The Eightfold Path
(1) Right Views - seeing life as it is, in accord with its
three characteristics (change or impoermanence, sorrow, and unsubstantiality
or non-egoism); and appreciating the four truths.
(2) Right Mindedness - being motivated by friendly thoughts,
without prejudice, towards one's fellow human beings and towards all other
forms of sentient life.
(3) Right Speech - speaking kindly and truthfully, and narrating
incidents accurately.
(4) Right Action - acting skilfully and sympathetically, while
avoiding vain or violent effort.
(5) Right Livelihood - practising a means of living that does
not cause oneself nor others to infringe lawful morality.
(6) Right Endeavour - self-perfection by avoiding and rejecting
ignoble qualities while acquiring and fostering noble qualities.
(7) Right Mindfulness - the cultivation and priactice of self-awareness
and compassion, resulting in self-reliance and equanimity.
(8) Right concentration - contemplation culminating in intellectual
intuition, wisdom.
This eightfold Way of life is the Middle Path, the way of
moderation that avoids extremes. The Middle Way is Gotama's criterion, to
be applied to daily life. The eigt sections are not to be practised in sequence
but concurrently; They are not stops.
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