The Noble Eightfold Path - Outline
Understanding the Path
Wisdom, ethical behavior, and mental training depend on each other, they are all developed together. Moral discipline allows the mind to be developed and unified, which brings forth wisdom. Preliminary right view and right intention are necessary to begin.
Right view
Mundane right view - understanding the truth of karma
Karma means action, it is about the moral quality of your intentional actions. Actions are expressed through the body, speech and mind.
The 10 courses of unwholesome action arise from the 3 unwholesome roots, greed, aversion, and delusion, and involve breaking four of the five precepts:
Bodily action - Destroying life, taking what is not given, wrong conduct in regard to sense pleasures
Verbal action: - false speech, slanderous speech, harsh speech, Idle chatter
Mental action - covetousness, ill will, wrong view
Understanding karma means understanding that our actions matter, that they affect our future state, and that morality is not relative.
Issues with Karma:
Ethical behavior by itself won’t lead to nirvana, but it is necessary for the path.
Old karma vs. new karma
Types of karma - personal karma vs. the karma resulting from being born as a human being
Karma is too complex for us to fully understand, it is one of the 4 imponderables - do not use it as a crutch or excuse
Karma is affected by our intention and our state of mind, but an action isn’t wholesome just because you believe it is if you have wrong view.
Mental states are just as important as physical actions, see Salt Crystal Sutta
Superior right view - Understanding the Four Noble Truths (The symptoms, the disease, the cure, and the prescription)
First Noble Truth - Understanding suffering (see the Buddha’s traditional first sermon on the Four Noble Truths)
Birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, despair
Association with the unpleasant, separation from the pleasant
Not getting what one wants
“In brief” the five aggregates of clinging - form (rupa), feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), mental formations (sankhara), sense-consciousness (vinnana) (see below)
The three traditional types of dukkha are ordinary pain, the pain of change, and conditioned existence (see below).
The Pain of Pain - dukkha-dukkha
All kinds of suffering in life like birth, old age, sickness, death, association with unpleasant persons and conditions, separation from loved ones and pleasant conditions, not getting what one desires, grief, lamentation, distress – all such forms of physical and mental suffering, which are universally accepted as suffering or pain, are included in dukkha as ordinary suffering (dukkha-dukkha).
The Pain of Change - vipariṇāma-dukkha
A happy feeling, a happy condition in life, is not permanent, not everlasting. It changes sooner or later. When it changes, it produces pain, suffering, unhappiness. This vicissitude is included in dukkha as suffering produced by change (vipariṇāma-dukkha).
The Pain of Conditioned Existence - saṃkhāra-dukkha)
This type of pain is the most subtle of the three. Because all objects and events are a result of past causes, nothing in this world can be said to have its own essential nature. It is “empty” of a true nature. In addition, conditioned things, including ourselves, are always changing because of events outside of our control. We have no ownership of them, so they are unpredictable and uncertain. We cannot make anything in the world behave as we wish, including our own bodies and minds.
Second Noble Truth - the origin of suffering - craving and aversion, which arise from ignorance.
Ignorance causes selfish desire (tahna). The Pali word tanha is related to the idea of thirst or greed. Wholesome desire that doesn’t involve clinging or selfishness is sometimes called dhamma-chanda. Examples of dhamma-chanda would be an aspiration to follow the path and a commitment to hold the right intentions oulined in the 2nd fold of the path.
When we feel pain, we then feel aversion to the pain which can make us suffer even more than the original pain did. We then crave pleasure to escape from all this suffering, causing more problems (Dart Sutta) .
The specific way craving arises and causes problems are outlined in the chain of dependent origination (see below).
The teachings explain craving in several different ways to help us recognize and understand it, such as the Three Types of Craving, Four Types of Clinging, Three Poisons, Four Nutriments, and the Eight Worldly Winds (see below)
Third Noble Truth - The cessation of suffering - Nirvana/Nibbana
There is a way to be free of clinging, craving, and suffering in this very life
Nirvana cannot be defined. It is impossible to capture any real understanding of it in a bullet point like the one you are reading now. If you like, you can look through some suggestions for thinking about of Nirvana listed in the Notes section below
How does one approach Nirvana? A traditional way to think of progress on the Buddhist path is through the 10 Fetters:
Belief in a self (sakkāya-diṭṭhi)
Doubt or uncertainty, especially about the Buddha's teachings (vicikicchā)
Attachment to rites and rituals, or cultural conditioning as Ajahn Sumedo calls it (sīlabbata-parāmāsa)
Sensual desire
Ill will
Desire for material existence, rebirth
Desire for immaterial existence
Conceit - a subtle sense of self
Restlessness
Ignorance (avijjā)
The eightfold path gives you the discipline and insight to break the first 3 fetters to reach stream entry. Breaking the remaining 7 leads to becoming enlightened, an Arahant or Noble One.
Fourth Noble Truth - The way leading to cessation, which is the Eightfold Path. It begins and ends with Right Understanding, the section you are reading now, which is understanding Karma and the Four Noble Truths.
Right intention is the second part of the Eightfold Path
The most important intention is to follow the Buddhist way, of course. Intention is the first step in training the mind.
Traditionally there are three right intentions. They counteract the wrong intentions of desire, ill will, and harmfulness
Renunciation (nekkhamma).
Renounce your grasp on the impermanent and unsatisfactory things of this world.
Renunciation is developed by mindfulness and right effort, not by force.
The purest happiness and peace you will ever know in this world are the happiness and peace of renunciation.
Buddhist monks demonstrate the minimum possessions needed for an individual to live a happy life. The traditional list of possessions for a monk are: three robes, a begging bowl, a razor, needle and thread, and a water strainer.
Goodwill or loving-kindness (metta)
Metta is the first of the four Brahma Viharas, the four divine abodes. See below.
Harmlessness (ahimsa)
The intention of harmlessness is a gift you give to every living thing you meet.
More on Metta
The Metta Sutta is a famous (and beautiful) teaching on practicing metta - https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.08.amar.html
Metta is one of the four Bhrama Viharas, which are another traditional set of right intentions the Buddha taught specifically as a way to attain a better rebirth (such as in the Brahma realm).
The Brahma Viharas are:
Goodwill (Metta)
Compassion (Karuna)
Sympathetic Joy (Mudita)
Equinimity (Upekka)
The way to practice metta meditation in the sutras is to send metta and the other Brahma Viharas to beings in each of the four directions, above, below, and then to all as to himself.
Buddhagosa famously taught an additional method, to wish metta toward oneself, then a loved one, a neutral person, a difficult person, then all beings.
Right speech
To improve your moral sense, see The Guardians of the World below. To learn why being moral is so helpful for the path, see the Cetana Sutta.
Abstaining from false speech
Abstaining from slanderous speech
Abstaining from harsh speech
Abstaining from idle chatter
Right action
Abstaining from taking life
Abstaining from stealing
Abstaining from sexual misconduct
Right livelihood
Qualities: legal, peaceful, honest, not harmful
Wrong things to deal in: Weapons, Living beings, Meat, Poisons, Intoxicants
Wrong methods: Deceit, Treachery, Soothsaying, Trickery, Usery
Right effort
Prevent the arising of unwholesome states
Unwholesome states can enter our minds through the six senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking. In Buddhism perceiving thoughts is one of the senses, thoughts are simply a phenomena that we sense with our minds. You can prevent the arising of unwholesome states by guarding the six senses with mindfulness to prevent the arising of the 5 hindrances listed below:
Sensual desire (greed)
ill will (aversion)
Dullness/drowsiness,
Restlessness/worry
Doubt (specifically doubt about the Buddhist path)
Abandon arisen unwholesome states:
The practices below are traditional methods for working with the five hindrances when they arise in the mind. Deep states of meditation (jhanas) can also temporarily suppress the five hindrances:
Replace unskillful thought with opposite
Impermanence / unsatisfactoriness for greed / desire
Metta for ill will
Visualizing energy for dullness.
Focus on breath to counteract worry
Inquire into the teachings to dispel doubt
There are also techniques for dealing with unskillful thoughts in general:
See thought as vile or unwholesome. Explore the bad consequences of the thought.
For habitual thoughts, divert you attention from it, stop feeding it.
Scrutinize and investigate the source of the thought. Is it even something you have control over?
Suppress with willpower as a last resort
Develop wholesome states (7 factors of enlightenment). Each of these leads to the next
Mindfulness (sati)
Investigation (dhammavicaya) - of wholesome and unwholesome states, the dhamma, the three marks of existence, five aggregates, etc.
Energy (viriya) - Energy arises from the development of wholesome states of mind and understanding the path.
Rapture (piti) - This is a physical feeling that can arise from deep states of meditation.
Tranquility (passaddhi) - The last four factors also arise from meditation.
Concentration (samadhi)
Equanimity (upekkha)
Maintain wholesome states (7 factors)
Right mindfulness
Mindfulness is something that can be practiced at all times in any situation, on the cushion and in daily life
The Satipatthana Sutta on the Foundations of Mindfulness is a classic reference on how to be mindful of the arising and ceasing of mental and physical objects.
Body / Rupa (body scan, parts of the body)
Feelings / Vedana (positive, negative, or indifferent, each can be either worldly or spiritual)
Mind / Citta / Heart (moods and states like craving, hatred, ignorance, a mind that is diminished, distracted, developed, concentrated, freed, etc.)
Phenomena/Dhamma (note the presence of 5 hindrances, 5 aggregates, 6 senses, 7 factors of Enlightenment, 4 Noble truths)
The Anapanasati Sutta on Mindfulness of Breathing is the other famous sutta on mindfulness meditation
Vipassana - Insight
As we move mindfully through the world, we are looking at everything, internally and externally, with a Buddhist lens. This develops our insight.
See the Buddha’s sermon on non-self and the three marks of existence
Look at all things and experiences, mental and physical, in terms of the three marks of existence
Anicca - Impermanence
Dukkha - Dissatisfaction
Anatta - Non-Self
Observe how craving and clinging cause suffering
Reflect on the five remembrances daily:
I am sure to become old; I cannot avoid aging.
I am sure to become ill; I cannot avoid illness.
I am sure to die; I cannot avoid death.
I will eventually be separated from all that is dear and beloved to me.
I am the owner of my karma, heir to my karma, born of my karma, related through my karma, and have my karma as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I be the heir.
Reflect on how everything you experience can be categorized as one of the Five Clinging Aggregates (Skandhas). The five aggregates are all things we imagine to be ourselves, By clinging to them we generate a comforting sense of self that blinds us to our true nature. The way to use the five aggregates in your practice is to notice that every experience you have, every thought, feeling, or sensation, can be categorized as one or more of the aggregates. The aggregates are like the machinery of the mind and body, they operate automatically, on their own, and are not “you” in any fundamental sense.
Form (Rupa) - This refers to the physical body, our physical sense organs, and physical objects in general.
Feeling (Vedana) - an instant reaction, either positive, negative, or neutral, to any sense-experience or thought. It is the “taste” of an experience, a “gut feeling” about something. Vedana arises before we have time to think.
Perception (Samjna or Sanna) - assigning a name or concept to sense-experience. This is where we assign a label to everything we experience and categorize it so that we can think about it. This labeling and categorizing can at times completely overlay the original experience with our own thoughts and feelings, causing projections and shadows.
Volition / Mental Formations (Samskara or Sankhara) - our intentional or habitual thoughts and our reactions to sense-experience. Sankharas contain our beliefs, values, ideas, habits, assumptions, and judgments. They are a result of our past experience and cause us to respond to the world in ways that create our future experience. Our intentional actions, and thus our karma, are caused by the Sankharas.
Sense-consciousness (Vijanana or Vinnana) - the part of the mind that perceives the world of the six senses and sees itself as an object in a world of objects. It combines our sense-experience and the other aggregates into a compelling story that we believe is true. Sense-consciousness is what creates the movie of our lives that constantly plays in our heads, the story we are continually telling ourselves about what our life means.
Right concentration / Samadhi
Samadhi means to gather, unify, and still the mind. It begins with shamatha, calm abiding.
Jhana factors are experiences that can arise from a strong meditation practice
Applied thought and evaluation, wholesome thinking (Vitakka and Vicara)
Rapture / glee (piti)
Happiness (sukha)
One-pointedness (ekaggata)
Equanimity (upekkha)
4 Material or body Jhanas - As one develops each of the four jhanas, the mind progresses from energetic states of thinking and rapture to a state of one-pointed equanimity
4 Immaterial or formless Jhanas - Additional subtle states of meditation
Right View and Right Intention at the end of the path
The path ends where it began, with Right View and Right Intention.
As your practice matures, Right View evolves from the teachings you study to a world you live in. You know Buddhism is true because you see the truth of the teachings in your own experience.
Right intention becomes the final renunciation of defilements
Additional Notes
A couple of sutras on suffering
Pain vs. suffering - what is avoidable in our current life
The Dart - https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.006.nypo.html
Raṭṭhapāla’s summary of suffering https://suttacentral.net/mn82/en/sujato
The world is unstable and swept away.
The world has no shelter and no savior.
The world has no owner—you must leave it all behind and pass on.
The world is wanting, insatiable, the slave of craving.
12-Step Chain of Dependent Origination
What creates and sustains “the world”? Each step leads to the next. Note how the aggregates are intertwined throughout the first few steps. The Loka Sutta identifies the easiest point at which to break the chain, at Vedana (feeling).
The mysterious first two:
Ignorance (Avijja)
Formations (Sankharas)
The 7 steps we consciously experience
Sense-consciousness (Vijnana)
Mind and body (nama-rupa)
Sense-organs (Ayatana)
Contact (Phassa) - 6 sense bases perceiving:
Sights
Sounds
Smells
Tastes
Touches
Thoughts
Feelings (Vedana):
There are three traditional types of feelings:
Positive
Negative
Neutral
The aggregates work together, so “Vedana” is usually thought to include the other four aggregates.
Craving (Tanha):
There are three traditional types of craving taught as part of dependent origination:
Kama Tanha - sense-pleasure
Bhava Tanha - becoming, fulfilling a vision of ones self
Vibhava Tanha - not-becoming, getting rid of what is unwanted, rejecting a vision
The Three Poisons are an alternate understanding of craving:
Greed (Kama and Bhava Tanha)
Aversion (Vibhava Tanha) - hatred, fear, and indifference
Delusion (Ignorance)
The Four Nutriments are yet another way to understand craving based on the Aggregates
(see discussion at accesstoinsight.org):Food - material food which creates and sustains the body (rupa)
Sensation - (sensory and mental) impressions (phassa) which create and sustain feelings (vedana)
Volition - mental volitions (mano-sañcetanā) which create and sustain karma
Sense-consciousness (viññāna) which creates and sustains our existence as an object in a world of objects
Clinging (Upadana) - our craving narrows our attention to a particular type of clinging.
There are four traditional types of clinging:
Sense pleasure
Views and beliefs
Rules, practices, cultural conventions (often translated as rites and rituals)
Self view
The 8 Worldly Winds are an alternate understanding of clinging focused on what society values:
Pain and Pleasure
Gain and Loss
Praise and Blame
Good and Bad Reputation - Status
The last 3 steps - Dependent Origination creates a new existence, either in our experience or in a new life:
Becoming (Bhava) -
Single-life view - craving and clinging cause you to attach to an object or situation
Our attention becomes focused on the one thing we think will save us
The object becomes magical to us, it glows.
It can be a new relationship, a new job, a new phone, a new purpose, a new philosophy, etc.
Multi-life view - becoming attached to a new life in this world or a higher or lower realm:
Sensual realms - hell realms, afflicted spirits (hungry ghosts), animal realm, human realm, then the lower deva realms
Form realms - the upper deva worlds often called the fine material realms
Formless realms - pure consciousness
Birth (Jati) - We got the thing or the situation or the new life that we wanted! Now what? Reality sets in. We become subject to a new set of conditions and new desires begin to arise.
Aging and Death (Jaramarana) - No worldly thing or situation is reliable or permanent.
Nirvana
Quote from Ajahn Sumedho: “A difficulty with the word Nibbana (Nirvana) is that its meaning is beyond the power of words to describe. It is, essentially, undefinable. Another difficulty is that many Buddhists see Nibbana as something unobtainable – as so high and so remote that we’re not worthy enough to try for it. Or we see Nibbana as a goal, as an unknown, undefined something that we should somehow try to attain.”
Ajahn Chah defined Nirvana as simply “The reality of non-grasping”.
Kappa’s Question about being stranded in the flood - https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/StNp/StNp5_10.html
Ajahn Amaro’s Book - The Island - https://www.amaravati.org/dhamma-books/the-island/
“There is an island, an island which you cannot go beyond. It is a place of nothingness (no-thing-ness), a place of non-possession and of non-attachment. It is the total end of death and decay, and this is why I call it Nibbana.”
Synonyms for Nibbana - https://dhammawiki.com/index.php/33_synonyms_for_Nibbana
Sariputta’s conversation with Anuruddha whose mind was full of his own striving and spiritual accomplishments - “It would be good, friend, if rather than occupying yourself with these concerns, you turned your attention to the deathless.”.
The Guardians of the World
Suttas such as this one mention two guardians:
Ethical Intution (Hiri) - Often translated as moral shame
Ethical Logic (Ottappa) - Often translated as moral dread
Buddhaghosa’s metaphor of an iron rod, glowing hot on one end and covered in crap on the other.
Morality is not a list of rules, it’s a state of mind. It is an understanding of right behavior that arises when the mind is free of selfish thoughts and delusions.
Only moral people can be free - my own interpretation
Hiri and Ottappa work together to sharpen each other - my own interpretation
Miscellaneous Topics
The Five Precepts
I undertake the precept to refrain from harming living creatures.
I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.
I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.
I undertake the precept to refrain from false or harmful speech.
I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.
The Protection Sutta - I love this sutta, and here is my favorite version which I cobbled together from various translations — see my google doc
The 10 Recollections
Recollection of the Buddha
Recollection of the Dhamma
Recollection of the Sangha
Recollection of one’s own virtues
Recollection of one’s own generosity
Recollection of the devas
Mindfulness of breathing
Mindfulness of death
Mindfulness immersed in the body
Recollection of stillness, the peace of Nirvana
The 10 Paramitas (from Wikipedia)
Dāna pāramī: generosity, giving of oneself
Sīla pāramī: virtue, morality, proper conduct
Nekkhamma pāramī: renunciation
Paññā pāramī: wisdom, discernment
Viriya pāramī: energy, diligence, vigour, effort
Khanti pāramī: patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
Sacca pāramī: truthfulness, honesty
Adhiṭṭhāna pāramī: determination, resolution
Mettā pāramī: goodwill, friendliness, loving-kindness
Upekkhā pāramī: equanimity, serenity
The 10 Duties of a King (also from Wikipedia)
Dāna (charity) – being prepared to sacrifice one's own pleasure for the well-being of the public, such as giving away one's belongings or other things to support or assist others, including giving knowledge and serving public interests.
Sīla (morality) – practicing physical and mental morals, and being a good example of others.
Pariccāga (altruism) – being generous and avoiding selfishness, practicing altruism.
Ājjava (honesty) – being honest and sincere towards others, performing one's duties with loyalty and sincerity to others.
Maddava (gentleness) – having gentle temperament, avoiding arrogance and never defaming others.
Tapa (self controlling) – destroying passion and performing duties without indolence.
Akkodha (non-anger) – being free from hatred and remaining calm in the midst of confusion.
Avihimsa (non-violence) – exercising non-violence, not being vengeful.
Khanti (forbearance) – practicing patience, and trembling to serve public interests.
Avirodhana (uprightness) – respecting opinions of other persons, avoiding prejudice and promoting public peace and order.
Advice to a King about Governing from the Buddha in a Past Life
How should a king keep his country peaceful? A ruler once wanted to raise taxes make a great sacrifice to the gods but his chaplain, who was the Buddha in a past life, had different ideas. This is from the Kūṭadanta Sutta:
And he (the King) had the Brahman, his chaplain, called; and telling him all that he had thought, he said: “So I would fain, O Brahman, offer a great sacrifice—let the venerable one instruct me how—for my weal and my welfare for many days.”
Thereupon the Brahman who was chaplain said to the king: “The king’s country, Sire, is harassed and harried. There are bandits abroad who pillage the villages and townships, and who make the roads unsafe. Were the king, so long as that is so, to levy a fresh tax, verily his majesty would be acting wrongly. But perchance his majesty might think: ‘I’ll soon put a stop to these scoundrels’ game by degradation and banishment, and fines and bonds and death!’ But their licence cannot be satisfactorily put a stop to so. The remnant left unpunished would still go on harassing the realm. Now there is one method to adopt to put a thorough end to this disorder. Whosoever there be in the king’s realm who devote themselves to keeping cattle and the farm, to them let his majesty the king give food and seed-corn. Whosoever there be in the king’s realm who devote themselves to trade, to them let his majesty the king give capital. Whosoever there be in the king’s realm who devote themselves to government service, to them let his majesty the king give wages and food. Then those men, following each his own business, will no longer harass the realm; the king’s revenue will go up; the country will be quiet and at peace; and the populace, pleased one with another and happy, dancing their children in their arms, will dwell with open doors.”
The King accepted the word of his chaplain, and did as he had said. And those men, following each his business, harassed the realm no more. And the king’s revenue went up. And the country became quiet and at peace. And the populace, pleased one with another and happy, dancing their children in their arms, dwelt with open doors.
Books and Suttas about the Four Noble Truths and Related Topics
Ajahn Sumedho’s Book https://www.amaravati.org/dhamma-books/the-four-noble-truths
“What the Buddha Taught” by Walpola Rahula https://sites.google.com/site/rahulawhatthebuddha/home
First Sermon Sutta - Four Noble Truths https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html
The Dart Sutta https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.006.nypo.html
Raṭṭhapāla https://sutta central.net/mn82/en/sujato
Second Sermon - Not Self / Aggregates https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.059.mend.html
Loka Sutta (The World) https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.044.than.html