BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism The Eightfold Path

I have had a great time discussing this general topic on other Buddhist fora, and i thought we could perhaps open it as a good topic of discussion here.
i'd love to have your feedback....
In order to remember the Eight Spokes of the Wheel, I created my own acronym:
Right V.I.S.A.B.E.A.M.
These stand for, View, Intention, Speech, Action, Business (or livelihood) Effort, Awareness and Meditation (or Mindfulness.)
A lady referred to them as Right Everything, which really just about covers it....
The main theme of discussion has been to first of all define what each aspect or "spoke" means to you, and secondly, how you incorporate it, or more appropriately perhaps, how you Live it, in your day-to-day Buddhist practise.

So we can therefore begin with Right View....

Right View is the one from which the others spread, although strictly speaking, none of them occupies pole position, per se.... they're all interdependent....

What is Right View to you?

How do you incorporate it into your Life?

I grew up going to a buddhist "sunday school" where we recited the eight-fold path every Sunday. I now take my 4 yo son and am still reciting it every Sunday. ;o)

We learned "Right View" as "Right Understanding - We should learn and try to understand the Truth".

For me, I think the ultimate truth is probably wordless. But there are truths and hidden truths all around us everyday. For instance, I don't believe everything I hear/read on the news. I think that if we believed everything we read/viewed, our view would not be "right". The actual "truth" for that story may be actually unattainable. And that probably applies to our personal relationships up to a certain point too.

I also try to stay focused on buddhist principles in good times and bad. "Life is transitory"..."Life is suffering"...I think by just trying to understand these concepts, I have a better perspective of things.

Gee, this is a loaded question. It's very difficult for me to put into words what rolls around in my head. ;o)

Actually, it's very simple.

But then, "simple" doesn't mean "easy".... <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

LoL! So true. It's simple, but it involves everything.

Right View, to me is seeing things exactly as they are...
There are three ways in which events manifest:
Positively, Negatively or Neutrally.
And we respond to them in three ways:
Through what we think, through what we say and through what we do....

So in Right View, we first of all appraise whether something is Positve, Negative or Neutral.... how we react is then subject to our Point of View...
and our Point of View nestles in the knowledge that everything is transitory. Nothing is permanent, and that feelings arise: we observe them, we appraise them, we discover their effect on us and then we let them go....

Or Right View enables us to remain in the Present Moment.

Serenely and in contentment.

Life unfolds. We do with it what we will.

It has just occurred to me (a bit late in the day, I know!) that a lot of people viewing this thread won't have the foggiest idea what all this is about.
So, to briefly (and I do mean BRIEFLY!!) outline the point of this discussion, it really would probably be a good thing to give an outline of the intital foundation of the Eightfold Path.
The eightfold path is a series of guidelines, laid before people to utilise in the best way they can, to improve their own lives, and in turn maybe the lives of others. The eightfold Path rests on the Foundations of the Four Noble Truths - the clarity and insight which prompted the enlightened Buddha to see life as it is... the basis and fundamental fact behind his teachings....

The four noble truths:

1. All lives are dominated by �suffering�. There is suffering of suffering, and the suffering of �unsatisfactoriness�.

Suffering of suffering: This is the physical suffering. Illness, depression, anxiety, sadness, addiction�.
Suffering of unsatisfactoriness: This is the suffering of �having it all, but wanting more� in the delusional hope that it will make things perfect.

2. This suffering is caused by man kind�s constant craving for physical and psychological desires.

3. The way to end suffering is to eliminate craving.

4. By following the Eightfold Path we can eliminate craving.

What is the eightfold path?
1. Right View: To thoroughly understand the Four Noble Truths and not be deceived by appearances of desires.
2. Right Intention: Thoughts free from lust, thoughts free from ill-will, and thoughts free from cruelty.
3. Right Speech: Avoid idle or abusive language, to abstain from harsh language, do not lie, to abstain from vain talk.
4. Right Action: Do not kill or hurt anyone, do not steal, do not commit sexual wrong doing, abstain from intoxicants or mind altering drugs.
5. Right Business/Livelihood: Avoid all types of occupation that would harm any living beings.
6. Right Effort: Try your best to live by right ideas and work on ending the mental defilements of greed, hatred, and self-delusion, replacing them with charity, love and understanding.
7. Right Awareneness: This is probably the most important and profound aspect of Buddhist mental development and includes a variety of different meditation practices and techniques varied according to one�s individual spiritual needs and personality structure and include developing awareness of unconscious motives and impulses.
8. Right Meditation/Concentration: The Buddha taught and millions have discovered, that the way to calm one�s mind and eliminate craving is through regular meditation practice.

The above is an extremely brief and simplistic synopsis of both the Four Noble Truths, and the eightfold path. This is why discussion of each one in detail, will enable a further and deeper understanding of them.

Alexandra, can you exlain to me the major differences [if any!] between Tibetan Buddhism and other forms?

I am very interested in this subject and would like to learn more.

Peace and love!

Phew, patience! That's a huge question, and not one that I really feel either qualified or adequately informed to answer...
Have a look at the link I've pasted... Wikipedia is brilliantly informative... I can also provide links, if you'd like, to other sites which would be both insrtructive and informative...
The one thing I love about Buddhism is that ultimately, whatever you find before you, you always have choices.... nothing is scribed in stone, insofar as what you do with your life, is concerned. There are no 'commandments' there is no retribution, punishment, or promises of better things to come, if you behave in such-and-such a way. Yet it is wondefully all encompassing and truly liberating.

With Metta,
Alexandra.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_Buddhism

Thanks alexandra, I'll have a look!

Would anyone like to come in and discuss 'Right View', further (or indeed, anything else of the above) or should we move on th 'Right Intention'....?