Mindfulness is one of the 8 Fold Path Teachings in Buddhism. The other Seven are also Useful and Important to Apply!
Plug these Spiritual Apps into your Mind & Behavior to Make a Better World
Mindfulness has become a household word as of late and that is great because it is one of the most profound insights in human history on how to live a good and healthy life. The Buddha taught this lesson of constant mental awareness and detachment as part of the 8 Fold Path. Detachment from and being Mindful of all Things, all the time, including the good, bad and ugly - thus avoiding much unnecessary stress or unhealthy stimulation.
The 8 Fold Path was created as a follow up to the 4 Noble Truths which was Buddha’s essential philosophy based on the suffering caused from attachments in this life followed by the detachment solution/perspective/practice that greatly reduces that suffering.
Honestly, I was never crazy about the first of the Noble Truths - that life is suffering based on the impermanence of everything. It’s just too absolute and not true for more than half of humans in the 21st century. If one is born into the lucky half of humanity of 8 billion that has the basics covered - water, food and shelter - the roller coaster of life contains a myriad of emotions including joy and happiness as well as anger and sadness etc. But if you are born into the unlucky, poor half of humanity - then unfortunately life is mostly suffering. So this All is Suffering concept makes sense if one considers that most were poor during Buddha’s time 2500 years ago in India. Yet death is something no one can escape regardless of class level, location etc. and contemplating it does cause suffering for many. But this does not invalidate Buddha’s solution to any suffering, which is to let go of your attachments to things/emotions/situations and even relations if necessary. Even a prisoner in jail can alleviate suffering through mindfulness and a daily meditation practice.
This Buddhist understanding of the temporary nature of all things instructs its brilliant behavior modification teachings. Through the 8 Fold Path lesson plan of a Dharma led life, one learns how to stay stress free or at least greatly reduces stress about situations in or out of your control.
Right View: Understanding the reality of life and the Four Noble Truths
This is a reminder for Buddhist adherents to start with learning the essential 4 Noble Truths I mentioned earlier. Life is suffering, but acknowledging that all is temporary and learning to practice non-attachment and meditation will provide relief and set you on the path toward Nirvana - or total release from all attachments on a heaven like level. A big order thus most of us aim for the Middle Path which is how this sacred 8 lessons started long ago. Most popular nowadays is Mindfulness that is a 24/7 commitment to a hyper awareness and non-attachment life style. The extreme of this would be to have no expectations thus no disappointments. Yet this is very hard in the modern achiever world we live in. Finally there is the concept of Karma or what goes around comes around as we say in the West. Karma is behavior that can be bad or good and will affect your life trajectory here and in the next life accordingly as in reincarnation cycles. There is debate in the Buddhist communities of how much emphasis Buddha actually put on the reincarnation concept taken from his native religion of Hinduism, as were other wisdom elements of the 8 Fold Path. Nonetheless, it feels right intuitively and its core tenet of reciprocal actions seems to play out on the world stage throughout history. Like God, Reincarnation cannot be proven or disproved so maybe it’s a better idea to let it be and focus on the here and now, which is all we really have anyway.
Right Speech: Speaking truthfully, gently, and kindly, and avoiding harmful speech
Like your Mother taught you (or should have) when you were 5 years old - if you have nothing nice to say - then say nothing at all. Also - no unnecessary yapping or flapping of the jaws/gossiping etc. I have a hard time with this one because I am am a Musician and Poet and love to rhyme all the time! I also like to sing or hum songs all day long. I feel if it sounds nice and it’s positive - I am not adding to the noise pollution of the world. Again - I am a Buddhist but not a Monk! Before you speak always ask yourself - is it true, is it kind and is it necessary/helpful? This great quote is attributed to both Buddha and Socrates but as neither ever wrote anything down-who knows? Yet I am not surprised because many brilliant insights and ideas had simultaneous synchronicity and overlapped around the world during this very special enlightening time in human history during 4-5th centuries BCE. Wisdom traveled via Spice and Silk routes From the West to East and East to West as well as South to North and North to South etc.
Right Action: Taking morally commendable actions - no killing or injuring, no taking what is not given, no sexual misconduct, no material desires.
Actions do speak louder than words so make sure you have done your research and due diligence contemplating how/when/where/why to take action in every scenario in life. You can’t control all the daily drama situations life throws at you but you can control how you react to them. Like the Spike Lee film says - Do the Right Thing! An extreme interpretation of this teaching includes killing no sentient creatures, thus millions of Hindu, Buddhist and especially Jainism practitioners are all vegetarians.
Right Livelihood: Living in a way that is ethical. No trading in weapons, living beings, meat, liquor, or poisons.
This one is important because it seems many do jobs that are not beneficial to humans and the rest of the planet in the long run. Our modern toxic consumption and throw away lifestyles are no longer sustainable or desirable on a shrinking, dying planet of 8 billion humans. We must lose the primitive and myopic, day to day, hunter gatherer mindset and evolve to bigger picture, long term vision lifestyles that are more sustainable to ensure a decent, healthy future for all God’s creations. Think about this the next time you apply for a job - what does the company do-create-stand for-care about? Does it just make and sell toxic landfill? How does it approach Environmental, Society and Governance issues (aka The Common Good). As in ESG funds, a recent Stock Market investment fund alternative dedicated to these important concerns. ESG Fund returns do as good as other popular funds/corporations that do not care about anything except profits, regardless of the negative consequences. Yuck! No thanks!
Right Effort: Applying oneself with energy and mindfulness. Preventing the arising of unwholesome states and generating wholesome states. To keep bad or ill will at bay - we use our good energy/will/vibe to see the glass as half full or knock those judgy hater demons off our shoulders. A positive loving-kindness and compassionate perspective is a big part of Buddhism.
Right Mindfulness: Cultivating concentration and insight. A quality that guards or watches over the mind. The stronger it becomes, the weaker unwholesome states of mind become, weakening their power to take over and dominate thought, word and deed. This is how your mindfulness awareness muscle becomes strong and your over all modus operandi (MO) as a human - being, achieving equanimity, which is a BFD! (excuse my language-again-not a Monk).
Right Concentration/Thinking: Overcoming ignorance and achieving a state of peaceful awareness and loving kindness aka equanimity. This is where maintaining overall good vibes comes into play via education through real life experiences, reading and doing research on any subject to be a well rounded human-being.
Right Resolve: A pillar that supports Right Concentration. The practitioner resolves to strive toward non-violence (ahimsa) along with right resolve/aspirations/intentions. What are your intentions? I wrote recently about the Nature of Truth being based on subjective intentions as much as objective facts.
As one can see - some of these teachings overlap in cultivating a Buddhist mindset of loving kindness, compassion and mindful awareness of not only what’s going on outside of you, but more importantly what is going on inside of you. More important because we can only control and work on our own behavior and overall health, as in our mind, body and soul. We are what we consume (and expel) mentally, physically and spiritually. These ancient Buddhist teachings (Dharma), rich in wisdom, build on each other toward achieving Buddhahood, which like all things has a spectrum.
Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the greatest Buddhist Monks and Scholars in history - always said that just one minute of mindful meditation every day can put you on the path toward Nirvana and improve your life. And he was 100% right! I have been meditating consistently for 25 plus years and honestly, I am still not very good, but even a few minutes a day centers and grounds me so I can be mindful and in a good state of mind most of the time - thus being a good citizen of the world and leading by not leading (Tao) or by example as we say in the West.
For me the big ones of the 8 Fold Path are mindfulness, right thinking, right speech, right action and right livelihood. This essay is just a synopsis of the Noble 8 Fold Path Teachings as there has been much writing by many different monks and scholars from different Buddhist sects all the world for over thousands of years. So go deeper and study this ancient wisdom yourself. I believe all humans should be trying to up their game as far as being a better human aka evolution - with whatever wisdom tools available. No one knows what happens after we die, but if something does happen, what we do and how we conduct ourselves here in this life time will surely have some affect on where we end up next on our souls’ cosmic journeys.
Bottom line - just be part of the solution and not the pollution!
Some sources used for this essay:
https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Buddhas-Teaching-Transforming-Liberation/dp/0767903692
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path
https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhism/eightfold-path/
https://www.namchak.org/community/blog/the-noble-eightfold-path/