Buddhism 101 - Part 2

The 8-Fold Path. The path is the extension of Noble Truth number four. This is the checklist that the Buddha gave to us to help us reach nirvana aka the end of suffering. The path is divided up and graphically represented by a wheel.

The three major categories of the path are wisdom, ethical conduct and mental discipline sometimes called meditation. In a broad sense that is accurate, but meditation (the sitting kind) is only a part of the mental discipline category.

From Wikipedia - In all of the elements of the Noble Eightfold Path, the word "right" is a translation of the word samyañc (Sanskrit) or sammā (Pāli), which denotes completion, togetherness, and coherence, and which can also carry the sense of "perfect" or "ideal".

Though the path is numbered one through eight, it is generally not considered to be a series of linear steps through which one must progress; rather, as the Buddhist monk and scholar Walpola Rahula points out, the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path "are to be developed more or less simultaneously, as far as possible according to the capacity of each individual. They are all linked together and each helps the cultivation of the others.




* Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā)
1. Right understanding
2. Right intention

* Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla)
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood

* Mental discipline (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi)
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

As time goes on I will try to address each of the 8 points, but please keep in mind entire books have been written on this topic. Here is a great study LINK for more information.