How can the eightfold path be interpreted

Now, in ethical conduct sila , based on love and compassion, are included three factors of the noble eightfold path: namely, right speech, right action, and right livelihood. Right speech means abstention 1 from telling lies, 2 from backbiting and slander and talk that may bring about hatred, enmity, disunity, and disharmony among individuals or groups of people, 3 from harsh, rude, impolite, malicious, and abusive language, and 4 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, 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. Right action aims at promoting moral, honorable, and peaceful conduct.

It admonishes us that we should abstain from destroying life, from stealing, from dishonest dealings, from illegitimate sexual intercourse, and that we should also help others to lead a peaceful and honorable life in the right way. 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. These three factors right speech, right action, and right livelihood of the eightfold path constitute ethical conduct.

It should be realized that the 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 as the indispensable foundation for all higher spiritual attainments. No spiritual development is possible without this moral basis. Next comes mental discipline, in which are included three other factors of the eightfold path: namely, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Right effort is the energetic will 1 to prevent evil and unwholesome states of mind from arising, and 2 to get rid of such evil and unwholesome states that have already arisen within a man, and also 3 to produce, to cause to arise, good, and wholesome states of mind not yet arisen, and 4 to develop and bring to perfection the good and wholesome states of mind already present in a man.

Right mindfulness is to be diligently aware, mindful, and attentive with regard to 1 the activities of the body kaya , 2 sensations or feelings vedana , 3 the activities of the mind citta and 4 ideas, thoughts, conceptions, and things dhamma. The practice of concentration on breathing anapanasati is one of the well-known exercises, 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. In this way one should be aware of all movements of mind, 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.

These four forms of mental culture or meditation are treated in detail in the Satipatthana Sutta Setting-up of Mindfulness. The third and last factor of mental discipline is right concentration, leading to the four stages of Dhyana , generally called trance or recueillement. In the first stage of Dhyana, 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.

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.

Communicating thoughtfully helps to unite others, and can heal dissention. 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 recognises the need to take the 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, to avoid sexual misconduct, and not to 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. 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. Certain types of work were discouraged by the Buddha, in particular those where you deal in harmful drugs and intoxicants, those dealing in weapons, and those harmful to animal or human life. So a dedicated Buddhist would not be recommended to have a liquor store, own a gun shop, or be a butcher. In his time, he also discouraged the slave trade, which dealt in 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.

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. Right Effort means cultivating an enthusiasm, 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 Right Effort, clear and honest thoughts should be welcomed, and feelings of jealousy and anger left behind.

Right Effort equates to positive thinking, followed by focused action. The Buddha was well ahead of his time on this one, and many books have been written about the power of the right attitude. 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. I suggest that you take a short break, stand up and walk or cruise if you are mobile around the room or house, and then come back here before reading on.

Right Mindfulness means being aware of the moment, and being focused in that moment. When we travel somewhere, we are hearing noises, seeing buildings, trees, advertising, feeling the movement, thinking of those we left behind, thinking of our destination.

So it is with most moments of our lives. Zira US English. Oliver British. Wendy British. Fred US English. Tessa South African. How to say noble eightfold path in sign language? Numerology Chaldean Numerology The numerical value of noble eightfold path in Chaldean Numerology is: 8 Pythagorean Numerology The numerical value of noble eightfold path in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8. Select another language:. Please enter your email address: Subscribe. Discuss these noble eightfold path definitions with the community: 0 Comments.

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