The Noble Eightfold Path

Last week I explained the Four Noble Truths and said that we would delve further into the fourth truth, the Truth of Path, which is the path outlined by Buddha to cease our suffering. After we make it through these we can get into how all of this talk of the 4 of this and the 8 of that and the 3 of the other relates to our topic of food and eating.

So here they are:

Right View - This is about seeing reality as it really is. It specifically refers to understanding the teachings of impermanence and emptiness (we haven't gone into these yet but will!). In simple terms these teachings are about the changing nature of everything and how things aren't really as they seem, they are less solid, less concrete. This is a complex concept so I will point you towards teachings by qualified teachers when we get further into the subject of emptiness.

Right Intention - This refers to one's attitude and determination. It is about seeing the value in spiritual endeavors. It has three aspects. The first is receptivity or openness. The second is renunciation, being willing to give up that which causes us suffering. The third aspect is having loving thoughts.
Right Speech - This refers to what Jack Kornfield calls "speech from the heart". It is using our speech in ways that benefit others rather than those that harm others. The first aspect is of telling only that which is true and the second is of using speech that is helpful. The opposite of Right Speech (Wrong Speech) is gossip, unnecessary or untruthful speech.

Right Action - This refers to what is called "Ahimsa" in Sanskrit. It is acting in a way that does not harm other beings. That sounds far more simple than it actually is. Most of the time we go about our lives without stopping to think about the consequences of our actions. Buddha asks us to do so. There are two aspects to Right Action.There is the restraint of not-harming, for example not killing, and then there is the active side of performing positive actions, for example, saving lives. The five basic precepts of a lay practitioner we discussed previously fall under Right Action. What I found when I first started to examine my actions to determine if they were beneficial, a small space appeared between the thought and the action, so I could make a purposeful decision about my actions. It's amazing. I remember thinking that I had always thought that I was a nice person until I started studying Buddhism! When you start to look at your actions you might see areas that need improvement like I did.

Right Livelihood - This refers to making a living in a way that does not harm. It has five aspects. The first is doing something that is not harmful, so not doing work that involves weapons, drugs, killing, slavery, poisons, etc. The second is appropriate happiness. There are three aspects to appropriate happiness. The first is having some kind of work that you can do. The second is producing something from your work so you can contribute in some way to your family or the community and feel good about your contribution. The third is being free from debt (how wonderful would that be?!) and the fourth is being free from blame or fault, not doing work for status or because of some other external reason but rather because it comes from the heart. The third is growth and awareness which is about bringing awareness to your work so you can use it as an opportunity to grow. The fourth is simplicity which has become a movement hasn't it? You may know people who quit their job in advertising to start a nursery or become a musician. The fifth aspect is service. We can frame our work as service no matter what what we do. We can focus on giving service to those with whom we interact every day, our coworkers, employees, managers, clients, readers, customers, etc. Keeping service in mind can transform our work.
Right Effort - This is about putting effort into spiritual study. No matter how many teachings we attend, how many books we read, how much knowledge we have, we will not become enlightened unless we put effort in and practice! There are four types of effort. The first is to abandon what is not skillful (i.e. attachment, anger). The second is to sustain the cessation of what you have abandoned. It wouldn't do a lot of good to stop and then start again, eh? The third is to cultivate that which is skillful such as love, compassion and wisdom, and the fourth is to maintain that which you have cultivated.

Right Mindfulness - This is about seeing clearly without judging or trying to change what is. It is about being fully aware, being really present in the moment with all our senses. It is then about reacting to that what we see with our awareness in a positive way.
Right Concentration - This has two parts. The first is about quieting the mind, to slow down and calm ourselves so we can begin. The second part is to focus the mind into single pointed concentration. This is the vehicle to understanding.

Sometimes a simple reminder can bring me back to a skillful mindset. I find it hard to get through the mountains of email I receive but it's such a nice surprise to get a weekly Buddhist Quote. They tend to pull me back to a positive attitude. Shambala Publications has a variety of weekly quotes to which you can subscribe, His Holiness the Dalia Lama, Pema Chodron, Chogyam Trungpa...check them out here. Another thing I used to do and have recently just begun again is to find a book of quotes or sayings and read one every morning, perhaps as you sit down for breakfast. An old housemate Sam and I used to do this. We had a book of Dalai Lama Quotes and another from the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Reading a short statement gave a focus for the day. I had forgotten about the practice until Sam sent me this book in the mail recently. Much better than watching the news or checking facebook messages over breakkie!

Practice: This week let's look at Right Livelihood. Examine how you can infuse service into your work life. Are there moments when you can practice mindfulness? Meditation? Compassion and Care? Restraint? See if you can transform your experience at work by looking at it as an opportunity to practice patience, love, kindness, non-attachment, etc. Maybe if I was focused on others I wouldn't be focused on the afternoon tea and treats quite so much? Let's see.....

Have a great week!

Metta,

Dharma Mama

The Four Noble Truths

Continuing from last week's discussion of Buddhist ethics, today we will look at the 4 Noble Truths. When the historical Buddha first began to teach, he explained the Four Noble Truths which are the core of Buddhist teachings.

The First Noble Truth is called the Truth of Suffering and refers to unsatisfactory nature of life. Buddha  explained three types of suffering. The first is called the Suffering of Suffering. This is the suffering of pain and illnesses, etc. The second is the Suffering of Change. This is the suffering we experience when a relationship ends, a favourite tea cup breaks, or our reputation is tarnished. The Third type of suffering is called All-Pervasive Suffering. This refers to the conditions that exist because of the way in which we perceive ourselves in relation to the world. It is the basis of the other two sufferings and is challenging to see. However if we strive to understand the nature of our experience then we can change it. I have heard it equated to a dormant fatal disease. It's there even if we are consciously unaware and we are not able to heal it  until we know and understand it.

This leads nicely into the Second Noble Truth which is the Truth of the Cause of Suffering. Buddha taught that the mind which is influenced by negative thoughts is the cause of suffering. The clinging mind that wants something other than that which is at the present moment is the problem. When we have positive mindstates or experiences we cling to them, not wanting them to end and when we have negative ones we want to push them away. This clinging mind is what causes our suffering.

The Third Noble Truth is the Truth of Cessation of Suffering. Buddha taught that it is possible to cease the suffering we experience. If the root cause of suffering is within our own mind, then the way out of suffering will be found by deeply examining the true nature of mind. Buddha said that if we realise the true nature of our minds then we will be released from suffering.

The Forth Noble Truth is the Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering. Buddha outlined the method for achieving the cessation of suffering which is the Noble Eightfold Path, separated into three categories, Wisdom, Ethics and Concentration. I will just list the eight today and explain them further next week.

Right View
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration

Another way to explain the 4 Noble Truths is by using a medical analogy. Think of Buddha as the physician. The 1st Noble Truth is the Diagnosis, the 2nd Noble Truth is the Etiology, the Third Noble Truth is the Prognosis, and the 4th is the Prescription.


Practice: This week spend some time examining suffering in your life. When you get upset, take a look at what type of suffering you are experiencing. Suffering of suffering? Suffering of change? Does examining your suffering in this way change it? Let us know how it goes! 

Chat with you next week....until then take good care of yourselves!

Metta,

Dharma Mama

Buddhist Ethics - The Five Precepts

In introducing the topic of ethics last week I mentioned the 5 Precepts to which lay Buddhists adhere. There are different levels within each precept. For example, the first is not to kill. Breaking the precept at the root is to kill a human, but once you start to examine your behaviour to see if any of your actions, words or thoughts are harmful to others, you might also decide to avoid stepping on bugs or eating meat, or you might decide to take the fewest lives possible. I find it quite interesting that in western society we tend to evaluate the value of a life according to a hierarchy. Some westerners say they don't mind eating fish or chicken but won't touch larger more "sophisticated" animals like cows or pigs, for example. Others opt out of eating animals with a face, but are happy to munch on a muscle or a scallop. Buddhists on the other hand, tend not to apply this hierarchy and rather focus solely on taking as few lives as possible . Therefore they would rather kill one yak which can feed an entire village than kill the heap of fish necessary to feed the same village, as it would be necessary to end many more lives. I have heard it said that a bug's life is just as precious to that bug, as a cow's life is to a cow, as yours is to you. Some Buddhists advocate for eating a vegetarian diet. We will discuss that more next week.
The other four of the 5 Precepts similarly have different layers. The vow against intoxicants usually refers to alcohol and mind altering drugs of the non-prescription variety, but taken further it can mean abstaining from caffeine, sugar, television, or even friends and environments that do not support a calm mind. The precept to refrain from stealing has been explained to me as not taking what is not your own and has not been given. That means pens from work, or sugar packets from the cafe! The vow against lying is about refraining from saying that what is not true (even to the telemarketer on the phone who has interrupted your dinner!), but my teacher also points out that exaggeration is also included, such as embellishing a story to make it sound better or complaining that your partner NEVER does the dishes.  The precept regarding sexual misconduct refers to adultery, but if you look deeper you can also ask yourself if you use your body or sexuality in other ways which are harmful. My teacher includes abstaining from the use of pornography.

So how do these precepts relate to our relationship with food? I don't know about you but I am pretty sure that I am at least somewhat deceitful, at least to myself, in terms of what and how I eat. I may even polish off the last bit off my partner's chocolate, or "borrow" a few coins from my son's piggy bank for my morning caffeine when I am low on change. When it comes to intoxicants, I am pretty sure that my sweet treats or my "habit" for a strong cup of tea counts at some level. Perhaps there is something for us all to learn from these basic vows. As I mentioned last week, the basis for Buddhist ethics is examining weather a specific action could be harmful to other sentient beings and then choosing actions which are beneficial. I suspect that if we all did just that we might make some changes to our eating habits. In the modern era that might mean choosing organic, non-GMO, or local foods or to purchase items from farmers markets so that packaging is kept to a minimum. It may mean only eating enough to sustain us and donating extras to those in need.  At the very least I think it would mean that we would treat ourselves with compassion and choose foods that are not harmful to our own health. Choosing foods that make us feel our best might also help us to be more compassionate, loving and wise with others.

Want more? This is a link to a teaching by Venerable Thubten Chodron on Ethics. She discusses the 8 worldly concerns which we will discuss more in the coming weeks.  This one is about the Eightfold Path which Buddha prescribed. Again, we will get to that as well, before we finish with ethics. Stay tuned for more on ethics including; the Bodhisattva Vows, Monastic Vows, The Noble Eightfold Path, The Eight Worldly Concerns, Eating Meat (who does, who doesn't, why and how), Fasting, and more...as always I welcome your comments, questions, and additions. I look forward to hearing from you. Until then. Have a great week!

Practice: This week let's take a closer look at how our actions and thoughts in relation to food harm or help ourselves and others. Do a short breathing meditation to calm your mind and then spend some time contemplating the 5 precepts in relation to your own experience.

Metta,

Dharma Mama