Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path is the method suggested in the Buddha;’s Fourth Noble Truth as means to overcome the cause of our suffering and unhappiness. This meditation includes an insightful explanation of Buddha's Noble Eightfold path, with a number of intermittent periods of peaceful piano music, for you to reflect and contemplate the concepts that have been presented. In this session there will be particular focus on Moral Conduct, which comprises Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood.

Transcript

Dear friends,

Welcome to this explanation and time for reflection on aspects of the Noble Eightfold Path proposed by the Buddha.

The Eightfold Path consists of practices which are recommended in order to free ourselves from suffering.

The eight headings can be divided into three groupings.

Group one is moral conduct.

This involves right speech,

Right action and right livelihood.

Group two can be described as mental discipline which covers right effort,

Right mindfulness and right concentration.

And group three deals with wisdom,

In other words right understanding and right thought.

In this session we will look at group one,

Moral conduct,

Which is right speech,

Right action and right livelihood.

It helps to study and consider these eight principles individually but I think you will find that it is neither necessary nor desirable that they be practiced either separately or simply one after the other.

The virtues and practices proposed by the Buddha are interrelated and they support each other.

Insofar as we can we should try to work on them all and as we attempt that general approach we will see that each practice helps the other along.

But before we begin let us bring ourselves to a state of rest,

Letting go of the concerns of the day and providing space for the quietness in which our inspiration can flourish.

So please ensure that you are in a comfortable position,

Perhaps a favorite place where you meditate regularly or maybe it's a newly found corner where you've just taken up the practice.

Whoever you are,

Wherever you are on life's journey,

Wherever you find yourself in the search for meaning and purpose,

You are welcome here.

Let's take a few deep breaths,

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Breathing in the good air,

Breathing it in with gratitude,

Breathing out and letting go of the concerns that usually occupy our minds,

Breathing in and being aware that we are breathing in,

Here and now,

Breathing out and being aware that we are here and now breathing out.

Our breath bringing us to a quiet place of peace and calm.

Let's take a minute to allow our minds and our bodies to meet in this special place.

So a few thoughts about moral or ethical conduct before breaking this heading into its three parts.

The Buddha teaches love and compassion for all beings.

This is not exclusively a Buddhist principle.

The golden rule whereby we are urged to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves is a principle common to all the major religions of the world and it is a principle recognized by believers and unbelievers alike.

As the Dhammapada puts it,

For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time.

Hatred ceases by love.

This is an unalterable law.

Ethical conduct is the lubricant which enables us to live harmoniously in society.

Ethical conduct is the measure by which we can assess the degree to which we can properly describe our human community on earth as a civilization.

Ethical conduct is the door to peace,

The pathway to happiness.

The Noble Eightfold Path looks at ethical conduct under three headings.

Right speech,

Right action and right livelihood and we will now take a look at each of these in turn with a pause for reflection between each.

So we begin with right speech.

Speech has a frightening power for good or ill.

Speech is hardly ever neutral.

Words can inspire the most heroic action or they can encourage us to participate in the most inhuman activities.

One word can start a war.

Many careful and patient words are necessary to bring a war to an end.

Words can bring out the best or the worst in us.

So we need to take great care when making use of the gift of speech.

It has been suggested that before we speak it is useful to see if what we propose to say will pass through these three gates.

Is it true?

Is it necessary?

Is it kind?

In the heat of the moment it can be hard to put a break on what we wish to blurt out.

We are caught up in the excitement of conversation.

We have the tendency to want to bring our piece to the mix of what is under discussion.

We want to add something which will produce a laugh,

A reaction in our listeners.

So we jump in with a smart remark,

The gossip,

The exaggeration,

The unkind word.

Sometimes to our shame when we think back over the conversation we realized that it was lacking in kindness,

Lacking in truth and maybe even unnecessary in the first place.

So how to remember to keep a check on our speech?

We've each been given two ears and only one mouth and this physical reality might act as a reminder to us that we should listen more and speak less.

Words once issued cannot be called back.

When we speak a stone has been dropped in the water,

A wave has been set in motion,

We have no idea as to the shoreline where it will finally reach land.

Right speech means that we refrain from telling lies,

From backbiting,

Slander and talk that might encourage hatred,

Disunity and disharmony.

Right speech means that we avoid harsh,

Judgmental,

Rude,

Malicious and abusive language,

That we desist from idle chatter,

Useless and foolish gossip.

In place of harmful words we can make it our policy to be friendly,

Welcoming and kind,

Pleasant,

Gentle to be around,

Someone whose presence is helpful and beneficial.

Ethical conduct requires that we try to be more careful in our speech,

Saying the right thing at the right time and maintaining noble silence if we do not have something positive to offer.

We have all failed to reach the standard that we are seeking but now is an opportunity to renew our commitment to the ideal that is offered to us under the heading Right Speech.

Let's now take time for reflection on this.

Our second reflection is on the subject of right action.

Our actions are our only true possessions.

All our actions have consequences and we cannot escape the consequences of our actions.

Where we are today is the result of actions which we have taken in the earlier part of our lives.

This does not mean that we beat ourselves up in respect of past mistakes.

We all make mistakes,

We have all made mistakes.

The past is the past and simply lamenting our past failures is a waste of our present opportunities.

But the lessons offered by that past will encourage us to right action and help us act now in a way that will produce better results in the future.

Right action aims at our standing up for the good,

Using our energy for kind,

Moral,

Decent,

Honourable and peaceful activities.

We should avoid injuring others,

Avoid killing and stealing and sexual misconduct.

Other religions can take a black and white view on the question of sex and marriage but the Buddhist approach in general is that sex between two committed people who love each other is moral,

Whether they are married or not and it considers that sex within marriages can sometimes be abusive so the technicality of marriage does not make that abuse moral.

In encouraging right action Buddhism teaches us to avoid extremes and to find a middle way.

As individuals we may make different decisions,

Reaching different decisions but it is our dedication to wisdom and loving-kindness rather than obeying lists of rules that will guide us along.

In summary we should respect other people and we should not take advantage of them.

It comes back again to the golden rule,

Do not treat others in a way that you would find it upsetting to be treated yourself.

Christians would ask what would Jesus do in this situation?

If we examine our consciences with this thought in mind it will help keep us on a fair and reasonable track.

The right action precepts of Buddhism are not commandments as in for example the Christian sense.

They are based on a personal commitment to Buddhist practice.

Falling short is unskillful but it is not sinful.

Falling short is a failure in a personal commitment to practice.

The individual is the only one judging and this requires us to exercise personal judgment and self-discipline.

This is a wonderful opportunity to personally ponder on what it means to live an ethical life.

The Buddha said be a refuge unto yourself.

He taught us to use our own judgment when it comes to religious and moral teachings.

Let us take another minute for reflection and consider how we might bring right action into our daily resolutions.

And finally we move on to right livelihood.

Right livelihood means that we should not make our living through a job or an activity that brings harm to others.

The work of our lives could be compared to the construction of a building.

Our day-to-day work adds to the edifice.

So we step aside every so often to see if the building we are creating is one that will give us satisfaction and contentment when our life's work is done.

Perhaps some cracks have appeared.

Some of the work is not done to a standard of which we could be proud.

Some parts of the building might even be shameful but here we are today.

We have the gift of time.

We have the capacity to change.

We are able to carry out repairs and leave the edifice of our lives looking better.

The simple message of right livelihood is that we should not make our living through a job or an activity that brings harm to others.

Let's take another final pause for reflection,

Taking a look back at our day-to-day work and see how we might better serve humanity and how the edifice of our lives might be a credit to us to a builder.

These three factors,

Right speech,

Right action and right livelihood,

Together constitute the Buddhist approach to ethical conduct.

Buddhism aims to promote a happy and harmonious life both for the individual and for society.

In Buddhism moral conduct is considered as the indispensable foundation for all higher spiritual attainments.

We have to begin by trying to live ethical lives,

Lives of concern and simple respect for others.

A concluding thought before the closing bell.

Just as one flash of lightning can illuminate the whole night sky,

One spark can ignite a blazing flame.

Each of us can be the spark.

Each of us can be the light.

Each of us the blazing fire.

Just like the radiance of the Sun,

Whose light shines on all without exception,

The good,

The bad,

The indifferent,

So our pure intention shines forth.

The rain falls where it will,

Neither selecting the good nor the bad.

Just as one lamp can light the next,

One thought,

One word,

One action can reach out to have an effect on all.

So we encourage each other to light the lamp within.

Fan that fire to flame.

Pass it on wrapped in generosity.

Let each of us stretch out our hands of compassion to the least ones,

To the greatest,

To people near,

To people remote,

Right out through the boundless reaches of space with one enduring wish.

The wish to bring compassion to all,

As it is said,

For the good of the many,

For the happiness of the many,

Out of compassion for the world.

Namaste.

You

Reviews

This was my first lesson on the lessons of the Buddha. Thank you.

Beautiful words and piano reflection music. Tony makes the eightfold path accessible to all.

Beautifully presented and very calming to spend time with you, Tony. Thanks so much

Beautiful reminder and eloquent summary, Tony. Thank you. With metta, Jane

Very good! Olso those moments of reflection is amazing! Very well done.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

Beautiful thoughts and words to live by. Thank you for this teaching. 🙏🏻

Thank you 💖. This is one that I will listen to again.

Thank you for another thoughtful message. As with all of your other guidance, your delivery, tone, and emotional dedication is perfect 🙏💞namaste

Fantastic lesson Tony! I have read the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path before, but now I feel I understand it even better. I took detailed note by stopping & started your lesson here. Thank you! I hope to follow your next lessons on the next two paths.
Namaste 🙏

Thank you Tony fo sharing r these profound and splendid truths which we should all embrace in our lives. Namaste

A beautiful delivery of emmensely important ideas to guide a life. Namaste

Thank you Tony! This complements my reading & studying beautifully! Namaste

Easy to understand and lovingly explained 🙏 many thanks

Thank you for these helpful and thoughtful reflections, Tony. And lovely to hear your voice without a musical background 🌟

Thank you Tony for this very meaningful meditation. I always enjoy your meditations and especially the time you give for reflection. The music during these times on this one is so beautiful and calming.
Blessings to you. 💖🕊🙏

Wise and warm words, encouraging us to compassionate action. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

This was a wonderful and very kind reminder of how we should live our lives, thankyou 🙂

You touch my soul with your meditations! I listen to at least one of your inspirational journeys every day and I have grown stronger with your help.💛 🙌Thank you for being you Tony and sharingwith the world! Sincerely Nicole V. (Canada)

Wonderful! I loved the pause after each explanation. Much gratitude 🙏 to you Tony.💜 Bookmarked and recommended!

I enjoy the discussion and thoughtful interludes; now I'll look for parts 2 and 3.