Hello,
This is Mark Balser.
I'm looking forward to sharing a guided meditation with you on the Buddha's Eightfold Path,
Or the Middle Way.
As I introduce the practice,
You might let your eyes close,
Bringing awareness to what's happening in this moment as you rest on your seat or lie down on the floor.
It's said that the Buddha's first teaching upon realizing enlightenment was the Four Noble Truths.
There is suffering.
There is a cause of suffering.
There is an end to suffering.
And fortunately,
There is a path to the end of suffering.
This path to the end of suffering is the Eightfold Path.
The Buddha offered eight components of this path.
They included tools of moral conduct,
Right speech,
Right action,
And right livelihood.
They included tools of mental discipline,
Right effort,
Right mindfulness,
Right concentration.
And they included tools of wisdom,
Right thought or intention,
And right understanding or view.
Together,
These elements of the Eightfold Path make up a fierce practice.
They can be practiced regardless of the context or situation.
Much like a loving kindness or compassion meditation,
You'll be invited to repeat phrases silently and slowly.
These repeated phrases are about our intentions for each of the elements of the Eightfold Path.
May I practice right speech?
May I practice right action?
And so on.
I'll share some reflections and put some space between those intentions so you can repeat them silently or bring to mind images of what it might look like in your life or what it might feel like to realize each intention,
Each aspiration.
And if you find yourself lost in thought or carried away in an emotion,
No need to worry.
Just come back to the intentions,
The phrases,
Repeating them silently.
We'll begin.
On this Eightfold Path,
May I practice right speech?
May I speak truth,
Avoid gossip,
Lies and abusive language?
May I practice right speech?
Let yourself breathe in this intention.
Let it become part of your experience.
May I practice right speech?
May I practice right speech?
On this Eightfold Path,
May I practice right action?
May I behave peacefully and honorably?
May I avoid the creation of suffering from stealing,
Harming,
From overindulgence?
May I practice right action?
May I practice right action?
As you repeat each of these phrases,
You might note what images come into mind,
What thoughts or feelings.
Being aware of them and letting them be as they are.
May I practice right action?
On this Eightfold Path,
May I practice right livelihood?
May I earn a living and practice my vocation righteously?
Understanding unethical,
Illegal or harmful activities for myself and others?
May I practice right livelihood?
May I practice right livelihood?
On this Eightfold Path,
May I practice right effort?
May I bring an intention to cultivate wholesome and healthy states?
May I abandon and prevent unwholesome and unhealthy states?
May I practice right effort?
May I practice right effort?
On this Eightfold Path,
May I practice right mindfulness?
May I see things as they are and not how I want them to be?
May I see things as they are without succumbing to grasping,
Aversion or delusion?
May I practice right mindfulness?
May I practice right mindfulness?
As you repeat each of these phrases,
Let them flow into your body,
Arriving at the area of the heart,
Joining with your experience.
May I practice right mindfulness?
On this Eightfold Path,
May I practice right concentration,
Developing one-pointedness of the mind,
Growing my awareness and consciousness in the service of all beings?
May I practice right concentration?
May I practice right concentration?
On this Eightfold Path,
May I practice right understanding?
May I understand the ever-changing impermanence of our experience,
Tapping into the nature of reality and the path of transformation?
May I practice right understanding?
May I practice right understanding?
On this Eightfold Path,
May I practice right thought,
Right intention,
Acting with love and compassion,
Harnessing a gentle heart and an empathetic mind?
May I practice right thought?
May I practice right thought?
May I practice right thought?
And recognizing that the Eightfold Path is a path of intention,
Of aspiration,
Inviting us to come back when we wander,
Letting us share wisdom and compassion and the benefits of these practices with all beings known and unknown to us.
And in these closing moments of practice,
You might bring your attention back to this moment,
This place.
Perhaps coming aware of the breath in the body,
Letting it guide you to the here and the now.
As I breathe in and out,
I arrive at the only real moment I have,
The present moment.
And setting an intention to continue this meditation after opening the eyes and re-entering the world so that we might share the gifts of the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths with all beings everywhere.
