Buddha then taught that to follow the Eightfold Path (sometimes called the Middle Way), one must try to develop:
- Right Understanding (the recognition of suffering and painful feelings within oneself)
- Right Thought (striving to think with compassion and unselfishly)
- Right Speech (telling the truth and speaking in a helpful way)
- Right Action (being kind and thoughtful with everyone and in every situation)
- Right Work (doing work that is useful and will not damage people or nature)
- Right Effort (making an effort to live wisely and encourage the good in oneself)
- Right Mindfulness (paying attention and staying alert to what one is feeling, thinking, and doing so as not to behave in a way that one will regret later)
- Right Meditation (using meditation as a way to learn how to be one with oneself and the world)
In many ways these teachings can seem impossible. Do you think that any person can be kind and thoughtful with every person in every situation every day? Were you that way with your parents just this morning? Buddha felt that people need to unlearn what they have been taught growing up. He said that people have been trained to live searching for the desires and that is the wrong way to think. This eight-fold path should be the goal that people are working towards..
Food For Thought
As you look at this Eight-fold path wheel which one do you think would be the hardest for you to follow and why?
