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Buddhism Eightfold Path

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Buddhism is an important philosophical tradition because it focuses on how each of us can be a better person, and to reach our best potential through three key cornerstones: the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the idea of the attainment of Nirvana.

Siddhartha Gautama, who was the son of a very wealthy regional king of the Sakyas, founded Buddhism about 2500 years ago. In order to help him to reach his prophesized goal of being a “Chakravartin” or Universal King of India, his father kept him “shielded from contact with sickness, decrepitude, and death,” (Smith, 84). He later became disillusioned as is told in the “Legend of the Four Passing Sights”, in which he encountered a decrepit old man who showed him old age, a person with …show more content…

These Truths are seen as the four most deeply rooted convictions held about life by Buddha, and were presented in his sermon in the town of Sarnath. The First Noble, as stated by Huston Smith is as follows: “… life is dukkha, usually translated as suffering, ”(Smith, 99). However, it shouldn’t be assumed that Buddha thought that all of life was suffering, but rather that we should aim to improve on it. Buddha’s goal was that we would not live life as we typically would, which is unfulfilled and insecure. Smith states this about the First Truth: “… Life (in the condition it has got itself into) is dislocated. Something has gone wrong. It is out of joint. As its pivot is not true, fiction (interpersonal conflict) is excessive, movement (creativity) is blocked, and it hurts,” (Smith, 101). Six points in life have been identified to perfectly represent this: birth, sickness, decrepitude, fear of death, to be attached to what one hates, and to be removed from what someone loves. The Second Noble Truth is as Smith puts it: “The cause of life’s dislocation is Tanha,” (Smith, 102). Tanha can be seen to mean desire, which is egocentric. The Third Noble Truth is seen as a result of the Second. It states that: in order to achieve Nirvana, you must eliminate all the Tanha in your life. Smith phrases like this: “If we could be released from the narrow limits of self-interest into the vast expanse of …show more content…

For the Eightfold Path, it is assumed that that we will surround ourselves with good people, and people that seek the truth, and that reaching Nirvana is a slow process. The first step in the Eightfold Path is that of Right View. Right View, or Rational View, emphasizes that we should constantly and consistently remind ourselves of the Four Noble Truths. Smith says this about Right View: “Some intellectual orientation, therefore, is needed if one is to set out… The Four Noble Truths provide this orientation,” (Smith, 106). The second step of the Eightfold Path is that of Right Intent. Right Intent, or Right Motivation, makes the point that we should live our lives for one goal, which is that of reaching Nirvana. Smith elaborates the following about Right Intent: “If we are to make appreciable headway, persistence is indispensible. People who achieve greatness are almost invariably invested in some one thing,” (Smith, 106). The third step is that of Right Speech, which simply means don’t lie or gossip and to be aware of your motives for speaking. Smith says this about Right Speech: “Our first task is to become aware of our speech and what it reveals about our character… Begin not by resolving never to speak an unkind word, but by watching one’s speech to become aware of the motives that prompt unkindness… False witness, idle chatter, gossip, slander, and abuse are to be

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