The Eightfold Path on A Buddhist Blog

Right View - Four Truths

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Part 1 of 5 in Right View (sammā-diṭṭhi), the first factor of the Eightfold Path.

The Four Truths of Human Life

An overview of the Four Truths and the Eightfold Path — the two intertwined core teachings of the Buddha, which lead to happiness: the freedom from all suffering.

Four Truths is really about happiness

The Four Truths might give an impression that Buddhism is all about suffering. But Truth number 3 is talking about ending ALL suffering… and if you don’t suffer, what is the opposite of suffering? Happiness (or contentment, or peace)!

Right View - First Noble Truth & Non-Self

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Part 2 of 5 in Right View (sammā-diṭṭhi), the first factor of the Eightfold Path.

First Noble Truth & Non-Self

We focus on the First Noble Truth: suffering exists. How is suffering defined? And why does suffering happen? Because we don’t understand non-self.

Definition of suffering

The definition of suffering includes important life milestones (birth, ageing, illness, death), but also three important mental aspects:

“union with what is displeasing is suffering;” — i.e. being forced to be with something or someone unpleasant or dislikeable
“separation from what is pleasing is suffering;” — i.e. being forced apart from something or someone pleasant or beloved
“not to get what one wants is suffering;” — this should be self-evident!

It’s also worth pointing out that the Chinese wording is exactly the same: see the Chinese wording here.

Right View - Second Noble Truth

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Part 3 of 5 in Right View (sammā-diṭṭhi), the first factor of the Eightfold Path.

The Second Noble Truth

Suffering is caused by 3 kinds of wanting: wanting of the five senses, wanting to exist, and wanting to not exist.

Three causes of suffering

We covered what suffering is in First Noble Truth & Non-Self, and touched on how suffering is due to non-self: we think each of the Five Aggregates as our self, and that we can control them, and that is why we suffer.

Right View - Cause & Effect (Kamma)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Part 4 of 5 in Right View (sammā-diṭṭhi), the first factor of the Eightfold Path.

Cause & Effect (Kamma)

The relationship between cause-and-effect (aka kamma or karma), wanting/craving, and the Third Noble Truth.

Causes of suffering, Part II

In The Second Noble Truth, we covered the three types of wanting/craving which are the causes of suffering, and also illustrated through examples that most human suffering can be explained by our wanting/cravings in the world of the five senses. You might ask: “… and then what?” So what if we know that our suffering is in the world of the five senses? Both cause & effect and the Third Noble Truth address this “so what?” question.

Right View - Third Noble Truth

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Part 5 of 5 in Right View (sammā-diṭṭhi), the first factor of the Eightfold Path.

The Third Noble Truth

When the cause of suffering is gone, suffering is also gone.

Suffering ends, when we end wanting/craving

The third Noble Truth points to the fact that, when we don’t have this thirst, this wanting or craving, suffering ends. This can be quite simply demonstrated: answer question 1 in the exercise below.

Right Motivation

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We are now departing from the Four Truths, into the rest of the Eightfold Path. Recall from Right View - Four Truths, the Fourth Noble Truth is the Eightfold Path, and the First Factor of the Eightfold Path, Right View, refers to the Four Truths.

Now that we have covered the Three Noble Truths, we dive into the Second Factor of the Eightfold Path. The Pali term sammā saṅkappa is often translated as “Right Thoughts”, though it also means “motivation”, “intention”. There are three kinds of Right Motivation: renunciation, non-ill-will, harmlessness.

Right Speech

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Right speech consists of four parts:

not lying
not speaking divisively
not speaking harshly
not speaking uselessly

Explanations

Let’s first describe what right speech is, before we dive a little into how to practice right speech.

Right Speech vs. Wrong Speech

Right speech is quite straightforward, when compared with its opposite.

Right speech is to tell the truth: saying you know when you do, saying you don’t know when you don’t.
- Wrong speech is to do the reverse: saying you know when you don’t, saying you don’t know when you do.
Right speech is to not speak divisively: to not deliberately tell people things with the motive and intention to divide people.
- Wrong speech is to do the reverse: to deliberately tell people things with the motive and intention to divide people. (Clearly, much political discourse falls into this category!)
Right speech is to not speak harshly, but to speak gently and in an agreeable way.
- Wrong speech is to speak harshly. (Note: this is my personal pet Wrong Speech: I do this all the time…)
Right speech is to not speak nonsense, but to speak what is “timely, true and meaningful, in line with the teaching and training”.
- Wrong speech is to speak nonsense.

Now, you might be thinking “oh no! I speak nonsense all the time!” and think this is absolutely hopeless… you’re not alone. I used to think the same way! Two things to note:

Right Action

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Right action comprises of three parts:

Not killing living creatures
Not stealing
Not engaging in sexual misconduct.

Explanations

Right Action in the Eightfold Path is focused on bodily actions. Thus, the main focus is on three aspects:

not killing
not stealing
not engaging in sexual misconduct.

Not killing

Not killing living beings refers to all types of living, sentient beings. In the more detailed explanation of MN 41, it is clear that not killing extends to doing its opposite i.e. being kind, compassionate & scrupulous: “They renounce the rod and the sword. They’re scrupulous and kind, living full of compassion for all living beings”.

Right Livelihood

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Right Livelihood (sammā-ājīva) is the fifth factor. It extends ethical conduct into how we make our living.

This page will cover:

Trades and occupations to avoid
How livelihood supports or undermines the path
Applying Right Livelihood in modern work life

Right Effort

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Right Effort (sammā-vāyāma) is the sixth factor. It is the active energy we bring to the path.

This page will cover:

Preventing unarisen unwholesome states
Abandoning arisen unwholesome states
Developing unarisen wholesome states
Maintaining arisen wholesome states

Right Mindfulness

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Right Mindfulness (sammā-sati) is the seventh factor. It is the quality of awareness that underpins all practice.

This page will cover:

Mindfulness of the body (kāyānupassanā)
Mindfulness of feelings (vedanānupassanā)
Mindfulness of the mind (cittānupassanā)
Mindfulness of phenomena (dhammānupassanā)

Right Samadhi

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Right Samadhi (sammā-samādhi) is the eighth and final factor. It is the deep unification of mind that supports insight and liberation.

This page will cover:

The four jhānas as described in the suttas
How samādhi supports mindfulness and wisdom
The relationship between samādhi and the other factors
How the path comes together as a whole