The Middle Way (Eightfold Path) – Realistic Understanding

This is the third post of the “middle way” articles. It is only a personal exploration of the middleway; just my understanding of it. The eightfold path (the “middle way”) is described as path to the cessation of suffering or the fourth noble truth.

This post will cover the subject of Right Understanding.

To review, the eightfold path, (the middle way) has the following parts (the discipline it is connected to in parenthesis):

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1. Realistic Understanding (Wisdom)
2. Realistic Thought (Wisdom)
3. Realistic Speech (Ethical Conduct)
4. Realistic Action (Ethical Conduct)
5. Realistic Livelihood (Ethical Conduct)
6. Realistic Effort (Mental Discipline)
7. Realistic Mindfulness (Mental Discipline)
8. Realistic Concentration (Mental Discipline)

For a description of why I describe these as “realistic” as opposed to right or rightful please read my post Right or Realistic Effort.

- DV

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Right understanding, realistic understanding, or realistic view is what I chose next to explore. This is usually where people start out on the eightfold path because it really helps to make good judgement and good actions to have a realistic view of things. In a way, it really seems like part of the path to the cessation of suffering is to embrace reality.

If I take what I have gathered from Buddhism, namely what I contemplated when looking at the second of the four noble truths, the origination of suffering comes form craving and aversion (grasping and pushing away). Basically trying to control the universe, your feelings, another persons feelings, wanting to repeat the past, or control the future, forcing things into molds of good and bad, all creates suffering. All these things, besides detracting us from just enjoying live and removing the wonder of life, it also creates not so realistic views.

Perhaps, a better way to define a lack of suffering, or Nirvana, is to describe what is not suffering. Not worrying? Not hating? Not being angry? Not blaming?

That’s heavy… let’s describe this is a more light way…

Not suffering seems as simple as having appreciation and a sense of wonder for what is happening right now, maybe also sharing that appreciation and sense of wonder with those around you. How joyful.

It feels good just to type that sentence. Actually, that sentence sound like “heaven”, freedom, or …. Nirvana. It is really just seems like a state of mind.

Have you ever been around a person, who has had a most difficult life, one of horrors and grief, and they are just wonderful to be around? A person dying (well who isn’t) quicker than you of something you dread… and they are just fun? I have.

These people have amazed me and have changed my life. They didn’t even have to tell me any secret, give me any wisdom, tell me any rules, all they had to do was live in front of my eyes. I found myself asking… how could they be so happy?

Right understanding, realistic understanding, realistic view… what ever you call it that was what they had.

How did they do that?

These people were not miserable over the past, they were not worried about the future, they had some how learned to appreciate what was going around them right then and there. What was even greater, if you have met someone like this, was hearing their laughter when something was not quite right, or their understanding when something seemed like it went horribly wrong.

We have a choice.

What is right understanding and how do I get me some?

This is certainly something I’m working on.

Right understanding is looking at things without all of our baggage and filters of control, pain, fear, labeling, anger, jealousy, etc… It is kind of like seeing things with out an agenda, external or internal.

No external agenda: action with other people, attempting to control reality to get what we want, proving something, or force things away from us we don’t want.

No internal agenda: trying to justify every action to ourselves, trying to convince ourselves of our good intentions, internal dialogs and stories we use to justify our actions to ourselves.

Without these filters distracting us from reality, we can just look at something and see its true nature. Stripping away the baggage of our drama, in an attempt at comfort, we can look at the issue bare.

Without those filters it should be easy to see how we can make better decisions, have better relationships, and just have a more fun time of it all.

It all sounds good to me.

Know thy self

I get it… I really do… but I get so wrapped up in life, I forget I have … a choice.

Buddhist use different tools like meditation and techniques to be mindful of our choices.

Mediation allows us to get a handle of out external and internal agendas so we can get a better handle on where we are fooling ourselves. Works good.

Mindfulness techniques like using the ringing of a “mindfulness bell” to remind us to remember to be in the present and not being miserable about the past and worrying about the future helps too. A really cool teacher Thich Nhat Hanh taught that when ever you hear a bell try to bring back your sense of the present, a bell, an alarm, a phone ringing. Works good too.

Central to all of the Eightfold Path

I can certainly see how this would be first on the list of the eightfold path. Attempting to use more of our intelligence, wisdom, compassion, and understanding behind our thoughts, opinions, and views seems like a definite recipe for making good decisions and reducing suffering. In the least, it sounds like the recipe for a happier day.

Namaste

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