Noble Eight-Fold Path

As explained in ‘Four Noble Truths‘ the technique mentioned to cease the Causal Process that Originates Suffering are eight fold and known as Noble Eight fold Path.

1. Right Insight/Vision – Samma Ditthi
2. Right Transformational Thought – Samma Sankappa
3. Right Speech – Samma Vaca
4. Right Action – Samma Kammantha
5. Right Livelihood – Samma Ajeewa
6. Right Effort – Samma Vayama
7. Right Observation/Mindfulness – Samma Sathi
8. Right Focus by Tranquility – Samma Samadhi

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1.      Right Vision – Insight

Buddha describes Samma ditthi or right vision when one is able to see following 5 aspects;

1. The Origination or appearance – Samudaya / Udaya
2. The cessation or Disappearance – Nirodha / Atthangama / Vaya
3. The benefits – Assada
4. The Danger – Adinava
5. The liberation – Nissarana

If you closely look at the first two aspects: Origination and Cessation, you will see that what is meant by right vision is the ability to see the causal connections of objects or phenomena. When one understands the origination of something it means he know the causes for its origination. At paticcasamuppada or process analysis the term ‘origination’ points to its causal factors. Likewise Cessation means cessation of its causes for origination.

For one to know the origination of B, should instead look for origination of A.
For one to know the cessation of B, should instead look for cessation of A. You can find a more elaborated Causal Process Analysis at ‘What is Buddhism – Causal Process Network‘.

Ability to see the causal connections is the prime qualification for right vision. But then onwards that individual must analyze and compare then see, the goods and odds (rather danger) of each factor to make a sound decision on the liberation path he needs to follow. Not only that he should see escape (liberation) process too.

Buddha says that if a person’s vision consists of above 5 qualities then he will start ‘comprehending the REALITY’ – ‘Yatha bhuthan Pajanathi’. In simple understandable terms this is called ‘insight’. When a wise one says ‘insightful’, it means a demystification of subtle causal relationships with analytics that will inundate you with transformational thoughts.

When these 5 qualities are there he will begin to see the reality,

1. Suffering in most coarse and subtle detail – Dukkhe Nanan
2. That suffering is originated from a process – Dukkha Samudaye Nanan
3. That process can be ceased – Dukkha Nirodhe Nanan
4. The process that will lead to cease the process of suffering – Dukkha Nirodha Gaminiya Patipadaya Nanan

 

2.      Right Thought – Transformational Thought

Thoughts are the essential elements of leadership. Thoughts are the drivers of transformation. When right view or insight is there thoughts start to flow for new resolutions. Since this transformational thoughts are driven by insights, they have the power to move and transform deep rooted behaviours, values that are required to cease the process of suffering. Buddha says these transformational thoughts exhibit three signs

1. Moving away from sensual pleasure (Renunciation) – Nekkamma sankappa
2. Moving away from anger – Abyapada sankappa
3. Moving away from harming others – Avihinsa sankappa

Many translations can be found with the word ‘right intention’ instead of right thought. My honest opinion is that intention is caused by thought and are not the same. Intention is directly tied to right speech, action, livelihood and effort. The line between thought and intention is so fine that makes it hard to differentiate. Thought is more biased towards signal processing side and the closest word is cognition. Intention is the force that is coming out from the mind. One can ‘think’ (compute) without intending to do something. The saying ‘Think before Act’ will prove this. Perception, will, discernment, thought are few such concepts that are different in purpose and action but seemingly alike due to vague boundaries. One of many fascinating outcomes of Buddhist thinking is that this 8 fold path will give you razor sharp analytics to differentiate the most subtle phenomena like these.

Thoughts like ‘Now I can see’, ‘How come I didn’t see this earlier’, ‘I need to change myself’, ‘I need to be free’, ‘This is how I should do’, ‘Now I know how to do it’ ignited from deep insights or vision are the signs for right thought. These thoughts are sure to jump start the individuals action transformation.

 

3.      Right Speech

Speech, action and livelihood share similar characteristics in reinforcing this 8 fold technique. Speech action and what you do for living will ignite processes that travel far distances outside the perimeter of the individuals space as much as processes ignited within oneself. Hence the effects or repercussions will be more complex and time variant and also if not managed properly will put the individual in situations that will block him in practicing the 8 fold technique. Buddha defined right speech as

1. abstaining from telling lies – Musavada veramani
2. abstaining from slanderous speech – Pisunavaca veramani
3. abstaining from harsh speech – Pharusavaca veramani
4. abstaining from idle chatter – Samphappalapa veramani

 

4.      Right Action

Similarly Right action is shown as

1. abstaining from taking life – Panatipata veramani
2. abstaining from stealing – Adinnadana veramani
3. abstaining from adultery – Kamesu miccacara veramani

A very important point to note is that, all the definitions given for Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood are boundary lines that demarcate the respective prohibited areas which should be avoided at all times. Contextually and purposefully aligned speech, action and livelihood will be governed by other factors such as Right Vision full of analytics, Transformational Thought etc.

 

5.      Right Livelihood

This is a very important aspect since individuals will not be able to live a normal life without supporting basic needs, let alone contemplating or engaging in an advanced research like this. Every being will take on a way to support their living. It is usual in eastern cultures for husbands to go to work while wives take care of the household chores. And even in that case wife’s living will be helping her husband in an all-important way and the whole family will share what husband has earned. The path that one chooses as his living or income source is a vital decision for several reasons. There will be a case where the individual is naturally softhearted, kind, wise etc. etc., but the chosen living will compel him to do many evil things and engaging him in vicious processes eventually transforming him to a character who will block himself in entering the path of Nirvana. Then any wrong doings done by the business will also boomerang someday doing greater harm to him coming from society, governing law, karmic fruition and his own corrupted mind. Any mode of living that harms societies, do bad for people or animals, and corrupt minds will fall under bad livelihood. This should be avoided without falling into pits of temptation for easy money.

 

6.      Right Effort

This is probably the most important part to complete the cycle of the technique, the energy that is exerted in sustaining the system. Buddha has described effort in 4 distinct ways.

This may seem very simple. The intrinsic nature of the mind is that when it gets involved in a situation the acid test fails. We all talk about abandoning the unwholesome thoughts at early stages prior to the thought gets matured to do something wrong. Now what kind of effort you have frankly taken to fight back those unwholesome thoughts when they strike your mind, then probably you would give in very easily. Then after pondering for some time you might come to the judgment that this is no good and then abandon. But if you take an example of a lustful idea that crosses your mind because of seeing an irresistibly attractive male or a female, then unlike in the earlier example that context will set your mind nearly impossible to abandon that thought unless you know a technique or two. That is where the significance of right effort will come to play. Fighting with your own thoughts will be much harder the more you deviate from the natural behavior which is inevitable in the course of attaining Nirvana or ceasing the natural process. The energy needed to fight back with one’s own thoughts is the apex of effort and that needs lots of practice and commitment for development.

Let’s take another example of instilling a wholesome or skillful quality that an individual never had. In this case the first Jhana or first level of Concentration. Those who know and practice this often will know the technique of quickly reaching there and getting out. One trick is that the person will know he will completely stop inner chattering (talking to himself) when he reaches that state. But if you try to teach someone who has never experienced that before it will be tougher than thought, to find the sweet spot in doing so. Some beginners may find it very easy but for some it’s an irritatingly hard thing like trying to thread a small needle with shaky hands. The effort you need to instill such a quality or a process that you are unfamiliar with is so different to the effort put to fight one’s own evil thoughts.

The differences of this 4 quadrant framework of right effort has to be understood in detail then put to practice.

 

7.      Right Mindfulness (Observation) – The Researcher’s prime tool (The Aimed Lens)

Observation can be introduced as the foremost critical tool to whoever intends to study a causal process. A common error in process analysis is jumping into hypotheses at premature observations. Usually this happens during the first few moments an individual understands one or two causal links without fully observing the complex causal lines that intersect each other. This way, when developing hypothesis, upon partial or incomplete observation/information, chances are that hypothesis becomes unrealistic. If an individual conducts an unbiased and neutral observation on a particular process for a longer period, over time he will be able to comprehend and map the process for re-engineering.

Right Mindfulness is the observation/research methodology advocated by Buddha for comprehending and real-time monitoring of those processes that originate suffering. Right mindfulness essentially creates a monitoring dashboard and a scorecard with multiple data points in 4 clusters: namely,

1. Data points cluster from observing Bodily activities – Kayanupassana
2. Data points cluster from observing various feelings – Vedananupassana
3. Data points cluster from observing status of mind – Cittanupassana
4. Data points cluster from observing mental processes – Dhammanupassana

The moment you see this dashboard you will realize that these real-time analytics will make you fully aware of your inner system. If you keep practicing this everyday all time, you will be able to retain a live dashboard without compromising a lot of processing power letting you run a smooth day to day life. Now take an example of a lustful thought that crosses your mind because of an attractive person. That thought will be captured in the dashboard and not only that, the contemplation of internal organs will bring insightful thoughts like ‘this person is also constructed with perishable organs like heart, kidney etc. that are not so pleasant to see or smell. Therefore there is nothing in there for me to hold a lustful thought’. That insight will make that lustful process cease then and there.

This observation method should comply with 5 characteristics shown below.

1. Ardent, eagerness – Athapi
2. Fully aware – Sampajano [awareness is ability to understand the status of what is being observed]
3. Attention – Satima [attention is attentively observing or aiming at the object without losing track]
4. Setting aside greed – Vineyya loke abhijja
5. Setting aside grief – Vineyya loke Domanassam

The application of Samma Sati or Right Mindfulness is often mistaken due to gaps in translations from the Pali. Many assume that mindfulness in Samma Sati is a part of ‘Meditation’ commonly perceived as something to do with a posture with eyes closed, contemplating, reflecting, or chanting a verse in your mind to gain tranquility and inner happiness. This is a big misconception. Mindfulness or right observation mentioned here is not a thing you do only when eyes are closed. The action needed for the technique is called ‘Bhavana or bhavethabba’ which means practice and develop. Though the word meditation is commonly used to denote ‘bhavana’ due to some similarities, it doesn’t imply the real meaning therefore not interchangeable. Mindfulness should be a way of life, an advanced thinking pattern that you practice every day, all day, keeping track of all activities that impact the individual.

Having said that, also note Buddha has advocated ‘Anapanasati’ a breathing exercise based observation technique when developed will help to cover the entire span of observation that includes all four data points clusters. This is not what was mentioned by ‘a posture with eyes closed’. Mindfulness can be seen as a ‘real-time analytical dashboard’. When an individual lives his life this way, he will come to know the causal links between various data points. In the beginning he will only observe correlation among data points. But then as he develops his mind to focus at higher Jhanic or concentration levels a.k.a. Right Concentration, he will be able to see the causal lines very clearly to enter into reverse engineering.

Buddha has said in Maha Sathipatthana sutta that Right mindfulness is the direct way to cease all sufferings. Right mindfulness or observation can be metaphorically taken as the ‘Aimed lens’ that helps us see, what we want to see; where ‘Aim’ is referred to the essential properties ‘Attention’ and ‘Awareness’.

 

8.      Right Concentration (Focusing the lens)

Mindfulness and concentration are like two sides of the same coin. There is no point in talking about mindfulness in absence of focus. The success of any observation is tightly depended on the level of concentration or focus that is put on what is observed. The native Untamed and undeveloped minds do not show capabilities in focusing on subtle and sensitive objects and data models. Meaning, the mind gets distracted every now and then. Therefore observation at lower focusing levels will not be able to sustain the observation process itself. The higher levels of focus needed for this are mainly of four types and are known as Jhanas.

It is commonly seen that people associate Jhanas with higher psychic powers such as walking on sky or water, walk through walls etc. It must be the innate desire to achieve those powers that render multiple benefits like controllability and superhero veneration, make people think that way. However these powers are possible only when the mind is disciplined, trained and specialized on top of jhanic levels called abhiñña or ‘special knowledge’. Highly disciplined minds like that will definitely be an advantage but what is needed for effective observation is only at jhanic levels and are clearly shown by the Buddha.

Inspite of talking about focus or concentration, the same concept can be explained using the exact opposite end for more clarity. Think of a DISTRACTED mind. Can a distracted mind do something sensitive that needs a lot of cognitive power? Absolutely not. We often tell people around us ‘Don’t distract me I’m concentrating on a very critical case.’ The level of concentration needed for sensitive subjects that come across normal day to day life can be easily achieved with stopping any apparent physical distractions. However the level of focus needed for ‘Right vision that allows you to see causal links’ is much higher than that. In fact the natural way a mind functions, itself will be highly distracting, that limits concentration. Higher Jhanic level means the ability to temporarily shut down some elements or functions of mind cutting down natural distraction caused by them, allowing more cognitive power to route towards the object. At 4^th Jhana the mind is fully taken out of the body (disconnects with bodily senses & motoring) that you don’t get distracted even if someone stabs behind the back. (you can never kill a person while in 4^th Jhana due to a different reason but example was taken to show the amount of concentration found in it). Think about an extreme mind skill of not losing your focus even if a person chops your body parts. That’s the level of concentration meant by right concentration – Jhanas. At Jhanic levels your mind is least distracted, this paves the way for crystal clear vision.

The study of concentration and Jhanas is a vast subject. More details on this will be discussed in a separate thread. Concentration or focus can be metaphorically taken as ‘focusing the aimed lens’ because focusing makes the image or vision sharper and clearer. Untamed mind is like an out of focus lens that produce a diffused image which is good for nothing.

Noble Eight Fold Path in Practice

One can start off practicing this framework from any place. But most recommended one is Right Observation / Mindfulness. The prominent causal line is therefore colored in red arrows. However the causality among each factor is multipronged and shown by the arrow network. These 8 fold process has to be developed in parallel. Development of each factor is incremental and depends on the effort and amount of practice put in. one cannot say that the beginning is right vision and ending is right thought. However this is for sure, Ending with Arahantship happens when vision is clear enough to see how taints are broken which is called ‘Asavakkhaya ñana’ that directs the effort to break down taints or Asavas for good.

With the permanent breaking of 4 Asavas, the causal link between Feeling and Craving will be broken and Craving will be ceased. With that entire causal line will be damaged with fully ceasing some of the nodes i.e. Ignorance, Craving, Vicious Cycle, Becoming and Birth. Once the Arahant dies the entire causal chain shatters (including any un-ceased links) ceasing suffering forever. This is attaining Nirvana.

 

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