NOBLE EIGHT FOLD PATH

The term Astangika-marga also implies nobility and is often rendered as the “Noble Eightfold Path.”

1. Right view (Samma Ditthi)

2. Right Thought (Samma Sankappa)

3. Right Speech (Samma Vaca)

4. Right Action (Samma Kammanta)

5. Right Livelihood (Samma Ajiva)

6. Right Effort (Samma Vayama)

7. Right Mindfulness (Samma Sati)

8. Right Concentration (Samma Samadhi)

 The Noble Eight-fold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachment and delusion, and finally leads to understand 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 aspect of 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.

 1 RIGHT VIEW

Right View is important in the beginning for the practice of Buddhism and also at the end (of it) to gain Nirvana. The reason is that, without stabilizing the Right View, one cannot first start the practice of Right Speech, Right Action and Right Effort, and also one cannot cultivate them. Likewise, without leaning on that, one cannot gain the cessation of delusion or Nirvana. Because of that, Right View is the most important within the Eight-fold Path. If you bring a positive view in your mind, by influence of that you cannot ever do any evil deed, even at cost of your life. Inasmuch as you have the power of inner view so much that brings more effort to do well. It simply means to see and to understand the things as they really are and to realize the selflessness. The view of seeing the selflessness is the main within the Right View. Also the Right View of world, the faith for the Law of Causality are suitable to keep in this view.

 2 RIGHT THOUGHT

      The thought that incite to speak about the view which sees the uninterrupted path for others, is the main Right Thought. Right Thought brings others to understand the view of self and simultaneously it brings oneself to have faith in the pure view. It stimulates the attention towards one’s behavior and changes it.

 3 RIGHT SPEECH

Right Speech purifies the karma (volitional act) of speech. If the morality is not pure, there is no way to gain concentration and wisdom. Pure morality is like an arable land suitable to gain excellent fruit. Thus the Buddha taught that the three: Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood, are the branches of morality.

Pure morality means to prevent the body and speech from going towards the bad and bring them to good. So, from the viewpoint of abstinence, Right Speech means to abandon intentional lies (deliberate lies), speaking deceit in order for separating the close persons, speaking slanderous speech in order for others to become more separate, use harsh words that offend or hurt others and idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth.

Positively phrased, tell the truth, speak to make others closer, speak warmly, gently and talk only when necessary by positive motivation.

 4 RIGHT ACTION

 Right Action purifies the karma of body. As mentioned before, one side of pure morality makes the body to abstain from doing bad and brings to doing good work.

Again, the principle is explained in term of abstinence, i.e. right action means to abandon harming others, killing others, taking away other’s property not belonging to ourselves, stealing through deceit and having body relation or sexual misconduct by force.

Positive formulation (consist of) saving others’ lives, respecting other’s property, keeping celibacy (for a lay ordained practitioner who has taken vows, except the precept of not indulging in sexual intercourses), the best if it is not possible to keep sexual relationships harmless to other. It is mostly important to practice in order for becoming a respectable person for this life and fulfill the ultimate wishes as well.

 5 RIGHT LIVELIHOOD

 Right Livelihood purifies the karma of both body and speech.

In order to purify the morality and cultivate a (pure) mind, it is important to abandon the wrong livelihood and stay in right livelihood. In general, livelihood set up by the laws of community or country, it is not out-law; but harming other, i.e. dealing in weapons, alcohol, and the like, killing other living beings and then selling the meat of sentient beings, dealing in drugs and prostitution are wrong livelihood. So Buddha said to abandon them. Especially, these days we see spoiled the government property, which belongs to nobody; government workers from the offices and teachers from the schools taking leave by cheating when they have not right to do that. Taking the fee but not properly working are also wrong livelihood. So we have to be careful of that.

 6 RIGHT EFFORT

 Right Effort is the effort of wishing to abandon the obstacles. 

Without the Right Effort we cannot practice the Right Speech and Right Action as mentioned before; there is only the willing to practice them. So Right Effort is mostly important for practicing them. Put effort like this: prevent the arising of un-arisen unwholesome states, abandon the unwholesome states that have already arisen, arise the wholesome state that are not yet arisen, and maintain and perfect the wholesome states already arisen.

 7 RIGHT MINDFULNESS

 Right Mindfulness maintains the object of calm abiding meditation from being forgotten. 

Mindfulness is necessarily needed to make the higher path arise. Buddha said, “Degeneration of mindfulness cannot gain the knowledge of world and the transcending world[1].” “It is important to maintain the object of calm abiding meditation; to maintain a (wholesome) daily behavior of body and speech and the thinking of the mind is important too” as Buddha said. To practice the mindfulness, Buddha describes four of them: contemplation of body, contemplation of feeling, contemplation of mind and contemplation of dharma. That is, analyzing them through the self-defining characteristic and general defining characteristic.

 8 RIGHT CONCENTRATION

Right Concentration maintains the mind on the apprehended object of mindfulness from mental agitation. That means placing the entire mental ability single pointedly on the object. In this life, concentration or placement meditation stabilizes mindfulness, cultivates compassion, decreases sadness (weariness), and brings about good blood movement in the body and lots of gain.

For the next life, without the practice of concentration one cannot gain Nirvana as described in the Buddhist Doctrine. So make effort to meditate on concentration that is useful to this and next lives as well. Yet, not only the monks and nuns but laymen also have to practice the Eight-fold Noble Path. There in no doubt that it brings more happiness to yourself, the family and the communities as you do that. It causes the ultimate result of Nirvana.

Eightfold factor	Description	Category
Right view	Accurately understanding the true nature of things	Wisdom (Skt. prajñā)
Right intention	Avoiding harmful thoughts and cultivating non-harmful thoughts
Right speech	Refraining from harmful speech (lying, gossip, slander, etc.)	Ethical conduct (Skt. śīla)
Right action	Refraining from harmful physical actions
Right livelihood	A non-harmful livelihood
Right effort	Abandoning unwholesome states of mind, and cultivating wholesome states of mind	Concentration (Skt. samādhi)
Right mindfulness	Awareness to see things for what they are with clear consciousness; being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion
Right concentration	Correct meditation or concentration

---

 References

1. https://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path