the Eightfold Path
- what is meant by "right"?
- "samma" in Pali, which may be translated as
- right
- proper
- as it ought to be
- best
- complete
- harmony
- "skillful"?
- "wholesome"?
- (the word wholesome shows up elsewhere in translation)
- with placeholder or experimental names for each of them
- one translation w Pali
- 1) Right view (samma ditthi)
- 2) Right intention ( samma sankappa)
- 3) Right speech (samma vaca)
- 4) Right action (samma kammanta)
- 5) Right livelihood (samma ajiva)
- 6) Right effort (samma vayama)
- 7) Right mindfulness (samma sati)
- 8) Right concentration (samma samadhi)
- sources
- have glanced at this text by Bhikku Bodhi, mostly for translations
- ooooooh
- Appendix: A Factorial Analysis of the Noble Eightfold Path (Pali and English)
- I. Samma ditthi .... Right view
- dukkhe ñana .... understanding suffering
- dukkhasamudaye ñana .... understanding its origin
- dukkhanirodhe ñana .... understanding its cessation
- dukkhanirodhagaminipatipadaya ñana .... understanding the way leading to its cessation
- II. Samma sankappa .... Right intention
- nekkhamma-sankappa .... intention of renunciation
- abyapada-sankappa .... intention of good will
- avihimsa-sankappa .... intention of harmlessness
- III. Samma vaca .... Right speech
- musavada veramani .... abstaining from false speech
- pisunaya vacaya veramani .... abstaining from slanderous speech
- pharusaya vacaya veramani .... abstaining from harsh speech
- samphappalapa veramani .... abstaining from idle chatter
- IV. Samma kammanta .... Right action
- panatipata veramani .... abstaining from taking life
- adinnadana veramani .... abstaining from stealing
- kamesu micchacara veramani .... abstaining from sexual misconduct
- V. Samma ajiva .... Right livelihood
- miccha ajivam pahaya .... giving up wrong livelihood,
- samma ajivena jivitam kappeti .... one earns one's living by a right form of livelihood
- VI. Samma vayama .... Right effort
- samvarappadhana .... the effort to restrain defilements
- pahanappadhana .... the effort to abandon defilements
- bhavanappadhana .... the effort to develop wholesome states
- anurakkhanappadhana .... the effort to maintain wholesome states
- VII. Samma sati .... Right mindfulness
- kayanupassana .... mindful contemplation of the body
- vedananupassana .... mindful contemplation of feelings
- cittanupassana .... mindful contemplation of the mind
- dhammanupassana .... mindful contemplation of phenomena
- VIII. Samma samadhi .... Right concentration
- pathamajjhana .... the first jhana
- dutiyajjhana .... the second jhana
- tatiyajjhana .... the third jhana
- catutthajjhana .... the fourth jhana
2 linked references
March 5th, 2023
- > So when I say, “Bring attention to this,” it means experiencing what is actually going on when you are doing these things—experience what is going on in you when you are talking; experience what is going on when you are moving (that’s “right action”), experience what is going on when you are working.
- mmm this has a lot of resonance with my emphasis on first-person research & trust as truth in first-person
- > And it’s an exploration. I heartily encourage each of you to explore—what does right effort mean for me? Because the synonym for effort in Buddhism is enthusiasm. And when you feel enthusiastic about something, you pour your energy into it, and you’re pouring your energy into it in a good way. So it doesn’t have any of this Victorian nose-to-the-grindstone, stiff-upper-lip, grin-and-bear-it quality. And so there’s a very interesting exploration of what prevents me from being able to engage this activity with enthusiasm. That’s a very, very interesting inquiry.
- I fucking love this
- re the Eightfold Path, I'm not assuming there have to be exactly 8 of these. it's a nice symmetry, but so is 9, whatever
- I like the idea of "right" as in "upward-spirally"
- Vervaeke says that "right" in the sense of "right livelihood, right understanding" etc is not right like moral righteousness but he is more like right-handed and that makes me think of upward and downward spirals and maybe the thing is being pointed out is being on the spiraling facing the right way as opposed to the left way
- ugh I just looked up eightfold path on wikipedia and it's a bunch of very specific bullshit including the need to become a mendicant
- fuck that shit. won't scale at all