#The Eightfold Path

[lady-phasma]

Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others

(The Buddha, Udana-Varga 5.18 – 6th cen. BCE)

The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi (meditation).

Buddhism is often called a "practice" and not a religion because we are imperfect and fail at these goals consistently. The hope is that we remind ourselves that we can try again when we stumble.

[xboxissues]

New Xbox Games for August 19 to 23 2024

[bizazawizard]

The Eightfold Path - Dead Shrine

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Buddhism

Buddhism is a spiritual and philosophical tradition that originated in India around the 5th century BCE with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. Buddhism encompasses a wide range of beliefs, practices, and schools of thought, but at its core, it is concerned with understanding the nature of suffering, the path to its cessation, and the ultimate realization of enlightenment.

Key Themes in the Philosophy of Buddhism:

The Four Noble Truths:

Dukkha (Suffering): The first noble truth is the recognition that life is permeated by dukkha, often translated as suffering, dissatisfaction, or stress. This includes both the obvious sufferings of pain, aging, and death, as well as more subtle forms of mental unease and dissatisfaction.

Samudaya (Origin of Suffering): The second noble truth identifies the cause of suffering as tanha (craving or desire) and ignorance (avidya). This craving is not only for physical pleasures but also for existence, non-existence, and various forms of attachment.

Nirodha (Cessation of Suffering): The third noble truth asserts that it is possible to end suffering by extinguishing its causes, namely craving and ignorance. This state of cessation is known as Nirvana, which represents the ultimate liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering.

Magga (Path to the Cessation of Suffering): The fourth noble truth outlines the path to the cessation of suffering, known as the Noble Eightfold Path. This path provides a practical guide to ethical living, mental discipline, and wisdom.

The Noble Eightfold Path:

Right Understanding (Samma Ditthi): This involves understanding the true nature of reality, particularly the Four Noble Truths.

Right Intention (Samma Sankappa): Cultivating intentions of renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness.

Right Speech (Samma Vaca): Speaking truthfully, avoiding gossip, lies, and harmful speech.

Right Action (Samma Kammanta): Acting in ways that are ethical and non-harmful, following principles like non-violence and honesty.

Right Livelihood (Samma Ajiva): Engaging in work that does not harm others and is ethically sound.

Right Effort (Samma Vayama): Cultivating positive states of mind and preventing unwholesome states.

Right Mindfulness (Samma Sati): Maintaining awareness of thoughts, feelings, and actions, leading to greater self-understanding and wisdom.

Right Concentration (Samma Samadhi): Developing deep states of meditation that lead to profound insights and the cultivation of wisdom.

The Three Marks of Existence:

Anicca (Impermanence): Everything in life is in a constant state of flux. All phenomena are transient, and clinging to anything as permanent leads to suffering.

Dukkha (Suffering): Suffering is an inherent part of existence, arising from the impermanent and unsatisfactory nature of life.

Anatta (Non-Self): There is no permanent, unchanging self or soul (atman). The belief in a permanent self is an illusion that contributes to suffering.

Karma and Rebirth:

Karma (Action and Consequence): Karma refers to the moral law of cause and effect, where intentional actions lead to corresponding consequences. Good actions lead to positive results, and bad actions lead to negative outcomes, both in this life and future lives.

Rebirth (Samsara): Buddhism teaches that beings are trapped in a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara), driven by karma and craving. The ultimate goal is to escape this cycle by attaining Nirvana.

Nirvana:

Liberation from Suffering: Nirvana is the ultimate goal in Buddhism, representing the cessation of all suffering, the end of the cycle of rebirth, and the realization of ultimate truth. It is a state of peace, liberation, and enlightenment.

Beyond Dualities: Nirvana transcends all dualities and conceptual distinctions, including the dichotomy of existence and non-existence.

Meditation and Mindfulness:

Central Practices: Meditation (bhavana) and mindfulness (sati) are central practices in Buddhism, aimed at cultivating concentration, insight, and mental clarity. These practices help individuals develop a deep understanding of the nature of reality and the mind.

Vipassana and Samatha: Two main types of meditation in Buddhism are Vipassana (insight meditation), which focuses on gaining insight into the true nature of reality, and Samatha (calm-abiding meditation), which develops concentration and tranquility.

The Middle Way:

Avoiding Extremes: The Buddha taught the Middle Way as a path that avoids the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. It represents a balanced approach to spiritual practice that leads to enlightenment.

Practical Wisdom: The Middle Way also refers to the balanced application of wisdom in everyday life, guiding ethical conduct and mental development.

Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda):

Interconnectedness of All Phenomena: Dependent origination is the principle that all phenomena arise in dependence upon other phenomena. This interconnectedness means that nothing exists independently, and everything is part of a complex web of cause and effect.

Causality and the Cycle of Suffering: Understanding dependent origination is key to understanding the cycle of suffering (samsara) and how to break free from it.

Ethical Conduct:

The Five Precepts: Buddhism provides a set of ethical guidelines known as the Five Precepts, which include abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication. These precepts help cultivate moral discipline and support the path to enlightenment.

Compassion and Loving-Kindness (Metta): Compassion (karuna) and loving-kindness (metta) are central ethical values in Buddhism, encouraging individuals to act with care and concern for the well-being of others.

Schools of Buddhist Philosophy:

Theravada Buddhism:

Focus on Early Teachings: Theravada, also known as the "Teaching of the Elders," adheres closely to the early teachings of the Buddha and emphasizes individual liberation through wisdom and ethical conduct.

Arhat Ideal: The goal in Theravada is to become an Arhat, an enlightened being who has attained Nirvana and is free from the cycle of rebirth.

Mahayana Buddhism:

Great Vehicle: Mahayana, or the "Great Vehicle," offers a broader interpretation of the Buddha's teachings and emphasizes the Bodhisattva path, where practitioners strive to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.

Emptiness (Shunyata): Mahayana philosophy introduces the concept of emptiness, which suggests that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, highlighting the interdependence and impermanence of all things.

Vajrayana Buddhism:

Diamond Vehicle: Vajrayana, or the "Diamond Vehicle," is an esoteric form of Buddhism that incorporates rituals, mantras, and meditation practices aimed at achieving rapid enlightenment. It is closely associated with Tibetan Buddhism.

Tantric Practices: Vajrayana involves complex tantric practices that are believed to transform the mind and body, leading to enlightenment.

The philosophy of Buddhism is a profound exploration of the nature of existence, suffering, and the path to liberation. Through its teachings on impermanence, non-self, dependent origination, and the cultivation of compassion, Buddhism offers a comprehensive framework for understanding and overcoming the challenges of life. Its emphasis on mindfulness, ethical conduct, and wisdom provides practical guidance for achieving inner peace and spiritual awakening. Whether through individual practice or engagement with the broader community, Buddhism continues to inspire and guide people in their quest for meaning, peace, and liberation.

[renegade-hierophant]

The First Noble Truth that the Buddha taught is often mistranslated into modern languages.

It is not that life is suffering, but that life is unsatisfactory. Nothing you ever do will ever be satisfying. Suffering is just a consequence of that.

The Second Noble Truth is the cause of unsatisfactoriness, and that is desire. Because you desire to be happy, you will inevitably end up unsatisfied. No matter what you achieve, it won’t be enough. Might be for a while, but it won’t be for way longer afterwards.

The Buddha taught the Third Noble Truth, and that is that there is a way out of unsatisfactoriness.

Which is the Fourth Noble Truth, the Eightfold Noble Path, hence the symbol of Buddhism: ☸.

The eight folds are: right view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

All lead down to one outcome: compassion, which brings end to all unsatisfactoriness.

[mayasaura]

do you think tamsyn is intentionally drawing a connection between the Buddhist eightfold path and the eightfold word?

the eightfold path is supposed to lead to liberation from the cycle of rebirth (I’m drawing a parallel to lyctoral immortality) and the last element is right samadhi which is often described as “meditative absorption or union” (a parallel to the consumption of the cavalier and absorption of the soul)

idk just food for thought i’ve been mulling over

I've been pondering this for a while myself. I've never heard the word "eightfold" used in any other context. Like, it could very much be a coincidence because #-fold is a Portentous Word Form, and eight Houses contributed to the theorum, but let's assume for now there is a connection.

I would say it's less of a parallel and more of a reflection. This framing of the Eightfold Word would make it kind of a warped mirror of the Eightfold Path.

Following the Eightfold Path delivers you from samsara, right? The ultimate purpose is to break the cycle of reincarnation that binds a person to the worlds of mundane suffering. That last element, right samadhi, it's about the illusion of existence being transcended in meditation to see the true nature of being. The Path leads to understanding of the self as transient—an illusion created by a much larger whole. Or something like that. I'm not a priest or bodhisattva, or even a scholar dedicated to understanding these things.

Speaking the Eightfold Word is entirely the opposite. The lyctors have subsumed the other into the self, making the self the center of their being. They haven't been freed from the cycle so much as they've jammed the wheel, leaving themselves trapped in the suffering of their existence for, theoretically, eternity.

I don't know if it's an intentional reference or not, but I do enjoy considering the implications of lyctorhood from that perspective. John and the lyctors have become so consumed by their obsession with the self and ensuring its continuance, it's broken all the bonds that would make them part of a larger whole in this life and left them each alone together in their own private hells. Speaking the Eightfold Word means that they'll never reach the other shore.

[tmarshconnors]

"Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded"

Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia, during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.

Founder of Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, founded Buddhism, one of the world's major religions, based on his teachings about overcoming suffering and achieving enlightenment.

Born as a Prince: He was born in Lumbini (modern-day Nepal) as a prince of the Shakya clan around the 5th to 6th century BCE, shielded from the hardships of the world.

The Four Sights: At age 29, he left his palace and encountered "The Four Sights"—an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic—which inspired him to seek answers to life's suffering.

Attained Enlightenment: After years of ascetic practices, he meditated under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya and achieved enlightenment, becoming "the Buddha," or "the Awakened One.

"Teachings of the Middle Way: Buddha advocated the "Middle Way," avoiding extremes of indulgence and self-denial, and shared the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as the foundation of his teachings.

[brettesims]

The Eightfold Fence

“From the time we are small it is something we are taught to build within ourselves; an impenetrable wall, which we can retreat whenever we need. You must train yourself to listen without hearing; for instance you can listen to the sound of a blossom falling, the rocks growing…

If you really listen your present circumstance vanishes. Do not be fooled by our politeness, our bows, our maze of rituals… beneath it all we could be a great distance away. Safe. And alone.”

~ Show: Shogun, (Hulu)

[raffaellopalandri]

A Stoic and Buddhist Approach to Workplace Common Sense

Workplaces can often become chaotic, filled with stress, emotions, and a tendency to overreact to challenges. Image found on Internet In such environments, developing and practising common sense becomes essential for maintaining harmony and productivity. What I do in my daily activity in supporting teams and individuals in workplace environments is combine Stoic and Buddhist philosophies to…

[eyeoftheheart]

“Prince Siddhattha stated that he himself had attained knowledge through his own efforts, without a master to show him the way; so, in the original Doctrine of Awakening, each individual has to rely on himself, and on his own exertions, just as a soldier who is lost must rely on himself alone to rejoin the marching army. Thus Buddhism, if a comparison of various traditions were being made, could legitimately take its place with the race that elsewhere we have called heroic, in the sense of the Hesiodic teaching on the "Four Ages." We mean a type of man in which the spirituality belonging to the primordial state is no longer taken for granted as something natural, for this tradition is no longer itself an adequate foundation. Spirituality has become an aim to him, the object of a reconquest, the final limit of a reintegration to be carried out by one's own virile efforts.

(...)

We already know that the title Buddha, given to Prince Siddhattha and then extended to all those who have followed his path, means "awakened." It takes us to the same point, to the same criterion of certainty. The doctrine of the Ariya is called "beyond imagination" and not susceptible of assimilation by any process of ratiocination. The term atakkāvacara often recurs, a term that means just that which cannot be apprehended by logic. Instead the doctrine is presented in an "awakening" and as an "awakening." One can see at once the correspondence between this mode of knowing and Plato's view of anamnesis, "reminiscence" or "recollection" overcoming the state of oblivion; exactly as Buddhism aims to overcome the state produced by the āsava, by the "intoxicants," by the manias, by the fever. These terms, "reminiscence" and "awakening," however, should not represent more than the manner in which knowledge appears, than recognition and appraisal of something as directly evident, like a man who remembers or who wakes and sees something. This is the reason for the recurrence in later Buddhist literature of the term sphoṭa, which has a similar meaning: it is knowledge manifested as in an unveiling—as if an eye, after undergoing an operation, were to reopen and see. Dhamma-Cakkhu, the "eye of truth" or of "reality," cakkhumant, "to be gifted with the eye" are normal Buddhist expressions, just as the technical term for "conversion" is: "his eye of truth opened."”

― Julius Evola, The Doctrine of Awakening: The Attainment of Self-Mastery According to the Earliest Buddhist Texts

[despair-tea]

i just need to do good awareness of the situation

i just need to do good mindfulness

i just need to do good action

i just need to do good effort

i just need to

[beeden96]

Coraline as a Buddhist parable

Last night while I was writing down the Four Noble Truths with a brush pen in my sketchbook (I do stuff like that sometimes), my roommate put on the movie Coraline. This was entirely coincidental but I was struck by how much the themes of the movie relate to everything I've been learning recently about the core teachings of Buddhism.

There is a concept in Buddhism called "right view." It is the first practice in the Eightfold Path. I think of this as referring to a person's understanding and perception of reality. When a person does not see the true nature of reality, they are vulnerable to illusions and delusions, which cause cravings and excessive attachments.

The Other Mother in Coraline has buttons for eyes, and she sews buttons into the eyes of other people who she lures into her illusory reality. She literally lacks "right view," and she tries to force other people to share her distorted view. She craves, and clings, and she wants other people to cling to her, so she offers them the things they crave. She controls others because she is so attached to them.

The moment when all of this hit me was at the end of the movie, when the Other Mother screams, "Don't leave me! Don't leave me! I'll die without you!"

The reason it hit me is because I suddenly saw myself in her. I think a lot of people live like this without realizing it. I am one of those people, or at least I have been. This "I'll die without you!" sentiment can be applied to any kind of addiction. The "You" could be food, it could be alcohol, it could be sex, it could be attention from others, etc. The sentiment behind the Other Mother's words can be related to any pattern of compulsive thought or behavior. But in this movie, and in my own life, that theme most often plays out in relationships with other people. Codependence is a key word to describe the pattern, at least the way I understand it.

I'm trying to develop the inner strength and acceptance of reality, to move beyond that way of existing. It is really painful to live like that. And I found myself feeling sad for the Other Mother, who is trapped in a world (resulting at least in part from her lack of "right view") where she never has enough, is never satisfied, and is never happy. Things change, and everything is impermanent, so clinging and controlling is only ever going to end in heartbreak.

There is a concept in Buddhism of the hungry ghost. They are ghosts who are stuck in a state of constant craving and dissatisfaction, and they can be extremely destructive as a result. I think that the Other Mother is a perfect, almost textbook example of a hungry ghost. I mean, she would literally consume children because she was craving their love so much.

The word "love" here is interesting to me. The cat in Coraline says that the Other Mother loves Coraline and wants to be loved in return. But the word love in this context indicates an unhealthy, all-consuming obsession, rather than mutual respect and care. A really helpful and succinct explanation is actually right in the book (which the movie is based on). Neil Gaiman writes: "It was true. The other mother loved her. But she loved Coraline as a miser loves money, or a dragon loves its gold."

Now, turning my attention to Coraline herself: I see this movie as a story about how Coraline developed "right view" after undergoing a process of reckoning with her previous approach to life. She was unable to accept reality as it was. She was unhappy, and craved a different life with different parents and different friends and different material possessions. She wanted more. And in this way, she was very like the Other Mother.

As a storytelling device, the Other Mother is useful. Characters are useful for illustrating dynamics of growth and change over the course of a narrative. But I think that ultimately, the Other Mother was inside of Coraline, and a part of her. Just as she had been a part of all the other people living in that house who were dissatisfied with their lives. She is a symbol of the attachments and cravings that all people have, taken to their extreme but logical conclusion.

In the first part of the movie, Coraline resists change. She has just moved to a new place, and she has not accepted her new reality. She has trouble connecting with the people around her, who are either overworked and exhausted (her parents), or who she barely knows at all. Because her material and social conditions are not acceptable to her, and she does not yet have "right view," she develops cravings. She lives out those cravings in the fantasy world inhabited by the Other Mother.

Sometime in the early to middle part of the movie, Coraline goes to a shop with her Mom and asks for some colorful knitted gloves. She wants them because nobody else will have them and she thinks they look pretty and interesting. Her Mom says no. This makes Coraline angry, and causes her to go even deeper into the world inhabited by the Other Mother, because that is a world in which she believes her desires can be fulfilled.

Over time, she begins to understand that the Other Mother (this dissatisfied aspect of herself) is not a good person to hang around, and that her perspective on life is warped. She begins to see the dangers of living in delusion, and clinging to sense pleasures. She becomes a firsthand witness to the instability and violence this way of living can create.

So she lets go. She lets go of her expectations, she lets go of her cravings, and instead she decides to honor her love for her parents, which is based in mutual care, rather than obsession and excessive catering to desires. It is only once she lets go of any attachment to an outcome, that she begins to receive the things she originally wanted. Love, care, attention, and even some nice physical items. Her Mom gives her the gloves she wanted as a surprise gift. But now, she is wise enough to appreciate these things for what they are. She can be happy and present in the moment, appreciating the little things while they last.

[nevernoneart]

DAY 3: PATH - the purple lotus is a rare colour way sacred to the Buddhism. It represents the Noble Eightfold Path of Mysticism. This special lotus changes colour according to the light and temperature, so it represents transformation. When the bud is closed, it represents the path to enlightenment, before opening to show the treasure in the centre.

I was planning to attempt to do these figures in a more Feefal style, based on her plant work. However, thanks to doing Mochipanko’s Domestika course, I’m a bit too fond of drawing clothes and shoes. Expect more of this.

[ohmconsciousness]

Dharma wheel