A Year Later – The Eightfold Path in Reflection

Last year, about this time, I began looking more closely at Buddhism and some of the tools that it offers.  I had decided to take my first look at the “Eightfold Path”, something that I had heard of through the four noble truths of Buddhism (using the eightfold path is recommended in the fourth noble truths).  Most of the people who I knew who were learning about Buddhism seemed to skip right over this “noble truth” and it seemed that it was common that mediation was taught as the only important tool in Buddhism.  Even in our Buddhism discussion group, almost all of the books kind of skipped over the noble truths and the eightfold path completely.

This “skipping over” was a kind of mystery to me, and being a curious person, it gave me direction for a path of learning.  What was this “Eightfold Path”?  What was the relationship to this “Eightfold Path” and meditation?  Was meditation the “Eightfold Path”?  (This last question is answered in the post: The Middle Way (Eightfold Path) – Realistic Concentration.)

I decided to dig in for myself and take a look at these topics with as open mind as I could muster.  I realized that these ideas, or this path, especially if it was like some of the other concepts in Buddhism, might take me a few passes to get a good enough understanding of.  It is interesting to me re-read my opening “apologies” of my process in my first post on the eightfold path:  The Middle Way (Eightfold Path) – Realistic Effort.

A Life Changer

I think that the very looking into Buddhism, and specifically the eightfold path in such a way as I did helped changed the direction of my life.  More specifically it helped me see more options that I could take, more directions, and allowed me to direct my actions better.  I suspect that if something allows you to take directions that you normally would not have originally taken, then that by definition is a life changing event.

Now, I’m not saying that life got easier, or that I have made perfect decisions in my treatment of people, small animals, or myself.  What I can say, is that I feel that I made more choices – more deliberate choices – and that I was able to look upon difficult situations with a more clear and honest eye.  More of my actions were based less on fear or complacency, less from judgment and ego, and quite simply, I feel I have experienced more in this year than many of the years that had gone before.  I also see where I have made many mistakes.

Not bad for one year.

Wisdom from a Distance

Over the year I have taken a look at some of the constructs or terms of Buddhism.  I have slowly gathered much respect for some of the concepts, and how each of the concepts really help to see the thoroughness of thought when it comes to using the tools of Buddhism to more mindful decision making in ones life.

Buddhism at its core seems an honest attempt at understanding what distracts us from reality.  It found those places, physical and mental (skandhas) where we lay filters on our senses, our views, our feelings, our thoughts, etc. on the world around us.   Each person will have different filters: judgments, tastes, likes, dislikes, pains, pleasures, and each of these will effect their view on what is real.  These filters, of course, are individual, so a framework independent of unique filters was developed.  Explaining such a framework is difficult when it is generic to the human population in totality.  Communicating such a framework becomes even more difficult when the subject that one is trying to explain can erode the very understanding that one is trying to achieve.

Learning some of each basic element of Buddhism, the four noble truths, the eightfold paths, the heart sutra (skandhas), has definitely added to my understanding of how each works together.  It is deep… very deep, but very worth while.  Each iteration with an element has given me a more holistic view on the subject matter.  The eightfold path, in looking back at other elements of Buddhism, seems the most straight forward.  This was a surprise to me, when I first began researching the subject a year ago.

A Framework for Action

Some might say that the Buddhist precepts are the thing to use as a framework for making decisions about one’s actions.  Although I have not formally taken the precepts, I have taken part in a group whose members were going through the process.  My thought on the precepts is that they are a list of subject matter that one considers in one’s life; more of a way to reflect on one’s actions and make course corrections as necessary in light of such reflection.  My thoughts for the eightfold path is a little different. The eightfold path doesn’t focus on particular subject matter, so it is not so much about how we develop our personal rules on certain subjects, the eightfold path focuses more on how to cultivate more wisdom, ethics actions, and discipline in our every day lives regardless of subject matter.  Each part of the path is a tool that when learned proactively, and remembered, can make the most difficult of decisions much more fair, balanced,and mindful. They can make our motivations and judgments clear to us, whether we like them or not.

Taking your Practice to the Next Level

Meditation is not the only tool in the Buddhist toolbox.  What I learned by studying the eightfold path is that meditation is only one way in the eightfold path of waking ourselves up, seeing things with more open eyes and with clearer vision.   Take your practice to the next level, check out the eightfold path for yourself:

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)

Next Steps:

Although my thoughts on the subject of the eightfold path and its meaning has not changed since I first wrote those articles, I am beginning to read a couple other books that I believe touch on the subject, one of those books the dhammapada.  Once I read through it I may see a different view and write some more.

Food for Thought:

This feels like a good time to add quotes to this post… there are just some things that other people have just put better than I ever could:

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.—Abraham Lincoln

In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed. — Sid Caesar

The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it. – Anonymous

The unexamined life is not worth living. – Socrates

Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die. – Amelia Burr

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. – Annie Dillard

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that the stuff life is made of. – Benjamin Franklin

Namaste