The Eightfold Path Is a Treatment

The Eightfold Path is a treatment, a treatment by training (smith 104). Buddha taught that man is a slave to his ego (smith 108). That man wishes happiness, security, success, long life, and many other things for himself and his loved ones. However, pain, frustration, sickness and death are all impossible to avoid and the only way to eliminate these evils is to overcome desire. In Buddhism, the Eightfold Path is meant as a guideline, to be considered, to be contemplated, and to be taken on when, and only when each step is fully accepted as part of the life you seek. Buddhism never asks for blind faith, it seeks to promote learning and a process of self-discovery. The First step of the Eightfold Path is Right View. This is a significant step on the path as it relates to seeing the world and everything in it as it really is, not as we believe it to be or want it to be. Knowing reality is of very little value if we don’t put it to personal use in our lives. The second step on the Eightfold Path is Right Intent. This is the step where you become committed to the path. Right Views shows us what life really is and what life’s problems are composed of. Right Intent must come from the heart and involves recognizing the equality of all life and compassion for all that life, beginning with you. Right Speech is the next step of the Path. Our speech reflects our character. We must avoid speaking falsely, obscene, slanderous, and belittling words. Right Conduct recognizes the need to take the ethical approach in life, to consider others and the world we live in. This includes not taking what is not given to us, and having respect for the agreements we make both in our private and business lives. Right Conduct also encompasses the five precepts, which were given by the Buddha, not to kill, steal, and lie, to avoid sexual misconduct, and not to take drugs or other intoxicants (smith 107-108). The next on the Eightfold Path follows on from Right Conduct, and this is Right Livelihood. If your work has a lack of respect for life, then it will be a barrier to progress on the spiritual path. Buddhism promotes the principle of equality of all living beings and respect for all life. Certain types of work were discouraged by the Buddha, in particular those where you deal in harmful drugs and intoxicants, those dealing in weapons, and those harmful to animal or human life. So a dedicated Buddhist would not be recommended to have a liquor store, own a gun shop, or be a butcher (smith 108). Right Effort should produce an attitude of steady and cheerful determination. In order to produce Right Effort, clear and honest thoughts should be welcomed, and feelings of jealousy and anger left behind. Right Effort is positive thinking, followed by focused action. Right Mindfulness, Buddhism says that what a person is, comes from what he thinks. By improving our thoughts we can become more virtuous. The last is Right Concentration, by this meaning the practice of the Raja Yoga.

The First Noble truth is translated as life is suffering (dukkha). Most people have delusions and are therefore subject to more suffering than those without. True Suffering is either internal or external. Internally, there is the suffering of change. When one has dependence upon internal and external causes, the change is