The Eightfold Path-Right View

Wed, 12/29 7:56AM • 35:12

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

suffering, view, eightfold path, factors, clarity, practice, impermanent, recognize, path, called, craving, talks, people, noble truths, bus trip, thinking, discomfort, stories, happen, move

So hi again, everyone. I am really excited about being with you tonight because I'm going to start looking at the Eightfold Path. It's a basic teaching of Buddhism. It's what Bhikkhu Bodhi calls “the way to end suffering”. And I find it to be a foundational part of my practice in a way that I have found some stability. It's also the path to Nirvana, a path of being in harmony with other folks in the world. It's an intentional path to counteract that conditioning, we have all the conditioning, all the ideas, all the fabrications of the mind, all the stories and habits that we've developed over our lives. It’s a path to clarity. It’s a path to understanding suffering and ending it. And it's so important. Each week, I'm going to look at one of the factors of the eightfold path. 

The Eightfold Path is divided into three sections, which comprises of eight factors total. The first section is the wisdom section, which includes right (or wise) view and right intention. The second section is ethical behavior, which is wise speech, wise action, and wise livelihood. The last section is Samadhi or concentration but really can mean collectiveness of mind. I'm reading more and more people getting away from concentration, and more just this calm collectiveness of mind. This includes wise effort, wise mindfulness, and wise concentration or Samadhi. So, those are the factors. It’s not a linear path, even though it's laid out one by one traditionally because we can pop in anywhere. Once we get to the last factor, it doesn't mean we don't start over. Oftentimes you see a Dharma Wheel, the graphic image of a Dharma Wheel in effect. It's a circle with eight little knobs, almost like a ship's ship steering wheel. The eight knobs or the eight spokes are the factors in the wheel. It seems linear, but it's not. It's one of those things, as you move through the practice, and as you practice more and get more deeply connected to these teachings, as you investigate more deeply your own experience, you become more aware of how subtle these factors are. So that's why you just don't do it once and you're done. The different factors tend to support each other. They're not standalone, and I'll talk a bit about that later as well. So, for me, I have found the eightfold path to be foundational, and I have found this to be a real gift in my life. Because a lot of times I would move through life and one of my things is being very indecisive. I'm always afraid of making the wrong decision. What the eightfold path has given me is kind of a direction to move in. Is it taking me away from suffering? Is it taking me towards suffering? Is it being it wrapping me up in something that causes harm to others? Or is it something that doesn't cause harm and cultivates kindness and compassion and goodwill? So, I have found these to be parameters that guide how I move through the world and I'm so grateful for that. You hear a lot of folks say when they come into the practice and they really get into it that they may seem directionless, because of what they thought they believed about themselves. When those fixed ideas start getting chipped away, they may be seeing that that's kind of just an old story or habit of mind. There's this sense of being set adrift. I find that the Eightfold Path is a place to be incredibly beneficial. So that's why it's important. It’s the path to end suffering. The first factor, right view, or wise view is the forerunner of the whole path. It's this way to really begin to get rid of delusion and ignorance, which is one of the three poisons (the three poisons are greed, hatred, and ignorance) And this is a way right view, clarity, seeing what's going on is a way to just blow that up as Bhikkhu Bodhi has written a great book called The Noble Eightfold Path. I have a little section on my website called resources. And there is a thing called a Bookshop. And there are all these books are listed in there. But he says right view is the forerunner of the entire path, the guide for all the other factors, it enables us to understand our starting point, our destination, and the success of landmarks to pass as practice advances, to attempt to engage in the practice without a foundation of right view, is to risk getting lost in the futility of undirected movement. So, it's like starting on a journey without a map. It's like getting on a ship in Miami wanting to go to London but having no map or guidance. Who knows? You'll end up in Antarctica or something because you don't know where you're going. And so, this right view this, beginning to understand the stories and the fabrications that have caused so much delusion in our lives, is incredibly important. We may not get to it, like I said, we don't do right view and checkbox and move on. It's continual, it's a gradual awakening, an awareness that kind of grows, the more and more we practice, and the more we clear away. It's like, you know, you clear one thing away, and then you can see something else more clearly. And then you get to clear that away, and then you see something else more clearly. So that's, that's my story. I'm still seeing places where I'm stuck, I'm still seeing places where I suffer. So, I just keep doing this. 

So, this right view is this path out of ignorance. And this ignorance is not because we're stupid, but it's kind of a result of our conditioning. Where we don't see things clearly, we see things based on how we were taught the lessons, we learned the things we were taught by our family, by society, that deep conditioning, these biases that we have towards one thing or another, this is good, and this is bad. And this is what it's supposed to look like. And this is what it's not supposed to look like and their expectations and desires and ways to keep ourselves safe. And they're generally driven by finding pleasure and security. And that’s you know, if you're in a place where it's insecure, or there's some stuff going on, you're going to move in the direction. It's a way we take care of ourselves, we develop patterns to keep ourselves okay, we develop habits to make sure we find some safety and some security. It's driven by these reactive things, but those habits may not be beneficial. They may have served a purpose in the moment because there's a bias towards pleasure, a bias towards stability. We come up with ways of being in the world that serve us but when they become entrenched, and this is the way it is, we don't allow ourselves to, you know, see another point of view, or allow another experience to be present. We suffer. We suffer because we think it should be a certain way. And when it's not, there's dissatisfaction or anger, another word for suffering. Dukkha is stress. So, we get stressed out, because it's not working out the way we want it to work out, we're dissatisfied, disoriented, just not comfortable in our own skin somehow, because we're chasing some permanent pleasure or stability that's just not going to happen. So, we have this sense of self that is based on our interaction with the environment, how to behave, how to show up, and how to maximize the good and mitigate the bad. And so, recognizing that that's what drives us, that's what's created these stories. The clarity comes when we recognize we're caught in these biases, these implicit biases, or these ways of behaving, these habits of mind that we may have never questioned, like, I like to say, oh, I can't help it. I'm built that way. I used to think that certain characteristics I had is like, no, that's just the way it was made. Or I'm born that way. And then come to see that though, a lot of those have dropped away, because they don't serve, and I'm not born that way. I just got deeply entrenched in habits of thinking that way or acting that way. And what the differentiating factor is, is whether our actions and our thoughts take us towards something that's wholesome, and ending suffering, ending stress, ending discomfort, things like renunciation, goodwill, generosity, kindness, compassion, or it gets us caught up in this greed, this craving, this desire, this aversion, this anger, this hatred, or just lost in ignorance and delusion, this unwillingness to investigate because it's a lot easier not to investigate and just hold on to what we know. So, we can, you know, you can have the same action, I can act the same way. There's the intention, it's like I'm doing it. One reason I'm doing it is that I'm manipulating, and I want to get what I want. Or because I'm open-hearted and generous, you know, I can say certain things, I can do certain things, and it's based on this, this clinging and fear, then it's going to be uncomfortable, there's never going to be satisfied from that. But if it's based on open-heartedness and generosity and letting go, there's going to be an ease because I'm not craving, I don't need to have a particular result to be at ease. The wholesomeness comes from within, not without. So, there's a quote I have from a long time ago, I don't remember where I got it. I don't have a reference for it. It talks about wrong view. And it says wrong view occurs when we impose our expectations onto things, expectations about how we hope things will be or about how we are afraid things might be. Right View occurs when we see things simply as they are. It is an open and accommodating attitude. We abandon hope and fear and take joy in a simple, straightforward approach to life. No, we see things for what they are, not what they mean. It's like, Wait, is this going to get me what I want? Or is this? Can I just be with this the way it is? And that's kind of what was being pointed to in the meditation. Can you just be with what's arising? Just be with what's already pleasant, unpleasant? What I think it should be or not, can we open to that. And inside the teaching of right view is the teaching of karma. Recognizing that if we keep doing the same old things, we're going to keep getting the same old results if we keep, you know, being led by greed, hatred, and delusion, we're going to keep being unhappy. We're going to keep creating suffering for ourselves and for others, but if we can let go of that and are more moving into a wholesome way of being with others, being with a place coming from a place of goodwill, and generosity and kindness and compassion, we're going to move in a different direction, and there's going to be different results. So, understanding the impact of what we do is part of clarity and seeing, not just going, oh, I didn't know that was going to happen. It's like, no, you must pay attention. Our actions have results, have ramifications. But a key part of right view is understanding the Four Noble Truths. That is a real foundational part of this teaching. I've said it before, but I describe the Buddhist teachings as Russian nesting dolls, where you have a doll and then you open it up, and there's another doll and you open it up, and there's another doll. And that's kind of what the teachings are like. You'll see that in a second. But to understand the Four Noble Truths is to develop wisdom is to develop clarity. And the first noble truth is that there is suffering, there is the being a human being there is you know, birth, death, loss. There is fear, there's loneliness, there's insecurity, there's grasping, this stuff happens, you know, we've got the eight worldly wins, there's pain and loss and pleasure and pain and gain and everything, and it's going to happen. It's not like, if we do it, right, it won't happen. It's like it happens. You know, we can't predict, we can't behave perfectly, to mitigate anything uncomfortable happening, and to recognize that that's part of it. And so, there's the pain of being a human being, but there's this extra level of suffering that is caused and this is the second noble truth of our craving a particular result, we want things to be a certain way. We want this not that. Can it be this and not that. I went on a retreat a few years ago, I think it was like a 10-day retreat and I came out with one phrase…clinging is suffering, clinging is suffering. So, whenever we hold on and not let go of our ideas or our expectations, there's going to be discomfort and generally, this clinging is chasing pleasant, pushing away unpleasant. Instead of like, I like this quote says being open, being open to what is whatever it is, it may be unpleasant, can you be with the unpleasant it may be pleasant, can you be with that? Can you be open with goodwill? Towards what's right here? So, seeing how you begin to create suffering for yourself. Sometimes when we talk about the Four Noble Truths, it's an intellectual exercise, and as you spend more time in the practice, it begins to seep in and it becomes more experiential, you know, you go, okay, I understand that craving is craving is suffering. Clinging is suffering, not wanting, not wanting, really is suffering. Stressful, unpleasant. But then you begin to recognize it in your own experience and say, oh, I was so adamant about getting my way I ran through like a, you know, a bull in a china shop, and I didn't even see the havoc I was causing, because I was so focused on getting my way. And recognizing that getting my way wasn't going to solve anything. You know, so beginning to recognize how this discomfort is something we cause ourselves. 

I had a profound experience of this a few weeks ago. There was a bus trip that left Los Angeles. It took a week to go across the country and ended up in Washington, DC, and it went to all these different places. It was a bus ride for voting rights, and then went to Tulsa on Juneteenth and then went to Mobile, Montgomery, Alabama and went to like, the lynching museum down there, and the Equal Justice Initiative memorials and then it went to Memphis and then went to North Carolina and went to all these civil icons, key places in civil rights history. And ended up in Washington DC. They went to Mitch McConnell's house, they did a march, and I was invited to be part of it, and I couldn't go. But a few friends of mine went. And I suffered over that because I have old, deep tendencies towards jealousy. Envy was present with me. I got lost in the thinking if, if, if this hadn't happened, then I can go if this didn't happen, then I can. I'd see them posting stuff on Facebook, and it'd be like, and I mean, it was painful to see these people having this amazing time. And, I mean, it lasted, they were gone a week, it lasted a while, it kind of dissipated after they got back. I investigated it for myself, instead of just saying you shouldn't feel this way Mary, which is old thinking shouldn't and saying, okay, this is present this discomfort, this suffering, this Dukkha is here what's going on. And I realized it was it looked like a shiny thing that I wanted; I like shiny things in particular categories. I saw that if I went on this bus trip, then I It would mean something about how people saw me, oh, she got to do that. This means she is this. So, there was this idea of self and there is a deep idea of self. There were certain people on the trip who I really admire, and I could have gotten to know them, we could have bonded. That would have meant something about me. It was all shining back on who I am and what I will then look like in the world. And really seeing that it's like, wow, this attachment is so deep and so subtle. And I was so surprised by that. I mean, it took a while, but it took a willingness to say what is this? What's underneath this, what's underneath this? What's underneath this and let go with the stories because I couldn't really get into the if only if this, if that, if that just like let go, let go and come back, let go, and come back and then bring some compassion, you know, that is this experiencing the noble truth to recognize my suffering. And to really see that it is caused by this attachment, this craving for whatever I define pleasant. And then the good news is the third noble truth is that there is a way out. And the fourth Noble Truth is the Eightfold Path. There's that nesting doll, you open the eightfold path, you see the Four Noble Truths, you open the Four Noble Truths, you see the full path, and moving into the clarity of how I had been caught up in this craving. And how we get caught up in craving or stories.

You know, we suffer because of these expectations or fixed ideas, attachments, aversions, resentments becoming, we take birth as the person who thinks they need to X, Y, or Z, I need to drive that car, I need to have that job, you need to go on that bus trip, I need people to see me in a certain way. This must happen; you must do this. So, we take birth as the person who thinks X, Y or Z needs to happen. So, we start when we suffer. So, when we see these thoughts, words, deeds, that lead to the suffering, there's a clarity in that we may still be stuck in it. But there's a clarity of seeing it. This is important because that kind of begins to guide us in the direction we want to go. It's like oh, this is causing me discomfort. This is causing me suffering. And there are ways to do it. There are, you know, ways we can approach this like my favorite one of my favorite sayings is right now it's like this, okay, right now it's like this. What is this? Instead of just letting the head take us along for the ride, stop. This is where mindfulness practice comes in. Right view is supported by right mindfulness and right effort. We have this idea and mindfulness comes in and the effort to stay present and investigate the effort to let go of the thought that's not helpful and be present with the thought that is helpful. What is this? You know, so it's a reflective practice as well and investigative practice what's going on here? What's going on? Really, really, important. 

Another key teaching of the right view is the three characteristics: which is that things are impermanent, nothing lasts forever, we suffer when we are attached to these impermanent things, there is dukkha, life is unsatisfactory when we think we're going to get everlasting happiness out of a particular person, place or thing or situation we attach to impermanent things. And then that there's not a fixed self, non-self, or not-self, you know, impermanence. We can see some things are impermanent, they just go like that. And other things take a little bit longer. And you know, I was just in Mammoth Mountain, last week, Mammoth Lakes, which is in central California, and its mountains there, 11,000 feet, and it's stunning in it's an incredibly rich geologic area. It's volcanic, its plates crashing and smashing into each other. I saw one, it's they call it the earthquake fault, but it's not a fault because of one earthquake. But it's years and years of seismic activity. And there's this giant wedge in the earth, that's like 60 feet deep, or 60 feet long and 10 feet deep. It's extraordinary. You see these glaciers have moved through. And so, some of the mountains are smoothed from glaciers. So, there's all this activity that has gone on in the past millions of years or hundreds or 1000s of years. I look at these things, and I go, wow, they're pretty permanent. But if you really look, you see how they're not things are shifting all the time. It's just longer than my lifespan. Sometimes if you're involved in an earthquake, it's not. But it really gives you pause, if you can expand your awareness and go “yeah, things don't last”. And so, me thinking that something will last if we just do it right. Or can't we make this last forever? There's going to be unhappiness from that, and that unsatisfactory feeling comes from latching on to impermanent things. And then anatta (non-self). Gregory Kramer wrote a book called the whole life path, which is also an excellent investigation of the Eightfold Path. And he talks about this idea of not-self. He says our self is formed in relation to others. We're not isolated or separate. We're all interconnected. And we are conditioned beings. We don't have Mary who's fixed and never changes. I look in my life, I'm changing all the time. I've just spent this last however many minutes telling you how I have changed because of these practices, these fixed ideas that I had dissipated, because of really bringing some clarity and investigation and going, oh, I don't do that stuff anymore. Or I'm still stuck on this stuff. Or these beliefs have shifted and changed. And it's because of these interactions that we have. And I really like how he talks about this necessity to see ourselves as interconnected beings, that we're not individuals, isolated. We live in the United States, which I'm sure it spills over into our neighboring states. But there's this rugged individualism, you know, we pull ourselves up are your own bootstraps, and we do it all on our own. And that's so demoralizing and lonely and painful. I read an article the other day that didn't have anything to do with this but was talking about how stress is unnecessarily greater today than it has been at other times in our past because there have been awful situations throughout history. But what has happened is the ways we have traditionally held people who are suffering or in stress is more much more communally than today, and now you know, families have their nuclear families rather than extended families and people no longer live in the towns they were born in, they move here they spend two years here, they spend a year there, they go to school here, they get a job there, blah, blah, blah. So, there's sometimes a lack of roots and connection and so there's no support and what's important is to recognize that we can't. We're not disconnected from others. But we must form community spiritual community, there's a phrase that's common in Buddhist circles called Kalyana Mita, which means spiritual friends, we have companions on the path, whatever they look like, they may be family, they may be a community that we've built, where we are, whatever they are, we must recognize that we're interconnected. And the more we practice, the more these divisions dissolve, and we see that we are much more alike. And the more we cultivate compassion and empathy, the more again, the more connected we are, which is a path away from suffering. And towards, towards ease and kindness and compassion. So, it's important. So that's not self is we are don't act in a vacuum we are impacted by everything. And so that's what this is a part of a way to see this teaching as we are constantly reacting to conditions. So how you move into this practice of wise effort I mentioned, you know, made supported by mindfulness, it's supported by effort. So, cultivating this practice of Vipassana means insight, which means clear seeing, which means, you know, clarity, which means wisdom, seeing things how they are, and being willing to be with them. Being willing to carry more also talks about the importance of calm and guarding the sense doors, which are and I'll talk about this in another one of the factors but watching what we ingest either what we read or what we listen to whom we associate with, which is why Kalyana Mitta spiritual friends are so important, why supported loving people, not people you go to who are constantly, you know, who may be Emotional Vampires are always telling you what you're doing wrong, you know, sometimes we may have been stuck with those kinds of people, but we need people to mitigate that. So really take care of ourselves and watch the negativity that we ingest or the stories that we buy into. We live in a wonderful consumer culture that will tell you everything you need to do and so to you know, question that, really take a step back from that and go really am I going to live happily ever after if I get those shoes I don't think so. I have wide feet they probably won't fit so you know, I might have lost to begin with so anyway so just watching how we move through the world but be willing to investigate our own stuff your own suffering your own stress your own discomfort, and ask the question, is it what's underneath this? Is this real? Or is this a story is this real or is this a story it becomes more and more and more subtle and as I said all these factors on the path take us away from suffering and towards Nibbana the cessation of suffering and it gets more and more and more subtle as we go through this way of moving through the world and so that's why you come around full circle again you start with the right view and you move through all the factors and then and then you're back at right view but you don't necessarily always start with right view, sometimes you see why speech is necessary or I need to spend some time in mindfulness or effort really, really coming back really bringing myself back so I think that's all I have for right view except that it's a great way to jump in. It's a great way to set a course so thank you so much for your kind attention