|
The Noble Eightfold
Path
The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was
laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and
mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and
delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things.
Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put
on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain
a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the
path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are
highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each
other.
Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see
and to understand things as they really are and to realise the Four Noble Truth.
As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things
through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and
ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is
not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of
intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through
all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are
subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature
of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions,
right view yields right thoughts and right actions.
While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention
refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls
our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to
ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right
intentions: 1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull
of desire, 2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of
anger and aversion, and 3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think
or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.
Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path.
Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which
supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient,
however, essential, because mental purification can only be achieved through the
cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of
Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or
friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1.
to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to
speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words
maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt
others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth.
Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and
gently and to talk only when necessary.
The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural
means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions.
Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead
to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained in terms of
abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming sentient beings,
especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm
intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given,
which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3.
to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to
act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of
others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details
regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the Precepts.
Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way
and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions
four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for
this reason: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including
raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), 3.
working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons,
such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate
the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.
Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the
path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be
achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and
confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right
effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of
energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side
fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is
detailed in four types of endeavours that rank in ascending order of perfection:
1. to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, 2. to abandon
unwholesome states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that
have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already
arisen.
Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is
the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually,
the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a
thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost
always conceptualise sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret
them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally
go beyond the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits
concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into
complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a
result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear
perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right
mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualisation in a way
that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted
for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of
the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3.
contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena.
The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the
development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at
a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this
context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all
mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right
concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome
concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The
Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice
of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first
directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies
concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply
elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.
Part of the information of this page is
extracted from : www.thebigview.com
Powered by WebRing®.
Back to Top
|
Ads By CbproAds
Ads By CbproAds
Ads By CbproAds
|