The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Four: Right Action Artwork

Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver

Buddhism Beyond Belief is a podcast from Susan Piver, a 30 year student of Tibetan Buddhism and founder of the Open Heart Project, an online meditation community with close to 20000 members.

With Susan as a friend and guide, we will look at traditional teachings like the four noble truths and the six paramitas–but not from an academic standpoint. Rather, we will talk about how to make it all personal and relevant in everyday life.

This podcast is not about Buddhist doctrine. It’s about how anyone can bring the profound wisdom of the dharma into their real life: at home, at work, and in love. The foundation for it all is meditation as a spiritual practice, not the latest life hack. Let’s go beyond the science and celebrity testimonials to discover the true power of meditation which is not based in self-improvement but in self-discovery.

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Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver

The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Four: Right Action

February 27, 2026 • Susan Piver • Season 1 • Episode 45

0:00 | 26:40

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In this episode, I explore Right Action, the fourth step on the Noble Eightfold Path. We begin with Right View and Right Intention, then move outward into speech. Now we take those steps into how we live and act in the world. Right Action is not a fixed rulebook. It is nuanced, relational, and always evolving. I share three lenses from the Buddhist tradition that help us investigate what right action might mean in our lives right now.

Highlights

Why Right View is about seeing beyond our education, insights, and intelligence
How Right Intention arises from recognizing interconnectedness
Why there is no universal playbook for Right Action
The Five Precepts as a foundational guide: no killing, no stealing, no lying, no intoxicant abuse, no sexual misconduct
Right Action through the Mahayana lens: loving kindness, compassion, and taking joy in others’ happiness
The Vajrayana perspective: karma, karmic seeds, and the possibility of planting none at all
Letting go as a radical form of action
How meditation reveals the mind noticing itself
“Mind resting in mind” and the end of karmic momentum

Music After Party

In our after party, I share “Feel Like Going Home” from the album Folk Singer by Muddy Waters, produced by Willie Dixon and featuring Buddy Guy. It is spare, intimate, and timeless.

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