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Noble Eightfold Path

April 09, 2023

"Eightfold Path" redirects here. For other uses, see Eightfold Path (disambiguation).

The Eightfold Path (Pali: ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga; Sanskrit: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga)[1] is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth,[2][3] in the form of nirvana.[4][5]

The eight spoke Dharma wheel symbolizes the Noble Eightfold Path.
Translations of
The Noble Eightfold Path
Sanskritआर्याष्टाङ्गमार्ग
(IAST: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga)
Paliअरिय अट्ठङ्गिक मग्ग
(ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga)
Bengaliঅষ্টাঙ্গিক আর্য মার্গ
(Astangik ārya mārga
Oșŧangik Azzo Maggo
Oșŧangik Arzo Margo)
Burmeseမဂ္ဂင်ရှစ်ပါး
(MLCTS: mɛʔɡɪ̀ɰ̃ ʃɪʔ pá)
Chinese八正道
(Pinyin: bā zhèngdào)
Japanese八正道
(Rōmaji: Hasshōdō)
Khmerអរិយដ្ឋង្គិកមគ្គ
(UNGEGN: areyadthangkikameak)
Korean팔정도
八正道
(RR: Paljeongdo)
Mongolianᠣᠦᠲᠦᠶᠲᠠᠨᠦ
ᠨᠠᠢᠮᠠᠨ
ᠭᠡᠰᠢᠭᠦᠨᠦ
ᠮᠥᠷ
Найман гишүүт хутагт мөр
(qutuγtan-u naiman gesigün-ü mör)
Sinhalaආර්ය අෂ්ඨාංගික මාර්ගය
Tibetanའཕགས་པའི་ལམ་ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་པ
(Wylie: 'phags pa’i lam yan lag brgyad pa
THL: pakpé lam yenlak gyépa)
Tamilஉன்னத எட்டு மடங்கு பாதை
TagalogWaluhang Mahal na Landas
ᜏᜀᜎᜓᜑᜀᜈᜄ ᜋᜀᜑᜀᜎ ᜈᜀ ᜎᜀᜈᜇᜀᜐ
Thaiอริยมรรคมีองค์แปด
(RTGS: Ariya Mak Mi Ong Paet)
VietnameseBát chính đạo
八正道
Glossary of Buddhism

The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi ('meditative absorption or union'; alternatively, equanimous meditative awareness).[6]

In early Buddhism, these practices started with understanding that the body-mind works in a corrupted way (right view), followed by entering the Buddhist path of self-observance, self-restraint, and cultivating kindness and compassion; and culminating in dhyana or samadhi, which reinforces these practices for the development of the body-mind.[7] In later Buddhism, insight (prajñā) became the central soteriological instrument, leading to a different concept and structure of the path,[7][8] in which the "goal" of the Buddhist path came to be specified as ending ignorance and rebirth.[9][10][11][3][12]

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal summaries of the Buddhist teachings, taught to lead to Arhatship.[13] In the Theravada tradition, this path is also summarized as sila (morality), samadhi (meditation) and prajna (insight). In Mahayana Buddhism, this path is contrasted with the Bodhisattva path, which is believed to go beyond Arhatship to full Buddhahood.[13]

In Buddhist symbolism, the Noble Eightfold Path is often represented by means of the dharma wheel (dharmachakra), in which its eight spokes represent the eight elements of the path.

Etymology and nomenclature

The Pali term ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga (Sanskrit: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga) is typically translated in English as "Noble Eightfold Path". This translation is a convention started by the early translators of Buddhist texts into English, just like ariya sacca is translated as Four Noble Truths.[14][15] However, the phrase does not mean the path is noble, rather that the path is of the noble people (Pali: arya meaning 'enlightened, noble, precious people').[16] The term magga (Sanskrit: mārga) means "path", while aṭṭhaṅgika (Sanskrit: aṣṭāṅga) means "eightfold". Thus, an alternate rendering of ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga is "eightfold path of the noble ones",[3][17][18] or Eightfold Ariya Path".[19][20][21]

All eight elements of the Path begin with the word samyañc (in Sanskrit) or sammā (in Pāli) which means "right, proper, as it ought to be, best".[19] The Buddhist texts contrast samma with its opposite miccha.[19]

The Noble Eightfold Path, in the Buddhist traditions, is the direct means to nirvana and brings a release from the cycle of life and death in the realms of samsara.[22][23]

The eight divisions

See also: Buddhist paths to liberation

Origins: the Middle Way

According to Indologist Tilmann Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term the Middle Way.[7] In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the Eightfold Path.[7] Tilmann Vetter and historian Rod Bucknell both note that longer descriptions of "the path" can be found in the early texts, which can be condensed into the Eightfold Path.[7][24][note 1]

Tenfold path

In the Mahācattārīsaka Sutta[27][28] which appears in the Chinese and Pali canons, the Buddha explains that cultivation of the noble eightfold path of a learner leads to the development of two further paths of the Arahants, which are right knowledge, or insight (sammā-ñāṇa), and right liberation, or release (sammā-vimutti).[29] These two factors fall under the category of wisdom (paññā).[30]

Short description of the eight divisions

The eight Buddhist practices in the Noble Eightfold Path are:

  1. Right View: our actions have consequences, death is not the end, and our actions and beliefs have consequences after death. The Buddha followed and taught a successful path out of this world and the other world (heaven and underworld/hell).[31][32][33][web 1] Later on, right view came to explicitly include karma and rebirth, and the importance of the Four Noble Truths, when "insight" became central to Buddhist soteriology, especially in Theravada Buddhism.[34][35]
  2. Right Resolve or Intention: the giving up of home and adopting the life of a religious mendicant in order to follow the path; this concept aims at peaceful renunciation, into an environment of non-sensuality, non-ill-will (to loving kindness), away from cruelty (to compassion).[36] Such an environment aids contemplation of impermanence, suffering, and non-Self.[36]
  3. Right Speech: no lying, no rude speech, no telling one person what another says about him to cause discord or harm their relationship, no idle chatter.[37][38]
  4. Right Conduct or Action: no killing or injuring, no taking what is not given, no sexual misconduct, no material desires.
  5. Right Livelihood: no trading in weapons, living beings, meat, liquor, and poisons.
  6. Right Effort: preventing the arising of unwholesome states, and generating wholesome states, the bojjhagā (Seven Factors of Awakening). This includes indriya-samvara, "guarding the sense-doors", restraint of the sense faculties.[39][36]
  7. Right Mindfulness (sati; Satipatthana; Sampajañña): a quality that guards or watches over the mind;[40] the stronger it becomes, the weaker unwholesome states of mind become, weakening their power "to take over and dominate thought, word and deed."[41][note 2] In the vipassana movement, sati is interpreted as "bare attention": never be absent minded, being conscious of what one is doing; this encourages the awareness of the impermanence of body, feeling and mind, as well as to experience the five aggregates (skandhas), the five hindrances, the four True Realities and seven factors of awakening.[36]
  8. Right samadhi (passaddhi; ekaggata; sampasadana): practicing four stages of dhyāna ("meditation"), which includes samadhi proper in the second stage, and reinforces the development of the bojjhagā, culminating into upekkha (equanimity) and mindfulness.[43] In the Theravada tradition and the vipassana movement, this is interpreted as ekaggata, concentration or one-pointedness of the mind, and supplemented with vipassana meditation, which aims at insight.

Right view

See also: View (Buddhism)

The purpose of "right view" (samyak-dṛṣṭi / sammā-diṭṭhi) or "right understanding"[44] is to clear one's path from confusion, misunderstanding, and deluded thinking. It is a means to gain right understanding of reality.[45]

Sequences in the suttas

The Pali canon and the Agamas contain various "definitions" or descriptions of "right view." The Mahasatipatthana Sutta (Digha Nikaya 22), compiled from elements from other suttas possibly as late as 20 BCE,[46] defines right view summarily as the Four Noble Truths:

And what is right view? Knowing about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering. This is called right view.[47]

In this, right view explicitly includes karma and rebirth, and the importance of the Four Noble Truths. This view of "right view" gained importance when "insight" became central to Buddhist soteriology,[34] and still plays an essential role in Theravada Buddhism.[35]

Mahācattārīsaka Sutta
And what is right view? Right view is twofold, I say. There is right view that is accompanied by defilements, has the attributes of good deeds, and ripens in attachment. And there is right view that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path.

And what is right view that is accompanied by defilements, has the attributes of good deeds, and ripens in attachment? ‘There is meaning in giving, sacrifice,[note 3] and offerings. There are fruits and results of good and bad deeds. There is an afterlife. There are such things as [serving] mother and father, and beings [devas] that are reborn spontaneously. And there are ascetics and brahmins who are well attained and practiced, and who describe the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight.’ This is right view that is accompanied by defilements, has the attributes of good deeds, and ripens in attachment.

And what is right view that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path? It's the wisdom—the faculty of wisdom, the power of wisdom, the awakening factor of investigation of principles [dhamma vicaya], and right view as a factor of the path—in one of noble mind and undefiled mind, who possesses the noble path and develops the noble path. This is called right view that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path.

They make an effort to give up wrong view and embrace right view: that's their right effort. Mindfully they give up wrong view and take up right view: that's their right mindfulness. So these three things keep running and circling around right view, namely: right view, right effort, and right mindfulness.[49][note 4]

Other suttas give a more extensive overview, stating that our actions have consequences, that death is not the end, that our actions and beliefs also have consequences after death, and that the Buddha followed and taught a successful path out of this world and the other world (heaven and underworld or hell).[31][32][33][web 1] The Mahācattārīsaka Sutta ("The Great Forty," Majjhima Nikaya 117) gives an extensive overview, describing the first seven practices as requisites of right samadhi c.q. dhyana. It makes a distinction between mundane right view (karma, rebirth) and noble right view as a path-factor, relating noble right view to dhamma vicaya ("investigation of principles), one of the bojjhanga, the "seven factors of awakening" which give an alternate account of right effort and dhyana.[51]

Alternatively, right view (together with right resolve) is expressed in the stock phrase of dhammalsaddhalpabbajja: "A layman hears a Buddha teach the Dhamma, comes to have faith in him, and decides to take ordination as a monk."[7][note 5]

Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta
The venerable Sāriputta said to the venerable Mahākotthita: "Just ask, friend, knowing I shall answer." The venerable Mahākotthita said to the venerable Sāriputta: "Having accomplished what factors is a learned noble disciple in this teaching and discipline reckoned to be endowed with [right] view, to have accomplished straight view, to have accomplished unshakeable confidence in the Buddha, to have come to and arrived at the right teaching, to have attained this right Dharma and awoken to this right Dharma?"

The venerable Sāriputta said: "Venerable Mahākotthita, [this takes place if] a learned noble disciple understands unwholesome states as they really are, understands the roots of unwholesomeness as they really are, understands wholesome states as they really are and understands the roots of wholesomeness as they really are.

"How does [a learned noble disciple] understand unwholesome states as they really are? Unwholesome bodily actions, verbal actions and mental actions − these are reckoned unwholesome states. In this way unwholesome states are understood as they really are.

"How does [a learned noble disciple] understand the roots of unwholesomeness as they really are? There are three roots of unwholesomeness: greed is a root of unwholesomeness, hatred is a root of unwholesomeness, and delusion is a root of unwholesomeness − these are reckoned the roots of unwholesomeness. In this way the roots of unwholesomeness are understood as they really are.

"How does [a learned noble disciple] understand wholesome states as they really are? Wholesome bodily actions, verbal actions and mental actions − these are reckoned wholesome states. In this way wholesome states are understood as they really are.

"How does [a learned noble disciple] understand the roots of wholesomeness as they really are? That is, there are three roots of wholesomeness: non-greed, non-hatred and non-delusion − these are reckoned the roots of wholesomeness. In this way the roots of wholesomeness are understood as they really are.

"Venerable Mahākotthita, [if] in this way a learned noble disciple understands unwholesome states as they really are, understands the roots of unwholesomeness as they really are, understands wholesome states as they really are and understands the roots of wholesomeness as they really are; then, for this reason, [a learned noble disciple] in this teaching and discipline is endowed with right view, has accomplished straight view, has accomplished unshakeable confidence in the Buddha, has come to and arrived at the right teaching, has attained this right Dharma and awoken to this right Dharma."[52]

Likewise, the Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 9), and it's parallel in the Samyukta-āgama, refer to faith in the Buddha and understanding (dhamma vicaya) the path-factors of wholesome bodily actions, verbal actions and mental actions.[52]

Theravada

Right View can be further subdivided, states translator Bhikkhu Bodhi, into mundane right view and superior or supramundane right view:[53][54]

  1. Mundane right view, knowledge of the fruits of good behavior (karma). Having this type of view will bring merit and will support the favourable rebirth of the sentient being in the realm of samsara.
  2. Supramundane (world-transcending) right view, the understanding of the Four Noble Truths, leading to awakening and liberation from rebirths and associated dukkha in the realms of samsara.[53][55][35] According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, this kind of right view comes at the end of the path, not at the beginning.[53]

According to Theravada Buddhism, mundane right view is a teaching that is suitable for lay followers, while supramundane right view, which requires a deeper understanding, is suitable for monastics.[note 4] Mundane and supramundane right view involve accepting the following doctrines of Buddhism:[56][57]

  1. Karma: Every action of body, speech, and mind has karmic results, and influences the kind of future rebirths and realms a being enters into.
  2. Three marks of existence: everything, whether physical or mental, is impermanent (anicca), a source of suffering (dukkha), and lacks a self (anatta).
  3. The Four Noble Truths are a means to gaining insights and ending dukkha.

A-ditthi

Gombrich notes that there is a tension in the suttas between "right view" and 'no view', release by not clinging to any view at all.[58] According to Chryssides and Wilkins, "right view is ultimately non-view: though the Enlightened One sees things as they really are, 'he has a "critical awareness" of the impossibility of giving full and final expression to his conviction in fixed conceptual terms'. One therefore cannot cling to any particular formulation in a rigid and dogmatic manner."[45]

Right resolve

Right Resolve (samyak-saṃkalpa / sammā-saṅkappa) can also be known as "right thought", "right aspiration", or "right motivation".[59] In this factor, the practitioner resolves to leave home, renounce the worldly life and dedicate himself to an ascetic pursuit.[60][35] In section III.248, the Majjhima Nikaya states,

And what is right resolve? Being resolved on renunciation, on freedom from ill will, on harmlessness: This is called right resolve.[61]

Like right view, this factor has two levels. At the mundane level, the resolve includes being harmless (ahimsa) and refraining from ill will (avyabadha) to any being, as this accrues karma and leads to rebirth.[35][62] At the supramundane level, the factor includes a resolve to consider everything and everyone as impermanent, a source of suffering and without a Self.[62]

Right speech

Right speech (samyag-vāc / sammā-vācā) in most Buddhist texts is presented as four abstentions, such as in the Pali Canon thus:[27][63]

And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, and from idle chatter: This is called right speech.

Instead of the usual "abstention and refraining from wrong" terminology, a few texts such as the Samaññaphala Sutta and Kevata Sutta in Digha Nikaya explain this virtue in an active sense, after stating it in the form of an abstention.[64] For example, Samaññaphala Sutta states that a part of a monk's virtue is that "he abstains from false speech. He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world."[64] Similarly, the virtue of abstaining from divisive speech is explained as delighting in creating concord.[64] The virtue of abstaining from abusive speech is explained in this Sutta to include affectionate and polite speech that is pleasing to people. The virtue of abstaining from idle chatter is explained as speaking what is connected with the Dhamma goal of his liberation.[64][35]

In the Abhaya-raja-kumara Sutta, the Buddha explains the virtue of right speech in different scenarios, based on its truth value, utility value and emotive content.[65][66] The Tathagata, states Abhaya Sutta, never speaks anything that is unfactual or factual, untrue or true, disagreeable or agreeable, if that is unbeneficial and unconnected to his goals.[66][67] Further, adds Abhaya Sutta, the Tathagata speaks the factual, the true, if in case it is disagreeable and unendearing, only if it is beneficial to his goals, but with a sense of proper time.[66][68] Additionally, adds Abhaya Sutta, the Tathagata, only speaks with a sense of proper time even when what he speaks is the factual, the true, the agreeable, the endearing and what is beneficial to his goals.[66][67][69]

The Buddha thus explains right speech in the Pali Canon, according to Ganeri, as never speaking something that is not beneficial; and, only speaking what is true and beneficial, "when the circumstances are right, whether they are welcome or not".[69]

Right action

Right action (samyak-karmānta / sammā-kammanta) is like right speech, expressed as abstentions but in terms of bodily action. In the Pali Canon, this path factor is stated as:

And what is right action? Abstaining from killing, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from sexual misconduct. This is called right action.[70]

The prohibition on killing precept in Buddhist scriptures applies to all living beings, states Christopher Gowans, not just human beings.[71] Bhikkhu Bodhi agrees, clarifying that the more accurate rendering of the Pali canon is a prohibition on "taking life of any sentient being", which includes human beings, animals, birds, insects but excludes plants because they are not considered sentient beings. Further, adds Bodhi, this precept refers to intentional killing, as well as any form of intentional harming or torturing any sentient being. This moral virtue in early Buddhist texts, both in context of harm or killing of animals and human beings, is similar to ahimsa precepts found in the texts particularly of Jainism as well as of Hinduism,[72][73] and has been a subject of significant debate in various Buddhist traditions.

The prohibition on stealing in the Pali Canon is an abstention from intentionally taking what is not voluntarily offered by the person to whom that property belongs. This includes taking by stealth, by force, by fraud or by deceit. Both the intention and the act matters, as this precept is grounded on the impact on one's karma.

The prohibition on sexual misconduct in the Noble Eightfold Path refers to "not performing sexual acts".[74] This virtue is more generically explained in the Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta, which teaches that one must abstain from all sensual misconduct, including getting sexually involved with someone unmarried (anyone protected by parents or by guardians or by siblings), and someone married (protected by husband), and someone betrothed to another person, and female convicts or by dhamma.[75]

For monastics, the abstention from sensual misconduct means strict celibacy while for lay Buddhists this prohibits adultery as well as other forms of sensual misconduct.[76][77][78] Later Buddhist texts state that the prohibition on sexual conduct for lay Buddhists includes any sexual involvement with someone married, a girl or woman protected by her parents or relatives, and someone prohibited by dhamma conventions (such as relatives, nuns and others).

Right livelihood

Right livelihood (samyag-ājīva / sammā-ājīva) precept is mentioned in many early Buddhist texts, such as the Mahācattārīsaka Sutta in Majjhima Nikaya as follows:[27]

And what is right livelihood? Right livelihood, I tell you, is of two sorts: There is right livelihood with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in acquisitions; there is right livelihood that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path.

And what is the right livelihood with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in acquisitions? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones abandons wrong livelihood and maintains his life with right livelihood. This is the right livelihood with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in acquisitions.

And what is the right livelihood that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path? The abstaining, desisting, abstinence, avoidance of wrong livelihood in one developing the noble path whose mind is noble, whose mind is without effluents, who is fully possessed of the noble path. (...)

The early canonical texts state right livelihood as avoiding and abstaining from wrong livelihood. This virtue is further explained in Buddhist texts, states Vetter, as "living from begging, but not accepting everything and not possessing more than is strictly necessary".[74] For lay Buddhists, states Harvey, this precept requires that the livelihood avoid causing suffering to sentient beings by cheating them, or harming or killing them in any way.[36]

The Anguttara Nikaya III.208, states Harvey, asserts that the right livelihood does not trade in weapons, living beings, meat, alcoholic drink or poison.[36][79] The same text, in section V.177, asserts that this applies to lay Buddhists.[80] This has meant, states Harvey, that raising and trading cattle livestock for slaughter is a breach of "right livelihood" precept in the Buddhist tradition, and Buddhist countries lack the mass slaughter houses found in Western countries.[81]

Right effort

See also: Four Right Efforts, Viriya, dhamma vicaya, and Examination of conscience

Right effort (samyag-vyāyāma / sammā-vāyāma) is preventing the arising of unwholesome states, and the generation of wholesome states. This includes indriya-samvara, "guarding the sense-doors", restraint of the sense faculties.[39] Right effort is presented in the Pali Canon, such as the Sacca-vibhanga Sutta, as follows:[63][70]

And what is right effort?

Here the monk arouses his will, puts forth effort, generates energy, exerts his mind, and strives to prevent the arising of evil and unwholesome mental states that have not yet arisen.
He arouses his will... and strives to eliminate evil and unwholesome mental states that have already arisen. He arouses his will... and strives to generate wholesome mental states that have not yet arisen.
He arouses his will, puts forth effort, generates energy, exerts his mind, and strives to maintain wholesome mental states that have already arisen, to keep them free of delusion, to develop, increase, cultivate, and perfect them.

This is called right effort.

The unwholesome states (akusala) are described in the Buddhist texts are related to thoughts, emotions, intentions. These include the pancanivarana (five hindrances), that is, sensual thoughts, doubts about the path, restlessness, drowsiness, and ill will of any kind.[74] Of these, the Buddhist traditions consider sensual thoughts and ill will needing more right effort. Sensual desire that must be eliminated by effort includes anything related to sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touch. This is to be done by restraint of the sense faculties (indriya-samvara). Ill will that must be eliminated by effort includes any form of aversion including hatred, anger, resentment towards anything or anyone.

Right mindfulness

Main article: Mindfulness (Buddhism)
See also: Sampajañña, Dhamma vicaya, Satipatthana, Anapanasati, and Satipatthana Sutta

While originally, in Yogic practice, sati may have meant to remember the meditation object, to cultivate a deeply absorbed, secluded state of mind,[82] in the oldest Buddhism it has the meaning of "retention", being mindful of the dhammas (both wholesome states of mind, and teachings and practices that remind of those wholesome states of mind) that are beneficial to the Buddhist path.[83] According to Gethin, sati is a quality that guards or watches over the mind;[40] the stronger it becomes, the weaker unwholesome states of mind become, weakening their power "to take over and dominate thought, word and deed."[41] According to Frauwallner, mindfulness was a means to prevent the arising of craving, which resulted simply from contact between the senses and their objects. According to Frauwallner this may have been the Buddha's original idea.[42] According to Trainor, mindfulness aids one not to crave and cling to any transitory state or thing, by complete and constant awareness of phenomena as impermanent, suffering and without self.[84] Gethin refers to the Milindapanha, which states that sati brings to mind the dhammas and their beneficial or unbeneficial qualities, aiding the removal of unbeneficial dhammas and the strengthening of beneficial dhammas.[85] Gethin further notes that sati makes one aware of the "full range and extent of dhammas", that is, the relation between things, broadening one's view and understanding.[86]

The Satipatthana Sutta describes the contemplation of four domains, namely body, feelings, mind and phenomena.[note 6] The Satipatthana Sutta is regarded by the vipassana movement as the quintessential text on Buddhist meditation, taking cues from it on "bare attention" and the contemplation on the observed phenomena as dukkha, anatta and anicca.[87][88][note 7][note 8] According to Grzegorz Polak, the four upassanā have been misunderstood by the developing Buddhist tradition, including Theravada, to refer to four different foundations. According to Polak, the four upassanā do not refer to four different foundations of which one should be aware, but are an alternate description of the jhanas, describing how the samskharas are tranquilized:[90]

In the vipassana movement, mindfulness (samyak-smṛti / sammā-sati) is interpreted as "bare attention": never be absent minded, being conscious of what one is doing.[91] Rupert Gethin notes that the contemporary vipassana movement interprets the Satipatthana Sutta as "describing a pure form of insight (vipassanā) meditation" for which samatha (calm) and jhāna are not necessary. Yet, in pre-sectarian Buddhism, the establishment of mindfulness was placed before the practice of the jhanas, and associated with the abandonment of the five hindrances and the entry into the first jhana.[26][note 10]

The dhyāna-scheme describes mindfulness also as appearing in the third and fourth dhyana, after initial concentration of the mind.[92][note 11] Gombrich and Wynne note that, while the second jhana denotes a state of absorption, in the third and fourth jhana one comes out of this absorption, being mindfully awareness of objects while being indifferent to them.[note 12] According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other – and indeed higher – element".

Right samadhi (unification of mind)

Main article: Dhyāna in Buddhism

Samadhi

Samadhi (samyak-samādhi / sammā-samādhi) is a common practice or goal in Indian religions. The term samadhi derives from the root sam-a-dha, which means 'to collect' or 'bring together',[citation needed] and thus it is often translated as 'concentration' or 'unification of mind'. In the early Buddhist texts, samadhi is also associated with the term "samatha" (calm abiding).[citation needed]

Dhyana

Bronkhorst notes that neither the Four Noble Truths nor the Noble Eightfold Path discourse provide details of right samadhi.[93] Several Suttas, such as the following in Saccavibhanga Sutta, equate it with dhyana:[63][70]

And what is right concentration?

[i] Here, the monk, detached from sense-desires, detached from unwholesome states, enters and remains in the first jhana (level of concentration, Sanskrit: dhyāna), in which there is applied and sustained thinking, together with joy and pleasure born of detachment;
[ii] And through the subsiding of applied and sustained thinking, with the gaining of inner stillness and oneness of mind, he enters and remains in the second jhana, which is without applied and sustained thinking, and in which there are joy and pleasure born of concentration;
[iii] And through the fading of joy, he remains equanimous, mindful and aware, and he experiences in his body the pleasure of which the Noble Ones say: "equanimous, mindful and dwelling in pleasure", and thus he enters and remains in the third jhana;
[iv] And through the giving up of pleasure and pain, and through the previous disappearance of happiness and sadness, he enters and remains in the fourth jhana, which is without pleasure and pain, and in which there is pure equanimity and mindfulness.

This is called right concentration.[70][94]

Bronkhorst has questioned the historicity and chronology of the description of the four jhanas. Bronkhorst states that this path may be similar to what the Buddha taught, but the details and the form of the description of the jhanas in particular, and possibly other factors, is likely the work of later scholasticism.[95][96] Bronkhorst notes that description of the third jhana cannot have been formulated by the Buddha, since it includes the phrase "Noble Ones say", quoting earlier Buddhists, indicating it was formulated by later Buddhists.[95] It is likely that later Buddhist scholars incorporated this, then attributed the details and the path, particularly the insights at the time of liberation, to have been discovered by the Buddha.[95]

Concentration

In the Theravada tradition, samadhi is interpreted as concentration on a meditation object. Buddhagosa defines samadhi as "the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a single object...the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object, undistracted and unscattered."[97]

According to Henepola Gunaratana, in the suttas samadhi is defined as one-pointedness of mind (Cittass'ekaggatā).[98] According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, the right concentration factor is reaching a one-pointedness of mind and unifying all mental factors, but it is not the same as "a gourmet sitting down to a meal, or a soldier on the battlefield" who also experience one-pointed concentration. The difference is that the latter have a one-pointed object in focus with complete awareness directed to that object – the meal or the target, respectively. In contrast, right concentration meditative factor in Buddhism is a state of awareness without any object or subject, and ultimately unto no-thingness and emptiness, as articulated in apophatic discourse.

Development into equanimity

Although often translated as "concentration", as in the limiting of the attention of the mind on one object, in the fourth dhyana "equanimity and mindfulness remain",[99] and the practice of concentration-meditation may well have been incorporated from non-Buddhist traditions.[100] Vetter notes that samadhi consists of the four stages of awakening, but

...to put it more accurately, the first dhyana seems to provide, after some time, a state of strong concentration, from which the other stages come forth; the second stage is called samadhija.[92]

Gombrich and Wynne note that, while the second jhana denotes a state of absorption, in the third and fourth jhana one comes out of this absorption, being mindfully awareness of objects while being indifferent to it.[101] According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other – and indeed higher – element."

Liberation

Following the Noble Eightfold Path leads to liberation in the form of nirvana:[4][5]

And what is that ancient path, that ancient road, traveled by the Rightly Self-awakened Ones of former times? Just this noble eightfold path: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. That is the ancient path, the ancient road, traveled by the Rightly Self-awakened Ones of former times. I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct knowledge of aging & death, direct knowledge of the origination of aging & death, direct knowledge of the cessation of aging & death, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of aging & death. I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct knowledge of birth... becoming... clinging... craving... feeling... contact... the six sense media... name-&-form... consciousness, direct knowledge of the origination of consciousness, direct knowledge of the cessation of consciousness, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of consciousness. I followed that path.

— The Buddha, Nagara Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya ii.124, Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu[102][103]

Practice

Order of practice

Vetter notes that originally the path culminated in the practice of dhyana/samadhi as the core soteriological practice.[7] According to the Pali and Chinese canon, the samadhi state (right concentration) is dependent on the development of preceding path factors:[27][104][105]

The Blessed One said: "Now what, monks, is noble right concentration with its supports and requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors – right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, and right mindfulness – is called noble right concentration with its supports and requisite conditions.

— Maha-cattarisaka Sutta

According to the discourses, right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, and right mindfulness are used as the support and requisite conditions for the practice of right concentration. Understanding of the right view is the preliminary role, and is also the forerunner of the entire Noble Eightfold Path.[27][106]

According to the modern Theravada monk and scholar Walpola Rahula, the divisions of the noble eightfold path "are to be developed more or less simultaneously, as far as possible according to the capacity of each individual. They are all linked together and each helps the cultivation of the others."[107] Bhikkhu Bodhi explains that these factors are not sequential, but components, and "with a certain degree of progress all eight factors can be present simultaneously, each supporting the others. However, until that point is reached, some sequence in the unfolding of the path is inevitable."[108]

The stage in the Path where there is no more learning in Yogachara Abhidharma, state Buswell and Gimello, is identical to Nirvana or Buddhahood, the ultimate goal in Buddhism.[109][110]

Sila-samadhi-prajna

The Noble Eightfold Path is sometimes divided into three basic divisions, with right view and right intention concluding the sequence:[111]

Division Eightfold Path factors
Moral virtue[112] (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla) 1. Right speech
2. Right action
3. Right livelihood
Meditation[112] (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi) 4. Right effort
5. Right mindfulness
6. Right concentration
Insight, wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā) 7. Right view
8. Right resolve

This order is a later development, when discriminating insight (prajna) became central to Buddhist soteriology, and came to be regarded as the culmination of the Buddhist path.[92] Yet, Majjhima Nikaya 117, Mahācattārīsaka Sutta, describes the first seven practices as requisites for right samadhi. According to Vetter, this may have been the original soteriological practice in early Buddhism.[7]

The "moral virtues" (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla) group consists of three paths: right speech, right action and right livelihood.[112] The word sīla, though translated by English writers as linked to "morals or ethics", states Bhikkhu Bodhi, is in ancient and medieval Buddhist commentary tradition closer to the concept of discipline and disposition that "leads to harmony at several levels – social, psychological, karmic and contemplative". Such harmony creates an environment to pursue the meditative steps in the Noble Eightfold Path by reducing social disorder, preventing inner conflict that result from transgressions, favoring future karma-triggered movement through better rebirths, and purifying the mind.[113]

The meditation group ("samadhi") of the path progresses from moral restraints to training the mind.[114] Right effort and mindfulness calm the mind-body complex, releasing unwholesome states and habitual patterns and encouraging the development of wholesome states and non-automatic responses, the bojjhaṅga (seven factors of awakening). The practice of dhyāna reinforces these developments, leading to upekkhā (equanimity) and mindfulness.[43] According to the Theravada commentarial tradition and the contemporary vipassana movement, the goal in this group of the Noble Eightfold Path is to develop clarity and insight into the nature of reality – dukkha, anicca and anatta, discard negative states and dispel avidya (ignorance), ultimately attaining nirvana.[84]

In the threefold division, prajna (insight, wisdom) is presented as the culmination of the path, whereas in the eightfold division the path starts with correct knowledge or insight, which is needed to understand why this path should be followed.[115]

Schools of Buddhism and their views of the Eightfold Path

Theravada presentations of the path

Theravada Buddhism is a diverse tradition and thus includes different explanations of the path to awakening. However, the teachings of the Buddha are often encapsulated by Theravadins in the basic framework of the Four Noble Truths and the Eighthfold Path.[116][117]

Some Theravada Buddhists also follow the presentation of the path laid out in Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga. This presentation is known as the "Seven Purifications" (satta-visuddhi).[118] This schema and its accompanying outline of "insight knowledges" (vipassanā-ñāṇa) is used by modern influential Theravadin scholars, such Mahasi Sayadaw (in his "The Progress of Insight") and Nyanatiloka Thera (in "The Buddha's Path to Deliverance").[119][120]

Mahayana presentations of the path

Mahāyāna Buddhism is based principally upon the path of a Bodhisattva.[121] A Bodhisattva refers to one who is on the path to buddhahood.[122] The term Mahāyāna was originally a synonym for Bodhisattvayāna or "Bodhisattva Vehicle".[123][124][125]

In the earliest texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the path of a bodhisattva was to awaken the bodhicitta.[126] Between the 1st and 3rd century CE, this tradition introduced the Ten Bhumi doctrine, which means ten levels or stages of awakening.[126] This development was followed by the acceptance that it is impossible to achieve Buddhahood in one (current) lifetime, and the best goal is not nirvana for oneself, but Buddhahood after climbing through the ten levels during multiple rebirths.[127] Mahāyāna scholars then outlined an elaborate path, for monks and laypeople, and the path includes the vow to help teach Buddhist knowledge to other beings, so as to help them cross samsara and liberate themselves, once one reaches the Buddhahood in a future rebirth.[121] One part of this path are the pāramitā (perfections, to cross over), derived from the Jatakas tales of Buddha's numerous rebirths.[128][129]

The doctrine of the bodhisattva bhūmis was also eventually merged with the Sarvāstivāda Vaibhāṣika schema of the "five paths" by the Yogacara school.[130] This Mahāyāna "five paths" presentation can be seen in Asanga's Mahāyānasaṃgraha.[130]

The Mahāyāna texts are inconsistent in their discussion of the pāramitās, and some texts include lists of two, others four, six, ten and fifty-two.[131][132][133] The six paramitas have been most studied, and these are:[128][133][134]

  1. Dāna pāramitā: perfection of giving; primarily to monks, nuns and the Buddhist monastic establishment dependent on the alms and gifts of the lay householders, in return for generating religious merit;[135] some texts recommend ritually transferring the merit so accumulated for better rebirth to someone else
  2. Śīla pāramitā: perfection of morality; it outlines ethical behaviour for both the laity and the Mahayana monastic community; this list is similar to Śīla in the Eightfold Path (i.e. Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood)[136]
  3. Kṣānti pāramitā: perfection of patience, willingness to endure hardship
  4. Vīrya pāramitā: perfection of vigour; this is similar to Right Effort in the Eightfold Path[136]
  5. Dhyāna pāramitā: perfection of meditation; this is similar to Right Concentration in the Eightfold Path
  6. Prajñā pāramitā: perfection of insight (wisdom), awakening to the characteristics of existence such as karma, rebirths, impermanence, no-self, dependent origination and emptiness;[133][137] this is complete acceptance of the Buddha teaching, then conviction, followed by ultimate realisation that "dharmas are non-arising".[128]

In Mahāyāna Sutras that include ten pāramitā, the additional four perfections are "skillful means, vow, power and knowledge".[132] The most discussed pāramitā and the highest rated perfection in Mahayana texts is the "Prajna-paramita", or the "perfection of insight".[132] This insight in the Mahāyāna tradition, states Shōhei Ichimura, has been the "insight of non-duality or the absence of reality in all things".[138][139]

East Asian Buddhism

East Asian Buddhism is influenced by both the classic Indian Buddhist presentations of the path such as the Eightfold Path as well as classic Indian Mahāyāna presentations such as that found in the Da zhidu lun.[140]

There are many different presentations of soteriology, including numerous paths and vehicles (yanas) in the different traditions of East Asian Buddhism.[141] There is no single dominant presentation. In Zen Buddhism for example, one can find outlines of the path such as the Two Entrances and Four Practices, The Five ranks, The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures and The Three mysterious Gates of Linji.

Indo-Tibetan Buddhism

In Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, the path to liberation is outlined in the genre known as Lamrim ("Stages of the Path"). All the various Tibetan schools have their own Lamrim presentations. This genre can be traced to Atiśa's 11th-century A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathapradīpa).[142]

Cognitive psychology

The noble eightfold path has been compared to cognitive psychology; Gil Fronsdal says the right view factor can be interpreted to mean how one's mind views the world, and how that leads to patterns of thought, intention and actions.[143] In contrast, Peter Randall states that it is the seventh factor or right mindfulness that may be thought in terms of cognitive psychology, wherein the change in thought and behavior are linked.[144]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ One of those longer sequences, from the CulaHatthipadopama-sutta, the "Lesser Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprints", is as follows:[25]
    1. Dhammalsaddhalpabbajja: A layman hears a Buddha teach the Dhamma, comes to have faith in him, and decides to take ordination as a monk;
    2. sila: He adopts the moral precepts;
    3. indriyasamvara: He practises "guarding the six sense-doors";
    4. sati-sampajanna: He practises mindfulness and self-possession (actually described as mindfulness of the body, kāyānussatti);
    5. jhana 1: He finds an isolated spot in which to meditate, purifies his mind of the hindrances (nwarana), and attains the first rupa-jhana;
    6. jhana 2: He attains the second jhana;
    7. jhana 3: He attains the third jhana;
    8. jhana 4: He attains the fourth jhana;
    9. pubbenivasanussati-nana: he recollects his many former existences in samsara;
    10. sattanam cutupapata-nana: he observes the death and rebirth of beings according to their karmas;
    11. dsavakkhaya-nana: He brings about the destruction of the dsavas (cankers), and attains a profound realization of (as opposed to mere knowledge about) the four noble truths;
    12. vimutti: He perceives that he is now liberated, that he has done what was to be done.
    A similar sequence can be found in the Samaññaphala Sutta.[26]
  2. ^ According to Frauwallner, mindfulness was a means to prevent the arising of craving, which resulted simply from contact between the senses and their objects; this may have been the Buddha's original idea;[42] compare Buddhadasa, Heartwood of the Bodhi-tree, on Pratītyasamutpāda; and Grzegorz Polak (2011), Reexamining Jhana: Towards a Critical Reconstruction of Early Buddhist Soteriology, p.153-156, 196–197.
  3. ^ Vetter translates it as "offering into the fire".[48]
  4. ^ a b Compare the stock sequence of a "graduated talk" and "the distinctive teaching of the Awakened Ones": "Then the Blessed One gave a graduated talk to Upāli the householder, i.e., a talk on giving, a talk on virtue, a talk on heaven; he proclaimed the drawbacks of, degradation in, & defilement in sensuality, and the rewards of renunciation. Then—when he knew that Upāli the householder was of ready mind, malleable mind, unhindered mind, exultant mind, confident mind—he proclaimed to him the distinctive teaching of the Awakened Ones: stress, origination, cessation, path. Just as a white cloth with stains removed would rightly take dye, in the same way there arose to Upāli the householder, in that very seat, the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation. Then—having seen the Dhamma, having reached the Dhamma, known the Dhamma, gained a footing in the Dhamma, having crossed over & beyond doubt, having had no more questioning—Upāli the householder gained fearlessness and was independent of others with regard to the Teacher’s message."[50]
  5. ^ See the CulaHatthipadopama-sutta (the "Lesser Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprints") and the Samaññaphala Sutta
  6. ^ The formula is repeated in other sutras, for example the Sacca-vibhanga Sutta (MN 141): "And what is right mindfulness?
    Here the monk remains contemplating the body as body, resolute, aware and mindful, having put aside worldly desire and sadness;
    he remains contemplating feelings as feelings;
    he remains contemplating mental states as mental states;
    he remains contemplating mental objects as mental objects, resolute, aware and mindful, having put aside worldly desire and sadness;
    This is called right mindfulness."[63][70]
  7. ^ From The Way of Mindfulness, The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary, Soma Thera (1998),
    (...)
    For the dull-witted man of the theorizing type [ditthi carita] it is convenient to see consciousness [citta] in the fairly simple way it is set forth in this discourse, by way of impermanence [aniccata], and by way of such divisions as mind-with-lust [saragadi vasena], in order to reject the notion of permanence [nicca sañña] in regard to consciousness. Consciousness is a special condition [visesa karana] for the wrong view due to a basic belief in permanence [niccanti abhinivesa vatthutaya ditthiya]. The contemplation on consciousness, the Third Arousing of Mindfulness, is the Path to Purity of this type of man.[89]
    For the keen-witted man of the theorizing type it is convenient to see mental objects or things [dhamma], according to the manifold way set forth in this discourse, by way of perception, sense-impression and so forth [nivaranadi vasena], in order to reject the notion of a soul [atta sañña] in regard to mental things. Mental things are special conditions for the wrong view due to a basic belief in a soul [attanti abhinivesa vatthutaya ditthiya]. For this type of man the contemplation on mental objects, the Fourth Arousing of Mindfulness, is the Path to Purity.[89]
    (...)
  8. ^ Vetter and Bronkhorst note that the path starts with right view, which includes insight into anicca, dukkha and anatta.
  9. ^ Note how kāyānupassanā, vedanānupassanā, and cittānupassanā, resemble the five skandhas and the chain of causation as described in the middle part of Pratītyasamutpāda; while dhammānupassanā refers to mindfulness as retention, calling into mind the beneficial dhammas which are applied to analyse phenomena, and counter the arising of disturbing thoughts and emotions.
  10. ^ Gethin: "The sutta is often read today as describing a pure form of insight (vipassanā) meditation that bypasses calm (samatha) meditation and the four absorptions (jhāna), as outlined in the description of the Buddhist path found, for example, in the Samaññaphala Sutta [...] The earlier tradition, however, seems not to have always read it this way, associating accomplishment in the exercise of establishing mindfulness with abandoning of the five hindrances and the first absorption."[26]
  11. ^ Original publication: Gombrich, Richard (2007). Religious Experience in Early Buddhism. OCHS Library.
  12. ^ Original publication: Gombrich, Richard (2007). Religious Experience in Early Buddhism. OCHS Library.

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  123. ^ Nattier (2003), p. 174.
  124. ^ Hirakawa (1993), p. 297.
  125. ^ Conze (2001), p. 2001.
  126. ^ a b Robinson & Johnson (1997), p. 99.
  127. ^ Nattier (2003), pp. 142–152.
  128. ^ a b c Robinson & Johnson (1997), pp. 101–102.
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External links

 
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April 09, 2023
noble, eightfold, path, eightfold, path, redirects, here, other, uses, eightfold, path, disambiguation, eightfold, path, pali, ariya, aṭṭhaṅgika, magga, sanskrit, āryāṣṭāṅgamārga, early, summary, path, buddhist, practices, leading, liberation, from, samsara, p. Eightfold Path redirects here For other uses see Eightfold Path disambiguation The Eightfold Path Pali ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga Sanskrit aryaṣṭaṅgamarga 1 is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara the painful cycle of rebirth 2 3 in the form of nirvana 4 5 The eight spoke Dharma wheel symbolizes the Noble Eightfold Path Translations ofThe Noble Eightfold PathSanskritआर य ष ट ङ गम र ग IAST aryaṣṭaṅgamarga Paliअर य अट ठङ ग क मग ग ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga Bengaliঅষ ট ঙ গ ক আর য ম র গ Astangik arya marga Oșŧangik Azzo Maggo Oșŧangik Arzo Margo Burmeseမဂ ဂင ရ စ ပ MLCTS mɛʔɡɪ ɰ ʃɪʔ pa Chinese八正道 Pinyin ba zhengdao Japanese八正道 Rōmaji Hasshōdō Khmerអរ យដ ឋង គ កមគ គ UNGEGN areyadthangkikameak Korean팔정도八正道 RR Paljeongdo Mongolianᠣᠦᠲᠦᠶᠲᠠᠨᠦᠨᠠᠢᠮᠠᠨᠭᠡᠰᠢᠭᠦᠨᠦᠮᠥᠷ Najman gishүүt hutagt mor qutugtan u naiman gesigun u mor Sinhalaආර ය අෂ ඨ ග ක ම ර ගයTibetanའཕགས པའ ལམ ཡན ལག བར ད པ Wylie phags pa i lam yan lag brgyad paTHL pakpe lam yenlak gyepa Tamilஉன னத எட ட மடங க ப த TagalogWaluhang Mahal na Landasᜏᜀᜎ ᜑᜀᜈᜄ ᜋᜀᜑᜀᜎ ᜈᜀ ᜎᜀᜈᜇᜀᜐThaixriymrrkhmixngkhaepd RTGS Ariya Mak Mi Ong Paet VietnameseBat chinh đạo八正道Glossary of BuddhismThe Eightfold Path consists of eight practices right view right resolve right speech right conduct right livelihood right effort right mindfulness and right samadhi meditative absorption or union alternatively equanimous meditative awareness 6 In early Buddhism these practices started with understanding that the body mind works in a corrupted way right view followed by entering the Buddhist path of self observance self restraint and cultivating kindness and compassion and culminating in dhyana or samadhi which reinforces these practices for the development of the body mind 7 In later Buddhism insight prajna became the central soteriological instrument leading to a different concept and structure of the path 7 8 in which the goal of the Buddhist path came to be specified as ending ignorance and rebirth 9 10 11 3 12 The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal summaries of the Buddhist teachings taught to lead to Arhatship 13 In the Theravada tradition this path is also summarized as sila morality samadhi meditation and prajna insight In Mahayana Buddhism this path is contrasted with the Bodhisattva path which is believed to go beyond Arhatship to full Buddhahood 13 In Buddhist symbolism the Noble Eightfold Path is often represented by means of the dharma wheel dharmachakra in which its eight spokes represent the eight elements of the path Contents 1 Etymology and nomenclature 2 The eight divisions 2 1 Origins the Middle Way 2 2 Tenfold path 2 3 Short description of the eight divisions 2 4 Right view 2 4 1 Sequences in the suttas 2 4 2 Theravada 2 4 3 A ditthi 2 5 Right resolve 2 6 Right speech 2 7 Right action 2 8 Right livelihood 2 9 Right effort 2 10 Right mindfulness 2 11 Right samadhi unification of mind 2 11 1 Samadhi 2 11 2 Dhyana 2 11 3 Concentration 2 11 4 Development into equanimity 2 12 Liberation 3 Practice 3 1 Order of practice 3 2 Sila samadhi prajna 4 Schools of Buddhism and their views of the Eightfold Path 4 1 Theravada presentations of the path 4 2 Mahayana presentations of the path 4 2 1 East Asian Buddhism 4 2 2 Indo Tibetan Buddhism 5 Cognitive psychology 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Sources 9 1 Primary sources 9 2 Secondary sources 10 External linksEtymology and nomenclature EditThe Pali term ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga Sanskrit aryaṣṭaṅgamarga is typically translated in English as Noble Eightfold Path This translation is a convention started by the early translators of Buddhist texts into English just like ariya sacca is translated as Four Noble Truths 14 15 However the phrase does not mean the path is noble rather that the path is of the noble people Pali arya meaning enlightened noble precious people 16 The term magga Sanskrit marga means path while aṭṭhaṅgika Sanskrit aṣṭaṅga means eightfold Thus an alternate rendering of ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga is eightfold path of the noble ones 3 17 18 or Eightfold Ariya Path 19 20 21 All eight elements of the Path begin with the word samyanc in Sanskrit or samma in Pali which means right proper as it ought to be best 19 The Buddhist texts contrast samma with its opposite miccha 19 The Noble Eightfold Path in the Buddhist traditions is the direct means to nirvana and brings a release from the cycle of life and death in the realms of samsara 22 23 The eight divisions EditSee also Buddhist paths to liberation Origins the Middle Way Edit According to Indologist Tilmann Vetter the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term the Middle Way 7 In time this short description was elaborated resulting in the description of the Eightfold Path 7 Tilmann Vetter and historian Rod Bucknell both note that longer descriptions of the path can be found in the early texts which can be condensed into the Eightfold Path 7 24 note 1 Tenfold path Edit In the Mahacattarisaka Sutta 27 28 which appears in the Chinese and Pali canons the Buddha explains that cultivation of the noble eightfold path of a learner leads to the development of two further paths of the Arahants which are right knowledge or insight samma naṇa and right liberation or release samma vimutti 29 These two factors fall under the category of wisdom panna 30 Short description of the eight divisions Edit The eight Buddhist practices in the Noble Eightfold Path are Right View our actions have consequences death is not the end and our actions and beliefs have consequences after death The Buddha followed and taught a successful path out of this world and the other world heaven and underworld hell 31 32 33 web 1 Later on right view came to explicitly include karma and rebirth and the importance of the Four Noble Truths when insight became central to Buddhist soteriology especially in Theravada Buddhism 34 35 Right Resolve or Intention the giving up of home and adopting the life of a religious mendicant in order to follow the path this concept aims at peaceful renunciation into an environment of non sensuality non ill will to loving kindness away from cruelty to compassion 36 Such an environment aids contemplation of impermanence suffering and non Self 36 Right Speech no lying no rude speech no telling one person what another says about him to cause discord or harm their relationship no idle chatter 37 38 Right Conduct or Action no killing or injuring no taking what is not given no sexual misconduct no material desires Right Livelihood no trading in weapons living beings meat liquor and poisons Right Effort preventing the arising of unwholesome states and generating wholesome states the bojjhaga Seven Factors of Awakening This includes indriya samvara guarding the sense doors restraint of the sense faculties 39 36 Right Mindfulness sati Satipatthana Sampajanna a quality that guards or watches over the mind 40 the stronger it becomes the weaker unwholesome states of mind become weakening their power to take over and dominate thought word and deed 41 note 2 In the vipassana movement sati is interpreted as bare attention never be absent minded being conscious of what one is doing this encourages the awareness of the impermanence of body feeling and mind as well as to experience the five aggregates skandhas the five hindrances the four True Realities and seven factors of awakening 36 Right samadhi passaddhi ekaggata sampasadana practicing four stages of dhyana meditation which includes samadhi proper in the second stage and reinforces the development of the bojjhaga culminating into upekkha equanimity and mindfulness 43 In the Theravada tradition and the vipassana movement this is interpreted as ekaggata concentration or one pointedness of the mind and supplemented with vipassana meditation which aims at insight Right view Edit See also View Buddhism The purpose of right view samyak dṛṣṭi samma diṭṭhi or right understanding 44 is to clear one s path from confusion misunderstanding and deluded thinking It is a means to gain right understanding of reality 45 Sequences in the suttas Edit The Pali canon and the Agamas contain various definitions or descriptions of right view The Mahasatipatthana Sutta Digha Nikaya 22 compiled from elements from other suttas possibly as late as 20 BCE 46 defines right view summarily as the Four Noble Truths And what is right view Knowing about suffering the origin of suffering the cessation of suffering and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering This is called right view 47 In this right view explicitly includes karma and rebirth and the importance of the Four Noble Truths This view of right view gained importance when insight became central to Buddhist soteriology 34 and still plays an essential role in Theravada Buddhism 35 Mahacattarisaka SuttaAnd what is right view Right view is twofold I say There is right view that is accompanied by defilements has the attributes of good deeds and ripens in attachment And there is right view that is noble undefiled transcendent a factor of the path And what is right view that is accompanied by defilements has the attributes of good deeds and ripens in attachment There is meaning in giving sacrifice note 3 and offerings There are fruits and results of good and bad deeds There is an afterlife There are such things as serving mother and father and beings devas that are reborn spontaneously And there are ascetics and brahmins who are well attained and practiced and who describe the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight This is right view that is accompanied by defilements has the attributes of good deeds and ripens in attachment And what is right view that is noble undefiled transcendent a factor of the path It s the wisdom the faculty of wisdom the power of wisdom the awakening factor of investigation of principles dhamma vicaya and right view as a factor of the path in one of noble mind and undefiled mind who possesses the noble path and develops the noble path This is called right view that is noble undefiled transcendent a factor of the path They make an effort to give up wrong view and embrace right view that s their right effort Mindfully they give up wrong view and take up right view that s their right mindfulness So these three things keep running and circling around right view namely right view right effort and right mindfulness 49 note 4 Other suttas give a more extensive overview stating that our actions have consequences that death is not the end that our actions and beliefs also have consequences after death and that the Buddha followed and taught a successful path out of this world and the other world heaven and underworld or hell 31 32 33 web 1 The Mahacattarisaka Sutta The Great Forty Majjhima Nikaya 117 gives an extensive overview describing the first seven practices as requisites of right samadhi c q dhyana It makes a distinction between mundane right view karma rebirth and noble right view as a path factor relating noble right view to dhamma vicaya investigation of principles one of the bojjhanga the seven factors of awakening which give an alternate account of right effort and dhyana 51 Alternatively right view together with right resolve is expressed in the stock phrase of dhammalsaddhalpabbajja A layman hears a Buddha teach the Dhamma comes to have faith in him and decides to take ordination as a monk 7 note 5 Sammadiṭṭhi SuttaThe venerable Sariputta said to the venerable Mahakotthita Just ask friend knowing I shall answer The venerable Mahakotthita said to the venerable Sariputta Having accomplished what factors is a learned noble disciple in this teaching and discipline reckoned to be endowed with right view to have accomplished straight view to have accomplished unshakeable confidence in the Buddha to have come to and arrived at the right teaching to have attained this right Dharma and awoken to this right Dharma The venerable Sariputta said Venerable Mahakotthita this takes place if a learned noble disciple understands unwholesome states as they really are understands the roots of unwholesomeness as they really are understands wholesome states as they really are and understands the roots of wholesomeness as they really are How does a learned noble disciple understand unwholesome states as they really are Unwholesome bodily actions verbal actions and mental actions these are reckoned unwholesome states In this way unwholesome states are understood as they really are How does a learned noble disciple understand the roots of unwholesomeness as they really are There are three roots of unwholesomeness greed is a root of unwholesomeness hatred is a root of unwholesomeness and delusion is a root of unwholesomeness these are reckoned the roots of unwholesomeness In this way the roots of unwholesomeness are understood as they really are How does a learned noble disciple understand wholesome states as they really are Wholesome bodily actions verbal actions and mental actions these are reckoned wholesome states In this way wholesome states are understood as they really are How does a learned noble disciple understand the roots of wholesomeness as they really are That is there are three roots of wholesomeness non greed non hatred and non delusion these are reckoned the roots of wholesomeness In this way the roots of wholesomeness are understood as they really are Venerable Mahakotthita if in this way a learned noble disciple understands unwholesome states as they really are understands the roots of unwholesomeness as they really are understands wholesome states as they really are and understands the roots of wholesomeness as they really are then for this reason a learned noble disciple in this teaching and discipline is endowed with right view has accomplished straight view has accomplished unshakeable confidence in the Buddha has come to and arrived at the right teaching has attained this right Dharma and awoken to this right Dharma 52 Likewise the Sammadiṭṭhi Sutta Majjhima Nikaya 9 and it s parallel in the Samyukta agama refer to faith in the Buddha and understanding dhamma vicaya the path factors of wholesome bodily actions verbal actions and mental actions 52 Theravada Edit Right View can be further subdivided states translator Bhikkhu Bodhi into mundane right view and superior or supramundane right view 53 54 Mundane right view knowledge of the fruits of good behavior karma Having this type of view will bring merit and will support the favourable rebirth of the sentient being in the realm of samsara Supramundane world transcending right view the understanding of the Four Noble Truths leading to awakening and liberation from rebirths and associated dukkha in the realms of samsara 53 55 35 According to Bhikkhu Bodhi this kind of right view comes at the end of the path not at the beginning 53 According to Theravada Buddhism mundane right view is a teaching that is suitable for lay followers while supramundane right view which requires a deeper understanding is suitable for monastics note 4 Mundane and supramundane right view involve accepting the following doctrines of Buddhism 56 57 Karma Every action of body speech and mind has karmic results and influences the kind of future rebirths and realms a being enters into Three marks of existence everything whether physical or mental is impermanent anicca a source of suffering dukkha and lacks a self anatta The Four Noble Truths are a means to gaining insights and ending dukkha A ditthi Edit Gombrich notes that there is a tension in the suttas between right view and no view release by not clinging to any view at all 58 According to Chryssides and Wilkins right view is ultimately non view though the Enlightened One sees things as they really are he has a critical awareness of the impossibility of giving full and final expression to his conviction in fixed conceptual terms One therefore cannot cling to any particular formulation in a rigid and dogmatic manner 45 Right resolve Edit Right Resolve samyak saṃkalpa samma saṅkappa can also be known as right thought right aspiration or right motivation 59 In this factor the practitioner resolves to leave home renounce the worldly life and dedicate himself to an ascetic pursuit 60 35 In section III 248 the Majjhima Nikaya states And what is right resolve Being resolved on renunciation on freedom from ill will on harmlessness This is called right resolve 61 Like right view this factor has two levels At the mundane level the resolve includes being harmless ahimsa and refraining from ill will avyabadha to any being as this accrues karma and leads to rebirth 35 62 At the supramundane level the factor includes a resolve to consider everything and everyone as impermanent a source of suffering and without a Self 62 Right speech Edit Right speech samyag vac samma vaca in most Buddhist texts is presented as four abstentions such as in the Pali Canon thus 27 63 And what is right speech Abstaining from lying from divisive speech from abusive speech and from idle chatter This is called right speech Instead of the usual abstention and refraining from wrong terminology a few texts such as the Samannaphala Sutta and Kevata Sutta in Digha Nikaya explain this virtue in an active sense after stating it in the form of an abstention 64 For example Samannaphala Sutta states that a part of a monk s virtue is that he abstains from false speech He speaks the truth holds to the truth is firm reliable no deceiver of the world 64 Similarly the virtue of abstaining from divisive speech is explained as delighting in creating concord 64 The virtue of abstaining from abusive speech is explained in this Sutta to include affectionate and polite speech that is pleasing to people The virtue of abstaining from idle chatter is explained as speaking what is connected with the Dhamma goal of his liberation 64 35 In the Abhaya raja kumara Sutta the Buddha explains the virtue of right speech in different scenarios based on its truth value utility value and emotive content 65 66 The Tathagata states Abhaya Sutta never speaks anything that is unfactual or factual untrue or true disagreeable or agreeable if that is unbeneficial and unconnected to his goals 66 67 Further adds Abhaya Sutta the Tathagata speaks the factual the true if in case it is disagreeable and unendearing only if it is beneficial to his goals but with a sense of proper time 66 68 Additionally adds Abhaya Sutta the Tathagata only speaks with a sense of proper time even when what he speaks is the factual the true the agreeable the endearing and what is beneficial to his goals 66 67 69 The Buddha thus explains right speech in the Pali Canon according to Ganeri as never speaking something that is not beneficial and only speaking what is true and beneficial when the circumstances are right whether they are welcome or not 69 Right action Edit Right action samyak karmanta samma kammanta is like right speech expressed as abstentions but in terms of bodily action In the Pali Canon this path factor is stated as And what is right action Abstaining from killing abstaining from stealing abstaining from sexual misconduct This is called right action 70 The prohibition on killing precept in Buddhist scriptures applies to all living beings states Christopher Gowans not just human beings 71 Bhikkhu Bodhi agrees clarifying that the more accurate rendering of the Pali canon is a prohibition on taking life of any sentient being which includes human beings animals birds insects but excludes plants because they are not considered sentient beings Further adds Bodhi this precept refers to intentional killing as well as any form of intentional harming or torturing any sentient being This moral virtue in early Buddhist texts both in context of harm or killing of animals and human beings is similar to ahimsa precepts found in the texts particularly of Jainism as well as of Hinduism 72 73 and has been a subject of significant debate in various Buddhist traditions The prohibition on stealing in the Pali Canon is an abstention from intentionally taking what is not voluntarily offered by the person to whom that property belongs This includes taking by stealth by force by fraud or by deceit Both the intention and the act matters as this precept is grounded on the impact on one s karma The prohibition on sexual misconduct in the Noble Eightfold Path refers to not performing sexual acts 74 This virtue is more generically explained in the Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta which teaches that one must abstain from all sensual misconduct including getting sexually involved with someone unmarried anyone protected by parents or by guardians or by siblings and someone married protected by husband and someone betrothed to another person and female convicts or by dhamma 75 For monastics the abstention from sensual misconduct means strict celibacy while for lay Buddhists this prohibits adultery as well as other forms of sensual misconduct 76 77 78 Later Buddhist texts state that the prohibition on sexual conduct for lay Buddhists includes any sexual involvement with someone married a girl or woman protected by her parents or relatives and someone prohibited by dhamma conventions such as relatives nuns and others Right livelihood Edit Right livelihood samyag ajiva samma ajiva precept is mentioned in many early Buddhist texts such as the Mahacattarisaka Sutta in Majjhima Nikaya as follows 27 And what is right livelihood Right livelihood I tell you is of two sorts There is right livelihood with effluents siding with merit resulting in acquisitions there is right livelihood that is noble without effluents transcendent a factor of the path And what is the right livelihood with effluents siding with merit resulting in acquisitions There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones abandons wrong livelihood and maintains his life with right livelihood This is the right livelihood with effluents siding with merit resulting in acquisitions And what is the right livelihood that is noble without effluents transcendent a factor of the path The abstaining desisting abstinence avoidance of wrong livelihood in one developing the noble path whose mind is noble whose mind is without effluents who is fully possessed of the noble path The early canonical texts state right livelihood as avoiding and abstaining from wrong livelihood This virtue is further explained in Buddhist texts states Vetter as living from begging but not accepting everything and not possessing more than is strictly necessary 74 For lay Buddhists states Harvey this precept requires that the livelihood avoid causing suffering to sentient beings by cheating them or harming or killing them in any way 36 The Anguttara Nikaya III 208 states Harvey asserts that the right livelihood does not trade in weapons living beings meat alcoholic drink or poison 36 79 The same text in section V 177 asserts that this applies to lay Buddhists 80 This has meant states Harvey that raising and trading cattle livestock for slaughter is a breach of right livelihood precept in the Buddhist tradition and Buddhist countries lack the mass slaughter houses found in Western countries 81 Right effort Edit See also Four Right Efforts Viriya dhamma vicaya and Examination of conscience Right effort samyag vyayama samma vayama is preventing the arising of unwholesome states and the generation of wholesome states This includes indriya samvara guarding the sense doors restraint of the sense faculties 39 Right effort is presented in the Pali Canon such as the Sacca vibhanga Sutta as follows 63 70 And what is right effort Here the monk arouses his will puts forth effort generates energy exerts his mind and strives to prevent the arising of evil and unwholesome mental states that have not yet arisen He arouses his will and strives to eliminate evil and unwholesome mental states that have already arisen He arouses his will and strives to generate wholesome mental states that have not yet arisen He arouses his will puts forth effort generates energy exerts his mind and strives to maintain wholesome mental states that have already arisen to keep them free of delusion to develop increase cultivate and perfect them This is called right effort The unwholesome states akusala are described in the Buddhist texts are related to thoughts emotions intentions These include the pancanivarana five hindrances that is sensual thoughts doubts about the path restlessness drowsiness and ill will of any kind 74 Of these the Buddhist traditions consider sensual thoughts and ill will needing more right effort Sensual desire that must be eliminated by effort includes anything related to sights sounds smells tastes and touch This is to be done by restraint of the sense faculties indriya samvara Ill will that must be eliminated by effort includes any form of aversion including hatred anger resentment towards anything or anyone Right mindfulness Edit Main article Mindfulness Buddhism See also Sampajanna Dhamma vicaya Satipatthana Anapanasati and Satipatthana Sutta While originally in Yogic practice sati may have meant to remember the meditation object to cultivate a deeply absorbed secluded state of mind 82 in the oldest Buddhism it has the meaning of retention being mindful of the dhammas both wholesome states of mind and teachings and practices that remind of those wholesome states of mind that are beneficial to the Buddhist path 83 According to Gethin sati is a quality that guards or watches over the mind 40 the stronger it becomes the weaker unwholesome states of mind become weakening their power to take over and dominate thought word and deed 41 According to Frauwallner mindfulness was a means to prevent the arising of craving which resulted simply from contact between the senses and their objects According to Frauwallner this may have been the Buddha s original idea 42 According to Trainor mindfulness aids one not to crave and cling to any transitory state or thing by complete and constant awareness of phenomena as impermanent suffering and without self 84 Gethin refers to the Milindapanha which states that sati brings to mind the dhammas and their beneficial or unbeneficial qualities aiding the removal of unbeneficial dhammas and the strengthening of beneficial dhammas 85 Gethin further notes that sati makes one aware of the full range and extent of dhammas that is the relation between things broadening one s view and understanding 86 The Satipatthana Sutta describes the contemplation of four domains namely body feelings mind and phenomena note 6 The Satipatthana Sutta is regarded by the vipassana movement as the quintessential text on Buddhist meditation taking cues from it on bare attention and the contemplation on the observed phenomena as dukkha anatta and anicca 87 88 note 7 note 8 According to Grzegorz Polak the four upassana have been misunderstood by the developing Buddhist tradition including Theravada to refer to four different foundations According to Polak the four upassana do not refer to four different foundations of which one should be aware but are an alternate description of the jhanas describing how the samskharas are tranquilized 90 the six sense bases which one needs to be aware of kayanupassana contemplation on vedanas which arise with the contact between the senses and their objects vedananupassana the altered states of mind to which this practice leads cittanupassana the development from the five hindrances to the seven factors of enlightenment dhammanupassana note 9 In the vipassana movement mindfulness samyak smṛti samma sati is interpreted as bare attention never be absent minded being conscious of what one is doing 91 Rupert Gethin notes that the contemporary vipassana movement interprets the Satipatthana Sutta as describing a pure form of insight vipassana meditation for which samatha calm and jhana are not necessary Yet in pre sectarian Buddhism the establishment of mindfulness was placed before the practice of the jhanas and associated with the abandonment of the five hindrances and the entry into the first jhana 26 note 10 The dhyana scheme describes mindfulness also as appearing in the third and fourth dhyana after initial concentration of the mind 92 note 11 Gombrich and Wynne note that while the second jhana denotes a state of absorption in the third and fourth jhana one comes out of this absorption being mindfully awareness of objects while being indifferent to them note 12 According to Gombrich the later tradition has falsified the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated calming kind of meditation ignoring the other and indeed higher element Right samadhi unification of mind Edit Main article Dhyana in Buddhism Samadhi Edit Samadhi samyak samadhi samma samadhi is a common practice or goal in Indian religions The term samadhi derives from the root sam a dha which means to collect or bring together citation needed and thus it is often translated as concentration or unification of mind In the early Buddhist texts samadhi is also associated with the term samatha calm abiding citation needed Dhyana Edit Bronkhorst notes that neither the Four Noble Truths nor the Noble Eightfold Path discourse provide details of right samadhi 93 Several Suttas such as the following in Saccavibhanga Sutta equate it with dhyana 63 70 And what is right concentration i Here the monk detached from sense desires detached from unwholesome states enters and remains in the first jhana level of concentration Sanskrit dhyana in which there is applied and sustained thinking together with joy and pleasure born of detachment ii And through the subsiding of applied and sustained thinking with the gaining of inner stillness and oneness of mind he enters and remains in the second jhana which is without applied and sustained thinking and in which there are joy and pleasure born of concentration iii And through the fading of joy he remains equanimous mindful and aware and he experiences in his body the pleasure of which the Noble Ones say equanimous mindful and dwelling in pleasure and thus he enters and remains in the third jhana iv And through the giving up of pleasure and pain and through the previous disappearance of happiness and sadness he enters and remains in the fourth jhana which is without pleasure and pain and in which there is pure equanimity and mindfulness This is called right concentration 70 94 Bronkhorst has questioned the historicity and chronology of the description of the four jhanas Bronkhorst states that this path may be similar to what the Buddha taught but the details and the form of the description of the jhanas in particular and possibly other factors is likely the work of later scholasticism 95 96 Bronkhorst notes that description of the third jhana cannot have been formulated by the Buddha since it includes the phrase Noble Ones say quoting earlier Buddhists indicating it was formulated by later Buddhists 95 It is likely that later Buddhist scholars incorporated this then attributed the details and the path particularly the insights at the time of liberation to have been discovered by the Buddha 95 Concentration Edit In the Theravada tradition samadhi is interpreted as concentration on a meditation object Buddhagosa defines samadhi as the centering of consciousness and consciousness concomitants evenly and rightly on a single object the state in virtue of which consciousness and its concomitants remain evenly and rightly on a single object undistracted and unscattered 97 According to Henepola Gunaratana in the suttas samadhi is defined as one pointedness of mind Cittass ekaggata 98 According to Bhikkhu Bodhi the right concentration factor is reaching a one pointedness of mind and unifying all mental factors but it is not the same as a gourmet sitting down to a meal or a soldier on the battlefield who also experience one pointed concentration The difference is that the latter have a one pointed object in focus with complete awareness directed to that object the meal or the target respectively In contrast right concentration meditative factor in Buddhism is a state of awareness without any object or subject and ultimately unto no thingness and emptiness as articulated in apophatic discourse Development into equanimity Edit Although often translated as concentration as in the limiting of the attention of the mind on one object in the fourth dhyana equanimity and mindfulness remain 99 and the practice of concentration meditation may well have been incorporated from non Buddhist traditions 100 Vetter notes that samadhi consists of the four stages of awakening but to put it more accurately the first dhyana seems to provide after some time a state of strong concentration from which the other stages come forth the second stage is called samadhija 92 Gombrich and Wynne note that while the second jhana denotes a state of absorption in the third and fourth jhana one comes out of this absorption being mindfully awareness of objects while being indifferent to it 101 According to Gombrich the later tradition has falsified the jhana by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated calming kind of meditation ignoring the other and indeed higher element Liberation Edit Following the Noble Eightfold Path leads to liberation in the form of nirvana 4 5 And what is that ancient path that ancient road traveled by the Rightly Self awakened Ones of former times Just this noble eightfold path right view right aspiration right speech right action right livelihood right effort right mindfulness right concentration That is the ancient path the ancient road traveled by the Rightly Self awakened Ones of former times I followed that path Following it I came to direct knowledge of aging amp death direct knowledge of the origination of aging amp death direct knowledge of the cessation of aging amp death direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of aging amp death I followed that path Following it I came to direct knowledge of birth becoming clinging craving feeling contact the six sense media name amp form consciousness direct knowledge of the origination of consciousness direct knowledge of the cessation of consciousness direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of consciousness I followed that path The Buddha Nagara Sutta Samyutta Nikaya ii 124 Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu 102 103 Practice EditOrder of practice Edit Vetter notes that originally the path culminated in the practice of dhyana samadhi as the core soteriological practice 7 According to the Pali and Chinese canon the samadhi state right concentration is dependent on the development of preceding path factors 27 104 105 The Blessed One said Now what monks is noble right concentration with its supports and requisite conditions Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors right view right resolve right speech right action right livelihood right effort and right mindfulness is called noble right concentration with its supports and requisite conditions Maha cattarisaka Sutta According to the discourses right view right resolve right speech right action right livelihood right effort and right mindfulness are used as the support and requisite conditions for the practice of right concentration Understanding of the right view is the preliminary role and is also the forerunner of the entire Noble Eightfold Path 27 106 According to the modern Theravada monk and scholar Walpola Rahula the divisions of the noble eightfold path are to be developed more or less simultaneously as far as possible according to the capacity of each individual They are all linked together and each helps the cultivation of the others 107 Bhikkhu Bodhi explains that these factors are not sequential but components and with a certain degree of progress all eight factors can be present simultaneously each supporting the others However until that point is reached some sequence in the unfolding of the path is inevitable 108 The stage in the Path where there is no more learning in Yogachara Abhidharma state Buswell and Gimello is identical to Nirvana or Buddhahood the ultimate goal in Buddhism 109 110 Sila samadhi prajna Edit The Noble Eightfold Path is sometimes divided into three basic divisions with right view and right intention concluding the sequence 111 Division Eightfold Path factorsMoral virtue 112 Sanskrit sila Pali sila 1 Right speech2 Right action3 Right livelihoodMeditation 112 Sanskrit and Pali samadhi 4 Right effort5 Right mindfulness6 Right concentrationInsight wisdom Sanskrit prajna Pali panna 7 Right view8 Right resolveThis order is a later development when discriminating insight prajna became central to Buddhist soteriology and came to be regarded as the culmination of the Buddhist path 92 Yet Majjhima Nikaya 117 Mahacattarisaka Sutta describes the first seven practices as requisites for right samadhi According to Vetter this may have been the original soteriological practice in early Buddhism 7 The moral virtues Sanskrit sila Pali sila group consists of three paths right speech right action and right livelihood 112 The word sila though translated by English writers as linked to morals or ethics states Bhikkhu Bodhi is in ancient and medieval Buddhist commentary tradition closer to the concept of discipline and disposition that leads to harmony at several levels social psychological karmic and contemplative Such harmony creates an environment to pursue the meditative steps in the Noble Eightfold Path by reducing social disorder preventing inner conflict that result from transgressions favoring future karma triggered movement through better rebirths and purifying the mind 113 The meditation group samadhi of the path progresses from moral restraints to training the mind 114 Right effort and mindfulness calm the mind body complex releasing unwholesome states and habitual patterns and encouraging the development of wholesome states and non automatic responses the bojjhaṅga seven factors of awakening The practice of dhyana reinforces these developments leading to upekkha equanimity and mindfulness 43 According to the Theravada commentarial tradition and the contemporary vipassana movement the goal in this group of the Noble Eightfold Path is to develop clarity and insight into the nature of reality dukkha anicca and anatta discard negative states and dispel avidya ignorance ultimately attaining nirvana 84 In the threefold division prajna insight wisdom is presented as the culmination of the path whereas in the eightfold division the path starts with correct knowledge or insight which is needed to understand why this path should be followed 115 Schools of Buddhism and their views of the Eightfold Path EditTheravada presentations of the path Edit Theravada Buddhism is a diverse tradition and thus includes different explanations of the path to awakening However the teachings of the Buddha are often encapsulated by Theravadins in the basic framework of the Four Noble Truths and the Eighthfold Path 116 117 Some Theravada Buddhists also follow the presentation of the path laid out in Buddhaghosa s Visuddhimagga This presentation is known as the Seven Purifications satta visuddhi 118 This schema and its accompanying outline of insight knowledges vipassana naṇa is used by modern influential Theravadin scholars such Mahasi Sayadaw in his The Progress of Insight and Nyanatiloka Thera in The Buddha s Path to Deliverance 119 120 Mahayana presentations of the path Edit Mahayana Buddhism is based principally upon the path of a Bodhisattva 121 A Bodhisattva refers to one who is on the path to buddhahood 122 The term Mahayana was originally a synonym for Bodhisattvayana or Bodhisattva Vehicle 123 124 125 In the earliest texts of Mahayana Buddhism the path of a bodhisattva was to awaken the bodhicitta 126 Between the 1st and 3rd century CE this tradition introduced the Ten Bhumi doctrine which means ten levels or stages of awakening 126 This development was followed by the acceptance that it is impossible to achieve Buddhahood in one current lifetime and the best goal is not nirvana for oneself but Buddhahood after climbing through the ten levels during multiple rebirths 127 Mahayana scholars then outlined an elaborate path for monks and laypeople and the path includes the vow to help teach Buddhist knowledge to other beings so as to help them cross samsara and liberate themselves once one reaches the Buddhahood in a future rebirth 121 One part of this path are the paramita perfections to cross over derived from the Jatakas tales of Buddha s numerous rebirths 128 129 The doctrine of the bodhisattva bhumis was also eventually merged with the Sarvastivada Vaibhaṣika schema of the five paths by the Yogacara school 130 This Mahayana five paths presentation can be seen in Asanga s Mahayanasaṃgraha 130 The Mahayana texts are inconsistent in their discussion of the paramitas and some texts include lists of two others four six ten and fifty two 131 132 133 The six paramitas have been most studied and these are 128 133 134 Dana paramita perfection of giving primarily to monks nuns and the Buddhist monastic establishment dependent on the alms and gifts of the lay householders in return for generating religious merit 135 some texts recommend ritually transferring the merit so accumulated for better rebirth to someone else Sila paramita perfection of morality it outlines ethical behaviour for both the laity and the Mahayana monastic community this list is similar to Sila in the Eightfold Path i e Right Speech Right Action Right Livelihood 136 Kṣanti paramita perfection of patience willingness to endure hardship Virya paramita perfection of vigour this is similar to Right Effort in the Eightfold Path 136 Dhyana paramita perfection of meditation this is similar to Right Concentration in the Eightfold Path Prajna paramita perfection of insight wisdom awakening to the characteristics of existence such as karma rebirths impermanence no self dependent origination and emptiness 133 137 this is complete acceptance of the Buddha teaching then conviction followed by ultimate realisation that dharmas are non arising 128 In Mahayana Sutras that include ten paramita the additional four perfections are skillful means vow power and knowledge 132 The most discussed paramita and the highest rated perfection in Mahayana texts is the Prajna paramita or the perfection of insight 132 This insight in the Mahayana tradition states Shōhei Ichimura has been the insight of non duality or the absence of reality in all things 138 139 East Asian Buddhism Edit East Asian Buddhism is influenced by both the classic Indian Buddhist presentations of the path such as the Eightfold Path as well as classic Indian Mahayana presentations such as that found in the Da zhidu lun 140 There are many different presentations of soteriology including numerous paths and vehicles yanas in the different traditions of East Asian Buddhism 141 There is no single dominant presentation In Zen Buddhism for example one can find outlines of the path such as the Two Entrances and Four Practices The Five ranks The Ten Ox Herding Pictures and The Three mysterious Gates of Linji Indo Tibetan Buddhism Edit In Indo Tibetan Buddhism the path to liberation is outlined in the genre known as Lamrim Stages of the Path All the various Tibetan schools have their own Lamrim presentations This genre can be traced to Atisa s 11th century A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment Bodhipathapradipa 142 Cognitive psychology EditThe noble eightfold path has been compared to cognitive psychology Gil Fronsdal says the right view factor can be interpreted to mean how one s mind views the world and how that leads to patterns of thought intention and actions 143 In contrast Peter Randall states that it is the seventh factor or right mindfulness that may be thought in terms of cognitive psychology wherein the change in thought and behavior are linked 144 See also EditBodhipakkhiyadhamma thirty seven qualities for awakening Four Right Exertions Mangala Sutta Trikaya body speech and mind Notes Edit One of those longer sequences from the CulaHatthipadopama sutta the Lesser Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant s Footprints is as follows 25 Dhammalsaddhalpabbajja A layman hears a Buddha teach the Dhamma comes to have faith in him and decides to take ordination as a monk sila He adopts the moral precepts indriyasamvara He practises guarding the six sense doors sati sampajanna He practises mindfulness and self possession actually described as mindfulness of the body kayanussatti jhana 1 He finds an isolated spot in which to meditate purifies his mind of the hindrances nwarana and attains the first rupa jhana jhana 2 He attains the second jhana jhana 3 He attains the third jhana jhana 4 He attains the fourth jhana pubbenivasanussati nana he recollects his many former existences in samsara sattanam cutupapata nana he observes the death and rebirth of beings according to their karmas dsavakkhaya nana He brings about the destruction of the dsavas cankers and attains a profound realization of as opposed to mere knowledge about the four noble truths vimutti He perceives that he is now liberated that he has done what was to be done A similar sequence can be found in the Samannaphala Sutta 26 According to Frauwallner mindfulness was a means to prevent the arising of craving which resulted simply from contact between the senses and their objects this may have been the Buddha s original idea 42 compare Buddhadasa Heartwood of the Bodhi tree on Pratityasamutpada and Grzegorz Polak 2011 Reexamining Jhana Towards a Critical Reconstruction of Early Buddhist Soteriology p 153 156 196 197 Vetter translates it as offering into the fire 48 a b Compare the stock sequence of a graduated talk and the distinctive teaching of the Awakened Ones Then the Blessed One gave a graduated talk to Upali the householder i e a talk on giving a talk on virtue a talk on heaven he proclaimed the drawbacks of degradation in amp defilement in sensuality and the rewards of renunciation Then when he knew that Upali the householder was of ready mind malleable mind unhindered mind exultant mind confident mind he proclaimed to him the distinctive teaching of the Awakened Ones stress origination cessation path Just as a white cloth with stains removed would rightly take dye in the same way there arose to Upali the householder in that very seat the dustless stainless Dhamma eye Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation Then having seen the Dhamma having reached the Dhamma known the Dhamma gained a footing in the Dhamma having crossed over amp beyond doubt having had no more questioning Upali the householder gained fearlessness and was independent of others with regard to the Teacher s message 50 See the CulaHatthipadopama sutta the Lesser Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant s Footprints and the Samannaphala Sutta The formula is repeated in other sutras for example the Sacca vibhanga Sutta MN 141 And what is right mindfulness Here the monk remains contemplating the body as body resolute aware and mindful having put aside worldly desire and sadness he remains contemplating feelings as feelings he remains contemplating mental states as mental states he remains contemplating mental objects as mental objects resolute aware and mindful having put aside worldly desire and sadness This is called right mindfulness 63 70 From The Way of Mindfulness The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary Soma Thera 1998 For the dull witted man of the theorizing type ditthi carita it is convenient to see consciousness citta in the fairly simple way it is set forth in this discourse by way of impermanence aniccata and by way of such divisions as mind with lust saragadi vasena in order to reject the notion of permanence nicca sanna in regard to consciousness Consciousness is a special condition visesa karana for the wrong view due to a basic belief in permanence niccanti abhinivesa vatthutaya ditthiya The contemplation on consciousness the Third Arousing of Mindfulness is the Path to Purity of this type of man 89 For the keen witted man of the theorizing type it is convenient to see mental objects or things dhamma according to the manifold way set forth in this discourse by way of perception sense impression and so forth nivaranadi vasena in order to reject the notion of a soul atta sanna in regard to mental things Mental things are special conditions for the wrong view due to a basic belief in a soul attanti abhinivesa vatthutaya ditthiya For this type of man the contemplation on mental objects the Fourth Arousing of Mindfulness is the Path to Purity 89 Vetter and Bronkhorst note that the path starts with right view which includes insight into anicca dukkha and anatta Note how kayanupassana vedananupassana and cittanupassana resemble the five skandhas and the chain of causation as described in the middle part of Pratityasamutpada while dhammanupassana refers to mindfulness as retention calling into mind the beneficial dhammas which are applied to analyse phenomena and counter the arising of disturbing thoughts and emotions Gethin The sutta is often read today as describing a pure form of insight vipassana meditation that bypasses calm samatha meditation and the four absorptions jhana as outlined in the description of the Buddhist path found for example in the Samannaphala Sutta The earlier tradition however seems not to have always read it this way associating accomplishment in the exercise of establishing mindfulness with abandoning of the five hindrances and the first absorption 26 Original publication Gombrich Richard 2007 Religious Experience in Early Buddhism OCHS Library Original publication Gombrich Richard 2007 Religious Experience in Early Buddhism OCHS Library References Edit Brekke Torkel The Religious Motivation of the Early Buddhists Journal of the American Academy of Religion Vol 67 No 4 Dec 1999 p 860 Gethin 1998 pp 81 83 a b c Anderson 2013 pp 64 65 a b Lopez 2009 p 136 137 a b Stephen J Laumakis 2008 An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy Cambridge University Press pp 150 151 ISBN 978 1 139 46966 1 Vetter 1988 pp 11 14 a b c d e f g h Vetter 1988 Bronkhorst 1993 Raju 1985 pp 147 51 Eliot 2014 pp 39 41 Harvey 2016 p 253 55 Williams Tribe amp Wynne 2012 p 52 a b Harvey Peter 2000 An introduction to Buddhist ethics foundations values and issues Cambridge Cambridge Univ Press pp 123 24 ISBN 0 521 55394 6 Williams 2002 p 41 Buswell amp Lopez 2003 p 66 Williams 2002 p 52 Buswell 2004 p 296 Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche 2007 Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness Snow Lion p 80 ISBN 978 1 55939 973 9 a b c Thomas William Rhys Davids William Stede 1921 Pali English Dictionary Motilal Banarsidass pp 695 96 ISBN 978 81 208 1144 7 Mkhas grub Dge legs dpal bzaṅ po Jose Ignacio Cabezon 1992 A Dose of Emptiness An Annotated Translation of the sTong thun chen mo of mKhas grub dGe legs dpal bzang State University of New York Press p 214 ISBN 978 0 7914 0729 5 Chogyam Trungpa 2010 The Heart of the Buddha Shambhala Publications p 119 ISBN 978 0 8348 2125 5 Lopez 1995 p 159 Hirakawa 1990 p 41 Bucknell 1984 Bucknell 1984 p 11 12 a b c Gethin Rupert Sayings of the Buddha New Translations from the Pali Nikayas Oxford World s Classics 2008 p 142 a b c d e Thanissaro Bhikkhu Maha cattarisaka Sutta Access to Insight Retrieved 6 May 2008 Taishō Tripiṭaka Vol 2 No 99 Sutra 785 Cbeta Archived from the original on 23 September 2008 Retrieved 28 October 2008 Choong 2000 p 141 Fuller 2005 p 55 56 a b Vetter 1988 pp 12 77 79 a b Velez de Cea 2013 p 54 a b Wei hsun Fu amp Wawrytko 1994 p 194 a b Vetter 1988 p 77 a b c d e f Harvey 2013 pp 83 84 a b c d e f Harvey 2013 p 83 Right Speech samma vaca www accesstoinsight org Retrieved 29 January 2023 Vetter 1988 p 12 13 a b Analayo 2013 Satipatthana Windhorse Publications sense restraint which in fact constitutes an aspect of right effort a b Gethin 2003 p 32 a b Gethin 2003 p 43 a b Williams 2000 p 45 a b Polak 2011 Gunaratana 2001 p 11 a b Chryssides amp Wilkins 2006 p 249 Sujato 2012 p 304 Sujato Bhikku Digha Nikaya The Long Discourses SuttaCentral p 213 Vetter 1988 p 12 with footnote 4 Bikkhu Sujato Mahacattarisakasutta The Great Forty Majjhima Nikaya 56 Upalivada Sutta translation Thanissaro Bhikkhu Gethin The Buddhist Path to Awakening Keren Arbel Early Buddhist Meditation a b Analayo 2011 p 13 14 a b c Bhikkhu Bodhi The Noble Eightfold Path The Way to the End of Suffering Access to Insight Retrieved 10 July 2010 Fuller 2005 p 56 Bhikkhu Bodhi 2005 In the Buddha s Words An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon Wisdom Publications pp 147 446 with note 9 ISBN 978 0 86171 996 9 Richard Gombrich 2009 pp 27 28 103 09 Keown 2000 pp 59 96 97 Gombrich What the Buddha Thought Ajahn Brahm 27 May 2018 Word of the Buddha Vetter 1988 pp 12 13 Thanissaro Bhikkhu 2005 Saccavibhanga Sutta Access to Insight a b Damien Keown Charles S Prebish 2013 Encyclopedia of Buddhism Routledge p 333 ISBN 978 1 136 98588 1 a b c d Thanissaro Bhikkhu Saccavibhanga Sutta Access to Insight Retrieved 6 May 2008 a b c d Thanissaro Bhikkhu 1997 Samannaphala Sutta Access to Insight Kalupahana 1992 p 105 a b c d Thanissaro Bhikkhu Abhaya Sutta Access to Insight Retrieved 6 May 2008 a b Kalupahana 1992 pp 50 52 Kalupahana 1992 p 50 52 a b J Ganeri 2007 The Concealed Art of the Soul Theories of Self and Practices of Truth in Indian Ethics and Epistemology Oxford University Press pp 47 48 ISBN 978 0 19 920241 6 a b c d e Roderick Bucknell Chris Kang 2013 The Meditative Way Readings in the Theory and Practice of Buddhist Meditation Routledge pp 12 13 ISBN 978 1 136 80408 3 Christopher Gowans 2004 Philosophy of the Buddha An Introduction Routledge pp 177 78 ISBN 978 1 134 46973 4 Purusottama Bilimoria Joseph Prabhu Renuka M Sharma 2007 Indian Ethics Classical traditions and contemporary challenges Ashgate Publishing pp 311 24 ISBN 978 0 7546 3301 3 John Arapura 2003 K R Sundararajan amp Bithika Mukerji ed Hindu Spirituality Postclassical and Modern Motilal Banarsidass pp 392 417 ISBN 978 81 208 1937 5 a b c Vetter 1988 p 12 Thanissaro Bhikkhu Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta Access to Insight Retrieved 6 May 2008 Christopher Gowans 2015 Steven M Emmanuel ed A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy John Wiley amp Sons p 440 ISBN 978 1 119 14466 3 Andrew Powell 1989 Living Buddhism University of California Press p 24 ISBN 978 0 520 20410 2 David L Weddle 2010 Miracles Wonder and Meaning in World Religions New York University Press p 118 ISBN 978 0 8147 9483 8 Rahula 2007 p 53 Martine Batchelor 2014 The Spirit of the Buddha Yale University Press p 59 ISBN 978 0 300 17500 4 Quote These five trades O monks should not be taken up by a lay follower trading with weapons trading in living beings trading in meat trading in intoxicants trading in poison Harvey 2013 pp 273 74 Chip Hartranft spring 2011 Did the Buddha Teach Satipatthana Archived 4 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine Buddhist Inquiry Sharf 2014 pp 942 43 a b Kevin Trainor 2004 Buddhism The Illustrated Guide Oxford University Press p 74 ISBN 978 0 19 517398 7 Gethin 2003 p 37 38 Gethin 2003 p 39 42 J Mark G Williams Jon Kabat Zinn 2013 Mindfulness Diverse Perspectives on Its Meaning Origins and Applications Routledge pp 21 27 ISBN 978 1 317 98514 3 Thera 2013 a b Bodhi Bhikkhu Thera Soma 1998 The Way of Mindfulness The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary Retrieved 27 May 2016 Polak 2011 pp 153 56 196 97 Sharf 2014 p 941 a b c Vetter 1988 p 13 Johannes Bronkhorst 2009 Buddhist Teaching in India Simon and Schuster pp 10 17 ISBN 978 0 86171 566 4 Johannes Bronkhorst 2009 Buddhist Teaching in India Simon and Schuster pp 16 17 ISBN 978 0 86171 566 4 a b c Johannes Bronkhorst 2009 Buddhist Teaching in India Simon and Schuster pp 17 19 ISBN 978 0 86171 566 4 Oliver Freiberger 2006 Asceticism and Its Critics Historical Accounts and Comparative Perspectives Oxford University Press pp 249 51 ISBN 978 0 19 971901 3 Visudimagga 84 85 full citation needed Henepola Gunaratana 1995 The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation Bronkhorst 1993 p 63 Bronkhorst 1993 pp 53 70 Gombrich Richard 1997 Religious Experience in Early Buddhism Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies Retrieved 31 March 2022 Thanissaro Bhikkhu Nagara Sutta Access to Insight Retrieved 6 May 2008 Samyukta Agama sutra no 287 Taisho vol 2 p 80 Cbeta Archived from the original on 23 September 2008 Retrieved 27 October 2008 Madhyama Agama Taishō Tripiṭaka Vol 1 No 26 sutra 31 分別聖諦經第十一 Cbeta Archived from the original on 22 November 2008 Retrieved 28 October 2008 unknown Taishō Tripiṭaka Cbeta 1 32 814 Archived from the original on 22 November 2008 Retrieved 28 October 2008 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite uses generic title help Madhyama Agama Taishō Tripiṭaka Vol 1 No 26 sutra 189 中阿含雙品 聖道經第三 Cbeta Archived from the original on 22 November 2008 Retrieved 27 October 2008 Rahula 46 Bhikkhu Bodhi The Noble Eightfold Path The Way to the End of Suffering Buddhist Publication Society p 14 Retrieved 6 May 2008 Buswell amp Gimello 1994 p 204 Rinpoche Karma raṅ byuṅ kun khyab phrin las 1986 The Dharma That Illuminates All Beings Impartially Like the Light of the Sun and Moon State University of New York Press pp 32 33 ISBN 978 0 88706 156 1 Quote There are various ways of examining the Complete Path For example we can speak of Five Paths constituting its different levels the Path of Accumulation the Path of Application the Path of Seeing the Path of Meditation and the Path of No More Learning or Buddhahood Prebish 2000 p 40 a b c Harvey 2013 p 83 84 Spiro 1982 p 44 48 Spiro 1982 p 44 53 Anderson 2013 Crosby Kate 2013 Theravada Buddhism Continuity Diversity and Identity p 113 114 John Wiley amp Sons See for example the presentation of the path in Henepola Gunaratana 2011 Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness Walking the Buddha s Path Simon and Schuster Shankman Richard 2008 The Experience of Samadhi An In depth Exploration of Buddhist Meditation p 53 Shambhala Publications Mahasi Sayadaw 1994 The Progress of Insight A Treatise on Satipatthana Meditation p vii Buddhist Publication Society Nyanatiloka Thera 2010 The Buddha s Path to Deliverance A Systematic Exposition in the Words of the Sutta Piṭaka p 42 Buddhist Publication Society a b Nattier 2003 pp 137 138 142 146 Gyatso 1995 p 1 Nattier 2003 p 174 Hirakawa 1993 p 297 Conze 2001 p 2001 a b Robinson amp Johnson 1997 p 99 Nattier 2003 pp 142 152 a b c Robinson amp Johnson 1997 pp 101 102 Buswell 2004 pp 631 632 a b Watanabe Chikafumi 2000 A Study of Mahayanasamgraha III The Relation of Practical Theories and Philosophical Theories Ph D dissertation The University of Calgary pp 38 40 Nattier 2003 pp 151 154 a b c Keown 2003 p 212 a b c Shōhei Ichimura 2001 Buddhist Critical Spirituality Prajna and Sunyata Motilal Banarsidass pp 28 29 with footnotes 56 57 ISBN 978 81 208 1798 2 Gyatso 1995 pp 4 12 Buswell 2004 p 196 a b Kōgen Mizuno Gaynor Sekimori 1996 Essentials of Buddhism basic terminology and concepts of Buddhist philosophy and practice Kōsei pp 28 29 ISBN 978 4 333 01683 9 Buswell 2004 pp 631 632 664 665 809 Shōhei Ichimura 2001 Buddhist Critical Spirituality Prajna and Sunyata Motilal Banarsidass p 114 ISBN 978 81 208 1798 2 Carl Olson 2005 The Different Paths of Buddhism A Narrative Historical Introduction Rutgers University Press pp 154 155 ISBN 978 0 8135 3778 8 Robert E Buswell Robert M Gimello 1992 Paths to Liberation The Marga and Its Transformations in Buddhist Thought pp 313 314 Studies in East Asian Buddhism University of Hawaii Press Robert E Buswell Robert M Gimello 1992 Paths to Liberation The Marga and Its Transformations in Buddhist Thought p 316 Studies in East Asian Buddhism University of Hawaii Press Stages of the Path Lamrim Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron Gil Fronsdal 5 December 2006 The Dhammapada A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic with Annotations Shambhala Publications Inc ISBN 9780834823808 Retrieved 14 July 2009 Peter Randall 2013 The Psychology of Feeling Sorry The Weight of the Soul Routledge pp 206 208 ISBN 978 1 136 17026 3 Sources EditPrimary sources Edit Bodhi Bhikkhu 1999 The Noble Eightfold Path The Way to the End of Suffering Retrieved 4 July 2006 Carter John Ross and Palihawadana Mahinda tr Buddhism The Dhammapada New York History Book Club 1992 Nanamoli Thera tr amp Bhikkhu Bodhi ed rev 1991 The Discourse on Right View The Sammaditthi Sutta and its Commentary Archived 10 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Wheel Publication No 377 379 includes translations of MN 9 and the associated commentary from the Papancasudani Kandy Buddhist Publication Society Retrieved 22 September 2007 from Access to Insight 1994 Nyanasobhano Bhikkhu 1989 Two Dialogues on Dhamma Archived 25 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine Wheel No 363 364 Kandy BPS Retrieved 4 February 2008 from Access to Insight 2005 Rahula Walpola What the Buddha Taught New York Grove Press 1974 ISBN 0 8021 3031 3 Rewata Dhamma The First Discourse of the Buddha Somerville Massachusetts Wisdom Publications 1997 ISBN 0 86171 104 1 Snelling John The Buddhist Handbook A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools Teaching Practice and History Rochester Inner Traditions 1991 ISBN Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series SLTP n d Avijjavaggo Archived 20 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine SN 44 Sinhalese ed ch 1 in Pali Retrieved on 16 July 2007 from Mettanet Lanka Secondary sources Edit Analayo Bhikkhu 2011 Right View and the Scheme of the Four Truths in Early Buddhism The Samyukta agama Parallel to the Sammadimmhi sutta and the Simile of the Four Skills of a Physician Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies 7 Anderson Carol 2013 Pain and Its Ending The Four Noble Truths in the Theravada Buddhist Canon Routledge ISBN 978 1 136 81325 2 Alexander Berzin 2007 The Eightfold Noble Path Archived 1 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine Bronkhorst Johannes 1993 The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India Motilal Banarsidass Publ Bucknell Rod 1984 The Buddhist to Liberation An Analysis of the Listing of Stages The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 7 2 Bucknell Roderick amp Stuart Fox Martin 1986 The Twilight Language Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism Curzon Press London ISBN 0 312 82540 4 Buswell Robert E 2004 Encyclopedia of Buddhism A L Macmillan Reference ISBN 978 0 02 865719 6 Bhikkhu Bodhi 1998 The Noble Eightfold Path Way to the End of Suffering PDF Buddhist Publication Society ISBN 9789552401169 Buswell Robert E Jr Gimello Robert M eds 1994 Paths to Liberation The Marga and its Transformations in Buddhist Thought Delhi Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Buswell Robert E Jr Lopez Donald Jr 2003 The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism Princeton University Press Choong Mun keat 2000 The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism A Comparative Study Based on the Sutranga Portion of the Pali Samyutta Nikaya and the Chinese Samyuktagama Otto Harrassowitz Verlag Chryssides George Wilkins Margaret 2006 A Reader in New Religious Movements A amp C Black ISBN 978 0 8264 6167 4 Conze Edward 2001 The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and its Verse Summary Grey Fox Press ISBN 978 0 87704 049 1 Eliot Charles 2014 Japanese Buddhism Routledge ISBN 978 1 317 79274 1 Fuller Paul 2005 The Notion of Ditthi in Theravada Buddhism RoutledgeCurzon Gethin Rupert 1998 Foundations of Buddhism Oxford University Press Gethin R M L 2003 1992 The Buddhist Path to Awakening OneWorld Publications Richard Gombrich 2009 What the Buddha thought Equinox ISBN 978 1 84553 614 5 Gunaratana Henepola 2001 Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness Walking the Buddha s Path Wisdom Publications ISBN 0 86171 176 9 Gyatso Geshe Kelsang 1995 Introduction to Buddhism An Explanation of the Buddhist Way of Life Tharpa Publications ISBN 978 0 9789067 7 1 Harvey Graham 2016 Religions in Focus New Approaches to Tradition and Contemporary Practices Routledge Harvey Peter 2013 An Introduction to Buddhism Cambridge University Press Hirakawa Akira 1990 A History of Indian Buddhism From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana University of Hawai i Press hdl 10125 23030 Hirakawa Akira 1993 Groner Paul ed A History of Indian Buddhism From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana translated by Groner Paul Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0955 0 archived from the original on 11 January 2023 retrieved 10 July 2016 Kalupahana David J 1992 A history of Buddhist philosophy Delhi Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited Keown Damien 2000 Buddhism A Very Short Introduction Kindle ed Oxford University Press Keown Damien 2003 Dictionary of Buddhism Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 157917 2 Kohn Michael H tr The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen Boston Shambhala 1991 Lopez Donald S 1995 Buddhism in Practice PDF Princeton University Press ISBN 0 691 04442 2 Lopez Donald jr 2009 Buddhism and Science A Guide for the Perplexed University of Chicago Press Nattier Jan 2003 A Few Good Men The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra Ugrapariprccha University of Hawai i Press ISBN 978 0 8248 2607 9 Niimi J Buddhism and Cognitive Science Retrieved 8 July 2006 Thera Nyanaponika 30 November 2013 The Power of Mindfulness An Inquiry into the Scope of Bare Attention and the Principal Sources of its Strength Access to Insight Retrieved 5 August 2019 Polak Grzegorz 2011 Reexamining Jhana Towards a Critical Reconstruction of Early Buddhist Soteriology UMCS Prebish Charles 2000 From Monastic Ethics to Modern Society In Keown Damien ed Contemporary Buddhist Ethics Routledge Curzon Rahula Walpola 2007 What the Buddha Taught Grove Press Raju P T 1985 Structural Depths of Indian Thought State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0 88706 139 4 Robinson Richard H Johnson Willard L 1997 Buddhist Religions A Historical Introduction 4th ed Wadsworth Publishing ISBN 978 0 534 55858 1 Sharf Robert M 2014 Mindfulness and mindlessness in early Chan PDF Philosophy East and West 64 4 933 964 doi 10 1353 pew 2014 0074 S2CID 144208166 Spiro Melford E 1982 Buddhism and Society A Great Tradition and Its Burmese Vicissitudes University of California Press Sujato Bhante 2012 A History of Mindfulness PDF Santipada ISBN 9781921842092 Velez de Cea J Abraham 2013 The Buddha and Religious Diversity Routledge ISBN 978 1 135 10039 1 Vetter Tilmann 1988 The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism BRILL ISBN 90 04 08959 4 Wei hsun Fu Charles Wawrytko Sandra Ann 1994 Buddhist Behavioral Codes and the Modern World An International Symposium Greenwood ISBN 978 0 313 28890 6 Williams Paul 2000 Mahayana Buddhism The Doctrinal Foundations Routledge Williams Paul 2002 Buddhist Thought Kindle ed Taylor amp Francis Williams Paul Tribe Anthony Wynne Alexander 2012 Buddhist Thought Routledge ISBN 978 1 136 52088 4 Web sources a b Victor Gunasekara The Payasi Sutta A Commentary and Analysis Archived 26 January 2017 at the Wayback MachineExternal links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Noble Eightfold Path The Path to Peace and Freedom for the Mind by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo The Craft of the Heart by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo A Handful of Leaves by Tillmann VETTER and E J BRILL LEIDEN NEW YORK K0BENHA VN KOLN 1988 Vetter p cm Translated from Dutch with revisions Bibliography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Noble Eightfold Path amp oldid 1148593148 Right livelihood, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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