Intro to "Buddhist paths..." edit
The Buddhist tradition gives a wide variety of descriptions of the Buddhist Path (magga) to liberation.[1] The foundation of all presentations of the Buddhist path is the Noble Eightfold Path, which was presented in the first discourse of the the Buddha, and it considered the essence of the Buddhist path. The Noble Eightfold Path is typically presented as a set of eight interconnected factors or conditions, that when developed together, lead to the cessation of dukkha (suffering). Alongside the eightfold path, Buddhist texts present a number of paths that describe the path in different ways according to different traditions.
Centrality to Buddhist thought edit
The Noble Eightfold Path is presented as the fourth of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths and it is considered to be the essence of Buddhist practice.[a]
The eightfold path consists of: Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Noble Eightfold Path - summary for article "Buddhist paths..." edit
The Noble Eightfold Path is presented as the fourth of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths and it is considered to be the essence of Buddhist practice.[a] For example, Bhikkhu Bodhi states:[6]
- The essence of the Buddha’s teaching can be summed up in two principles: the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The first covers the side of doctrine, and the primary response it elicits is understanding; the second covers the side of discipline, in the broadest sense of that word, and the primary response it calls for is practice.
The Noble Eightfold Path consists of a set of eight interconnected factors or conditions, that when developed together, lead to the cessation of dukkha.[7] These eight factors are: Right View (or Right Understanding), Right Intention (or Right Thought), Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Ajahn Sucitto describes the path as "a mandala of interconnected factors that support and moderate each other."[7] The eight factors of the path are not to be understood as stages, in which each stage is completed before moving on to the next. Rather, they are understood as eight significant dimensions of one's behaviour—mental, spoken, and bodily—that operate in dependence on one another; taken together, they define a complete path, or way of living.[8]
The eight factors of the path are commonly presented within three divisions (or higher trainings) as shown below:
| Division | Eightfold factor | Sanskrit, Pali | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā) |
1. Right view | samyag dṛṣṭi, sammā ditthi |
Viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be |
| 2. Right intention | samyag saṃkalpa, sammā sankappa |
Intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness | |
| Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla) |
3. Right speech | samyag vāc, sammā vāca |
Speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way |
| 4. Right action | samyag karman, sammā kammanta |
Acting in a non-harmful way | |
| 5. Right livelihood | samyag ājīvana, sammā ājīva |
A non-harmful livelihood | |
| Concentration (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi) |
6. Right effort | samyag vyāyāma, sammā vāyāma |
Making an effort to improve |
| 7. Right mindfulness | samyag smṛti, sammā sati |
Awareness to see things for what they are with clear consciousness; being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion | |
| 8. Right concentration | samyag samādhi, sammā samādhi |
Correct meditation or concentration, explained as the first four jhānas |
Alongside the eightfold path, Buddhist texts present a number of paths that describe the path in different ways according to different traditions. Generally speaking, these alternative methods of presentation are not considered to be contradictory, but rather as different ways to present the Buddhist path.[b]
Six paramitas edit
Gethin states:
- Alongside the eightfold path, Buddhist texts present the path that ends in the cessation of suffering as a gradual and cumulative process involving a hierarchical progression of practice, beginning with generosity (dāna), moving on to good conduct (sīla/śīla), and ending in meditation (bhāvanā); alternatively we find the sequence: good conduct (śīla/sīla), meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā/paññā). According to this kind of scheme, the early stages of the practice of the path are more concerned with establishing good conduct on the basis of the ethical precepts; these provide the firm foundation for the development of concentration, which in turn prepares for the perfection of understanding and wisdom. This outlook is the basis of the important notion of ‘the gradual path’ which finds its earliest and most succinct expression as ‘the step by step discourse’ (anupūrvikā kathā/anupubbi-kathā) of the Nikāyas/Āgamas:
- Then the Blessed One gave instruction step by step … namely talk on giving, talk on good conduct, and talk on heaven; he proclaimed the danger, elimination and impurity of sense desires, and the benefit of desire-lessness. When the Blessed One knew that the mind [of his listener] was ready, open, without hindrances, inspired, and confident, then he gave the instruction in Dharma that is special to buddhas: suffering, its origin, its cessation, the path.36[e.g. Majjhima Nikāya i. 379–80.]
Gethin, Rupert (1998-07-16). The Foundations of Buddhism (p. 83). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
Noble Eightfold Path - summary for article "Buddhism" edit
The Noble Eightfold Path—the fourth of the Buddha's Noble Truths—consists of a set of eight interconnected factors or conditions, that when developed together, lead to the cessation of dukkha.[7] These eight factors are: Right View (or Right Understanding), Right Intention (or Right Thought), Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.
Ajahn Sucitto describes the path as "a mandala of interconnected factors that support and moderate each other."[7] The eight factors of the path are not to be understood as stages, in which each stage is completed before moving on to the next. Rather, they are understood as eight significant dimensions of one's behaviour—mental, spoken, and bodily—that operate in dependence on one another; taken together, they define a complete path, or way of living.[8]
The eight factors of the path are commonly presented within three divisions (or higher trainings) as shown below:
| Division | Eightfold factor | Sanskrit, Pali | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā) |
1. Right view | samyag dṛṣṭi, sammā ditthi |
Viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be |
| 2. Right intention | samyag saṃkalpa, sammā sankappa |
Intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness | |
| Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla) |
3. Right speech | samyag vāc, sammā vāca |
Speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way |
| 4. Right action | samyag karman, sammā kammanta |
Acting in a non-harmful way | |
| 5. Right livelihood | samyag ājīvana, sammā ājīva |
A non-harmful livelihood | |
| Concentration (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi) |
6. Right effort | samyag vyāyāma, sammā vāyāma |
Making an effort to improve |
| 7. Right mindfulness | samyag smṛti, sammā sati |
Awareness to see things for what they are with clear consciousness; being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion | |
| 8. Right concentration | samyag samādhi, sammā samādhi |
Correct meditation or concentration, explained as the first four jhānas |
Notes edit
- ^ a b The Noble Eightfold Path is considered to be the essence of Buddhist practice.:
- Traleg Kyabgon states: "The fourth Noble Truth is the path, and this is the essence of Buddhist practice. Known as the Eightfold Noble Path, it is oriented towards developing three things in an individual: moral sensitivity, meditation or the concentrated mind, and wisdom."[2]
- Ringu Tulku Rinpoche states: "The Buddha showed the gradual way toward the cessation of suffering by means of the Noble Eightfold Path. Again, this is a very basic teaching, yet it is not just a preliminary one. When examined deeply, it proves to cover the whole journey... The entire teaching of the Buddha is included in this path, which provides the basic guideline on how to work with and overcome the sources of suffering."[3]
- Paul Williams states: "That certain practices truly bring about the results they claim to bring about - that, for example, the eightfold path as taught by the Buddha if followed properly with single-minded devotion will eventually lead to liberation (i.e. Sanskrit: nirvana; Pali: nibbana) - is also central to Buddhism." [4]
- Smith and Novak state: "The core of the Buddha’s teaching, the Eightfold Path, came to be symbolized as an eight-spoked wheel, which in turn became an icon of the Buddha’s entire teaching.[5]
- Bhikkhu Bodhi states: "The essence of the Buddha’s teaching can be summed up in two principles: the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The first covers the side of doctrine, and the primary response it elicits is understanding; the second covers the side of discipline, in the broadest sense of that word, and the primary response it calls for is practice. In the structure of the teaching these two principles lock together into an indivisible unity called the dhamma-vinaya, the doctrine-and-discipline, or, in brief, the Dhamma."[6] Cite error: The named reference "thefourtruths" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Generally speaking, alternative methods of presenting the Buddhist path are not considered to be contradictory, but rather as different ways to present the path. For example:
- Contemporary Buddhist teacher Geshe Tashi Tsering states: "Many people have asked me why Tibetan Buddhism does not present the noble eightfold path as part of the fourth noble truth, but for me there is no difference between the noble eightfold path and the five paths apart from the style of presentation. In the Mahayana tradition, when the path leading to cessation is presented in the context of the five paths, the noble eightfold path is implicit. The noble eightfold path is the substance, and the five paths is the process, the step-by-step progress that we have to make.[9]
- Contemporary Buddhist teacher Joseph Goldstein states: "Don’t-know mind, a phrase often used by Zen master Seung Sahn, enabled me to embrace a variety of perspectives, seeing the different views and methods as skillful means for liberation, rather than as the statements of absolute truth I was taking them to be. It is this understanding that provides a context for exploring the One Dharma of freedom."[10]
References edit
- ^ Buswell & Gimello 1994, pp. 1–36.
- ^ a b Traleg Kyabgon 2001, p. 7.
- ^ a b Ringu Tulku 2005, p. 37.
- ^ a b Williams 2002, p. 7.
- ^ a b Smith & Novak 2009, Kindle location 2744.
- ^ a b c Bhikkhu Bodhi 2011, Kindle location 46-48.
- ^ a b c d Ajahn Sucitto 2010, p. 87-88.
- ^ a b Gethin 1998, p. 82.
- ^ Geshe Tashi Tsering 2005, Kindle Locations 2187-2190.
- ^ Goldstein 2011, p. 11.