A talk
given by Ajahn Jagaro -- October 1988
It's very nice to sit
meditation for a short time, at the end of the day. We
take time to collect ourselves, to recollect our
existence, to become aware of our experience of life, in
order to understand this life and ourselves. So much of
life is mechanical, and habitual, that we can spend a
whole lifetime going round in circles, recreating
situations, repeating old habits over and over again,
never taking time to really consider what we are doing.
What is it that we want out of life? Are we going in the
right direction? Are we living in a way that will bring
about that which we desire and aspire for? What is it
all about anyway?
When we practise
meditation we stop, don't we? We stop doing the
mechanical, the habitual, stop running around
physically, and we stop verbally. We're not taking in a
lot of information. We're not preoccupying the mind with
a lot of sensory stimulation, sensory proliferation or
distractions, and what happens? Things begin to settle
down, the dust begins to settle. When the dust begins to
settle, all the unsettled business, all the unresolved
emotions, and all conflicts are clearer in our
consciousness.
We begin to notice what
we've been doing, how we feel - about ourselves, about
others, about life. We notice ourselves. It is so very
important to begin to notice oneself, what one is doing,
because each one of us creates life. We have a very
important contribution to make. The way we approach
life, our volitional actions of body, speech and mind
help to shape this world and life for ourselves and
others.
That's not to say, "I
control everything". That's ridiculous. Of course I
don't. But it's also not true to say that "I'm a
helpless victim, I have no control or contribution at
all". That would be completely fatalistic. I have a very
obvious contribution to make to life. The quality of my
mind, the volition behind my actions, the way I live is
my contribution to life and helps shape the quality of
life for myself and others. It's very important to take
time off, to notice what we are doing, and what we want.
This is the way to cultivate Right View.
It has been said over
and over again that Buddhism is a path of wisdom, not
blind faith, not superstition, and not doctrine. Wisdom
is not knowledge, nor is it intellect. It is an
appreciation of the way things are. An appreciation of
the laws of nature, how they work, our relationship with
nature and where we fit into the laws of nature. This
wisdom comes from reflecting, observing, listening and
watching, not just from reading books.
Sometimes people with
very little knowledge, very little intellectual
sophistication, may have great wisdom. Why is that? In
their simplicity and less cluttered state of mind, they
are a little more attuned to the experience of life and
the ways of nature. In order to become attuned to
nature, we need to realize we're part of this nature.
Nature is not just trees, grass, sky and air. That's
part of it. But everything that is in existence is part
of nature. There is nothing unnatural to be found
anywhere. Everything that happens is natural. We are
part of it; we need to understand it.
We hear that Buddhism is
the way of wisdom, and quite often we hear that it is
the Middle Way. That can be misunderstood. One can begin
to think of Buddhism as wishy-washy, sit on the fence,
everything is all right, and that Buddhism has no
particular view about anything. You can do more or less,
what you want. That's not true at all. The path that the
Buddha laid down, the Middle Way is actually very, very
explicit and very clear. Probably the most explicit, the
most comprehensive and the clearest of all spiritual
paths in existence today.
When the Buddha taught
the first sermon to the five ascetics, just a few months
after his enlightenment, he said, "I have found the
Middle Way. This way which avoids extremes of sensual
indulgence and the mortification of the flesh. This
middle way is the path to insight, to knowledge, to
peace, to enlightenment, to Nibb*na". What is the path?
He then enumerated the Eightfold Path. The Buddha
himself is quoted as having said, "Amongst all the
conventional teachings I give, amongst all the
conditioned Dhammas, the highest of all is the Eightfold
Path". That's pretty high praise from the Buddha
himself. It is the heart, the essence of Buddhism, and
it is present in every aspect of Buddhism. If one can
grasp clearly the meaning of the Eightfold Path, one
will have a pretty good idea of what Buddhism is all
about and what one needs to do in order to be a
Buddhist.
Right View
The first step of the
Eightfold Path is Right View. The first spark of Right
View arises, when we start to consider our existence,
"What am I? What am I doing? It's not necessarily coming
from study, reading about this and that. It may come
from our experience of meditation. When we start to look
at our lives, we become aware of the very basis of
Buddhism: we begin to notice that we are responsible for
our lives. The way we live brings about results, and it
affects ourselves and others, and sometimes the results
really aren't good. This first spark of right view is
the realization that I am responsible. Not blaming or
laying the burden on someone else or on some deity. This
is the first appreciation of the Law of Kamma. The way I
live, the state of my mind, all my actions bring about
results.
Then I begin to notice
that I suffer, my mind is unhappy. It's burdened. There
is fear, jealousy, hate and anger. This is not due to
the environment or other people. It is my own creation.
That's another spark of right view. I begin to
appreciate the first two of the Noble Truths. There is
suffering, mental unease and anguish. Even in the midst
of comfort and prosperity, I am still miserable. I
notice that this mental anguish is not due to anyone or
anything else, but is due to this mind.
Right View in Buddhism
is the first step of the Eightfold Path. This is why we
say it's a path of wisdom, not just a doctrine or
belief. It's a noticing and observing of ourselves and
our lives. The Buddha taught what is obvious, what is
there to be seen. Although it's there to be seen it
doesn't mean we see it, it may be obvious but it doesn't
mean we understand it or notice it. Maybe we miss it all
the time because it is so obvious. The Buddha pointed
things out which we need to consider. He taught nothing
outside of what can be seen and realized within this
body, with this mind. The whole path is to be developed
through this body and mind. We have all that we need.
All we have to do is to start noticing what is around
us. That's when the spark of Right View begins to arise.
One very nice story is
of a man I know here in Perth. He was brought up as a
Buddhist actually, and considered himself one, but he
never really took an interest or practised anything
beyond just the superficial. On one occasion, he decided
to go on a trip, with his wife, around Australia,
camping and driving. While they were travelling from
Perth to Adelaide, they camped out in the desert. One
night, camping out in the middle of nowhere, just open
space, he couldn't sleep so he got up and went out of
the tent and just walked in the stillness of the night,
in the emptiness of the desert. And he found himself
completely alone. In this emptiness, he noticed himself,
this human being, and he became very aware of the
emptiness in his life. He asked himself, "What am I
doing? What's it all about anyway? All this study and
accumulation of degrees and knowledge and money, so
what? What do I want out of life?" There was a spark of
right view there. A stopping and considering. The
mechanical, the habitual existence came to a stop for a
moment. All thought comes to a stop for a moment and
this reflective thought arises: consideration and
appreciation of one's present existence.
Right Thought or
Aspirations
The result of Right View
is that Right Aspiration or Right Thought arises. This
happens to us in various ways. I'm sure it has happened
to everyone here, especially when we have some traumatic
experience, or something helps us to stop and think and
observe. Buddhism is not common in Australia and
meditation is unusual. So why do you come here?
Something has arisen in your mind that makes you stop
and consider. What am I doing here? What do I want out
of life? How can I improve this life? This is a spark of
Right View, a spark of understanding involving Kamma. I
am responsible.
This bit of Right View
causes Right Aspiration: the intention to cultivate
something. We know that selfishness - selfish, egotistic
indulgence doesn't make us happy or peaceful. It doesn't
seem to ever end. Hate, anger, negativity - it's the
fire that burns, and you don't have to have it to suffer
from it. Someone close to you has it and you also
suffer. This we have all seen. We wish to free the mind
from selfishness and the obsessive uncontrolled desire
for sensual experience, all the negative forces within
us, the anger and aversion which lead to malevolence and
hurtfulness in our relationships with other human beings
and even in our relationship with ourselves. How often
do we feel aversion towards ourselves? Right View brings
about Right Aspiration to do something about this: to
try and change the mind, bring about more peace and more
happiness, by trying to change the attitudes, the
intentions and aspirations - towards giving, sharing,
kindness and compassion. This begins to arise in the
mind, doesn't it? If it hadn't arisen, you wouldn't be
here, because we don't teach anything other than this.
So these are the first
two steps on the Buddhist Path: Right View and Right
Aspiration. They are related, they are to do with wisdom
and understanding, not just believing. Now that's fine.
We have a spark of understanding and a spark of
intending to live our lives in a new way. But that's not
enough, is It? It has to be followed through. So there
is the rest of the path. This Eightfold Path is a
comprehensive training, because from our understanding
and intention, there has to be a carrying through to the
way we actually live our lives.
The Buddha laid down the
rest of the path as a way to train ourselves, to train
this body, speech and mind in order to realize peace and
happiness. Buddhism is not just a sort of philosophy. It
has to do with us, with our lives, how we live, and the
responsibility is with the individual, because we have
these bodies, the ability to speak, to think; and we can
do things. So the path of the Buddha requires practical
application, actually doing the work. Personally, I like
that approach rather than saying " You're all
enlightened anyway". It doesn't help very much if I tell
you, you are a Buddha, and you're enlightened. You can
say, "Thank you very much", but you still feel the same,
still have the same habits, still create the same
problems. It is necessary to know what to do with one's
present position: being a human being, with a body and
mind. How should one deal with this? This is where the
Buddha was so brilliant, so compassionate, pointing out
the path, something that we can use to train ourselves,
and to develop ourselves. Not as commandments or blind
ritual but as skilful means. According to our spark of
right view, we have a way of following it through.
Right Speech
The third factor on the
Eightfold Path is Right Speech. This is anything but
wishy-washy. I do a lot of talking, I think many of us
do a lot of talking. The tongue is a very powerful
thing. They say that the pen is mightier than the sword.
I think the tongue is mightier than the pen. It is so
much quicker, isn't it? To write can be a tedious thing,
even if you want to write a nasty letter, of course it
can be easier to write a nasty letter than a nice
letter. You can really pump up some adrenalin and energy
if you're getting stuck into someone. But it still takes
a lot of time to write it down, and in that time there's
time for consideration and maybe a change of mind.
However the tongue is so quick, so immediate. Before you
even think twice, you have already spoken. The Buddha
said that this speech of ours is an action. It brings
about results. What we say shapes life, can cause wars,
or can cause peace. There are different types of wars.
We read about all the wars overseas, the international
wars, but there are also the interpersonal wars. We have
a lot of those, don't we? How many wars have you created
in the last week? When we're aspiring to peace and
clarity of mind, it's very important to master one's
speech. The Buddha said develop Right Speech, avoid
Wrong Speech. This is not just nebulous idea. He was
very explicit. He said that wrong speech is lying and
avoiding truth. That causes a lack of trust and it's
anything but peaceful. It is very difficult to be
peaceful when you're living with people who don't tell
the truth because you can't trust them. Everything is
lost when one's honesty is gone. I like to reflect on
the monkhood, which is based on very high standards of
morality, impeccability. It all rests on one thing:
honesty. All the rules of the monk depend on the monk
acknowledging that that is true, and acknowledging it if
one voluntarily breaks a rule. It's not a police state
we don't have cameras! We haven't yet installed cameras
in the monks' huts to see what they are doing. That
would not be in keeping with the spirit of Buddhism. I
don't know what they are up to; it's not necessary to
know, because it's an honour system. It all depends on
this one rule: truthfulness. I shall not lie. If the
person is no longer committed to truthfulness, how do
you know that anything else is going to hold? It's
impossible to trust, to be at peace and have spiritual
growth without honesty.
This one rule is so
important, and it happens to be a rule of training for
every Buddhist - monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen. It's
essential for everyone who's interested in peace. I
undertake the training to refrain from lying. It's the
fourth precept for Buddhist lay people. Wrong speech is
not the way to peace either. To go about telling tales
with malicious intent, trying to stir up fights and
conflicts and break up friendships are all examples of
Wrong Speech. Another aspect of Wrong Speech is abusive
and harsh speech. There's a fair bit of that in our
society. Putting someone down, really getting stuck into
someone. It's hurtful. The last type is useless speech,
just repeating bits of information and gossip that tends
to confuse and distract people. This isn't training the
mind. In order to cultivate Right Speech, we avoid these
four types of speech, and we develop truthful speech,
that is kind, gentle and pleasant to the ear, words
which bring harmony and friendship between people, words
of wisdom which are useful, beneficial for our
well-being and spiritual growth. So the Middle Way is
pretty clear about how one should train one's speech.
It's the same regardless of who is speaking, regardless
of time and place. Wherever you go, this is the
foundation of peaceful co-existence within a community.
That's the third factor of the Eightfold Path.
Consciously remember that. It is something we train
ourselves with. It is not a command "Thou shalt not lie;
if you do, you'll go to Hell". It's not saying that at
all. It's saying, "This action of speech is an action
which has its consequences". How we speak contributes to
the quality of our lives and the quality of other
people's lives. So let us consider wisely, let us take
responsibility. If we want peace and happiness, use
speech for that purpose. Train yourself; you have the
ability.
Right Action
The fourth factor of the
Eightfold Path is Right Action. Again it's not that,
"Thou shalt not". We have a physical body, so we have
the ability to do things with this body, and what we can
do is very wide ranging. We can use this body for
harmful, violent, selfish, destructive purposes, can't
we? We can use this body in order to create Hell, in
order to make trouble, to be a nuisance to others. Or we
can use the body to be of service, to help, to create
well-being for ourselves and others. This body is an
instrument, in itself it is neutral. It depends on who's
using it and for what purpose. People say that the
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. The flesh is
not weak; it's not strong; it's just flesh. Flesh is
actually neutral. It's the mind that drives it. It is
the mind that puts volition into it, causing it to act.
It's not the body that decides to go and rob a bank,
it's the mind that thinks that, isn't it? It's not the
body that says, "I think I'II have another glass of
whisky", or "My body tells me to have another beer".
There's an element of truth to that, because the body
does have its signals. The body affects the mind as
well, but the volitional action comes from the mind, not
the body. So this body is an instrument for us to use as
we wish. How do we use it? We can be a real nuisance,
use it for all sorts of harmful things, or we can use it
for wonderful things, for service, being kind, gentle
and helpful.
So the Buddha said train
this body, use it for skilful things. Avoid killing any
living creature because every living creature wants to
live. And every living creature thinks that its life is
the most important life in this whole universe. We can
refrain from killing living creatures because we can
train the body. We don't use this body to steal that
which is not ours. We respect the property of others
because we respect their feelings. It is also important
to understand our sexual nature and to train our selves
to live within the restraint befitting our status in
life. The instinctive sexual forces have no knowledge of
right or wrong, good or bad; and when followed
indiscriminately they can result in much conflict and
suffering. So for inner peace and outer harmony we train
ourselves to refrain from adultery and other forms of
sexual misconduct. We become responsible human beings,
true to our vows and commitments, rather than just
following the basic instincts.
Now in order to have
this control over our body and speech it's essential
that we be in control of our mental faculties. Thus it
is obvious that alcohol and other drugs which cause
heedlessness will impede our ability to train ourselves.
So we choose to avoid such things not because of any
commandment but because we wish to have the freedom of
choice that is only possible when the mind is clear and
alert. This is the cultivation of Right Action in the
Eightfold Path.
Right Livelihood
Based on Right Speech
and Right Action the next factor of the path is Right
Livelihood. We all have to earn a living but how do we
go about it? Would it be right to try to secure our own
happiness at the expense of someone else's happiness? So
we train ourselves to earn our living by honest means
without exploiting or hurting others physically,
mentally, or spiritually. I'm willing to train myself,
and this is how morality and ethical standards come
about. They are not commandments laid down by someone,
demanding that you obey. This is coming from your own
wisdom through close reflection and consideration. You
can train yourself. What is the training? What you do,
what you say depends on volition. What is volition? It
comes from the mind. The mind is the forerunner; the
mind is that which wills, motivates and drives us. It is
behind the speech and behind the action; this is the
volition: the mind.
This mind needs to be
trained. The mind is the area for investigation and
training, and this involves meditation. This is the
remaining part of the Eightfold Path. So, Right View
leads to Right Aspiration. Having Right Aspiration, then
we know how to train our speech, our physical actions,
and to consider and train our livelihood. But, all of
that is dependent on our mind. So, the last three steps
on the path have to do with cultivating the mind: Right
Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
Right Effort
Some people believe that
Buddhism is the way of no effort. They've heard the
teaching that making an effort cannot enlighten you. So
what do you do, make no effort? Will you still get
enlightened? In that case, more people should be
enlightened than unenlightened, because there are more
people making no effort than people who make effort. In
that case, the cattle grazing in the fields and the
flies flying around should be more enlightened, because
they don't make any effort at all; they just follow
their instincts. Yes, it's true, you cannot become
enlightened if you make an effort that's obsessive or
gain-oriented. That kind of effort is, in itself, an
obstacle. But it is truer to say that you cannot become
enlightened if you make no effort at all. That is very
true.
The Buddha said there is
Right Effort, balanced effort; it's not result-oriented
effort, using just willpower and force. It is the mind
balanced with Right View and Right Aspiration, putting
forth an effort to train. How can we train our speech
and our bodies? Only through effort, there needs to be
effort or nothing is achieved. The effort must be made
to abandon that which is harmful and to develop that
which is skilful. However, that is still not enough, is
it? It requires clarity of mind to know that which is
harmful and that, which is skilful. It requires a
clarity of mind to know what we are saying, what we are
doing. It requires mindfulness, doesn't it? This is
crucial. It is the ability to know what we are doing.
This is the actual trainer. Who is the trainer? It is it
the mind? What aspect of the mind is the trainer? It is
awareness.
Right Mindfulness
"Buddha" means "Awakened
One". The one who knows. There's the knowing, alertness,
and presence of mind: that which knows what I am saying,
that knows the intention, that knows the actions of
speech, body and thought. The Buddha is the incomparable
trainer of those who wish to be trained. The Buddha, the
Knower, Awareness, Mindfulness. That is the quality that
enables one to train. Take that away and there is no
training. There is only habitual, mechanical,
instinctive behaviour. This mindfulness is to be
cultivated and strengthened. It's part of the path. We
take responsibility for cultivating this quality of
being awake. How can we be awake? By the practice of
remembrance, of not forgetting the present moment, not
forgetting to know what we are doing, what we are
saying, what we are thinking. And so, we come to this
crucial part of the training in Buddhism; the path of
cultivating mindfulness. This is where meditation is so
important. But meditation is not an isolated thing that
we only do when we sit cross-legged. It is something in
our daily lives as well, meditation in action,
cultivating awareness in our ordinary existence, our
ordinary activities, because what we say has its effect,
what we do has its effect, what we think has its effect.
So cultivating mindfulness in our daily lives,
cultivating the quality of awareness, is essential. It's
a training, something to be developed by those aspiring
to peace.
Right Concentration
When we have this Right
Effort and we're cultivating Right Mindfulness, Right
Concentration arises. Concentration here means the
ability to focus your attention, to direct your mind, to
observe closely. To focus your attention on the present
experience, and penetrate deeply into the contents of
our consciousness, the nature of this body, the nature
of feelings, emotions and thoughts, the nature of mind
itself. It's having that stability of mind that can
focus and look with sustained attention. It's that which
enables us to go a little bit deeper than just the
superficial, just what is common knowledge, what is
taken for granted. It's our ability to dwell, to look
deeply. It's as if you're in a dark room, and you light
a match, but it goes out quickly and you don't have that
much of a look. But if you can light a candle, or better
yet, an electric light, you can look closely and see
everything in there. That's the power of concentration.
It enables you to look closely so you can penetrate more
deeply. What are doubt, desire, fear and anger? What is
the body? What is this knowing itself, the mind,
consciousness? Who am I?
If we strengthen the
concentration through training, what happens? We have
this tool, the mind is fit for work. We can penetrate
and we can look closely. What happens when we look
closely, when we begin to stop and consider our feelings
and ourselves? We're back to the beginning again. When
we stop and when we've got a mind that is that much more
peaceful, that much more precise, we begin to have a
deeper understanding, a deeper appreciation of the way
things are, of the truth of existence, of the Four Noble
Truths. So, we're back to Right View. Our view, our
perception, our understanding of life becomes that much
more correct, more enlightened, if you wish. As our view
becomes more enlightened, our aspiration becomes purer.
And as our aspiration becomes purer, our speech and
action, the way we live, everything will become more
refined, more caring, and more peaceful. And when we
live accordingly, the mind itself responds by becoming
more peaceful and clearer. Meditation becomes more
refined, concentration becomes stronger, and we see more
deeply. You can see what's happening here. You can see
the path unfolding. It is all interrelated,
interdependent. Strengthening one aspect helps to
strengthen all of the other factors on the path.
Conclusion
So we have this
wonderful tool, The Eightfold Path. The Buddha said it
was the most important, the most skilful of all that was
taught. The essence of the Buddhist teaching. This is
what one who is interested in Buddhism needs to study.
Try to make it really conscious in your mind, develop a
conscious understanding of The Eightfold Path. If you
understand just this much of Buddhism, you have all that
you really need to work with, to realize happiness and
peace, in order to cultivate the potential of your human
existence. There's enough here, even without all the
complicated philosophy, and psychology of all the
different sects of Buddhism, all the esoteric and
exoteric, all the ritual and ceremony. These eight
factors of the Eightfold Path, if understood, if
practised, developed and perfected, are sufficient for
you to completely know Buddhism and benefit completely
from the teachings of the Buddha. So try to remember
these eight things, this very basic teaching in
Buddhism. This is the Buddhist catechism. Christians
have the Ten Commandments. We have the Noble Eightfold
Path. The path of training for liberation, peace and
happiness. There's Right View, Right Aspiration, Right
Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. And the
Buddha said, "In any teaching, where the Eightfold Path
is taught, there you will find enlightened beings".
Pretty high recommendations!
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