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“Just as the dawn is the forerunner, the vanguard of the rising sun, so too, possession of virtue is the forerunner, the vanguard of the rising of the Noble Eightfold Path.”

~~~ Buddha

Last week we started our discussion about Buddhism and how it relates to meditation and also how the basic teachings of Buddha can show us ways to discover true happiness in our lives. Well, we didn’t actually get quite that far, did we? We outlined the first three Noble Truths — the first — that life can be filled with suffering. The second — that the origin of that suffering is our craving for pleasure and our endless “wanting” of things. The third — was that there is a way to end this suffering in our lives.

We left it there last week — which means that this week we need to talk about the Fourth Noble Truth.

But first, here is your meditation for this week ….
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This is not truly a meditation. Rather it’s a wonderful song written and sung by Dave Carroll. It will run for about 4 minutes. The reason why I’m including this song here is because it’s based entirely on the amazing book, The Power of Now, written by Eckhardt Tolle. The name of the song is, “Now”. I hope you enjoy it.

Here’s a link just in case the video doesn’t play for some reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ1wtftL3nA

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Now, let’s get on with our discussion of the basic Buddhist teachings with ….

The Fourth Noble Truth: To rid yourself of suffering you must follow The Eightfold Path. In order to have a way out of the madness and the stress of life as a human on this Earth, according to Buddha you must follow the Eightfold Path. This path will help you to live in a way where desire, ill will and ignorance will not control your every waking moment. Don’t worry too much if you don’t quite “get these” paths. Rather, just become familiar with them, the understanding of them will come in time as you bring them into your lifestyle.

As you’ve probably guessed, the Eightfold Path has eight parts to it. I thought about splitting the Paths into two separate articles for this blog, but decided against doing that. These need to be seen together in order to have a better understanding of how they relate to each other.

The Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering as taught by The Buddha. It’s a practical guideline to become more ethical and to improve yourself with the goal of freeing yourself from attachments, wanting and delusions. Following this path can lead to understanding the Truth about all things. Since I learned about Buddhism with my self-generated Buddhist 101 course, I feel that these steps plus the Four Noble Truths constitute the gist of Buddhism. There is a considerable emphasis put on the practical aspects, and it needs to be said that a regular meditation practice, along with right living, is vital if we want to achieve a higher level of existence. These steps are not intended to be sequential — it’s not about Step 1 — then Step 2 — then Step 3, and so on. Rather these are all interdependent parts that work in a close relationship with each other. For those of us who have learned to live our life as Westerners, these steps are not easy. They’re simple, but they’re not easy.

1. Right View — this is the beginning and the end of the Eightfold Path. It simply means that we should see and understand things as they really are and to be accepting of what is. It’s about learning to be in the Present — in the Now. It means to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma. It’s not about being smarter — anymore than wisdom is not a matter of intelligence. Right view begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. This step on the path will yield right thoughts and right actions, thereby helping us to improve our view of the world.

2. Right Intention – While right view refers to the way we can learn to think about wisdom, right intention refers to the choices we make, i.e. the kind of mental energy we use to control our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions: 1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire for things, 2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and hatred, and 3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop true compassion.

3. Right Speech — Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, words can make enemies or friends, words can start a war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech this way: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth. Right Speech means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.

4. Right Action — This path refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained by Buddha in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming other beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. To look at this from a positive point of view — right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to make sure that our close, intimate relationships do not cause harm to others.

5. Right Livelihood — Right livelihood means that one should earn one’s living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. In the studies that I’ve read, The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid in order to follow the path of Right Livelihood: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), 3. working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided. (Right Livelihood explains why so many people who are living a Buddhist lifestyle are vegetarians or vegans.)

6. Right Effort — Right Effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will most likely be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. For example, the same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can, on the other side, fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavors that rank in ascending order of perfection: 1. to prevent the arising of unwholesome states that haven’t yet arisen, 2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.

7. Right Mindfulness — Right Mindfulness is the controlled faculty of what you know and how you think about it. It is the mental ability to see things as they truly are. Usually, the thinking process begins with an impression induced by how you see things, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always immediately conceptualize whatever it is we’re seeing or thinking. We interpret it, we label it, we categorize it according to other thoughts and experiences from our past, which naturally go beyond the true fact of the original impression. All this happens somewhat unconsciously, and as a result we often see things obscured – not as they truly are. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of that process of “mistaken identity” and helps us to avoid all the categorizing and labeling that’s been part of our habitual way of seeing things. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation or awareness of the body, 2. contemplation or awareness of feeling (whether something is repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation or awareness of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation or awareness of the phenomena of how we can easily make something into something that it’s not.

8.Right Concentration — Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. In a word — focus. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and wholesome actions. The Buddhist method of choice for developing right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains that concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it then becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration, not only when you’re meditating, but also in everyday situations.

The Eightfold Path is, as I mentioned, not easy for us who live in the Western culture. It is doable, however, and if we wish to end the suffering inherent in us as human beings, this shows a way out of it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on this. At the very end of this post (after the commercials and the tags) you should see a place where you can leave your comment about all this. Let me hear from you. Thanks.
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Those glimpses we get of peace, love, acceptance and happiness when we’re meditating will soon grow into more than glimpses if we keep practicing. Keep those feelings alive. A meditation can be as simple as one, deep, conscious breath, anywhere, anytime. When something happens in one of your moments to cause you to suffer, just stop and take one of those breaths and remember, “This too shall pass!” Another thing that is wonderful, especially at this time of year, is to have a fresh flower where you work. Just stop from time-to-time and look at it — don’t label it — don’t judge it — just be with it for a couple of moments. It really does work.

“Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature”

~~~ Gerard de Nerva

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If you’re new to us here, be sure read the entire series about meditation. If you look on the upper left of the sidebar, you’ll see a list of the categories. Click the one called “Meditation” and you’ll be able to read the articles you missed. They start with the January 24, 2008 post. The video meditations that I included with the earlier articles may no longer function. I’m sorry about that, but those are out of my control. Hopefully, they’ll all still be working.

Do include meditation in your daily life. If you’re just starting out, make it a 10 minute meditation. If you’ve been doing this for a while, try to do a minimum of 20 or 30 minutes. The longer you can maintain your focus on just your breath, the better. And, remember, anytime you take a deep, conscious breath — that’s a breath where you’re putting your entire focus on that breath — that’s a meditation. Do it often every day — especially when you’re feeling stressed. I guarantee, you’ll find more peace and happiness in your life if you’ll do this.

“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”

~~~ Buddha

Namaste!

And, as I always say in closing — remember these words …

You are the most precious gift you can give yourself. Every day look in the mirror and say, “I’m available to more good than I have experienced, realized or imagined ever before in my life!” Do this every day while you look into your own eyes.

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

~~~ Buddha

~~~ Ron

http://www.theleaderinside.com

http://www.wecould2.com

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Even though the live webcasts of the Eckhart Tolle New Earth classes are now concluded, you can still download the entire course. It’s being called “The Best Summer School Course Ever!” I highly recommend it. It’s completely free. All you really have to do is get the book, “A New Earth — Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle. You can access the course online at: http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webcast/ane_marketing.html. You’ll find everything you need there — all 10 classes. If you happen to have iTunes on your computer, you can also access the course by subscribing to it through the podcast link in iTunes. I did take the course, and I”ve read the book twice through. For me, this has been life-changing. Check it out. Several million people around the globe took part in this amazing spiritual teaching. I hope you’ll soon be one of them. This is how we can create a new consciousness on the New Earth.

“Having access to that formless realm is truly liberating. It frees you from bondage to form and identification with form. It is life in its undifferentiated state prior to its fragmentation into multiplicity. We may call it the Unmanifested, the invisible Source of all things, the Being within all beings. It is a realm of deep stillness and peace, but also of joy and intense aliveness. Whenever you are present, you become “transparent” to some extent to the light, the pure consciousness that emanates from this Source. You also realize that the light is not separate from who you are but constitutes your very essence. ”

~~~ Eckhardt Tolle —

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I don’t know if any of you, my fine readers of this blog, have an interest in starting a blog of your own, but if you do, I have something I’d like to pass along to you.

Over the past few days I’ve been reading a new ebook written by Kevin Brown. Now, I know that a lot of people don’t want to start a blog of their own because they think it’s too complicated. Well, after you read this ebook, your fears will be gone for good!

Kevin is something of a WordPress expert and has recently released a new ebook that goes into great detail on how to install and set up WordPress blogs. This blog you’re reading is written using WordPress, and I also use it for my other blog. Kevin’s book, BlogStorm Blueprint, is the most up-to-date book I’ve ever seen about WordPress with screenshots from the very latest version.

I highly recommend it — especially since it’s being sold at a giveaway price of under ten dollars. It’s really a bargain when you realize that you’ll be getting 106 pages of clear, well-written details.

I’ve been using WordPress for a long time and I think I know quite a bit about how to work with it. I can say that after reading Kevin’s book, I discovered that I don’t know everything. Even though some of the information was basic for me, I still learned loads from the book and heartily
recommend it to you.

It’s the BlogStorm Blueprint — and you can get it here:

Click this link —> http://tinyurl.com/4a5ncq

P.S. Oh, and just so you know, WordPress is free! Learn how to use it with Kevins book …

…… Click this link —-> http://tinyurl.com/4a5ncq

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