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THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH
The Noble Eightfold Path consists of eight ways of thinking, speaking and
behaving that the Buddha said people should follow if they want to reach the
End of Suffering, Nirvana. Sometimes it is said that while the first Three Noble
Truths are Buddhist philosophy, the Fourth Noble Truth makes Buddhism a
religion. This is because, while the first Three Truths talk about how things are,
the Fourth Truth, the Path, actually tells you how to be.
The eight parts of the Path are:
• RIGHT UNDERSTANDING
• RIGHT INTENTION
• RIGHT SPEECH
• RIGHT ACTION
• RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
• RIGHT EFFORT
• RIGHT MINDFULNESS
• RIGHT CONCENTRATION
RIGHT UNDERSTANDING
Right Understanding understands the teachings on karma and rebirth, the Three
Universal Truths, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. However, this
is not just an intellectual understanding. Rather it is where you actually feel those
things to be true in your heart and they influence the way you see and do things at a
day-to-day level.
RIGHT INTENTION
Before we do anything we usually think about it; first we develop the INTENTION to
do something then we do it. Sometimes our intention is a selfish one, where we decide
to do things just for the sake of our own happiness. Sometimes we even do things
with the negative intention of harming others.
Right Intention means doing things for the right reasons. Instead of thinking about
doing things for him or herself, a Buddhist thinks about doing things for others.
Instead of thinking about how they can harm others, Buddhists think about how they
can help others. Basically, Right Intention is stopping doing things for bad reasons
and instead doing them for good ones.
RIGHT SPEECH
Right Speech means (1) not lying, (2) not swearing, (3) not gossiping and (4) not
saying things that cause other people to fall out. A Buddhist always tries to do the
opposite of these things: he or she tries to tell the truth, to speak pleasantly and about
meaningful subjects. Finally, he tries to speak in ways that cause harmony between
people.
RIGHT ACTION
Right Action means (1) not killing or injuring any living being, (2) not stealing, and
(3) not committing sexual misconduct (simply put, this means not being unfaithful to
your partner).
KS3 Buddhism, lesson 9:Noble Eightfold Path
G Beesley & the Dechen Community
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RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
A Buddhist must never make their living in a way that is harmful to others. This
means that he or she can never work selling (1) weapons, (2) meat, (3) slaves,
(4) harmful drugs or (5) poisons. A Buddhist could be a chemist because the drugs he
sold would not harm people. He could not own a pub though!
RIGHT EFFORT
Right Effort means making an effort to abandon negative ways of thinking such as
proud, angry, or jealous thoughts and instead making an effort to develop positive
ways of thinking such as humble, generous or compassionate thoughts.
RIGHT MINDFULNESS
To be mindful of something means to remember it. We all have mindfulness but it is
usually mindfulness of something meaningless like the pop song we can’t stop singing
or the girl or boy we can’t stop thinking about. Buddhists learn to be mindful of a
calm and peaceful state of mind so that when something that causes a strong sense of
'self' suddenly appears to the mind, be it a thought, a feeling, a sensation, or an object,
they remember or are ‘mindful’ of that calm and peaceful state of mind.
RIGHT CONCENTRATION
Right Concentration is the ability to keep the mind totally concentrated on a calm,
peaceful state without becoming distracted. It is very similar to Right Mindfulness,
indeed the two work together very closely. While Right Concentration remains
focussed on the calm and peaceful state, Right Mindfulness notices when the mind
starts to get distracted and pulls it back to the object of concentration. By keeping the
mind concentrated through Right Concentration, and preventing distraction from
arising by practising Right Mindfulness, a Buddhist gradually dissolves their mind
into deeper and deeper states of meditation until eventually they reach Nirvana. Here,
because they have gone beyond the sense of 'self', they achieve the End of Suffering,
(the Third Noble Truth).
TASKS: THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH
v Write a piece for a young children’s book explaining each part of the Noble
Eightfold Path.
v Sometimes Buddhists use a drawing of an eight-spoked wheel as a symbol for
the Eightfold Path. Draw the wheel then label each spoke in order, starting at
the top with ‘Right Understanding’.
v Why do you think Buddhists use the image of a wheel as a symbol for the
Eightfold Path?
v Why do people say that it is the Fourth Noble Truth that makes Buddhism a
religion?
v Do you think it would be easy to follow the Eightfold Path? Which part of the
Path would be most difficult and why?
KS3 Buddhism, lesson 9:Noble Eightfold Path
G Beesley & the Dechen Community
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v Look at Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. Pick five of the
things from under these headings and explain why you think a Buddhist
wouldn’t do them.
v What is the difference between Right Mindfulness and right Concentration?
v Why do you think thoughts and feelings cause the sense of 'self' to get
stronger?
v Nowadays people choose all sorts of paths to follow that they think will lead
to happiness. However, much of the time they wind up suffering. Draw a
cartoon strip to illustrate ‘A path to lasting happiness’ or ‘A path to happiness
that doesn’t last’.
v What sort of paths do you follow to reach happiness? How long does that
happiness last?
v Think of some ways in which Right Understanding might change the way you
do things. Say why you think it would change your view. (For example, you
might stop criticising your friends because you knew that it meant that one day
your friends would criticise you [karma!])
v List eight things you could do to bring you to true, lasting happiness. These
might be changes you need to make in yourself or in the world outside or a
combination of the two.
v In your book write: ‘When I studied the Noble Eightfold Path I learned that...’
I also learned that…’
The most interesting thing I learned was that…’
This was very interesting because…’
KS3 Buddhism, lesson 9:Noble Eightfold Path
G Beesley & the Dechen Community