Noble Eightfold Path

Pandemic on the Eightfold Path

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Pandemic on the Eightfold Path

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“If we strive to transform our collective isolation into an opportunity for communal solitude, we might discover that it is, as it has always been, the seedbed for growth in holiness and wholeness, for communion and connection, for resistance and renewal.” – Kerry Maloney

 

The Covid-19 Pandemic has proved challenging in many ways. Not only is it a threat to physical health, it is also a threat to mental health. It has produced isolation from normal activities and social connections. This includes spiritual activities with many church services curtailed and even the cessation of spiritual retreats. But it also produces many opportunities to practice engaging with the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, the Buddha’s method for the cessation of suffering. The path includes 8 components; Right View, Right Intentions, Right Actions, Right Speech, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. During the pandemic there are numerous opportunities to practice the eightfold path. This is an opportunity to not only help cope with the pandemic but also can contribute to spiritual development.

 

The first component of the path is “Right View.” There are a number of these Right Views.”  Including the recognition that all things are impermanent, they come and they go and never stay the same. This is true of the pandemic we see infection rates spiking and then falling and eventually they will go away completely. Even with infection the vast majority of victims fall ill but then slowly recover. The disease is impermanent. But part of “Right View” is also the recognition that health too is impermanent. Illness is as much a part of life as is health. The monk, Ajahn Brahm, tells his doctor when he’s ill that he “has something right” with him. The state of our physical being is constantly changing with all states of health and illness impermanent.

 

Not just our physical being is impermanent but so is everything else. All of the psychological, social, and economic consequences of the pandemic also come and go. Eventually, the fear and depression produced by the pandemic will lift, social life will be reestablished, and the economy will recover. Recognition of this impermanence is important as it emphasize that all this unpleasantness will pass and life will eventually return to normal. It doesn’t relieve the pain, but it provides an optimism that it will eventually cease. But there is no such thing as normal. Our emotions are constantly changing, people come and go from our circle, and wealth comes and goes. It is all impermanent.

 

Another important component of “Right View” is the recognition that everything is interconnected. This is readily apparent during the pandemic. The disease has affected everything, from health, to the economy, to education, to supply chains, to crime, to mental health, to food availability, to travel, to jobs, to the environment, and on and on. There is hardly and aspect of life that has not been changed reflecting how they are all interconnected in the first place. A tiny microscopic virus changes the whole universe reflecting the “Right View” of the interconnectedness of all things

 

Another important component of “Right View” is the recognition of the presence of suffering and unsatisfactoriness in everything. The pandemic directly produces suffering but our response to it can increase or decrease that suffering. One outgrowth of pandemic with which I struggle is boredom. By taking away so many activities, the pandemic has left a vacuum. This creates a problem with boredom. Jon Kabat-Zinn has said that “when you pay attention to boredom it gets unbelievably interesting.” This seemingly paradoxical statement is an amazing teaching. Paying attention to boredom reveals that it is simply wanting things to be different than they are. Such “wantings” are the source of much of unsatisfactoriness and suffering.

 

The antidote is to pay close attention to what is actually present in the now including the beauty and wonder of simply being alive and healthy and the awareness of all the nuances of our sensations and feelings. But it is not just what is there it is also what is not. One wonderful practice taught by the great sage Thich Nhat Hahn is to pay attention to the “non-toothache.” Oral health is taken for granted except when there is a toothache. Then, our entire being becomes focused on the discomfort and the desire for it to cease. Yet when it isn’t there, it isn’t noticed. When we pay attention, not only to what is there but also to what is absent, we can see that there is much more right about the present moment than there is wrong. This evokes a recognition that the present moment is actually wonderful and that paying attention to all that is right in the present relieves the boredom, reinforcing the “Right View” of the presence of suffering and unsatisfactoriness in everything.

 

The pandemic provides a wonderful opportunity to observe unsatisfactoriness and suffering and its roots. Looking closely can reveal that it is not the pandemic alone that produces the unsatisfactoriness and suffering, but also our response to the pandemic. It reveals that we make ourselves miserable by our reactions to it. Wanting it to go away doesn’t change the situation in any way except to produce unsatisfactoriness and suffering. It is sometimes referred to as the “second arrow.” The first arrow is the pandemic and the suffering that it directly produces. This is out of our control. The “second arrow”, however, is our response to it, which has the effect of amplifying the suffering. Trying to fight something over which we have no control produces greater suffering. If it is accepted as pain that is out of our control, we cease to fight against it, and accept it for what it is; a lousy situation produced by the world in which we live. This stops the amplification of the suffering produced by the “second arrow.” Recognizing this can lead to greater understanding of how we make ourselves unhappy, and how by simply accepting things as they are can decrease the suffering. Practicing this builds the “Right View.”

 

The pandemic provides us with an opportunity to practice “Right Intentions.”  These are the intentions to reduce or prevent harm and promote greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being for all beings. During the pandemic “Right Intentions” involves doing things to reduce the horror and to increase peace, well-being, and happiness. If the pandemic is responded to with anger, impatience, selfishness, and resentment it is likely infect others and produce harm. If, on the other hand, we set the “Right Intentions” to respond to the pandemic with tolerance, generosity, equanimity, and understanding it can evoke the same in others. This way injury or harm can be minimized. It would seem obvious, but taking the time beforehand to establish “Right Intentions” may lower the suffering of ourselves and others.

 

Responding to the pandemic with “Right Intentions” is a practice that requires a moral compass. This tends to lead in the right direction even though at times there are stumbles.  It is often difficult or impossible to predict all of the consequences of actions. It is also very difficult avoid all harm. But forming “Right Intentions” and aspiring to create good and happiness will produce more harmony, good will, and happiness than their opposites and produce progress along the eightfold path.

 

During the pandemic we can practice “Right Actions.” Some simple “Right Actions” are to wear a mask, social distance, get vaccinated, and encourage others to do the same. Wearing a mask and social distancing not only helps to protect ourselves but is even more protective to others making it much less likely that the virus will spread. Getting vaccinated as soon as it’s available and encouraging others to get vaccinated not only protects ourselves and the people around us, but also contributes to ending the pandemic for the benefit of all humanity.

 

Verbal and non-verbal interactions are important during the pandemic. “Right Communications” involves communicating in such a way as to promote wisdom, understanding and well-being. They are non-violent and non-judgmental communications. To engage in “Right Communications” the communication must be evaluated beforehand to ascertain whether it true, necessary, and kind.  Only if all of these conditions are met should the communication occur.

 

In order to engage in “Right Communications” there needs to be deep listening. It is impossible to respond appropriately to another if you haven’t listened carefully to exactly what the other said or looked carefully at their expressions or body language. We may not agree with the actions of others. But “Right Communications” demands that have listened deeply. Some people may refuse to wear a mask or call the pandemic a hoax. Responding nonjudgmentally with kindness and compassion after deep listening can go a long way toward having a productive discussion about mask wearing and the reality of the disease. Responding otherwise will simply create more harm than good. It is important that it is realized that we may not be able to change the minds or actions of others but at least with “Right Communications” we can promote understanding.

 

There are many ways that people can make a living during the pandemic that is directed to creating good, helping people, keeping peace, and moving society forward in a positive direction. These occupations are considered “Right Livelihood.” There are rather obvious examples during the pandemic including health care workers, scientists developing vaccines, first responders, and essential workers. But many are hard to evaluate whether they are “Right Livelihood.” In this case there is a need to reflect deeply on what are the effects of the occupation to ascertain whether it promotes good and doesn’t create harm. It is not ours to judge the “rightness” of the livelihood of others. This is a personal matter where intention matters. The process itself of evaluating “Right Livelihood” may heighten awareness of the consequences of participating in careers. This can produce a tailoring or adjustment to the occupation to maximize the good and minimize he harm created.

 

During the pandemic it is helpful to exercise “Right Effort” which involves acting according to the “Middle Way.” That is, not trying too hard but also not being lackadaisical.  “Right Effort” is a relaxed effort. The “Middle Way” is where effort should be targeted. Reacting to the threat of virus by becoming a hermit and isolating oneself is not “Right Effort.” Similarly, not being vigilant and going to bars, restaurants, parties, and large indoor gatherings is also not “Right Effort.” Taking the middle way of wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding large indoor gatherings, and getting vaccinated when available would be best for well-being and would be a right level of effort.

 

All of these components of the eightfold path require “Right Mindfulness”. Unfortunately, mindlessness is generally the norm. But paying attention to what is being experienced in the present moment can turn simple everyday activities into a meditative practice. It creates a richly textured experience of physical and mental activities. It heightens the experience and makes it much more enjoyable. Just the simple act of wearing a mask can be practiced mindfully. Focusing on the feelings on the face from the simple act of breathing through the mask, highlighting the warmth of the breath can make wearing the mask more enjoyable. Paying close attention to how others are moving to maintain social distance can produce an appreciation of the social dance we perform with others. This can improve our lives even during the pandemic.

 

“Right Concentration” is the practice of focusing the mind solely on one object or a specific unchanging set of objects. Mindfulness is paying attention to whatever arises, but concentration is paying attention to one thing to the exclusion of everything else. This is usually developed during contemplative practice such as meditation. But the pandemic has given us extra unused time that can be allocated to meditation or other mindfulness practices.  One of the benefits of the pandemic is that it provides us the opportunity to deepen our practice and “Right Concentration”.

 

Experiencing the pandemic on the eightfold path is a practice. Over time I have gotten better and better at it, but nowhere near perfect. Frequently the discursive mind takes over or my emotions get the better of me. But, by continuing the practice I’ve slowly progressed. I’ve become a better at seeing what needs to be accomplished. I am learning to be relaxed with a smile on my face even when wearing a mask and social distancing. I’ve learned to accept the way things are and understand their impermanence. It takes time and practice but leads to great benefits.

 

Can we attain enlightenment during the pandemic? Probably not! But we can practice the eightfold path and the Buddha taught that this practice leads toward it. Quiet secluded practice is wonderful and perhaps mandatory for progress in spiritual development. But for most people it this is only available during a very limited window of time. The strength of practicing the components of the eightfold path in the real world of our everyday life, even during the pandemic, is that it can greatly enhance its impact. Keep in mind the teaching that actions that lead to greater harmony, understanding, and happiness should be practiced, while those that lead to unsatisfactoriness and unhappiness should be let go.  Without doubt, by practicing the eightfold path during the pandemic can lead toward deeper spirituality.

 

“Mindfulness cultivates agility and flexibility in attention, allowing us to more easily tune in to pleasant experiences that are always present even during a pandemic: spring blossoms, blue skies, laughter and love.” – Trinh Mai

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Exercise on the Eightfold Path

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mindful exercise running swimming walking | Stress Less Kzoo

Exercise on the Eightfold Path

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“it’s possible to merge awareness and physical exercise together as one. This allows you to experience the present moment during your physical activity.” – Adam Brady

 

We often think of meditation or spiritual practice as occurring in quiet places removed from the hubbub of life. This is useful to develop skills and deep understanding. Unfortunately, most people do not have the luxury of withdrawing into solitary or monastic life. But it is possible to practice even in the midst of the chaos of everyday life. In fact, there are wonderful opportunities to practice presented to us all the time in the complexities of the modern world. I find that engagement in exercise is one of many wonderful contexts in which to practice the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, the Buddha’s prerequisites for the cessation of suffering; Right View, Right Intentions, Right Actions, Right Speech, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Engaging in exercise on the eightfold path can not only improve health but also can contribute to spiritual development. As a bonus it can make exercising more enjoyable.

 

As we well know, engaging in regular physical exercise is important for our physical and mental health. Similarly, practicing mindfulness is important for our physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being. Together they are a dynamite. But what needs to be done to combine them? With a little reflection, a myriad of opportunities to practice are available while exercising. The details will vary with the type of exercise and the individual, but these same opportunities are available regardless of the nature of the exercise.

 

An important component of developing the “Right View” is the recognition that all things are impermanent, they come and they go and never stay the same. When exercising it is easy to note that everything about the workout is impermanent. The body is stressed by exercise and this is a good thing as this is what leads to the beneficial effects of exercise. When moderately stressed muscles heal, they grow stronger. Sometimes the stress is pleasant and other times not so. But no matter what it will change, perhaps getting better or perhaps getting worse, but it will not stay the same. During exercise, the physical and mental state of the individual is constantly changing. The body fatigues and grows tired. Pain and discomfort may come and go. By recognizing how fleeting these feelings are, we witness the impermanence of all things. We grow to not only better understand the body and how it benefits from exercise but also see the operation of impermanence. This produces relaxation and acceptance of the body as it is, even as it’s changing, not only improving the exercise but reinforcing “Right View”.

 

A good example of this is practicing while running. I’m older and my knees are worn out so I practice this while speed walking. Noting the sensations from the foot each time in strikes the ground and as it lifts off the ground, it’s apparent that the sensations are constantly changing and never the same. Impermanence is on display. The same goes for the surrounding sights which are constantly changing. It’s impossible to hold onto any of the myriad of sensations occurring. They are constantly arising and passing away. Impermanence is on display.

 

Another important component of “Right View” is the recognition that everything is interconnected. This is readily apparent during exercise. During yoga practice all of the aspects of the body work together. As the muscles are stressed they increase the heart rate and respiration. With each pose the muscles produce heat, causing sweating and dilatation of the blood vessels at the surface. Moving into each pose produces changes in balance which produce automatic changes in other muscles to compensate and maintain balance and equilibrium. The senses are engaged in monitoring for pain and fatigue and guiding the exercise. Try paying attention to all of the parts of the body and how they are affected in performing a forward bend, a tree pose, or a lower cobra. By paying attention to these processes during this practice, how the entire body is engaged can be witnessed even if the exercise is targeted at only particular muscles. Interconnectedness is completely apparent. The awareness of this interconnectedness allows for better exercise while reinforcing “Right View”.

 

One practice I employ with exercise is to identify the limiting component. For me it’s breathing that seems to limit what I can do. My ability to play basketball is limited by the ability to get oxygen to the muscles while sprinting down the court. For others, it’s their knees or other joints, or cardiac capacity, or body temperature. There’s always something that keeps the individual from going faster, or being stronger or more accurate. The ability of the entire body to excel is limited by this factor. All other aspects of physical function are restrained by it. All other aspects are interconnected with it. as it all works together.

 

This interconnectedness is particularly apparent in team sports. In these contexts, participants affect one another, everyone on the team and everyone on the opposing team. In fact, that interconnectedness is part of the allure and enjoyment of team sports. As every athlete knows, performance is also affected by the individual’s psychological state. At times, exercisers just don’t feel like doing it but force themselves. While at other times, they feel great and can’t wait to get into it. In both cases this psychological state markedly alters the exercise. It’s all interconnected. Hence, the “Right View” of interconnectedness is readily apparent during exercise. Make it part of the exercise to pay attention to and recognize this interconnectedness. It’s on display.

 

Still another important component of “Right View” is the recognition of the presence of suffering and unsatisfactoriness in all activities. Exercising is a wonderful opportunity to observe this unsatisfactoriness and its roots. While cycling we want everything to be a certain way and when it isn’t, we are unhappy. We want to go faster, or with have greater strength for peddling up hills, or with greater endurance to ride further. The cyclist wants the weather to be just right, the wind to die down, to always be at the back, or for it to be cooler. We want the body’s discomforts to go away. In other words, rather than enjoy cycling, we make it unsatisfactory by not accepting how things are. All things, big and small, are almost always less than optimum. If we focus on this and crave it to be different, then we suffer. But, if we simply accept these conditions as they are, we can ride our bicycle with appreciation and enjoyment with unsatisfactoriness on display. Note, how this constantly arises in thoughts during exercise. Recognizing this can lead to greater understanding of how we make ourselves unhappy, and how by simply accepting things as they are produces better performance and greater enjoyment. Practicing this will reinforce “Right View.”

 

While exercising, playing sports, or being an observer there are frequent opportunities to practice “Right Intentions.” Here reducing or preventing harm and promoting greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being for all participants can be practiced. This is particularly important for team sports. It is useful, beforehand, to set this intention to make engaging in the game be beneficial for all participants. “Right Intentions” involves targeting what to do while exercising to increase peace, well-being, and happiness, including the abandonment of unwholesome desires.

 

If exercise particularly in competitive sports, is engaged in with anger, impatience, selfishness, and resentment it is likely to produce harm to everyone involved. Sports, such as football, can be dangerous and can produce physical harm to others. Obviously, games like football are particularly good candidates to play with “Right Intentions.” This way injury or harm can be minimized. It would seem obvious, but taking the time beforehand to establish “Right Intentions” may determine if the game is fun and wholesome or negative and harmful.

 

When I was young playing basketball with friends an opponent grabbed me as I ran toward the basket. I got angry and retaliated by shoving my friend away forcefully. He fell back so hard that he was momentarily paralyzed. This scared everyone and especially me. It made me recognize the potential harm that I could cause by acting on anger. If I had simply accepted that I was fouled and let it go, no harm would have occurred and play could have continued. The recognition that anger can only lead to more harm is wisdom that can lead to minimizing harm and promoting the greater good. Seeing the situation as it is, and seeing opponents with eyes of compassion leads to skillful actions promoting the happiness and well-being of all.

 

I’ve found that playing golf is a wonderful opportunity to practice. It has always amazed me how players make themselves so unhappy while engaging in something that’s supposed to be fun. I’ve seen players go into a rage after hitting a poor shot, screaming profanities, pounding their club into the ground or throwing or even breaking the club in rage. This can create a negative atmosphere that sweeps all the players up into a negative mood and destroys the fun and happiness that is the point of playing the game. “Right Intentions” can help here. I’ve learned to approach the game as just that, a game that is to be enjoyed, to laugh at my own incompetence, and joke with the other players about our plight.

 

We go around the course laughing and having a ball. What a difference it can make, I’ve had other players remark how much they admire me, not for my play which is horrible, but for my enjoyment of the game regardless of how well or more often terribly I play. It changes the atmosphere and infects those that I play with. Just setting the intention ahead of time to have fun regardless, to promote happiness, makes a world of difference. The ripples of good feelings that are created, may spill over from golf to home or work life enhancing life in general.

 

Playing sports with courtesy, with tolerance and understanding, with kindness and good will needs to be continuously worked on. It’s a practice. “Right Intentions” are a key. They become the moral compass. They tend to lead in the right direction even though at times there are stumbles.  It is often difficult or impossible to predict all of the consequences of actions. It is also very difficult avoid all harm. But forming “Right Intentions” and aspiring to create good and happiness will produce more harmony, good will, and happiness and for the practitioner it will produce progress along the eightfold path.

 

Exercising is another situation to practice “Right Actions.” To some extent taking care of our bodies is “Right Action” as it benefits our health and well-being, which relieves suffering and increases happiness. While working out “Right Actions” includes following the “Middle Way.” Exercising overly aggressively could produce injury while exercising too lightly is probably a waste of time. While exercising in social contexts such as in a gym or jogging with friends, there can be a tendency to show off. This can be harmful to others by promoting jealousy or decreasing their feelings of self-worth or causing them to try too hard potentially leading to injury.

 

I used to jog with a group that met at lunchtime. We would all wait around until everyone was there to begin our run. But as soon as we began, one particular runner always leapt ahead and ran well in front of the group for the entire run. At first many of us would try to keep up. This would simply lead to him running even faster to stay ahead. This was not good. We were exercising, not racing. It detracted from the good feelings and camaraderie of the group and caused many of us to run too fast for our ability and to suffer. After a while we learned to ignore him and enjoy running with the rest of the group. This was “Right Actions.” It did make me wonder what suffering was driving him to turn a healthy and fun social run into a race and what I might do to help relieve that suffering. But he always ran ahead and alone making it impossible to communicate.

 

In some sports lying and cheating occur frequently. Fishing and golf are wonderful examples. outright lied about. Golfers frequently do things such as surreptitiously move their ball to a better lie, or report a lower score than they actually had. This is not “Right Actions.” Scrupulous honesty on the long-term leads to greater happiness and well-being even in these kinds of small and often accepted dishonesties.

 

While engaging in competitive sports we should have the “Right Intentions” of promoting good and happiness, and relieve suffering in ourselves and others. We can do so by competing patiently and courteously with attention and good sportsmanship. Unfortunately, the prevalent attitude is that “winning is everything.” This works contrary to “Right Actions.” With “Right Actions” promoting happiness, and relieving suffering in everyone involved “is everything.”  We can only control our own actions while competing. So that is where we practice. But, when we compete with “Right Actions” it affects our competitors, making the game more enjoyable, healthier, and productive for everyone.

 

Verbal and non-verbal interactions are frequently present while exercising, playing sports, or even as a spectator. There are many opportunities to practice “Right Communications”. It involves communicating in such a way as to promote understanding and to produce good feelings. It is non-violent and non-judgmental communications. While engaging in exercise or sports it is important to think before communicating, is the communication true, is it necessary, and is it kind.

 

While playing golf we communicate verbally and non-verbally and try to do so with “Right Communications”. When someone makes a great shot, we celebrate with them, possibly teasing them as to why they can’t do that every time, and when they make a terrible shot kidding them that it was better than they usually do, or compare it to our own terrible shots. Note that teasing may not on the surface seem to be true, necessary, and kind. But it can lighten the atmosphere and the back and forth can promote good feelings. Non-verbally, we sometimes celebrate ridiculously, dancing around like a clown, when making a good shot, again promoting enjoyment.

 

“Right Communications” often involves deep listening. It is impossible to respond appropriately to another if you haven’t listened carefully to exactly what the other said or looked carefully at their expressions or body language. In playing doubles tennis, watch and listen to your partner. They may show anger or slump after a poor shot. In this case “Right Communications” may involve encouraging the partner or pointing out that the shot that they were attempting was a great idea, or make light of it by saying something to the effect that the shot looked more like something you would do. What would be the right approach depends on the individual and the context. But watching and listening carefully can help to understand what communication may produce the most good and happiness.

 

Even as spectators it is useful to practice “Right Communications”. I’ve observed parents at youth soccer games yelling at referees, players, and coaches. My 13 year old grandson worked hard to become a referee for children’s soccer matches and earn extra money. But he has dropped it because of the abuse that these parents heaped on him for every decision. No matter what decision he made parents on one side or the other would chastise him. I’ve also seen the impact on the children as their parents yell at the referees or at them for their performance. It’s a truly sad display of wrong communications by the adults.

 

It’s quite simple to see that “Right Communications” are needed. If the parents had stopped and thought if what they were communicating was true, necessary, and kind, if they had listened deeply or watched with compassion, there may have been a completely different atmosphere at the games, my grandson may still be refereeing, and the children would feel good about playing and would be having fun. Such behavior is not confined to youth soccer. Simply observe fans at sporting events even at the professional level, yelling obscenities and insults at opponents or even at their own team’s players. Indeed, even the players are taunting, hurling insults, and “trash talking” to each other. It is clear that there is a great need to teach fans and players, not only good sportsmanship, but also “Right Communications”. We may not be able to change others but at least we can conduct “Right Communications”.

 

There are many ways that people can make a living with exercise and sports, from a professional athlete or coach to a personal trainer, to a general manager or executive. This can be itself “Right Livelihood”. It is if it is directed to creating good, helping people, keeping peace, and moving society forward in a positive direction. College coaches using student athletes to further their careers without regard to the furtherance of the players well-being or teaching player “dirty tricks” to harm or injure their opponents would definitely not be “Right Livelihood”.

 

One should reflect deeply on what they’re doing to ascertain whether it promotes good. It is not ours to judge the “rightness” of the livelihood of athletes, coaches, sports executives etc. This is a personal matter where intention matters, that must be reflected upon deeply. The process itself of evaluating “Right Livelihood” may heighten awareness of the consequences of participating in their careers and make them better able to see and correct where they may be going wrong. This can help move the individual along the Buddha’s path.

 

Exercise also presents a fine context to practice “Right Effort”. In fact, exercise has its maximum benefit when it is fairly strenuous but not too strenuous. If it’s overdone the body will provide appropriate feedback with aches and pains, hopefully not injuries. If it’s done lazily, the body will not improve. So, exercise is almost a perfect situation to teach “Right Effort”. It involves acting according to the “Middle Way.” That is, not trying too hard and getting hurt, but also not being lackadaisical.  “Right Effort” is a relaxed effort. The “Middle Way” is where effort should be targeted.

 

Experienced yoga practitioners know this all too well. Yoga can be very beneficial when practiced with “Right Effort” but can be injurious when done improperly. Poses must be held at the appropriate level, slightly backed off from the individual’s limit without going beyond. Struggling to go deeper, beyond the practitioner’s capability, is a formula for injury. Entering too lightly is a formula for wasting time and receiving no benefit. So, not only is yoga practice a good place to practice “Right Effort” it, in fact, provides feedback demonstrating what the “Right Effort” level should be.

 

Athletes know that to perform optimally they must relax and not press too hard. This is one of the reasons why meditation practice has proved so beneficial for athletes. It allows them to relax into the present moment and react appropriately to their body’s capabilities. I’ve found that with swimming, if I try too hard to go fast, I actually go slower. On the other hand, when I simply swim with moderate effort but with a relaxed body, it produces and efficient stroke and an appropriate body position in the water for optimum speed. So, “Right Effort” with exercise pays off with optimum performance, physical benefit, and progress on the eightfold path.

 

Exercise requires an accurate understanding of the state of our bodies and the environment in the present moment in order to determine what level of exercise are needed to promote good performance and enjoyment.  In other words, it requires “Right Mindfulness”. Unfortunately, for most of us mindless exercise is probably the norm. While exercising many people listen to music, talk on their cell phones, watch television, or carry on a conversation. But paying attention to what is being experienced while exercising or engaging in sports can turn the exercise into a meditative practice. It creates a richly textured experience of physical and mental activities. It heightens the experience and makes it much more enjoyable.

 

A prototype is walking meditation, where the individual practices “Right Mindfulness”. The meditator pays close attention to the sensations from the body while slowly walking. Observing each step, feeling the foot hit the ground and pull off the ground, observing each breath, feeling the air on the skin and the touch of the clothing, feeling the muscles contract and relax, experiencing the sights, smells and sounds in the environment. It’s an amazingly pleasant and productive practice.

 

With exercise, the same technique can be used but greatly speeded up. Jogging can be a speeded-up version of walking meditation. I use “Right Mindfulness” while swimming laps in a pool by doing a body scan. I start on the first lap with paying attention to the sensations from the toes, on the second lap I move to the tops of my feet, next to the bottoms of the feet, to the ankle, shin, knee, thigh etc. The feeling of the water and the movement of each body part is an exquisite practice. I was tired of the boredom of swimming until I developed this practice. It makes the drudgery of lap swimming mindful, interesting, and pleasurable, not to mention that my stroke becomes more efficient and the laps go by quickly. “Right Mindfulness” can be applied to virtually every exercise and sporting activity and will not only make it better but help the participant along the Buddha’s eightfold path.

 

“Right Concentration” is the practice of focusing the mind solely on one object or a specific unchanging set of objects. Mindfulness is paying attention to whatever arises, but concentration is paying attention to one thing to the exclusion of everything else. This is usually developed during contemplative practice such as meditation. It is difficult to practice during the complex activities involved in exercise. But during repetitive automatized exercises such as jogging concentration on the breath can be practiced.

 

Engaging in exercise on the eightfold path is a practice. Over time I have gotten better and better at it, but nowhere near perfect. Frequently the discursive mind takes over or my emotions get the better of me. But, by continuing the practice I’ve slowly progressed. I’ve become a better at seeing what needs to be accomplished. I am learning to be relaxed with a smile on my face when I engage in exercise and enjoy the workout.

 

Can we attain enlightenment through exercise? Probably not! But we can practice the eightfold path that the Buddha taught leads there. The strength of engaging exercise with the practices of the eightfold path is that it occurs in the real world of our everyday life. Quiet secluded practice is wonderful and perhaps mandatory for progress in spiritual development. But for most people it only can occur during a very limited window of time. By extending the practice directly into the mainstream of our lives we can greatly enhance its impact. I like to keep in mind the teaching that actions that lead to greater harmony and happiness should be practiced, while those that lead to unsatisfactoriness and unhappiness should be let go.  Without doubt, by practicing the eightfold path in our engagement in exercise leads to greater harmony and happiness and as such should definitely be included in our spiritual practice.

 

“The message is that mindfulness may amplify satisfaction, because one is satisfied when positive experiences of physical activity become prominent. For those experiences to be noticed, one must become aware of them. . . this can be achieved by being mindful.” – Kalliopi-Eleni Tsafou

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

Democracy on the Eightfold Path

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Democracy on the Eightfold Path

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“It is important to realize that a well-functioning democracy — a republic — depends not just on freedom from censorship, but also on a set of common experiences and on unsought, unanticipated, and even unwanted exposures to diverse topics, people, and ideas. A system of “gated communities” is as unhealthy for cyberspace as it is for the real world.” ~Scott Meyer

 

With the US midterm elections on the horizon, I thought that it would be a good time to reflect on what the teachings of the Buddha tell us about how we should approach voting and engaging in the democratic process in general. Right now, the political landscape is characterized by tremendous rancor and division. I believe that this situation results from not following these teachings. Perhaps looking at their application to engaging in the democratic process will help us in the future to begin to heal the deep wounds that have been opened and begin to engage in a more constructive and beneficial political process.

 

We often think of meditation or spiritual practice as occurring in quiet places removed from the hubbub of life. This is useful to develop skills and deep understanding. Unfortunately, most people do not have the luxury of withdrawing into solitary or monastic life. But it is possible to practice even in the midst of the chaos of everyday life. In fact, there are wonderful opportunities to practice presented to us all the time in the complexities of the modern world. I find that engagement in democracy is one of many wonderful contexts in which to practice the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, the Buddha’s prerequisites for the cessation of suffering; Right View, Right Intentions, Right Actions, Right Speech, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Engaging in democracy on the eightfold path can not only help our spiritual practice but also help further peace, happiness, and harmony in our society.

 

Engagement in democracy is a wonderful opportunity to practice Right View. The impermanence of everything is on display. No matter how bad or good the political situation is we can be sure that it will change. This is especially true with democracy where the ability to change the current laws or leadership is its strength. If we don’t like it, we have a route to try to change it. By recognizing this we not only practice Right View but also relax and accept what is. Democracy is also a situation that reflects how interconnected everything is. Engagement in democracy is a cooperative social venture. Without everyone’s cooperation, there would be political chaos. Each of us has only one vote. The outcome of an election depends upon the votes of many. But beyond that democracy can only function if everyone cooperates and accepts the decision of the majority.

 

In the context of democracy, if we take a moment to look, it is easy to develop Right View. We can view the transitoriness of our thoughts and emotions as they arise and fall away in response to the election process and political debate. We may become very worked up about an issue, but see that these feelings are only temporary and will subside in a short time. We can see that our political identity as Democrat or Republican, as conservative or liberal, or any other label is never truly accurate and is subject to change. We can see that there is no permanent thing that is our political self and that is also true for others. This is a tremendous learning experience and laboratory to not only personally develop Right View, but to help develop Right View in our society.

 

Engagement in democracy allows us to observe our suffering, unsatisfactoriness, and its roots. We seem to want our system and its outcomes to be exactly as we want them to be and when they are not we suffer. We want other voters to think the way we do, for our candidates to always win, we want the laws passed to always match our world view and beliefs, we want the media to always present arguments in favor of our positions, etc. In other words, we can learn, if we are observant of what is happening during participation in democracy, that our suffering is caused by our lack of acceptance of how things are. So, political engagement constitutes a laboratory to practice Right View. We can learn to accept things as they are, to see things without judgment, to view the others just as they are, and to understand how we vote has consequences, affecting ourselves and others, in other words, we learn Right View.

 

We can quite readily practice Right Intentions while engaging in democracy and this can lead to Right Actions.  Right Intentions involves targeting what we do to increase peace, happiness, prosperity, and happiness in ourselves and throughout society. These intentions include the abandonment of unwholesome desires. If we engage in the democratic process with anger, impatience, selfishness, resentment we are likely to harm others and ourselves. The harm may not be major or direct, but indirect by affecting the other citizens in negative ways. Perhaps interrupting another while arguing their position produces anger in them that causes them suffering and elicits anger and aggression from them toward the positions of others. Perhaps, not simply listening to others ideas may unnecessarily cause them to suffer and induce impatience and an inability on their part to simply listen to others. But sometimes direct physical harm to others can be produced as in the case of violent political protests or confrontations with people with whom we strongly disagree. But if we practice Right Intentions with sincere intentions to create good and happiness, relieve suffering in ourselves and others, and not harm any living thing, we will act and interact with our fellow citizens with courtesy, with tolerance and understanding, with kindness and good will. When listen deeply to another’s position and try to understand it or react to an aggressive political post on social media with patience and tolerance, we may have prevented harm. Had the reaction be angry or judgmental it might provoke even more divisive or aggressive actions in response, creating an upward spiral of anger and frustration. It is good to reflect on the ripples of good that may have been created through Right Actions with unknown consequences extending broadly well into the future.

 

Intentions are a key. They become our moral compass. They tend to lead us in the right direction even though we may at times stumble.  It is often difficult or impossible to predict all of the consequences of our actions. It is also very difficult not to create some harm. Just the fact of taking positions and backing certain candidates can result in an ineffectual or even corrupt candidate being elected or damaging laws being passed. We need to try to not only have Right Intentions, but to discern and accept that even the best of intentions can sometime produce harmful outcomes. We have to sometimes balance the good we’re doing with the harm produced by the same actions. This requires Right Intentions. This is where engaging in politics can be such a great practice as we can learn what works and what doesn’t and become better at discerning what are the wholesome Right Actions from those that produce more harm than good. But, if we form Right Intentions and aspire to create good and happiness we’ll be better citizens and will produce more harmony and good will and more importantly will be moving ourselves along the eightfold path.

 

Verbal interactions are a fundamental process in a democracy, providing many opportunities to practice Right Speech. Political discussions, like any discussion include communicating ideas and feelings both verbally and also non-verbally. Non-verbal communications include facial expressions and body postures. I have a bad habit of often reacting with grimaces or looking away when someone presents a point I don’t agree with. This obvious non-verbal judgement of the others position can harden their position making it more difficult to truly discuss the issue. But, predominantly Right Speech is verbal. I have another bad habit of often getting very frustrated when in a discussion, someone presents, as true, a different set of facts than I believe to be true. It becomes impossible to have an honest discussion when the underlying facts differ. I often react reflexively with anger and frustration and blurt out something like “that’s not true.” This cuts off the possibility of listening deeply to the other’s ideas and short circuits the possibility of a reasoned discussion of the facts. This does no good and often aggravates others. Practicing Right Speech involves engaging in civil, respectful discourse. The facts, beliefs, and conclusions can be questioned and discussed but simply as a difference and not judged as good or bad, right or wrong, just simply a difference that can be investigated and resolved.  For me, this is a work in progress. I have a long way to go. But I can clearly feel the benefits for myself and for the quality of the interaction when I am mindful and engage in Right Speech.

 

Right Speech is non-violent and non-judgmental speech. So much political discourse involves trying to be right or to convince someone of your position. Right Speech, on the other hand, is directed to understanding and producing good feelings. Here, deep listening is a key. It is impossible to respond appropriately to another if you haven’t listened carefully to exactly what the other said. We, too often, spend our time while another is speaking composing our next speech for whenever they stop. This doesn’t allow deep listening and can poison a conversation. Political Right Speech involves listening as much as talking and what is said is directed to improving harmony and understanding. This is a lofty goal that few of us are able to achieve. But, striving in that direction will make us better citizens.

 

Being a politician can be itself Right Livelihood. It can be directed to creating good, helping people, keeping peace, and moving society forward in a positive direction. It is not ours to judge the “rightness” of politicians. This is a personal matter where intention matters, that must be reflected upon deeply. But representational democracy is a system that demands that members of the society make their living as the people’s representatives. This is important and can create great good for the society. If it is Right Livelihood and adheres to the seven other components of the eightfold path it helps the individual in their personal development and the development of the greater society.

 

Once again, engagement in democracy presents a fine context to practice Right Effort. It takes substantial effort to be an engaged citizen. If one simply assumes that their right without doing the hard work of learning the facts, there is little or no mindfulness and little or no effort. When we first engage politically we have to set the intention to act in such a way as to lessen suffering in ourselves and others. We need to interact with other people with kindness, compassion, patience, and courtesy, to drop fear, anger, hatred, and selfishness, and to bring to our political interactions with others the intention to promote well-being and happiness. This is hard and requires Right Effort.  But, we can try too hard. Right Effort involves acting according to the “Middle Way.” That is, not trying too hard and getting stressed about politics, but also not being lackadaisical, rather it involves relaxed effort. The “Middle Way” is where effort should be targeted. But, nonetheless effort is needed. Democracy cannot function without an informed electorate and in today’s information age it can be devilishly difficult work to discern the truth. Right Effort on the part of citizens is not only needed but essential to the successful operation of democracy.

 

Democracy requires an accurate understanding of the nature of the current situation in order to determine what political steps are needed to promote good, happiness, and harmony. Unfortunately, mindless political engagement is probably the norm. Rather than seeing things as they are, we tend to view society through a lens of how it was in the past, or how we believe it should be. But, this can be corrected by the practice of Right Mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn defined mindfulness as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment.” What better opportunity to practice this than in seeing what is present right in front of us right now in our society and with the people who compose it? Right Mindfulness makes us acutely aware of what is happening around us and how we’re feeling during every moment of our day; seeing the situation accurately, unclouded by beliefs or prejudgment. This allows us to better craft ideas and solutions to the ills of society. Seeing a welfare recipient, a homeless person, or a prisoner as a person and their situation as it actually is and not judging the individual based upon our political beliefs and social media memes, we can much better understand what is the truth and what can best be done to help. Right Mindfulness provides the data to engage politically. Right Mindfulness is not just part of the eightfold path it is a prerequisite for the practice of the seven other components of the path. So, being mindful is fundamental to all aspects of political engagement.

 

Right Concentration” is the practice of focusing the mind solely on one object or a specific unchanging set of objects. Mindfulness is paying attention to whatever arises, but concentration is paying attention to one thing to the exclusion of everything else. This is usually developed during contemplative practice such as meditation and is nearly impossible to practice in real life. But, improvement in attentional ability is a consequence of practicing Right Concentration. This can lead to improved political engagement. It can reduce the impact of distractions and mind wandering, making us better at focusing on the topic at hand and increasing the likelihood that we’ll discern the best course of action. In addition, Right Concentration requires Right Effort, Right Intention, and Right Mindfulness so these can be developed while applying Right Concentration to our political activities. In a political discourse, there is often a jumping around from topic to topic without every reaching a conclusion about any of them. Right Concentration can be the antidote, allowing for focus and hopefully resolution.

 

Engaging in democratic activity on the eightfold path is not easy. But, remember that it is a practice. Over time I have gotten better and better at it, but nowhere near perfect. Frequently the discursive mind takes over or my emotions get the better of me. But, by continuing the practice I’ve slowly progressed. I’ve become a better at discussing politics with others and I’ve become better at seeing what needs to be accomplished in our society. I’ve become better at seeing people with different ideas and beliefs not as the enemy but simply as worthy people who simply hold different opinions that I can learn from. I am learning to be relaxed with a smile on my face when I engage politically and enjoy being part of a democracy where diversity of people and ideas is not a problem but a strength.

 

Can we attain enlightenment through political engagement? Probably not! But we can practice the eightfold path that the Buddha taught leads there. The strength of engaging in democracy with the practices of the eightfold path is that it occurs in the real world of our everyday life. Quiet secluded practice is wonderful and perhaps mandatory for progress in spiritual development. But for most people it only can occur during a very limited window of time. By extending the practice directly into the mainstream of our lives we can greatly enhance its impact. I like to keep in mind the teaching that actions that lead to greater harmony and happiness should be practiced, while those that lead to unsatisfactoriness and unhappiness should be let go.  Without doubt, by practicing the eightfold path in our engagement in politics leads to greater harmony and happiness and as such should definitely be included in our spiritual practice.

 

“To engage in politics—the system through which we take care of one another—is to bring mindfulness outward. To participate, to speak out, is to address the complexities of our modern world.” ~Lisette Cheresson

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

The Noble Eightfold Path with Relationships

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The Noble Eightfold Path with Relationships

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“When we have closer intimate relationships, maybe a marital relationship or lover relationship where sexuality is involved, then we assume we want more from each other. And, there’s the rub. This is where the Buddhist idea of true love helps. True love is where you want the happiness of the beloved; it’s not that you want something from the beloved. You just want to give to the beloved. Shantideva said, “All the joy the world contains has come through wishing happiness for others. All the misery the world contains has come through wanting happiness for oneself.” – Robert Thurman

 

Probably the best place to practice the Eightfold Path is not on the meditation mat or in a cloistered environment but in the midst of the chaos of everyday life. There are wonderful opportunities to practice presented to us all the time embedded in the complexities of the modern world. In fact, the whole idea of practicing on the mat is to learn things that will apply to our everyday existence. What better place is there, then, than the real environment to practice them.

 

In previous essays, we discussed driving an automobile and the work environment as excellent venues for practice. In today’s essay we’ll discuss practicing in the midst of our relationships with significant others. This is an excellent context in which to practice the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. It is filled with emotions, desires, sex, conflicts, suffering, compassion, and memories. In other words, our relationships have all the ingredients to practice and to put to the test all the principles of mindfulness and the Eightfold Path for the cessation of suffering; Right View, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

 

There are many wonderful opportunities in relationships to practice the Right View idea of impermanence. Indeed, our relationships are constantly changing. One day is full of love, understanding and kindness and the next filled with conflict, resentment, and anger. No matter how bad or good the relationships are or the daily interactions between partners, they are sure to change. Sexual relations are a wonderful example of impermanence, with desires and feeling changing dramatically from moment to moment, but none of it can be held onto for more than a moment. They come and they go. They’re impermanent. This exemplifies the Right View idea of transitoriness. We all grow and develop and change throughout our lifetime and these changes can be challenging for relationships. There’s an old story about relationships that upon marriage, the woman believes that the man will change, but he doesn’t, while the man believes that the woman will never change, but she does! Adapting and coping with these changes requires that we understand impermanence, the Right View.

 

We can also practice the Right View idea of interconnectedness. Relationships are cooperative ventures. How interconnected the couple is, is on display. Relationships require consideration of the needs and aspirations of both partners by both partners. Acting alone would is a sure formula for chaos and conflict in a relationship. You affect your partner and your partner affects you, which affects your partner, which, in turn, affects you and so on. If there are children involved this interconnectedness becomes magnified. Keep in mind “If you want to be happy effectively, then think about other people’s happiness and you will be. Think about your own happiness only, and you will always be dissatisfied because you will never have enough.”  – Robert Thurman. Understanding and adapting to the dynamic interplay between partners requires that we recognize, adapt to, and work with this interconnectedness, the Right View.

 

In relationships we can also view and practice the Right View idea of no permanent self. This thing called self that you think of a permanent and static actually changes moment to moment in reaction to what transpires in relationships. How you view yourself and your beliefs about the supposed self can change in a flash depending upon what your partner says and does. You may think of yourself as a kind and loving person, but your partner treats you like a selfish and cruel person. This can change this idea of the self. A little mindful reflection regarding this reveals that this thing that we call the self was never permanent in the first place but changing and evolving, coming and going, just like everything else. The highly emotionally charged cauldron of relationships amplifies this and makes it clearer and clearer. This is a tremendous learning experience. Coming to grips with this requires that we develop the Right View of no permanent self.

 

It is hard to find a better context than relationships to develop the Right View idea of suffering and unsatisfactoriness, and their roots. In relationships we want everything to be exactly as we want it to be, and when it isn’t we suffer. We want our partners to understand us, we want sex to fulfill our fantasies, we want to always be agreed with, we want more excitement and less dull chores, we want our partners to acquiesce to all our decisions, we want to have space, we don’t want to deal with our in-laws, we want our partners to unconditionally love us, etc. When these things don’t happen, we suffer. In other words, you can learn, if you are observant of what is happening in relationships, that your suffering is caused by your lack of acceptance of how things really are in your relationship. So, relationships constitute wonderful laboratories to practice Right View. You can learn to accept things as they are, to see things without judgment, to view the relationship, your partner, and children just as they are, as individual human being with their own desires and needs. When you view them this way, the love grows, and the incredible wonder of life and loving begins to reveal itself. You can learn to understand that the way you act with them has consequences, affecting yourself and the rest of the family, in other words, you practice and develop Right View.

 

You can readily practice Right Intentions in relationships and this can lead to Right Actions. Intentions are a key. They become your moral compass. These intentions include the happiness of our partner. “True love is where you want the happiness of the beloved; it’s not that you want something from the beloved.”  – Robert Thurman. They tend to lead you in the right direction even though you may at times stumble.  But, it is often difficult or impossible to predict all of the consequences of your actions. Sometimes, even with the Right Intentions you can cause your partner to suffer. For example, you may want to provide a high standard of living for your partner and family and work long hours to do so. But, this may cause your partner to be lonely and unhappy or your children to feel neglected. You need to try to not only to have Right Intentions, but to discern how even the best of intentions can sometime produce harmful outcomes. The truly Right Intentions do not produce harm, only good. You have to sometimes balance the good you’re doing with the harm produced by the same actions. This requires Right View. This is where relationships can be such a great practice as you can learn what works and what doesn’t and become better at discerning what are the wholesome Right Actions from those that produce more harm than good.

 

Right Intentions also includes the abandonment of unwholesome desires. If you relate to your partner with anger, impatience, selfishness, resentment you are likely to harm them and yourself. The harm may not be major or direct, but indirect by affecting partner and children in negative ways. Perhaps your anger at your partner overdrawing a checking account causes you to lash out at your children. Perhaps, your selfishness causes you to neglect you partners requests or needs eliciting frustration or anger in your partner, or simply cause them to suffer. But sometimes you can produce direct harm to your partner. This can occur when anger and alcohol result in physical or psychological abuse or when your sexual desires cause you to force yourself on an unwilling partner.

 

On the other hand, if you practice Right Intentions with sincere intentions to create good and happiness, relieve suffering, you will treat your partner with tolerance and understanding, with kindness and good will. When our partners are treated with respect, compassion, and helpfulness or when a partner’s anger or frustration are reacted to with patience, kindness, and tolerance, harm and suffering have likely been prevented. A considerate sexual relationship, where the intentions are to love and satisfy your partner, the relationship will become more satisfying for both of you, particularly if your partner has the same Right Intentions. The happiness and love produced carries into everything that you do affecting how you treat you children, your friends, your coworkers, and everyone that you meet. It is good to reflect on the ripples of good that may have been created by the Right Actions producing positive consequences, which produce more positive consequences, producing more positive consequences, etc. well into the future. So, if you form Right Intentions and aspire to create good and happiness you’ll be a better partner and will produce more harmony and good will in in all of your interactions and more importantly will be moving yourself along the eightfold path.

 

There are many opportunities to practice Right Speech in relationships. This can include non-verbal communications such as facial expressions, body postures, etc., perhaps even holding hands or loving glances. But, predominantly Right Speech is verbal. You may have a bad habit of often reacting to a mistake with reflexive emotional expletives. This can occur in response to something as simple as dropping a glass of wine. This can also include gestures. These can occur reflexively or even without awareness but do no good and create harm in yourself and sometimes aggravate your partner. Keep in mind the advice “Have a fast ear and a slow tongue.” ~Mark Ward. Right Speech also involves refraining from gossip. Couples often gossip or repeat rumors about family and friends. This can hurt others in unpredictable and sometimes unknown ways. In addition, Right Speech is truthful speech. In communicating with your partner only speak things that you know are absolutely true. Even “little white lies” have a cumulative effect eroding trust and understanding, while always speaking the truth promotes trust, understanding, and harmony. Right Speech takes practice. We have years of training and daily multiple examples of wrong speech. So, be patient and practice. Slowly the effects and benefits will become apparent.

 

The notion of Right Livelihood mandates that the couple’s occupations not only earns a living but also creates greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieves suffering. Conversely, they should not produce harm. Some occupations can be clearly seen as creating harm such as manufacturing, selling, or delivering weapons, cigarettes, or harmful drugs, human trafficking, or driving animals to slaughter. Some occupations clearly seem to create greater good and happiness, such as teacher, aid worker, nurse, etc. But, most occupations are a little more difficult to tell. Sometimes harm is produced indirectly, such as by damaging the environment, or resulting in layoffs from a competitor, or by producing goods or services that can be misused or used by others to create harm. Although rarely having direct effects upon relationships, engaging in Right Livelihood can do so indirectly. Feeling good about what you do for work can spill over bringing those good feelings home. Also, developing the discernment required to understand the impact of your occupations is a useful skill for understanding the impact of your actions upon your partner.

 

Relationships also present a great context to practice Right Effort. It takes substantial effort to interact mindfully. If you act automatically as most people do most of the time, there is little or no mindfulness and little or no effort.  When you first get up in the morning you have to set the intention to engage in your daily activities in such a way as to lessen suffering in yourself and your partner, to act with kindness, compassion, patience, and courtesy, to drop fear, anger, hatred, selfishness, and to bring to our interactions with our partner the intention to promote well-being and happiness. Right Effort is working the “Middle Way.” That is not trying too hard and getting stressed about interacting and loving properly, and also not being lackadaisical, but rather to try, but relax. Don’t beat yourself up when you’re not relating to your partner mindfully, but congratulate yourself when you do. The “Middle Way” is where effort should be targeted.

 

Acting mindlessly is probably the norm. Most people perform their routine daily activities while their minds are elsewhere, ruminating about the past, planning for the future, or off in fantasy and daydreams. This provides you with a terrific opportunity to practice Right Mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn defined mindfulness as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment.” What better opportunity to practice this than while your interacting with your partner? Right Mindfulness precludes focusing on social media or engaging in other distractions when with your partner. Right Mindfulness makes you acutely aware of what is happening and how you’re feeling during every moment together. Awareness of how you’re feeling and what’s producing those feelings, and how you’re reacting to them makes you better able to interact effectively without emotional outbursts that are non-productive and can hurt your partner. Right Mindfulness is not just part of the eightfold path it is a prerequisite for the practice of the seven other components of the path. So, relating mindfully is a fundamental practice and relationships are great situations for practice.

 

Right Concentration is the practice of focusing the mind solely on one object or a specific unchanging set of objects. This is developed during contemplative practice such as meditation. It is essential to effectively interacting with you partner. Our world is replete with distractions and interruptions. But, to truly be attentive and listening mindfully to our partner we must concentrate. Right Concentration in relationships includes making the effort to be there for your partner and deeply listen to them. There are very few more important things that you can do in relationships than to simply give your partner your full presence, your full attention, your full mindfulness. Improvement in attentional ability is a consequence of practicing Right Concentration. The ability to concentrate and screen out intrusive sounds, sights, speech and thoughts allow you to focus on your partner, producing a higher quality relationship. In addition, it is thought that Right Concentration requires Right Effort, Right Intentions, and Right Mindfulness and these can also be practiced and developed. So, interacting with our beloved is a wonderful situation for the practice of Right Concentration, benefiting each partner.

 

Negotiating the eightfold path in relationships is not easy. But, remember that it is a practice. Over time you’ll better and better at it, but nowhere near perfect. Frequently the discursive mind takes over or your emotions will get the better of you. But, by continuing the practice you’ll slowly progress. you’ll become a better partner and have a more relaxed, loving, and happier relationship. Keep in mind the teaching that actions that lead to greater harmony and happiness should be practiced, while those that lead to unsatisfactoriness and unhappiness should be let go. One of the keys in the practice is mindfully observing your partner and yourself. This allows you to discern the improvements even when they’re small and subtle.  Over time, these small improvements add up.  Without doubt, practicing the eightfold path lead to a terrific, happy, satisfying, loving relationship.

 

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ~Lao Tzu

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

Driving the Eightfold Path

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Driving the Eightfold Path

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

 “We are not proving ourselves spiritually worthy of our material progress. We have not been neighborly, courteous, and kind upon the highway. Our lack of decency toward our fellow men is a definite black mark against us.” ~Cary T. Grayson

 

We often think of meditation or spiritual practice as occurring in quiet places removed from the hubbub of life. This is useful to develop skills and deep understanding. Unfortunately, most people do not have the luxury of withdrawing into solitary or monastic life. But it is possible to practice even in the midst of the chaos of everyday life. In fact, there are wonderful opportunities to practice presented to us all the time in the complexities of the modern world. I find that driving an automobile is an almost perfect context in which to practice the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, the Buddha’s prerequisites for the cessation of suffering; Right View, Right Intentions, Right Actions, Right Speech, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

 

Driving is a wonderful opportunity to practice Right View. The impermanence of everything is on display. No matter how bad or good the traffic condition we can be sure that they will change. By recognizing this we not only practice Right View but also relax and accept what is. Driving is also a situation that reflects how interconnected everything is including the thing we label self. Driving is a cooperative venture. Without everyone’s cooperation, there would be chaos on the roads. How other people drive effects how we drive at the moment and in the future. In this context if we take a moment to look, it is easy to develop Right View. We can also view the transitoriness of our thoughts and emotions as they arise and fall away in response to the experiences occurring while driving and our reactions to them, how this thing called self that we think of a permanent and static actually changes moment to moment in reaction to our experiences while driving. This is a tremendous learning experience and laboratory to develop Right View.

 

It is hard to find a better context than driving to observe our suffering, unsatisfactoriness, and its roots. While driving we seem to want everything to be exactly as we want it to be and when it isn’t we suffer. We want other drivers to drive the speeds we want so they are not in our way, we want traffic signals to always be green, we want the sun or other drivers’ high beams not to be in our eyes, we want a parking space to be available close to our destination, etc. In other words, we can learn, if we are observant of what is happening during driving, that our suffering is caused by our lack of acceptance of how things are. So, driving constitutes an ideal laboratory to practice Right View. We can learn to accept things as they are, to see things without judgment, to view the road and other vehicles just as they are, and to understand how we drive has consequences, affecting ourselves and others, in other words, we learn Right View.

 

We can quite readily practice Right Intentions while driving and this can lead to Right Actions. These intentions include the abandonment of unwholesome desires. If we drive with anger, impatience, selfishness, resentment we are likely to harm others and ourselves. The harm may not be major or direct, but indirect by affecting the other drivers in negative ways. Perhaps cutting another off produces anger in them that causes them suffering and elicits poor driving from them or anger and aggression toward others. Perhaps, not moving over to allow faster traffic to pass may induce impatience and elicit inappropriate passing on their part or simply to unnecessarily cause them to suffer. But sometimes direct physical harm to others can be produced as in the case of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But if we practice Right Intentions with sincere intentions to create good and happiness, relieve suffering in ourselves and others, and not harm any living thing, we will drive sober, with courtesy, with tolerance and understanding, with kindness and good will. When I move over to allow someone to pass or I react to an aggressive driver with patience and tolerance, I sometimes reflect that I may have prevented great harm. Had I aggravated the other driver their emotions could provoke even more dangerous driving or resulted in later anger or aggression toward others. I like to reflect on the ripples of good that I may have created with unknown consequences well into the future.

 

Intentions are a key. They become our moral compass. They tend to lead us in the right direction even though we may at times stumble.  It is often difficult or impossible to predict all of the consequences of our actions. It is also very difficult not to create some harm. Just the fact of driving is producing carbon emissions contributing to global warming. We need to try to not only have Right Intentions,” but to discern how even the best of intentions can sometime produce harmful outcomes. We have to sometimes balance the good we’re doing with the harm produced by the same actions. This requires Right View. This is where driving can be such a great practice as we can learn what works and what doesn’t and become better at discerning what are the wholesome Right Actions from those that produce more harm than good. But, if we form Right Intentions and aspire to create good and happiness we’ll be better drivers and will produce more harmony and good will on the roads and more importantly will be moving ourselves along the eightfold path.

 

There are many opportunities to practice Right Speech while driving. This can include non-verbal communications such as the use of turn signals. This is a form of Right Speech on the roads, communicating for the greater good. But, predominantly Right Speech is verbal. I have a bad habit of often reacting to driving situations with reflexive emotional expletives. This can occur in response to something as simple as being caught at a red light to another driver’s dangerous actions. This can also include gestures. They do no good and create harm in myself and sometimes aggravate and harm others. By practicing Right Speech. I work toward alleviating the suffering my habit produces in myself and others. I’ve started to develop a habit of simply reacting, rather than with expletives, with words such as “be safe” or a recitation of the loving kindness meditation wishes for health, happiness, safety etc. It’s a work in progress, but I can clearly feel the benefit when I do.

 

Right Livelihood. only applies literally to a few drivers on the road, such as truck drivers, taxi drivers, police, tow truck drivers, etc.  But if we fall into the category of people who make their living driving it is good to reflect on the effects of our activities on others. Does our livelihood produce harm to others, such as delivering weapons, cigarettes, or harmful drugs, or driving animals to slaughter, or does it produce greater good and happiness? It is not ours to judge the “rightness” of other people’s occupations. This is a personal matter where intention matters, that must be reflected upon deeply by each of us. But driving is more frequently a secondary component of our livelihood, perhaps as a means to get to our workplace. So, it can be conceived as part of our livelihood. So, driving is for many an opportunity to reflect upon our Right Livelihood.

 

Once again, driving presents a great context to practice Right Effort. It takes substantial effort to drive mindfully. If one drives automatically as most of us do most of the time, there is little or no mindfulness and little or no effort. When we first get in the driver’s seat we have to set the intention to drive in such a way as to lessen suffering in ourselves and others, to drive with kindness, compassion, patience, and courtesy, to drop fear, anger, hatred, selfishness, and the survival of the fittest attitude, and to bring to our interactions with others on the road the intention to promote well-being and happiness. Right Effort is driving the “Middle Way.” That is not trying too hard and getting stressed about driving mindfully, and also not being lackadaisical, but rather to try but relax. Don’t beat yourself up when you’re not driving mindfully and congratulate yourself when you do. The “Middle Way” is where effort should be targeted.

 

Mindless driving is probably the norm. Most people navigate the roads and traffic while their minds are elsewhere, ruminating about the past, planning for the future, or off in fantasy and daydreams. This provides us with a terrific opportunity to practice Right Mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn defined mindfulness as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment.” What better opportunity to practice this than while driving? Right Mindfulness while driving precludes the dangerous activities of texting or engaging in other distractions that are known to amplify the dangers of driving. Right Mindfulness makes us acutely aware of what is happening and how we’re feeling during every moment of our drive. This makes not only for a more enjoyable drive, but also for much better driving. Awareness of how we’re feeling and what’s producing those feelings, and how we’re reacting to them makes us better able to drive safely without emotional outbursts eliciting unsafe behaviors. Right Mindfulness while driving is not just part of the eightfold path it is a prerequisite for the practice of the seven other components of the path. So, driving mindfully is a fundamental practice and driving is a great situation for practice.

 

Right Concentration” is the practice of focusing the mind solely on one object or a specific unchanging set of objects. Mindfulness is paying attention to whatever arises, but concentration is paying attention to one thing to the exclusion of everything else. This is usually developed during contemplative practice such as meditation and is nearly impossible to practice while driving. But, improvement in attentional ability is a consequence of practicing Right Concentration in other contexts which can improve driving by reducing distractions and mind wandering. In addition, it is thought that Right Concentration requires Right Effort, Right Intention, and Right Mindfulness and these can be practiced and developed while driving. So, although driving is not a situation for the practice of Right Concentration directly, the prerequisites for Right Concentration can be practiced and the benefits of its development can be appreciated.

 

Driving the eightfold path is not easy. But, remember that it is a practice. Over time I have gotten better and better at it, but nowhere near perfect. Frequently the discursive mind takes over or my emotions get the better of me. But, by continuing the practice I’ve slowly progressed. I’ve become a better driver and I’ve become a more relaxed and happier driver. I arrive at my destination relaxed with a smile on my face as opposed to the anger and stress that used to accompany me there.

 

Can we drive ourselves to enlightenment? Probably not! But we can practice the eightfold path that the Buddha taught leads there. The strength of driving the eightfold path practice is that it occurs in the real world of our everyday life. Quiet secluded practice is wonderful and perhaps mandatory for progress in spiritual development. But for most people it only can occur during a very limited window of time. By extending the practice directly into the mainstream of our lives we can greatly enhance its impact. I like to keep in mind the teaching that actions that lead to greater harmony and happiness should be practiced, while those that lead to unsatisfactoriness and unhappiness should be let go.  Without doubt, driving the eightfold path leads to greater harmony and happiness and as such should definitely should be included in our spiritual practice.

 

“It helps if you don’t see it as traffic but rather as thousands of individuals resolved to press on another day.” ~Robert Brault

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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The Eightfold Path at Work

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The Eightfold Path at Work

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

 “So where do we begin if we want to improve our work life for ourselves and those around us? I suggest starting with the mind. Ask yourself: what is the quality of my mind at work? What’s happening in my mind as the hours at work go by day in and day out? Is my mind working at its utmost? . . . . Through mindfulness, we can train our minds to work better.” – Tara Healey

 

The work environment as an excellent context in which to practice the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. It is filled with interpersonal interactions and clashes, task focusing, dealing with authority, frustrations, successes, self-worthiness, and emotionality. In other words, the work environment has all the ingredients to put to the test all the principles of mindfulness and the Eightfold Path for the cessation of suffering; Right View, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

 

We often think of meditation or spiritual practice as occurring in quiet places removed from the hubbub of life. This is useful to develop skills and deep understanding. Unfortunately, most people do not have the luxury of withdrawing into a solitary or monastic life. Fortunately, it is possible to practice even in the midst of the chaos of everyday life. In fact, there are wonderful opportunities to practice presented to us all the time embedded in the complexities of the modern world. In a previous essay we discussed driving an automobile as an almost perfect venue for practice. In today’s essay we’ll discuss practicing in the work environment.

 

There are many wonderful opportunities at work to practice Right View. The view that all things are impermanent can be practiced. Indeed, the situation at work is constantly changing and no matter how bad or good the work conditions or the daily experiences are you can be sure that they’ll change; the business cycle is constantly changing as are the people you work with and for. By recognizing this we not only practice Right View but also relax and accept what is. Work is a cooperative venture. It’s a situation that reflects how interconnected everything is including the thing we label self. Working without consideration of our superiors or co-workers and their needs and aspirations would be chaotic and very unproductive. How you work effects how they work and vice versa. In this context if you take a moment to look, it is easy to develop Right View including the transitoriness of our thoughts and emotions. At work they arise and fall away in response to the ever changing experiences occurring at work and your reactions to them. This thing called self that you think of a permanent and static actually changes moment to moment in reaction to these experiences at work. This is a tremendous learning experience with work being a wonderful laboratory to practice and develop your Right View.

 

It is hard to find a better context than working to develop the Right View on suffering and unsatisfactoriness, and their roots. While working we seem to want everything to be exactly as we want it to be, and when it isn’t we suffer. We want meetings to be short, incisive, and productive, we want technology to always be working properly, we want to always be recognized for our efforts and accomplishments, we want less dull repetition and paperwork, we want our co-workers to be cooperative rather than competitive, we want a raise, we want a promotion, we want our bosses to always make the right decisions, we want everyone to like us, etc. When these things don’t happen, we suffer. In other words, you can learn, if you are observant of what is happening during working, that your suffering is caused by your lack of acceptance of how things are at work. So, working constitutes a wonderful laboratory to practice Right View. You can learn to accept things as they are, to see things without judgment, to view the job, your bosses, and other workers just as they are, and to understand how you work has consequences, affecting yourself and others, in other words, you practice and develop Right View.

 

You can quite readily practice Right Intentions while working and this can lead to Right Actions. These intentions include the abandonment of unwholesome desires. If you work with anger, impatience, selfishness, resentment you are likely to harm others and yourself. The harm may not be major or direct, but indirect by affecting the other workers in negative ways. Perhaps your anger at an unsatisfactory work situation causes the intentional sabotage of a project. Perhaps, your selfishness causes you to refuse to help a struggling co-worker eliciting frustration or worry about the security of their job, or simply cause them to suffer. But sometimes direct harm to others can be produced by greed resulting in your undercutting or obstructing their work in order to make yourself look better and step over them for promotion. But if you practice Right Intentions with sincere intentions to create good and happiness, relieve suffering in ourselves and others, and not harm any living thing, you will work cooperatively, with courtesy, with tolerance and understanding, with kindness and good will. When co-workers are treated with respect, compassion, and helpfulness or when a co-worker’s anger or frustration are reacted to with patience, kindness, and tolerance, harm and suffering have likely been prevented. It is good to reflect on the ripples of good that may have been created with Right Actions producing positive consequences, which produce more positive consequences, producing more positive consequences, etc. well into the future.

 

Intentions are a key. They become your moral compass. They tend to lead you in the right direction even though you may at times stumble.  It is often difficult or impossible to predict all of the consequences of your actions. It is also very difficult not to create some harm. You have to consider that your competitive success may be causing others to lose their jobs, or that the manufacturing processes you’re using compromises the natural environment, or that trying to minimize costs, you use suppliers who employ people at less than a living wage. You need to try to not only have Right Intentions, but to discern how even the best of intentions can sometime produce harmful outcomes. You have to sometimes balance the good you’re doing with the harm produced by the same actions. This requires Right View. This is where working can be such a great practice as you can learn what works and what doesn’t and become better at discerning what are the wholesome Right Actions from those that produce more harm than good. But, if you form Right Intentions and aspire to create good and happiness you’ll be a better worker and will produce more harmony and good will in the work place and more importantly will be moving yourself along the eightfold path.

 

There are many opportunities to practice Right Speech while working. This can include non-verbal communications such as facial expressions, body postures, etc. But, predominantly Right Speech is verbal. A worker may have a bad habit of often reacting to a mistake with reflexive emotional expletives. This can occur in response to something as simple as dropping a part, to another worker’s dangerous actions. This can also include gestures. They do no good and create harm in myself and sometimes aggravate and harm others. Office gossip is rampant in the work environment. This often hurts others in unpredictable and sometimes unknown ways. Right speech involves refraining from gossip. At work frequently guesses and rumors are spread. Right Speech involves only speaking things that you know are absolutely true. This can promote trust and harmony in the workplace. By practicing Right Speech you can work toward alleviating the suffering produced in ourselves and others. Simply react, rather than with expletives, with words such as “be safe” or a silent recitation of the loving kindness meditation wishes for health, happiness, safety etc. Right Speech takes practice. We have years of training and daily multiple examples of wrong speech. So, be patient and practice. Slowly the effects and benefits will become apparent.

 

The notion of Right Livelihood mandates that your work not only earns you a living but also creates greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieves suffering in yourself and others. Conversely, you should not produce harm. This doesn’t discourage earning profits and accumulating wealth. It simply indicates that it must be done in the right way. It indicates that you should acquire wealth only by legal means, peacefully, without coercion or violence; you should acquire it honestly, not by trickery or deceit; and you should acquire it in ways which do not entail harm and suffering for others. Some occupations can be clearly seen as creating harm such as manufacturing, selling, or delivering weapons, cigarettes, or harmful drugs, or driving animals to slaughter. Some occupations clearly seem to create greater good and happiness, such as teacher, aid worker, nurse, etc. But, most occupations are a little more difficult to tell. Sometimes harm is produced indirectly, such as by damaging the environment, or resulting in layoffs from a competitor, or by producing goods or services that can be misused or used by others to create harm. It is not yours to judge the “rightness” of other people’s occupations. This is a personal matter where intention matters, that must be reflected upon deeply to ascertain whether your practicing Right Livelihood.

 

Once again, working presents a great context to practice Right Effort. It takes substantial effort to work mindfully. If you work automatically as most people do most of the time, there is little or no mindfulness and little or no effort. When you first get to work you have to set the intention to engage in your work in such a way as to lessen suffering in yourself and others, to work with kindness, compassion, patience, and courtesy, to drop fear, anger, hatred, selfishness, and the survival of the fittest attitude, and to bring to our interactions with others at work the intention to promote well-being and happiness. Right Effort is working the “Middle Way.” That is not trying too hard and getting stressed about working mindfully, and also not being lackadaisical, but rather to try, but relax. Don’t beat yourself up when you’re not working mindfully, but congratulate yourself when you do. The “Middle Way” is where effort should be targeted.

 

Mindless working is probably the norm. Most people perform their routine work activities while their minds are elsewhere, ruminating about the past, planning for the future, or off in fantasy and daydreams. This provides you with a terrific opportunity to practice Right Mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn defined mindfulness as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment.” What better opportunity to practice this than while working? Right Mindfulness while working precludes focusing on social media or engaging in other distractions that detract from our efforts. Right Mindfulness makes you acutely aware of what is happening and how you’re feeling during every moment of your work. This makes not only for a more enjoyable work, but also for much better working. Awareness of how you’re feeling and what’s producing those feelings, and how you’re reacting to them makes you better able to work effectively without emotional outbursts that are non-productive and can damage the efforts of co-workers. Right Mindfulness while working is not just part of the eightfold path it is a prerequisite for the practice of the seven other components of the path. So, working mindfully is a fundamental practice and working is a great situation for practice.

 

Right Concentration is the practice of focusing the mind solely on one object or a specific unchanging set of objects. This is developed during contemplative practice such as meditation. It is essential to effective work. Very few people have the luxury of working in quiet isolated circumstances. Most work in environments that are replete with distractions and interruptions.

Improvement in attentional ability is a consequence of practicing Right Concentration  improves focused attention on the work, reducing distractions and mind wandering. The ability to concentrate and screen out intrusive sounds, sights, speech and thoughts allow you to focus on your work, producing higher quality work while being more efficient and productive. In addition, it is thought that Right Concentration requires Right Effort, Right Intentions, and Right Mindfulness and these can also be practiced and developed while working. So, working is a wonderful situation for the practice of Right Concentration, benefiting the individual and the quality of the work.

 

Working the eightfold path is not easy. But, remember that it is a practice. Over time you’ll better and better at it, but nowhere near perfect. Frequently the discursive mind takes over or your emotions will get the better of you. But, by continuing the practice you’ll slowly progress. you’ll become a better worker and a more relaxed and happier worker. You then can leave work at the end of the day relaxed with a smile on your face rather than angry and stressed.

 

Through engaging in the eightfold path at can we achieve enlightenment? Probably not! But we can practice it and the Buddha taught that it leads there. The strength of practicing the eightfold path at work is that it occurs in the real world of our everyday life. Quiet secluded practice is wonderful and perhaps mandatory for progress in spiritual development. But for most people it only can occur during a very limited window of time. By extending the practice directly into the mainstream of our lives we can greatly enhance its impact. Keep in mind the teaching that actions that lead to greater harmony and happiness should be practiced, while those that lead to unsatisfactoriness and unhappiness should be let go.  Without doubt, practicing the eightfold path at work leads to greater harmony and happiness and as such should be included in our spiritual practice.

 

“As an executive coach and physician, I often sing the praises of mindfulness approaches and recommend them to clients to manage stress, avoid burnout, enhance leadership capacity, and steady their minds when in the midst of making important business decisions, career transitions, and personal life changes.” – David Brendel

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Concentration

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The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Concentration

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Concentration relates closely to the final limb, mindfulness. Both are different forms of awareness, but of the two concentration is more deliberate and narrow, mindfulness broader, more spontaneous and more open and receptive.” – Clearvision

 

Mindfulness is an openness to all experiences no matter what comes up. On the other hand, concentration is to focus on only one or a small subset of what is present. So, Right Concentration is a different aspect of mind training from Right Mindfulness. It is the eighth and last component of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right View, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. But, all of these components are interconnected and depend upon one another. So, it’s position is arbitrary and should not be construed that it’s the least component. They are all important in the integrated interdependent whole of the path.

 

A good example of Right Concentration is focused meditation where a single aspect or select set of aspects is concentrated upon to the exclusion of other aspects. This is often the breath but can also be a mantra, a special word, a particular person, or basically anything that can be separated from everything else. Concentration filters out everything but the object of concentration. So, the mind is not distracted. A concentrated mind is described as single pointed, focused totally on one thing and one thing only. The Buddha taught that when one pointedness is attained it produces a state of great tranquility and peace. Hence, the two primary features of Right Concentration are unbroken attentiveness to an object and a consequent tranquility.

 

There are many levels of concentration and as the practice of focused meditation develops the individual moves through deeper and deeper levels. As the practice begins, the mind will inevitably wander. When the meditator becomes aware that the mind has strayed, s/he simply gently returns to the object of concentration. It is sometimes helpful to congratulate yourself on returning rather than feeling bad about wandering. The idea is to reinforce and strengthen being concentrated rather than punishing the mind for doing what it naturally does. This will make it more and more likely that the meditator will return quickly once the mind wanders and stays focused longer and longer.

 

The development of Right Concentration is not a linear process with the meditator getting better and better with every meditation. It is rather highly variable with concentration easy and prolonged one day followed by another day when it is difficult and short-lived with mind wandering the rule. Rather than being frustrated with this the practitioner simply needs to continue practicing with assurance that over time concentration will get deeper and deeper more and more often and un-concentrated meditation will get rarer and rarer.

 

As practice continues concentration will deepen going through a number of stages, initial application of mind, sustained application of mind, rapture, happiness, and one-pointedness. The initial application of mind is settling and acquiring the object of meditation and focusing on it alone. This slowly becomes a sustained application of mind, where the focus on the object is held for a prolonged period of time. Rapture and happiness begin to become a by-product of the sustained attention as the practitioner feels joy and happiness with successful concentration. Finally, the concentration develops to the level of one pointedness, with the mind unified and completely focused on the object of meditation to the exclusion of everything else.
The attainment of one pointedness relaxes the mind with its activities greatly diminished. As the mind quiets, consciousness is allowed to be on its own without interruption and it begins to move into deeper and deeper states on consciousness. The meditative absorption deepens and consciousness moves into various stages known as the “jhanas.” The first and second being one pointedness accompanied by joy and happiness, the only difference between the two is the level of refinement of the concentration. The third “jhana” involves a continuation of one pointedness and happiness but with the addition of clear comprehension and equanimity, where things are seen just as they are without judgment or valuation. The fourth “jhana” involves solely one pointedness, a state of pureness of consciousness, unmarred by feelings.

 

These stages of Right Concentration should not be seen as an unwavering roadmap to deeper states of consciousness. These stages occur to some but not others. Some, jump around, skip stages, of bypass them completely. But, Right Concentration inevitably leads to deep and deeper states of awareness. The Buddha describes even deeper states of absorption as the practitioner moves towards enlightenment. So, Right Concentration is seen as the doorway to the culmination of the path, attaining enlightenment.

 

Regardless, of these deeper states of consciousness, the process of developing concentration is very beneficial in everyday life. The ability to stay with a task without distraction or the mind wandering away improves work, study, or even relationships, virtually everything.  So, practice Right Concentration and move forward on the path toward spiritual enlightenment.

 

“Now what, monks, is noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors, right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, & right mindfulness‚ is called noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions.” – Buddha

 

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The Noble Eightfold Path – Right Mindfulness

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The Noble Eightfold Path – Right Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Buddhism began by encouraging its practitioners to engage in smrti (sati) or mindfulness, that is, developing a full consciousness of all about you and within you — whether seated in a special posture, or simply going about one’s life. This is the kind of meditation that Buddha himself engaged in under the bodhi tree, and is referred to in the seventh step of the eightfold path.” – C. George Boeree
The predominant iconic image of the Buddha is of him sitting in blissful meditation. This results in the popular conception that meditation is at the center of Buddhism.  But, as is evident from the first six components of the Noble Eightfold Path, at the center is how one goes about one’s life. This is evident in Right View, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort and Right Concentration. The real center of Buddhism is contained in the seventh component of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, Right Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the basis for all of the other components on the path. Unless one is mindful, there cannot be a right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, or concentration. The Buddha used meditation as a practice to develop mindfulness, thereby allowing progress on the path and eventually attaining enlightenment. So, meditation is a means to an end and that end is mindfulness and beyond.

 

Mindfulness is all about presence of mind or paying attention. But, it’s a particular kind of attention. We are forever paying attention to something. Mindfulness involves paying attention to what is occurring in the present moment. Paying attention to memories, daydreams, ruminations about the past, thoughts about the future, planning, problem solving, dreaming, visualizing, etc. are not mindfulness. Rather it is paying attention to the sensations from inside the body and from the outside environment, to the momentary thoughts floating through the mind, and to momentary awareness itself. In addition, it is intentional paying attention, doing so on purpose, and witnessing what is transpiring in the present moment without judgment, without consideration of it being good or bad, right or wrong, pleasant or unpleasant, or smart or stupid, rather, simply letting things be as they are. It can be thought of as thoughtless awareness, pure awareness of now, or bare attention, without reference to the past or the future or for that matter without any processing of the information whatsoever.

 

Mindfulness helps to lead to serenity, insight, deep concentration, or wisdom. It makes sure that the mind does not slip away and get lost in random undirected thoughts. Its primary tasks are to observe, to note, to discern phenomena with utmost precision until their fundamental characteristics and nature are brought to awareness. In order to attain these deeper understandings, the Buddha directed his followers that they should concentrate on four types of mindfulness being mindful of the body, feelings, mental states, and mental contents.

 

A sad aspect of our lack of mindfulness is an unawareness of the body. With the mind occupied with thoughts, ruminations, plans, etc. it is easy to lose track of the body and its physical state. It is eye opening when introducing people to a simple body scan, how amazed they are that they’re so unaware of it. So, to be truly in the present moment an acute awareness of the state of the body needs to be developed. This involves a number of components. Mindfulness of the body includes recognizing the position of the body, whether standing, sitting, lying down, and the various parts of the body, from toes to scalp and everything in between. Mindfulness of the body also includes a recognition of its composition of matter, air, and water, that are acquired from the environment, and thereby recognizing the body’s dependence and integration with the greater world. Finally, it involves a recognition of the body’s ever changing, impermanent nature, including its growth, development, deterioration, and eventual cessation in death. Yes, mindfulness of the body includes recognition of its mortality.

 

There is not only a lack of awareness of the body itself but also of the sensations from the body, including those associated with emotional states and how we evaluate, judge and respond to them. Mindfulness of feelings includes bring to awareness the sensations and feelings from the body and all its parts in the present moment, including feelings of temperature, pressure, pain, tingling, etc. As this awareness emerges so can an awareness of how we are judging these feelings as pleasurable, likable, distasteful, unlikable, or neutral and how we are reacting to them of doing things to develop or hold onto pleasant feelings and to eliminate or abbreviate unpleasant feelings. These are all deeply imbedded in human nature, but often appear to occur unconsciously. Mindfulness of feelings brings them into the light of awareness.

 

Emotions always involve both mental and physical components. Mindfulness of feelings is generally seen as pertaining to the bodily sensations accompanying emotions. It’s quite striking as mindfulness of feelings emerges and develops the degree to which they often occur without awareness or even recognition. Anger and fear are accompanied by a physiological activation, including increases in heart rate and blood pressure, muscle tone, blood moving away from the skin and gut to the muscles, and facial expressions. Yet, these are frequently not recognized. In developing mindfulness of feelings, the feelings produced by emotions are brought to awareness and felt deeply. This produces an ability to recognize the emotional state before it elicits a reaction that might harmful or regretted later. Mindfulness of feelings, then, allows for not only recognition but also the control of emotional reactions.

 

The mind is constantly interpreting and judging experience. These processes are responsible for forming ideas about these experiences, sometimes called mental formations, because they are formed in the mind. In psychology it is recognized that what emotion is felt is determined not only by our physical state but also how the mind interprets the environment. For example, fear is thought to occur when a physiological reaction occurs within what the mind interprets as a fearful context, e.g. the presence of a threat. Mindfulness of mental states involves firstly recognizing the state, e.g. anger, happiness, boredom, etc. and observing the workings of the mind that produce these mental formations. By watching how the mind interprets experience the practitioner becomes more and more aware of how the mind effects how experience is perceived and interpreted and the roots and conditions of these experiences. It may underline how the interpretation of the experience is based upon prior experiences or memories or how they are interconnected to other things in the environment. As the practice continues, it becomes easier and easier to see experiences in the raw, without interpretation, devoid of judgment, disconnected from prior experiences.

 

Every experience contains objects that are detected by our senses. Mindfulness of mental contents involves bringing these objects into awareness in all their aspects. This involves not only seeing and perceiving the object exactly as it is at the moment but also observing its impermanence and it interconnectedness to everything else. It’s seeing the object as an absolutely unique and ever changing expression of the entire universe. Deep mindfulness of an object includes perceiving how it is dynamically changing from moment to moment. An apple has a particular immediate appearance but this is just a snapshot of the apple which has changed moment to moment, from a seed, earth, and water, to a tree, to a bud, to an unripe piece of fruit, to its current state as a one of a kind apple. It is also to see that this apple will continue to change to overripe, to rotten, to garbage on the ground, to its component elements of soil and water, to its return to the earth. In other words, mindfulness of mental contents involves seeing the object as a transitory impermanent expression. In addition, it is to see how it is connected to everything else, the sunlight, the rain, the soil, the evolution of apple trees, the farmer, the machinery, the inventors of the machinery, the metal, plastics, and gasoline in the machinery, etc. In other words, it’s to see the apple as and ever changing and interconnected to all of existence. When objects are viewed in this way, they are truly seen mindfully.

 

So, Right Mindfulness is the development of an accurate and precise awareness of the present moment uncolored by ideas, memories, beliefs, expectations, etc., just the experience as it is. This is essential to progress on the path as it’s impossible to develop the other seven components of the path without being able to accurately perceive exactly what is actually transpiring in the present moment. It is the essential foundation for everything else. With it we have hope of progressing toward enlightenment, without it, we’re lost in delusion. So practice resolutely to develop mindfulness and move forward on the path.

 

 “When right mindfulness is developed and made much of, one realizes what one should do and should not do. Whether one should speak or not speak. When one speaks, what should be spoken and not spoken. Right mindfulness is the basis for the development of the right path that culminates in knowledge, wisdom, contentment and the highest happiness.” – Mithra Wettimuny

 

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The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Effort

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The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Effort

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“The Fourfold Right Diligence is nourished by joy and interest. If your practice does not bring you joy, you are not practicing correctly.” – Thich Nhat Hahn

 

In order to progress on the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, effort must be exerted. One cannot simply sit back and wait for something to happen, one has to practice, one has to work at it. To some people that means working very, very, hard, perhaps meditating for hours on end, day after day. This comes from the Western work ethic that teaches that the harder you work, the more likely it is that you’ll achieve your goals. This is also the case in some Zen schools. A meditation teacher once described a Zen retreat as “Buddha boot camp,” requiring extreme endurance and perseverance. For many people this simply does not work and may lead to them abandoning practice and the path completely.

 

“Right Effort” sometimes called right diligence is the sixth component of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, Right View, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.” The idea of “Right Effort” is that the effort exerted in practice and in life needs to be “Right.” It needs to be finely tuned, neither too lax, nor too effortful. The Buddha taught that practice should be like a well-tuned string instrument. If the strings are too loose, they won’t play a sound. If they are too tight, they will break. Practice should be nourishing, not draining. So, “Right Effort” actually points precisely to the Buddha’s “Middle Way.”

 

The notion of “Right Effort” is not just for meditation practice but for how we conduct our lives. It calls for us to develop and encourage good qualities, ones that will lead forward on the path, and reduce or discourage bad qualities, ones that interfere or block progress. There are many good qualities to be cultivated but the ones that the Buddha particularly targeted were mindfulness, investigation of phenomena, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity.

 

This suggests that we should work to develop mindfulness, paying attention, on purpose, without judgment, to what is occurring in the present moment. After all, how are we going to progress on a spiritual path if our minds are lost in thought, memories of the past or projections of the future? Only by being attentive to what is happening right now, do we have any hope of seeing things as the truly are. Mindfulness can be developed by engaging in contemplative practices such as meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer, mindful movement practices, etc. So, “Right Effort” mandates that we practice to cultivate our mindfulness, but do so with energy and striving, but not too much or too little. We need to practice on the “Middle Way.”

Investigation of phenomena needs to also be cultivated. Whereas mindfulness is observing what is, investigation is probing into the nature of what is. Investigation involves exerting concentration and energy to search out the characteristics, conditions, and consequences of the phenomena we observe with mindfulness. So, we look carefully as to what exactly composes a feeling, what leads up to the feeling arising, and what is produced by the feeling. So as anger arises, we look with mindfulness as to how exactly it feels in the body and mind, we look at what produced the anger, and we look at what consequence it might have for our actions and thoughts. If we can truly see these aspects of anger, we can better recognize it when it begins to arise, control it, and manage its consequences to lead away from harm and toward greater wisdom and happiness.

 

Fundamental to the entire process is energy. It must be cultivated and distributed carefully as there is only a limited amount available. We must first develop the energy to initiate mindfulness and investigation. It is impossible in real life to be constantly in the present moment and probing its nature. But, we must have the energy to return to these healthy processes whenever we have the opportunity to come back. Once mindfully engaged it is important to cultivate the energy to persevere and remain mindful as long as possible. Finally, we have to learn how to hold some energy in reserve so that when we reach a significant juncture in our practice we can focus our energy to break through and make a leap forward.

 

All of this energy can be built and cultivated by making our efforts joyful. Joy will replenish and charge our batteries for use when we need it. So, practice with joy, allow yourself to experience the beauty and awe available in every moment, and refrain from pushing too hard and losing the joy and happiness of practice. If we are careful and follow this joy, it will build and build and reach crescendos of bliss. This fuels our progress on the path. But, it is impossible to remain in a state of continuous bliss. Eventually the practice leads to tranquility, a peacefulness that comes from knowing the joyfulness of existence and practice. This tranquility now can allow the practice to proceed with knowing serenity. This peacefulness is the foundation for ceasing seeking and quieting the mind. Maintaining this stillness requires concentration. Once stabilized equanimity develops, an inward poise, free from the extremes of inertia and excitement. A state is reached like when driving a car with the cruise control on, neither having to press the gas peddle harder nor letting up on the peddle, just rolling along enjoying the scenery, without effort or striving, just observing things as they are. Just moving along the “Middle Way.”

 

It is wonderful to be cultivating positive qualities but at the same time it is necessary to prevent bad qualities from hindering progression on the path. There are also many bad qualities to be discouraged or removed but the ones that the Buddha particularly targeted were sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and worry, and doubt. As part of pursuing “Right Effort” on the path effort should be exerted to prevent these bad qualities from arising and if they do to refrain from pursuing or reinforcing them so that they can diminish or extinguish on their own.

 

Sensual desires is actually a broad category that includes cravings for all those objects or states that are pleasing, sights, sounds, emotions, feelings, tastes etc. The actual experiences are fine and need not be avoided. It’s the pursuit of them and the attempt to hold onto them that produces hindrance. “Right Effort” involves not seeking them out, but if they arise letting them come and go without striving to hold onto them. Just letting them pass by like a sunrise or a sunset, looking, seeing, appreciating, and letting go. Trying to hold on only produces unsatisfactoriness and frustration.

 

At times negative feeling arise toward objects or people. These can be a hindrance also if they are focused on, held onto, or pursued. Feelings such as hatred, anger, resentment, repulsion, jealousy, etc. arise at times in the normal course of life and in our practice. This is normal and need not be actively pushed aside. This will only tend to strengthen them. They should simply be let go, allowed to dissipate on their own, noticing, taking note, sensing the feelings and releasing them. Situations and people who tend to evoke these feeling should be avoided as much as possible. It is easier to handle them if they never arise. So, if someone should cause you harm and anger and resentment begin to arise, let them. Just observe them with mindfulness. Feel the feelings and the mental anguish. Don’t avoid it, but don’t pursue or react to it. This can be difficult, but the more it is practiced the easier and easier it becomes. This is how to exert “Right Effort” toward these ill feelings.

 

Dullness and drowsiness are often indicators of too little rest and sleep or too much exertion.  “Right Effort” involves staying on the “Middle Way” and getting sufficient rest and sleep and not overdoing anything. These states of dullness and drowsiness are actually very good indicators and guides to return to the “Middle Way.” So, when tired, rest, when sleepy, sleep, and when dull, relax and recharge. Similarly, restlessness and worry are indicators of straying from attention to the present moment and wanting things to be different than they are, ruminating about the past, or fantasizing about the future. These states can also be useful as signposts and guides leading back to the present moment. “Right Effort” is to use these states to assist in maintaining energy, staying with mindfulness, and concentrating. The more they are used in this way the easier it gets to sense straying from the path and the sooner the return can happen.

 

The path can be difficult and progress is haphazard, improving one day, falling back another. It can sometimes be difficult to tell that progress is actually being made. This can lead to doubt that the “Eightfold Path” is the right way toward spiritual development. When doubt arises don’t fret. This is normal. It signals that questions should be asked of others, particularly those who have navigated the path. This can help to elucidate that the up and down course of practice is normal and if energy is invested in persistence, progress will be made. Doubt also signals that studying the teachings, reading, and contemplation may be needed to strengthen resolve and provide direction. This is truly “Right Effort.”

 

Obviously, there’s a lot to “Right Effort.” But the keys are joyful practice and the “Middle Way.” Look carefully at discursions from the path of unhealthy desires, bad feelings toward others, sleepiness or restlessness, worry, or doubt. There’s no need to feel bad about them. They are part of being human and everyone from time to time experiences them. Rather than regretting them, let them be pointers to returning to the path. Slowly, improvement will occur and falling off the path will happen less and less often, the good qualities will be present more and more often for longer and longer periods, and forward movement will occur on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

 

“Enlightenment is not your birthright.
Those who succeed do so only through proper effort.” – Ramana Maharshi

 

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The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Livelihood

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The Noble Eightfold Path: Right Livelihood

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D/

 

“Given that almost everyone’s life includes an economic dimension, work and career need to be integrated into life as a Buddhist. Most of us spend the majority of their waking lives at work, so it’s important to assess how our work affects our mind and heart. How can work become meaningful? How can it be a support not a hindrance to spiritual practice — a place to deepen our awareness and kindness?” – Sangharakshita

 

Most people need work to earn a living to support themselves and a family. For most, this is not a choice, it is a necessity for survival. But, what we do to make that living can be a choice and the nature of the occupation chosen can have a major impact on the psychological and spiritual development of the individual. The Buddha’s notion of “Right Livelihood” emphasizes the nature and importance of this choice.

 

Unless you’re a hermit, making a living is a social endeavor. It involves an array of people and it impacts on many others. A manager of a grocery store has to hire and coordinate the activities of many employees, has to work with upper management, suppliers, government regulators including the health department, and has to interact with customers. The manager’s activity impacts a wide array of people. This will also be true for most of us in our work. So, again the choice of occupation can have far reaching effects, not only on the individual, but on a wide network of interconnected people. Positive and/or negative effects of our occupation can thereby have many direct and indirect effects on our happiness and well-being as the effects on others feedback and affect ourselves.

 

“Right Livelihood” is the fifth component of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, Right View, Right Intentions, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.” “Right Livelihood” is actually a subcategory of “Right Action”, but is so important that it like speech is singled out for its own step on the path. It’s particularly important because of its cascading impact on others. What we do and how we do it can make important contributions to the well-being of many or it may produce widespread harm. Having an occupation that produces good and doesn’t produce harm is as important to our own spiritual development as can be to the well-being of others.

 

The notion of “Right Livelihood” mandates that we should engage in an occupation that not only earns us a living but also creates greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieves suffering in ourselves and others. Conversely, we should avoid occupations that produce harm. The notion of “Right Livelihood” doesn’t discourage earning profits and accumulating wealth. It simply indicates that it must be done in the right way. It indicates that we should acquire wealth only by legal means, peacefully, without coercion or violence; we should acquire it honestly, not by trickery or deceit; and we should acquire it in ways which do not entail harm and suffering for others. This means that in performing our work we should fulfil our duties diligently and conscientiously, not wasting or misrepresenting the hours worked, or stealing, we should pay due respect and consideration to employers, employees, colleagues, and customers, and we should engage in business transactions truthfully without deceptive advertising, misrepresentations, or dishonesty.

 

In the choice of occupations to pursue there are some obvious jobs to aspire to. These are occupations that on their face create good and promote well-being. They include professions such as physician, social worker, peace negotiator, relief worker, therapist, etc. Of course, even these occupations can cause harm, as mistakes can and do happen, but the intent is to relieve suffering, and that’s what counts. Similarly, there are occupations that rather obviously create harm and should be avoided, such as drug dealer, arms merchant, professional criminal, etc.

 

Most occupations, unfortunately, are not so obviously good or harmful. Many can have harmful effects, not by immediate actions, but indirectly. For example, working as an accountant for a cigarette manufacture. Accounting is not itself harmful, but in this case would contribute to the distribution of a product that has been demonstrated to be harmful to people’s health. But, most occupations are even trickier to evaluate. Working on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico produces a product, energy, that is needed for the well-being of virtually everyone. Without affordable energy, every aspect of the economy would collapse. So, working on the oil rig could be seen as promoting well-being and relieving suffering. On the other hand, there is potential for great environmental harm, including oil spills that directly pollute sensitive environments, or contributing to carbon dioxide emissions that can indirectly create great harm by contributing to global warming.

 

So should someone on the eightfold path accept or reject a job working on an oil rig? The answer cannot be given by anyone other than the individual themselves. It is imperative that the individual look deeply and objectively at what they’re doing and determine for themselves if they are doing more harm than good. On the eightfold path, the primary spiritual impact of “Right Livelihood” is on the individual engaging in the occupation. So, the decision has to be theirs. That is not to say that experts or friends can’t or shouldn’t be consulted, but that ultimately the individual must decide for themselves and be willing to accept the potential consequences.

 

Is it “Right Livelihood” to raise cattle, or chickens for consumption, to be a butcher, or sell animal products? At the surface this might seem simple as it involves the destruction of sentient beings which should be avoided. But, like everything, it’s sometimes not so simple. Firstly, killing out in self-defense is regrettable and should be avoided however possible, but if necessary is not a problem. In fact, there is a long history of lethal self-defense techniques being taught and practiced at some Buddhist monasteries. Killing and eating meat might be seen as self-defense and when other foods are not available for sustenance it’s defensible. In fact, the Buddha and his followers occasionally ate meat and taught that once killed animal products should not be wasted. But, in general, for most people in affluent situations, being involved in the raising, slaughtering, and distribution of animals would not be considered “Right Livelihood.” It may well have negative consequences on the individual and others.

 

In my own career, before I started on the eightfold path, I engaged in research projects using animals. At the time, it seemed to be a noble endeavor, increasing scientific knowledge for the good. But, I believe that I was harmed by this. I now look back with deep regret and guilt that I was responsible for the deaths of literally hundreds of animals. It doesn’t matter that they were lab rats. They were beings who should not have been used and harmed for my own selfish reasons to advance my scientific career. I remember those days long ago vividly and feel terrible that I could have created so much harm. It is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I paid and am paying the consequences on violating “Right Livelihood.”

 

We spend so much of our lives at work, that the choice of the wrong occupation can be a major impediment to our spiritual growth. Conversely, the choice of the right occupation can be a major asset. It can create greater happiness, wisdom, and well-being, and relieve suffering in ourselves and others. This is a major step on our spiritual path. So, engage in “Right Livelihood” and move forward toward enlightenment.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

“A lay follower should not engage in five types of business. Which five? Business in weapons, business in human beings, business in meat, business in intoxicants, and business in poison.” – Buddha

 

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