools of Buddhism, this exercise might include an awareness of aging and mortality.
Body awareness is taken into movement. Chanting and rituals are opportunities to be mindful of the body as it moves, and in this way, we train ourselves to be mindful when we aren't meditating, too. In some schools of Buddhism nuns and monks have practiced martial arts as a way of bringing meditative focus into movement, but many day-to-day activities can be used as "body practice."
Mindfulness of Feelings
The second foundation is mindfulness of feelings, both bodily sensations, and emotions. In meditation, one learns to just observe emotions and sensations come and go, without judgments and without identifying with them. In other words, it is not "my" feelings, and feelings do not define who you are. There are just feelings.
Sometimes this can be uncomfortable. What can come up might surprise us. Humans have an amazing capacity to ignore our own anxieties and anger and even pain, sometimes. But ignoring sensations we don't like is unhealthy. As we learn to observe and fully acknowledge our feelings, we also see how feelings dissipate.
Mindfulness of Mind
The third foundation is mindfulness of mind or consciousness.
The "mind" in this foundation is called Citta. This is a different mind from the one that thinks thoughts or makes judgments. Citta is more like consciousness or awareness.
Citta is sometimes translated "heart-mind," because it has an emotive quality. It is a consciousness or awareness that is not made up of ideas. However, neither is it the pure awareness that is the fifth skandha.
Another way of thinking of this foundation is "mindfulness of mental states." Like sensations or emotions, our states of mind come and go. Sometimes we are sleepy; sometimes we are restless. We learn to observe our mental states dispassionately, without judgment or opinion. As they come and go, we clearly understand how insubstantial they are.
Mindfulness of Dharma
The fourth foundation is mindfulness of dharma. Here we open ourselves to the whole world, or at least the world that we experience.
Dharma is a Sanskrit word that can be defined many ways. You can think of it as "natural law" or "the way things are." Dharma can refer to the doctrines of the Buddha. And dharma can refer to phenomena as m manifestations of reality.
This foundation is sometimes called "mindfulness of mental objects." That's because all of the myriad things around us exist for us as mental objects. They are what they are because that's how we recognize them.
In this foundation, we practice awareness of the inter-existence of all things. We are aware that they are temporary, without self-essence, and conditioned by everything else. This takes us to the doctrine of Dependent Origination, which is the way everything inter-exists.
- Mindfulness of mind or mental processes (cittasati).
In the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha told his disciples to contemplate mind as mind, or consciousness as consciousness, without identifying with this mind. This citta is not your mind. It is something that is present, with no self-attached to it. The Buddha said,
"Thus he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness internally, or he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness externally, or he lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness internally and externally. He lives contemplating origination factors in consciousness, or he lives contemplating dissolution-factors in consciousness, or he lives contemplating origination-and-dissolution factors in consciousness. Or his mindfulness is established with the thought, 'Consciousness exists,' to the extent necessary just for knowledge and mindfulness, and he lives detached, and clings to nothing in the world. Thus, monks, a monk lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness." [Nyanasatta Thera translation]
The simplest way to explain contemplation of mind as mind is that it involves dispassionately observing you. Is there calmness, or agitation?
Is there focus, or distraction? This is by no means an intellectual exercise. Form no ideas or opinions. Simply observe. Frame your observations as: "there is a distraction" rather than "I am distracted."
As with mindfulness of feelings, it's important to not make judgments. If you are meditating with sleepiness or dullness, for example, don't beat yourself up for not being more alert. Just observe that, right now, there is dullness.
Observing mental states come and go, one sees how ephemeral they are. We begin to see patterns; how one thought tends to chase another. We become more intimate with ourselves.
- Mindfulness of mental objects or qualities (dhammasati).
- 8. Right Concentration, meditation or some other dedicated, concentrated practice.
- Three parts of the path -- Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration -- are associated with the mental discipline. These three aspects of the path might sound somewhat alike, especially mindfulness and concentration. Very basically,
- Right Effort involves cultivating what is wholesome and purifying oneself of what is unwholesome.
- Right Mindfulness is being fully present and aware of one's body, senses, thoughts, and surroundings. It is the opposite of being lost in daydreams.
- Right Concentration is focusing all of one's mental faculties onto one physical or mental object and practicing the Four Absorptions, also called the Four Dhyanas (Sanskrit) or Four Jhanas (Pali).
