The Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path is the fourth of the Four Noble Truths, and teaches the “Middle Way” discovered by the Buddha.

Right View: It is the knowledge of suffering, the knowledge of the origin of suffering, the knowledge of the cessation of suffering, and the knowledge of the way leading to the cessation of suffering.

Right Thought: The thought of renunciation, the thought of non-ill-will, the thought of harmlessness.

Right Speech: Refraining from lying, refraining from slander, refraining from harsh speech, refraining from idle chatter.

Right Action: Refraining from taking life, refraining from stealing, refraining from sexual misconduct.

Right Livelihood: Not to engage in trades or occupations which result in harm for other beings, hence not be involved in the following businesses:
1- Business in weapons
2- Business in human beings
3- Business in meat
4- Business in intoxicants
5- Business in poison

Right Effort: By stirring up energy and exerting one’s mind to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome thoughts, to overcome already arisen unwholesome mental thoughts, strive to produce unarisen wholesome mental thoughts, and to maintain already arisen wholesome mental thoughts and not to let them fade away.

Right Mindfulness: Having put aside greed and distress for the world, ardent and clearly aware, to contemplate body as body, to contemplate feeling as feeling, to contemplate mind as mind, and to contemplate mind-objects as mind-objects.

Right Concentration: Aloof from sense desires, aloof from unwholesome mental thoughts, to attain and abide in the first meditative absorption born of detachment and accompanied by applied thought, sustained thought, joy and bliss.

By allaying applied and sustained thought, and by gaining inner tranquility and oneness in mind, to attain and abide in the second meditative absorption filled with delight and joy.

With the fading away of delight, remaining imperturbable, mindful and clearly aware to dwell in equanimity and to attain and abide in the third meditative absorption.

Giving up bliss and suffering, by disappearance of former joy and sorrow to attain and abide in the fourth meditative absorption which is beyond pleasure and pain.