The Eight fold Path of buddhism
The Buddha's Eightfold Path consists of:
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Right View
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. 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.
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Right Intention
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.
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Right Speech
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.
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Right Action
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.
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Right Livelihood
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.
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Right Effort
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.
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Right Mindfulness
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.
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Right Concentration
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.
so,the basic belief of Buddhism is that the buddhist
does not eat meat, do not kill, and believe in
something like reincarnation and karma.
Sacred Scriptures
In Theravada (Southeast Asian) Buddhism, there
are three groups of writings considered to be
Holy Scripture, known as the "Three Baskets"
(Tripitaka). The Vinaya Pitaka (discipline basket)
contains rules for the higher class of Buddhists;
the Sutta Pitaka (teaching basket) contains the
discourses of Buddha; and the Abidhamma Pitaka
(metaphysical basket) contains Buddhist theology.
Mahayana (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc.)
Buddhism contains an incredibly large amount of
holy writings, over five thousand volumes. The
oldest scriptures are based on Sanskrit, while
others have been written in Nepalese, Tibetan,
and Chinese. There are no clear limits as to what
should be admitted as scripture, so thousands
of writings on the topic have been admitted.
It is our minds that create this world. Buddha
(563 - 483 BC)
"If anything is worth doing, do it with all
your heart."
Buddha, 6th century bce Indian mystic and founder
of Buddhism
Love yourself and be awake-
Today, tomorrow, always.
First establish yourself in the way,
Then teach others,
And so defeat sorrow.
To straighten the,
You must first do a harder thing-
Straighten yourself. You are your only master.
Who else?
Subdue yourself,
And discover your master
Buddha crookedSource: -from the Dhammapada
