The Religions Book

140

The Noble Eightfold Path
The path to the cessation of
suffering is set out as a path of
eight steps. However, these need
not be taken sequentially as they
are eight principles, rather than
actions, that allow Buddhists to
overcome craving and achieve
happiness. The Noble Eightfold
Path deals with the three basic
aspects of the Buddhist life:
wisdom (in the first two steps),
virtue (in the next three), and
concentration (in the final three).

Wisdom, for Buddha, is made

up of two directions in which to

turn the mind: “right view” and

“right intention.” The first of these

is important in order to be able to

see and identify the cause and

cure of suffering, as outlined in

the Four Noble Truths. Without a

willingness to explore that view,

the rest of the path makes little

sense. Right intention could

equally be described as “right

commitment”—it refers to our

intention to follow the path,

ESCAPE FROM THE ETERNAL CYCLE

Material goods such as shoes may be

advertised as must-have items, in an

attempt to create a desire or craving

in us. This desire, which can never

be fully satisifed, leads to suffering.

because a mere understanding

of the teaching (without also

adopting an intention to act

on it) is of no use.

Steps three, four, and five

of the path offer practical moral

guidelines. Buddhist morality is not

about rules to be obeyed, but about

creating conditions that facilitate

the path toward enlightenment.

Step three states that we must

use “right speech”: avoid telling

lies, speaking harshly or cruelly,

and listening to or spreading

purposeless chatter and malicious

gossip. Instead, we must cultivate

the opposite: truthful, positive,

kindly, and purposeful speech.

Step four says that we must

take “right action” by following the

five moral “precepts”: not to destroy

life, not to steal, not to misuse the

senses, not to lie, and not to cloud

the mind with intoxicants (the

last is of particular importance

for those who are engaging in the

mental training that forms the final

There are four kinds of

clinging: clinging to sensual

pleasures, clinging to views,

clinging to rules and

observances, and clinging

to a doctrine of the self.

Sammaditthi Sutta

The Pali Canon

In the 400 years after Buddha

died, his teachings and the

guidelines for monastic life

were passed down orally

using local languages, rather

than Sanskrit, which was the

language used in the Hindu

scriptures. However, in the

1st century BCE, his teachings

were written down in Sri Lanka

using a language and script

called Pali, which was closely

related to the language that

Buddha himself spoke. These

texts are collectively referred to

as the Pali Canon, and they form

the scriptures of the Theravada

Buddhist tradition (p.330).

The Pali Canon is also known

as the Tipitaka (in Pali) and the

Tripitaka (in Sanskrit), meaning

“three baskets.” It is divided

into three sections: the Vinaya

Pitaka, which contains guidance

on monastic life; the Sutta

Pitaka, a collection of Buddha’s

sayings and accounts of events

in his life; and the Abhidhamma

Pitaka, a philosophical analysis

of Buddha’s teachings.