Noble Eightfold Path is the Way leading to cessation and contains a thorough and profound training of body, speech, and mind.
1. Right Understanding
Right Understanding is a clear knowledge of the Four Noble Truths, encompassing the “Three Basic Facts of Existence”: -
- Anicca (Impermanence),
- Anatta (Pali for “non-self” or “insubstantiality”; in Sanskrit Anatman) and
- Dukkha (suffering or unsatisfactoriness).
These are big topics, and we look to the Dharma teachings and commentaries, our own teachers, and our own insight meditations for guidance on “right understanding.” Without understanding the Four Noble Truths (the “diseases”) what use is the “cure” (The Eightfold Path)?
2. Right Intention
With clear knowledge, clear thinking follows suit. This is known as the initial application (of knowledge).
Thoughts mould a person’s nature and direct their course and direction of action. Unwholesome thoughts will debase and erode a person’s character over time, while wholesome thoughts will lift him/her higher and higher up.
In particular, Right Thoughts are:-
- Renunciation Nekkhamma or worldly pleasures, and selflessness (altruism). This is opposed to insatiable desires and selfishness.
- Loving-kindness Metta or goodwill towards people, including yourself; which is opposed to hatred, ill-will, aversion, dislike, detest and spite.
- Harmlessness Avihimsa or compassion, as opposed to cruelty and callousness.
3. Right Speech
Verbal expression and communication need to match the Right Thoughts. For instance, if you are cursing and swearing, or being harsh and abusive, your thoughts will certainly match your speech, and vice versa. The specifics are:
- Firstly, avoid speaking lies, slander, harsh words, and indulging in frivolous chatter (gossip, idle talk etc.)
- Secondly, as mentioned earlier, a harmless mind that generates loving-kindness cannot be giving vent to harsh speech, which first debases the speaker, and then hurts the listener(s).
- Last but not least, what is spoken should not only be true, but also sweet and gentle. If your comment is true but hurtful and unnecessary/unconstructive; then just keep your noble silence.
4. Right Action
With good thoughts and wholesome speech, naturally, your actions have to be compatible. In particular, abstinence from killing, stealing and sexual misconduct (rape/molestation/deception/abuse). These three unwholesome deeds are caused by craving and anger, coupled with ignorance.
With the gradual elimination of these karmic causes (evil mental/verbal/physical actions) from your mind and body, blameworthy/bad tendencies will find no outlet nor route to express themselves.
5. Right Livelihood
If you feel good about your job, it’s probably the right livelihood. Do you help people? As long as you harm no one, and that would include the environment since that impacts all beings, then it’s right livelihood. Buddha wouldn’t put things in a negative context, but it should be obvious that any attempt at purifying thoughts, words and actions would be severely hindered by five kinds of trade/business/ job that clearly are NOT right livelihood:
- Weapons (arms) production.
- Human slavery.
- Breeding of animals for slaughter / slaughtering animals per se.
- Illegal drugs (narcotics), alcohol, cigarettes and the like: producing anything known to be bad for sentient beings.
- Poisons: producing poisons, pollution and other harmful substances.
Hypocritical conduct is cited as the wrong livelihood for monks.
6. Right Effort
To do anything in life requires determination, persistence and energy. The sustained, lifelong practice of the Noble Eightfold Path, to lead a pure and spiritual life, is the very definition of the Right Effort. The right effort includes developing good habits, such as practising right mindfulness, right meditation and other positive moral acts in your daily life, not just occasionally.
7. Right Mindfulness
The practice of Right Mindfulness, in particular, requires the Right Effort. It is the constant watching/observation of your own body and actions, feelings, thoughts and mental objects (your imagination/images in your mind).
This self-observation is useful in two major ways:
- It complements Vipassana (Insight) Meditation. As a subset of insight, it helps you gain a better understanding of yourself, and the ever-changing (impermanent) nature of your own mind and body.
- It enables you to check any subconscious or careless mental/verbal/physical actions that are negative or bad.
Anapanasati, mindfulness of breath, helps cultivate the seven factors of awakening as defined the Anapanasati Sutta:
- Sati (mindfulness)
- Dhamma vicaya (analysis)
- Viriya (persistence)
- Piti (rapture)
- Passadhi (serenity)
- Samadhi (concentration)
- Upekkha (equanimity)
8. Right Concentration
Simply put, Right Meditation is a deep concentration or total focus. The purpose is to train your mind to obey you and not the other way around.
When you start practising meditation, you will be shocked that your mind controls you, and how unruly it is, as a three-year child. (Sometimes we call it “monkey mind” because it won’t settle.) All sorts of thoughts will go on and on in your mind. Initially, it will be like wrestling with a bull or trying to ride a wild horse without getting thrown off. But, with persistence, strength and determination, you will gradually find it easier and easier to focus your mind. The key is to become the “observer.” Don’t judge what you observe, simply observe such as it is. Stay in the present, mindfully observing.
Once you have succeeded in focusing your mind on a point, you can direct it / wield it, like a laser pointer. So, where do you point your laser-sharp and mirror-clear mind?
The answer is – The Five Aggregates that make up ‘you’.
The Five Skandhas (Aggregates or ‘heaps’) is a topic of its own, but in brief, it is the realization that the Five Skandhas entirely constitute sentient existence. The Skandhas are:-
- Form (rupa or body)
- Sensations (vedana or feelings)
- Perceptions (samjna)
- Mental activity (sankhara or formations)
- Consciousness (vijnana)
These, interestingly, correspond to the Five Buddha Families (yet another feature story in its own right).
Right meditation includes many methods from different paths, all equally valid:
- Apannasati:
- Samatha:
- Vipassana:
- Panna (in Pali), Prajna (in Sanskrit):
- Metta Meditation:
- Analytical meditation:
- Visualization meditation:
- Vajrayana:
- Mantra meditation:
