Podcast appearances and mentions of Noble Eightfold Path

Welcome back to the Sutta Meditation Series Podcast.A recent Dhamma session on how to meditate on the Buddha's simile of the cloth in the Vatthūpama Sutta (MN 7), also referred to as the Vattha Sutta . References are made to the Noble Eightfold Path, stream entry and advice on development of this sutta meditation.Blessings of the Triple Gem. Theruwan saranaiTo find the YT Sutta Meditation Series playlists visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/SuttaMeditationSeries/playlists, or click on 'Playlists' in the top menu bar.For all enquiries - suttameditationseries@gmail.com

The complete audiobook is available for purchase at Audible.com: https://n9.cl/2nmll A Manual of Buddhism By Dudley Wright Narrated by Oberon Michaels Buddhism has a vast array of scriptures but a relatively small body of essential doctrines. In this short treatise, the author presents a systematic introduction to Buddhist teaching, commencing with a discussion of the Noble Eightfold Path. Other topics include the Buddhist views of God and enlightenment, and the practice of Buddhism in the world of today. Dudley Wright (1868-1949) wrote extensively on a wide variety of religious subjects and was also active as an investigator of the paranormal. He was a practising Freemason, who believed that all religions shared a common basis.

On this episode, Brian discusses the importance of Metta, or Goodwill and how it relates to the Noble Eightfold Path. The first of four Brahmaviharas, or Sublime Attitudes. We will be reviewing these attitudes for the next few weeks. Details and past classes can be found at Classes - Cross River Meditation   Should you have any questions, or wish to join us via Zoom, please Contact us via our website.    If you are subscribed to our Podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify you will receive notifications when new episodes are posted.  

(Cambridge Insight Meditation Center)

(Cambridge Insight Meditation Center)

The beauties and tragedies of little foxes. Joy loves company. Don't Forget We're Here Forever. Finding our way out of bullshit via Buddhism. More meditation talk. Don't be a massive fascist. Acknowledge and learn from other people's views, particularly if you disagree with them. Knowing what you don't know and that you don't know.

What is Right Action? How do we align our behavior with spiritual truth and personal integrity? In this powerful video, Rev. Lee Wolak breaks down the concept of Right Action, the fourth step of the Noble Eightfold Path, and explains how it applies to real-life choices, relationships, and your personal evolution. Right Action isn't about morality or rules—it's about conscious living. It's the practice of aligning your actions with your highest truth, cultivating integrity, compassion, and mindful responsibility in everything you do. From a Zen-inspired perspective and the lens of Religious Science, this talk explores how Right Action impacts your karma, your energy, and your spiritual awakening. Learn how every choice you make either expands your consciousness or reinforces illusion—and how to choose powerfully. Sign up for my daily thought and weekly newsletter by clicking this link: https://www.agapespiritualcenter.com/free-affirmations

Right Speech EXPLAINED | The Power of Words in Spiritual Growth What if every word you spoke was a window into your soul? In this bold and eye-opening talk, Rev. Lee Wolak—Zen practitioner, teacher of Religious Science, and author of The Power in You—dives deep into the profound meaning of Right Speech, the third step on the Noble Eightfold Path. This isn't about surface-level kindness. It's about using your voice as a spiritual tool to align with truth, integrity, and power. Discover how your words create energetic ripples that either uplift or distort. Learn how Right Speech is not just ethical—it's transformational. When practiced consciously, it becomes a spiritual discipline that reflects your inner world and reshapes your outer experience. Whether you're seeking to deepen your mindfulness, elevate your spiritual communication, or live more authentically, this video delivers powerful insights and actionable takeaways. #SpiritualAwakening #RightView #EightfoldPath #Mindfulness #ZenWisdom #ThePowerInYou #RevLeeWolak #SpiritualClarity #BuddhistTeachings #ConsciousLiving #RightSpeech

Welcome to episode 87 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. In this installment, Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and leadership coach/journalist Jo Confino discuss the Noble Eightfold Path, a fundamental teaching that was emphasized by the Buddha. The eight elements of the path are: right view, right thinking, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right diligence, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The hosts focus on each element and explain their interconnectedness and how they form a comprehensive approach to self-discovery, personal transformation, and spiritual development. Jo and Brother Phap Huu also emphasise the importance of making the Noble Eightfold Path relevant, accessible, and applicable to contemporary challenges and needs, and the role of Plum Village community in adapting these teachings.The episode ends with a short meditation guided by Brother Phap Huu. Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/   And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ List of resources Interbeinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interbeing Dhyana in Buddhism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhyana_in_Buddhism The Bodhi Treehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_tree Dharma Talks: ‘Right Livelihood and True Love'https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/right-livelihood-and-true-love 51 Mental Formationshttps://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/51-mental-formation The Way Out Is In: ‘Taming Our Survival Instinct (Episode #65)'https://plumvillage.org/podcast/taming-our-survival-instinct-episode-65 Sister Lang Nghiemhttps://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sr-lang-nghiem Sister True Dedicationhttps://www.instagram.com/sistertruededication/ Brother Phap Ung https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-chan-phap-ung  The Five Mindfulness Trainings https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainingshttps://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings  Old Path White Clouds https://plumvillage.org/books/old-path-white-clouds-2 Quotes “The question is whether you want to liberate yourself or not. If you do, practice the Noble Eightfold Path.” “‘Now I have a path, there’s nothing to fear' – because once you have the path, even if suffering is there, you will know how to walk it, because you start to see the way.” “The Buddha said that there are two extreme paths that we should avoid. The first one is seeking sensual pleasures, the pleasures of the world. The second is the practice of depriving the body, such as the practice of asceticism. Those extremes do not lead towards happiness and peace, they lead to failure on the path of understanding and love. And he said we have to find a middle way. And the middle is the Eight Noble Path.” “What we see, what we hear, what we taste, and what we consume on a daily basis will affect the way we are thinking. So, by focusing and practicing right thought, you will start to have a lot of agency. You will start to reflect on how your thought patterns are created, what habits arise in your daily life because of your thoughts, because of the ingredients that have been taken in through your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and mind consciousness.” “We do workshops on learning how to listen before even speaking. How to listen with our whole body, how to listen so that we don’t react, how to listen so we don’t allow our judgmental mind to try to fix that person right away. And then to mindfully select the words that we want to use to communicate. Even if it’s a wrong perception, there’s a way to communicate, to remove the wrong perception – or there’s a way to justify it and create even more distance and destruction.” “When we learn to expand our understanding, I think our life will become richer.” “There are pathways in life via which we know we can get richer and become filled with wealth. But what is our truest belonging? It’s not money. When we die, money doesn’t go with us. What is left behind is our legacy of who we were as a human being.” “I remember a soldier asking Thay [Thich Nhat Hanh] about how he can apply this pathway to his career, as a protector. And Thay said, ‘Of course we want compassionate soldiers. I would rather have you holding that weapon, who has deep understanding and has interbeing, than someone who is evil and who just wants to punish or be violent.'” “Sometimes we talk about the Zen mind as a mind that is empty. That’s not it. In the Buddhist deep meaning of emptiness, emptiness is ‘very full'; because of emptiness, everything can coexist.” “Mindful first and foremost is to be mindful of the suffering that is present, as well as mindful of the joy and happiness that is also present. So we want to continue to transform suffering as well as to create and generate joy and happiness, for ourselves and for all beings.” “Concentration can be grounded and developed everywhere, anywhere, and all at once.” “What Buddhism does, and what the teachings of the Buddha do, is show that we have a choice in everything we do. Because often we feel that life is imposed on us, that we don’t have choices. But, actually, in every single event, however painful, we always have a choice of how to respond. And that choice is based on our awareness. We need to be aware of what is going on, what the situation is. We need to be aware of our habit energy, and then we need to be aware of these teachings that show an alternative.” “We have our entire life to learn and we don’t have to be perfect now. But, as Thich Nhat Hanh would say, if there’s a little bit of improvement every day, that is more than enough. We don’t need to become suddenly enlightened.” “The exponential nature of technology, with AI and everything else, means that, actually, it’s easier to travel away from ourselves than towards ourselves.”

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This talks focuses on one of the three areas of practice discussed a week before, on developing samadhi (or concentration), the theme of Donald's four weeks of practice in March. We begin by more generally discussing the nature of samadhi, including short account of the etymology in Pali, and the Tibetan sense of samadhi as "staying," as developing in the nine stages of the "Elephant Path." We look at the place and importance of developing samadhi in our practice and its relationship to insight practice; developing samadhi is one of the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path and appears in many of the Buddha's core teachings. We discuss some ways to practice developing samadhi, and then focus especially on several challenges of such practice and how to work with such challenges. The talk is followed by discussion, including further exploration of the relationship of cultivating samadhi and insight practice, the nature of skillful effort, and the joy that can arise in the development of samadhi.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This talks focuses on one of the three areas of practice discussed a week before, on developing samadhi (or concentration), the theme of Donald's four weeks of practice in March. We begin by more generally discussing the nature of samadhi, including short account of the etymology in Pali, and the Tibetan sense of samadhi as "staying," as developing in the nine stages of the "Elephant Path." We look at the place and importance of developing samadhi in our practice and its relationship to insight practice; developing samadhi is one of the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path and appears in many of the Buddha's core teachings. We discuss some ways to practice developing samadhi, and then focus especially on several challenges of such practice and how to work with such challenges. The talk is followed by discussion, including further exploration of the relationship of cultivating samadhi and insight practice, the nature of skillful effort, and the joy that can arise in the development of samadhi.

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This talks focuses on one of the three areas of practice discussed a week before, on developing samadhi (or concentration), the theme of Donald's four weeks of practice in March. We begin by more generally discussing the nature of samadhi, including short account of the etymology in Pali, and the Tibetan sense of samadhi as "staying," as developing in the nine stages of the "Elephant Path." We look at the place and importance of developing samadhi in our practice and its relationship to insight practice; developing samadhi is one of the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path and appears in many of the Buddha's core teachings. We discuss some ways to practice developing samadhi, and then focus especially on several challenges of such practice and how to work with such challenges. The talk is followed by discussion, including further exploration of the relationship of cultivating samadhi and insight practice, the nature of skillful effort, and the joy that can arise in the development of samadhi.

Send us a textJoin your host Clifton Pope as he is back with another solo cast of the show as The Spiritual Enlightment Series is back for the March 2025 edition to show how we can listen to the whispers of our own heart!In this edition, Clifton dives into how/why everybody is always arguing about the name of the Most High God  but never denying the existence of a higher power! They say witches call it spells, spiritualists call it manifesting, christians call it prayer, atheists call it the placebo effect, and scientists call it quantum physics. Regardless, Clifton gives his thoughts on each concept and show how it all goes back into the importance of receiving the message from the Most High God!Clifton Pope also introduces his scripture moment from the Holy Quran/Holy Bible and discusses the right understanding from the Noble Eightfold Path from Buddhism!If you are into spiritual enlightment with an open-minded approach, then this is the episode for you!Be sure to hit that follow/subscribe button on Apple/Spotify Podcasts/Rumble(@CPHFWB44) to stay updated with the latest episodes of the show!Leave a rating/review to help grow the show as The HFWB Podcast Series is for you, the people, to stay informed and grow on wisdom gems being provided!Thank you for the love and support! Blue Collar Business PodcastReal stories. Raw strategies. Build your blue-collar business.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showhttps://atherocare.com/HEALTHFITNESSWEALTHBUSINESShttps://athleticism.com/HEALTHFWEALTHBhttps://vitamz.com/HEALTHFITNESSWEALTHBUSINESShttps://Athleticism.comhttps://atherocare.comhttps://vitamz.comofficial sponsors of the HFWB Podcast Series

Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (“the awakened one”), was a spiritual teacher who founded Buddhism in the 5th or 6th century BCE in South Asia. His core teachings include the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path, emphasizing mindfulness, ethics, and liberation from suffering.

Welcome to Mettā Lab @suttameditationseriesMettā Lab is a weekly YouTube livestream Dhamma session on the Sutta Meditation Series channel to develop and intensify our loving kindness (mettā) practice. The focus is on developing *supramundane* loving kindness in accordance with the Buddha's teachings in the Pali Canon.In this session, we recap the First Doorway to Nibbana or Painful Practice with Slow Realisation which culminates in immeasurable mettā, and Q&A on this insight pathway.— Timestamp — 00:00 Mettā Lab - 8 March 202504:18 Start of session06:19 How to get the best out this session08:39 First Profitable Direction & Noble Eightfold Path 11:17 First Unprofitable Direction14:55 Recap of the First Doorway to Nibbana or Painful Practice with Slow Realisation 50:42 Short meditation on Karaṇīyametta Sutta1:02:37 Question on why it's easier to meditate on the unprofitable directions over the profitable directions1:14:26 Question on struggles with illness and having challenges to cultivating metta, despite earlier easeful practice1:25:22 Question on forgetting steps halfway through the meditation1:26:54 Question on developing the asubha meditation and not finishing with loving kindness1:29:53 Question on certain key points in the meditation associated with higher concentration1:35:07 Comments on next session and Sharing the merit and blessingsNext session, we will start to examine and practise the Buddha's instructions on (3) how to develop mettā with the seven enlightenment factors (bojjhangas), based on the Mettāsahagata Sutta (SN 46.54), which distinguishes the Buddha's teaching of mettā from all others. And liberation of mind by loving kindness (mettācetovimutti)These are purposely "slow sessions" to gradually learn (or revise), develop and practise each step of these sutta meditations. Each session will be 1 to 1.5 hours duration. And during the session there will be short meditation periods. It may take a few weeks to complete each sutta meditation.*Mettā Lab is for beginners and meditators who wish to refresh and deepen their loving kindness practice. Everyone is welcome.*To watch the YouTube livestream - https://youtube.com/live/7bIiAeV1sRgFor all enquiries - suttameditationseries@gmail.comBlessings of the Triple Gem. Theruwan saranai

(Te Moata Retreat Center)

(Te Moata Retreat Center)

Let's find the good in experiencing stress so that you don't shortchange yourself out of its ability to instill inner confidence in your capabilities. We are focused on experiences such as birthing a baby, building a business, or navigating a everchanging workplace. Just because someone else fell apart in any of those situations, it does not mean that you will too. It's unique to you, yet worth uncovering, because when you get to the other side of a stressful situation, if you embody at least one learning or lesson, then you will have increased your capacity to handle more stressful situations. This comes in handy, as life often hands us stress at a pretty hot and heavy pace. In this article, we'll interweave the four noble truths along with personal stories that showcase the value of embracing stress rather than running away from it. There have been so many occasions when I was told not to put so much pressure on myself, and it was out of those circumstances, where I didn't let their thinking impact mine, that I can now tell my greatest stories of defiance and delivery. A memorable such moment was during my first semester of law school. My mom told me this: 'Watch out, Melissa, and try not to experience too much stress.' She was giving me a fair warning based on her own sensitivities to stress. My mom has manic depression. A person with manic depression can be sent into an episode or spell by stress. While that guidance came from her experiences, it also came along with her tender concern for my mental health. My mental health, on the other hand, has proven sturdy, in great part because I've had ample opportunities to practice the art of experiencing stress. Law school wasn't a moment of redemption, but it was the time I realized my limit. I'm glad I didn't listen to my mom, because then I wouldn't have discovered my kryptonite. We need to know our kryptonite and how to overcome it. Somehow, it was that combination of overwhelming debt and basing my self-worth on school grades that almost broke me. I got through that time mentally unscathed, thankfully, but intuitively, I knew it was close. There's a benefit to knowing how far you can go. That experience gave me the courage to finally pursue my dream career in advertising. Taking a pay cut didn't seem so bad when the alternative was six-figure debt and no income. The trick is to always stay beneath that line. My self-publishing experience with Fertile Imagination pushed me to that limit. I had gotten my edited copy of my manuscript extremely late, and to compensate for that delay, I sat in my chair for twelve hours straight. The pressure I put on myself to finish the book was enormous. Around the twelfth hour, I felt a crack in my neck, which turned into a year of pain, physical therapy, and an MRI. Ever gotten an MRI? I've been through a lot, but somehow my anxiety was insane during that MRI, and my relationship with God has never been closer. It was like a church service in that cylinder. Yet, this was another opportunity to practice coexisting with stress. I don't regret that experience, and I know I learned from it. The other side of that stressful moment was completing my book and focusing on my physical health, a goal I'd been writing about for decades. Yet, somehow, I had to crash physically to finally pursue it. In these two cases, I needed to experience these greater stresses to build the confidence and conviction necessary to believe I could endure the kind of stress it takes to go after what I've always wanted. What if the same is true for you? What if, rather than avoid stress, you walked right into it with a different perspective? What if you need that vote of confidence—knowing you can handle a ton of stress—to get the kind of laser focus necessary to finally jump into your greatest personal or professional adventure? What if you need to have something to say: 'Well, if I did that and didn't die, then I might as well go for this'? I want to share a new way to think about stress because it's the reality of being human. As a meditation practitioner, I thought I'd enlist the help of the four noble truths to help us see the profundity in otherwise stressful experiences. My meditation offerings are secular, yet I do think ancient wisdom has its place in stress management. It gives me comfort to know that my experiencing stress is not novel; it's normal and expected. So, let's turn to commonly held beliefs that we can anchor this conversation in—the four noble truths Understanding the Four Noble Truths The Four Noble Truths are fundamental to Buddhism and describe the nature of reality and the path to liberation. They are: 1.     Dukkha: This is often translated as "suffering," but more accurately encompasses unsatisfactoriness, frustration, and the inherent impermanence of all things. 2.     Samudaya: The origin or cause of dukkha, which is identified as craving, attachment, and aversion. 3.     Nirodha: The cessation of dukkha, which is achieved through the elimination of craving and attachment. 4.     Magga: The path leading to the cessation of dukkha, known as the Noble Eightfold Path, which encompasses right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. 1   The Inescapability of Stress in Modern Life You don't need to be a Buddhist to believe that being human means experiencing suffering. Just look around corporate America—you can see and feel it everywhere. According to Ohsa.gov, 83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress. You can be stressed about having, keeping, leaving, or getting a job. The sound of a ping can spike your cortisol levels. It doesn't take much to suffer these days. We experience a constant, low-grade level of stress or anxiety, and our baseline sensitivity to stress is very low. This comparison comes from the constant barrage of information we consume daily, which contributes to "sympathy stress," as well as the fact that many of us are openly struggling. This is why it's necessary to find a way to coexist with stress; it's inescapable. A Yoga Analogy for Managing Pain In my pre-natal yoga class with my firstborn, the teacher had us sit on our bent toes. Her rationale was to have us experience physical pain and, instead of running away, breathe through the stretch. Was this comparable to birthing any of my kids? Heck no! It was a way to introduce the idea of feeling pain and remaining still within that feeling. The teacher's approach was to increase our tolerance for the inevitable pain of childbirth. The pain of childbirth is inescapable. This toe stretch gave me a chance to imagine being with inescapable pain in a situation where I could escape. It's this intentional decision not to escape an escapable pain that builds confidence. You have the chance to escape discomfort, yet you wrangle your fears and push forward anyway. There's immense power in those moments. This is where your practice comes in, and how meditation can help you coexist in an empowered state amidst life's struggles. You can pause and breathe through life's emotional ups and downs instead of panicking and stopping the train. The Second Noble Truth: Understanding Craving, Attachment, and Aversion The second noble truth is Samudaya. It's the craving, attachment, or aversion to the feeling of stress. It's always a practice for me. As a business owner, it's easy to crave a consistent income or feel attached to maintaining a certain reputation. Aversions are real for us, too, such as my aversion to tech issues. Yet, my perpetual thoughts about these situations have gotten in my way. These situations are tough enough. By experiencing this second noble truth, I'm not doing myself any favors. This is why equanimity helps; it helps us focus on what's needed in the moment. I'll share an example in a bit. But first, let's turn this to you. The Fear of Obsolescence in the Age of AI Let's talk about craving for career permanence. Whether you are an entrepreneur or employee, this idea translates. The fear of becoming obsolete (FOBO) is rising among workers as AI advancements accelerate. A Gallup poll found that 22% of U.S. workers are concerned about their jobs becoming obsolete due to technology, and that figure is up from 2022. Imagine how freelance copywriters or coaches feel these days. Some feel like they are being promptly put out of business. The threat is real; however, thinking about the threat is stealing the time necessary to uplevel your skills or take actions to support your business. You are adding a layer of unnecessary suffering, draining your finite energy. AI is here, and so are you. How can you coexist with AI? This reminds me of those required college courses I didn't like. They were inescapable and boring. However, it was me who made them feel brutal when I procrastinated reading those ancient texts. Fast forward to today, and I can say that I had the same thoughts while completing some requirements for my meditation certification program. Finding Peace in Meditation (and a Bird's Nest) One week, I experienced a silent meditation in a house with three young boys and my husband. This was the kick-off to my meditation practitioner training. At the time, walking meditations were part of the daily experience, and I hated them. I'd pace in my yard, which was really boring. It reminded me of psych wards with outdoor spaces where I visited my mom. Sometimes she was in, and other times she was out. I felt a deep aversion to this mode of meditating. Yet, I had to do it a lot, so I opted to stare into the leaves of my trees instead of watching my pacing feet. You know what I realized? I saw a nest in the tree! This got me thinking about how I was a mama bird in a nest with my young. Noticing what was real—my breath and the nest—helped me. I smiled. Navigating the AI Revolution: A Path to Coexistence (The Third and Fourth Noble Truths) Stress is real, but suffering is optional. You can shift your thinking from whether you hate or love AI to saying to yourself, "AI is here. How can I co-exist with AI? Is there a right way for me to navigate AI? Might there be a right way to understand AI that can help me?" Once in the present, focused on the facts, you will experience the third noble truth, which is Nirodha. The path to this truth is called "magga," which is also the fourth noble truth and comprises several factors: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.   The eightfold path offers us an ideal way to coexist with stress. I haven't fully embodied it yet, but I feel as if each encounter with stress has given me a chance to practice it. Lessons from a Car Accident: Embracing the "Rights" Years ago, I experienced my first car accident. I was sitting in a parking lot in my new Honda minivan, waiting for my mom. A parked car, coming out of its spot, backed into my car. My minivan was perhaps months old, and this was my first accident. The other driver came out, shouting about how unnecessary the accident was. His wife quickly calmed him down, and then we exchanged information. I felt overwhelmed and wasn't thinking about Nirodha. I turned to my mom and said, "This shouldn't have happened! How can I get into an accident when I wasn't even moving?" She said, "Melissa, these things happen in life." Months later, I was in another accident in a parking lot, but I was moving this time. This second time felt different because I adopted my mom's wisdom. It was more manageable, and if we analyze it through the "rights," I'd say I had the right understanding. What if stressful situations are necessary to achieve all those "rights?" What if you're short-changing yourself by not increasing your stress management skills? I'd argue that this is true. I'm not suggesting you complicate your life, especially if it's already incredibly stressful. Instead, I'm urging you not to miss a life-giving moment where the gift is practicing the eightfold path. Once you see these as practices, you can teach your kids how to use stress for their benefit. A Son's BJJ Tournament: Wrestling with Life's Challenges This past weekend, one of my sons competed in a BJJ tournament. My eleven-year-old is not required to compete at that level. He could have competed at his local school. Yet, this isn't realistic to how we must compete in life for a job, medal, or resources. So, I encouraged him to compete, even though his first match was against someone who had previously won eleven times. Would you have done the same? Why would any mom allow that? Here's why: you will face outsized stresses in life, and these moments have allowed me to wrestle with the "rights." I got my greatest learnings and confidence from those hard bits of life. I don't win them all, but I've gained more "rights" along the way. Why would I cheat my son of that? So, he competed. I wanted him to take one lesson to the next match. For example, he was advised to stand up and not go straight for the legs in the second round. Did he do it? He tried, but it took the third round. That last round was unexpected. He was winded, tearful, red, and already out of his Gi. Was he going to do the fourth match? That third round, he gave it his all. There were hundreds of people looking at my kid. This is where my life experiences helped us both. Recognizing that my son had had enough, I could relate to so many moments as a kid when I had had enough, and yet life doesn't always give you a choice to walk away. I knew that because I experienced that. I pushed my son to return to the mat that fourth time because this was the right action, and I know that these moments are additive to the stories we tell ourselves about what we are capable of. It shapes how my kid will think about his ability to handle humiliation, boos, competing, and training. It gives him a sense for what it takes to compete with people who have won. His capacity to handle stress was increased in that moment. Imagine facing someone who has won 11 times during your first tournament, then having to enter round after round, loss after loss? This translates to failing in school, in business, and in relationships. My son was practicing the "right concentration" four times more on the mat than off on a typical Saturday. He was wrestling with the "right thoughts" even more than that. These encounters can be fruitful. They contribute to a rich life that can make you invaluable in the life of someone else.

In this episode, we dive into the very heart of Buddhist wisdom: the Four Noble Truths. These foundational teachings illuminate why we experience suffering and dissatisfaction and the path to inner peace and freedom. Buddha explained that dukkha, translated as suffering or dissatisfaction, arises from craving (attachment) fueled by ignorance. To use these Truths in daily life, Buddhist Teacher JoAnn Fox suggests a powerful practice for letting go of attachment: “Welcome Everything.” Welcome Everything What does it mean to truly embrace life as it unfolds, without clinging or resistance? We can use this simple yet profound mindset of welcoming everything to cultivate peace and free ourselves from the cycles of craving and dissatisfaction. The Four Noble Truths: The Truth of Suffering (Dukkha): Life is pervaded by suffering and dissatisfaction. Suffering includes not only physical pain but also emotional pain, such as anxiety, depression, and grief.   The Truth of the Origin of Suffering (Samudaya): Suffering arises from craving (also called attachment) fueled by ignorance.   The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Nirodha): It is possible to end suffering and dissatisfaction by letting go of attachment.   The Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering (Magga): The way to the end of suffering and dissatisfaction is through the Noble Eightfold Path, a practical guide to ethical living, mental discipline, and wisdom. Him I call a brahmana, who has no desire either for this world or for the next, who is free from craving and from moral defilements. Him I called a brahmana, who has no craving, who through knowledge of the Four Noble Truths is free from doubt, and has realized Nibbana the Deathless.  --Buddha, The Dhammapada (Verse 410 and 411) References and Links Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy .of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma. Retrieved from https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=410 Je Tsongkhapa (2014). Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 1 and Volume 2 (Kindle). Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor. Find us at the links below:  Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone Facebook Group:Join our private group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanghatalk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhism.with.joann.fox To learn more about virtual classes with JoAnn Fox: Buddhist Study Program

Joseph Goldstein is an author, the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and is one of the most influential and important figures to bring vipassana meditation practices into the American mainstream.A rebroadcast from 2022.------------Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting------------Keep Talking SubstackSpotifyApple PodcastsSocial media and all episodes------------Support via VenmoSupport on SubstackSupport on Patreon------------(00:00) Intro(00:45) How Joseph ended up in Asia a young man(04:39) Reason for interest in Buddhism and meditation(08:59) Immersing in the study of the mind(12:41) The Buddha's teachings(18:52) Joseph's psychological state when first exposed to Buddhism and meditation(21:01) The daily habits, discipline, and rituals to try to achieve Enlightenment(27:14) Deciding to devote his life to meditation(30:11) Communicating to his mother his desire to devote his life to Buddhism(32:59) Metaphysical views pre and post meditation(37:46) Buddhism is non-theistic(40:14) What is the Dharma?(44:48) Integrating Buddhist teachings with practice and The Noble Eightfold Path(53:37) The first step to use mindfulness to ease psychological suffering(01:01:24) Awareness versus the weather pattern of one's mind(01:04:30) Using mindfulness to respond, rather than to react(01:15:37) Dealing with grief(01:24:50) How can we improve our lives by being mindful?

Today, Sam begins her segment on the Eightfold Path, a group of Buddhist teachings designed to help us with whatever life throws our way. This first episode is all about using our words more mindfully. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During this talk, Allie Vaknin shares her research on a basic element of Buddhist doctrine, Right Intention.  Part of the presentation involves questions and insights about this important part of the Noble Eightfold Path provided by those participating in the meeting.

Diving into the life, greatness, and his leadership philosophy from Phil Jackson  book: Eleven Rings-----0:00 - Leadership is being a magician Sometimes when I'm filling out forms, I list my profession as “magician.” I'm not trying to be mischievous. It's just that when I think about the ego-balancing act NBA coaches have to perform, making magic may be the best way to describe what we do1:30 - Brother's life advice that changed Phil's career9:45 - Impact of Zen Buddhism/importance of freedom and latitude12:45 - John Wooden vs Phil Jackson18:20 - Two types of "luck"21:40- How Phil used non-action to solve problems/mastering the art of letting goWhen the men are preparing for a flight they are really home hardly at all . They come home on weekends and even they have work to do. We're lucky if they have a chance to come in and sit down and say hello before they go off again a day later.24:45- Three leadership practices 26:45 - The importance of a pause/delay in conflict The best way to handle most flare-ups is to sleep on them. The point is to avoid acting out in anger and creating an even stickier mess. And if you're lucky, the problem may solve itself.30:45 - Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. 36:20 - How to sustain excellenceThe mistake championship teams often make is to try to repeat their winning formula. But that rarely works because by the time the next season starts, your opponents have studied all the videos and figured out how to counter every move you made. Winning is about moving into the unknown and creating something new. It's about that scene in the first Indiana Jones movie when someone asks Indy what he's going to do next, and he replies, “I don't know, I'm making it up as we go along.” That's how I view leadership. It's an act of controlled improvisation. 40:20 - Humiliation is motivation43:55 - Lessons and takeaways-----Website: https://www.chasegreatness.netBook: https://www.chasegreatness.net/bookApparel: https://www.chasegreatness.net/shop

Ajahn Dhammasiha goes through the 8 factors of the Noble Eight Fold Path, and explains how they are relevant to guide our action and speech, both in daily life as well as in our formal meditation. The Noble 8-Fold Path Ariyo Aṭṭhangiko Maggo, also know as the 'Middle Way' Majjhimā Paṭipadā is one of the most fundamental teachings of the Buddha, mentioned prominently already in his very first formal teaching, the Discourse on Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma. In fact, the Noble Eightfold Path constitutes the Fourth Noble Truth, the way leading to the end of suffering. However, if we don't know in detail what are the 8 factors of the Noble 8fold Path, we won't be able to practise on progress along that path. If we know them well, we can apply one or several of them troughout our daily activites, and make bhāvanā (meditation/cultivation/development) an integral part of our daily life. Right View Right Intention Right Communication Right Action Right Job Right Effort Right Mindfulness Right Samādhi (Concentration/Unification of Mind) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dhammagiri Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Spotify Playlists⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dhammagiri Youtube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Pics .

Click here to check out HUEL: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://my.huel.com/mulliganbros⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠#ad The Donation Link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gofund.me/6193ffb1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Brass Monkey Plunge Ice Bath Charity Giveaway: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.mulliganbrothers.com/⁠⁠⁠ In this episode, Jordan sits down with Shi Heng Yi, the leading headmaster of the Shaolin Temple Europe. Recorded during Jordan's visit to the Shaolin Temple in Germany two years ago, this conversation delves into the wisdom and practices that have been passed down through centuries. Shi Heng Yi shares profound insights on how to incorporate the Noble Eightfold Path into our daily lives, offering practical steps to achieve mental clarity, physical health, and harmonious living within society. As we approach a new year, Shi Heng Yi emphasizes the importance of self-reflection, setting realistic goals, and the power of small, consistent steps towards personal growth. He also discusses the necessity of letting go of past burdens to make space for new opportunities and the significance of aligning one's actions with the energetic potential of the year. Whether you're seeking guidance for the new year or looking to deepen your spiritual practice, this episode provides a thoughtful roadmap to balance and fulfillment. Join us as we explore the ancient teachings of Shaolin and discover how they can transform your life in 2023 and beyond.

The Eightfold Path is the Buddha's teaching on how to live in a way that ends suffering and moves us towards liberation. It is a guide for living in this world and our experiences of the human condition. Mary offers a broad overview of the path and how we can put them to use in our own lives.Recorded August 4, 2024 for Insight Community of the Desert in the Virtual WorldSend me a text with any questions or comments!Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

Life often throws us into situations that make us ponder our purpose and the impact of our daily actions. The concept of Right Livelihood, part of the Noble Eightfold Path, provides a guiding light, illuminating a path to ethical living and purposeful work. Join Margaret Meloni as she dives deep into the essence of Right Livelihood, examining how it encourages honesty, fairness, and empathy in all our interactions. We'll discuss how these principles not only contribute to personal satisfaction and spiritual growth but also foster societal well-being.  Learn how to overcome challenges, make mindful decisions, and cultivate healthy work relationships grounded in empathy and respect. By reflecting on your current work environment and taking actionable steps, you can begin to navigate your path towards Right Livelihood, turning everyday tasks into opportunities for personal growth and societal contribution. Listener Challenge: Reflect on your current work and identify aspects that align or conflict with your personal values. Take one actionable step to bring your professional life closer to the principles of Right Livelihood.

During this talk, Allie reviews the elements of the Noble Eightfold Path and then describes the transition of Right Understanding to Right Knowledge and Right Intention to Right Release, in effect changing the Eightfold Path to the Tenfold Path.  Her comments are supplemented by Peter, who describes this direct subjective confirmation of the concepts within […]

In this captivating episode, we're thrilled to have Dr. Eric Cunningham, Professor of Philosophy at Gonzaga University, back on the show to unpack Rudolf Steiner's groundbreaking concept of the Threefold Commonwealth. Building on our previous conversation about Steiner's life and work, we dive headfirst into his revolutionary ideas for reshaping society and economics.   Key Themes Explored:   A World in Chaos: The aftermath of World War I left Europe in tatters, fertile ground for competing ideologies like socialism, communism, and fascism. Discover how Steiner sought a radical alternative. The Threefold Structure: Steiner's vision divided society into three distinct spheres: the economic (fair distribution), the political (equal rights), and the cultural/spiritual (fostering creativity and meaning). How could this balance power and purpose? Rethinking Economics: Steiner challenged the idea of labor as a mere commodity. Learn about his intriguing concepts of "gift money" and "associative economics." Could these ideas transform our relationship with work and wealth? Spiritual Warfare and the Occult: Steiner's views on spiritual battles mirroring earthly conflicts might surprise you. We touch on the rise of occultism among elites in the early 20th century – what does this reveal about the era's anxieties? Steiner's Relevance Today: Could Steiner's principles offer solutions to our current global challenges? We explore startling parallels between his time and ours, and how his ideas might resonate with those seeking a more just and fulfilling world. The Illusion of Reality: Steiner drew on Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, emphasizing the importance of "right understanding" and challenging materialistic worldviews. What if reality isn't what we think it is? From Theory to Practice: We examine real-world examples of Steiner's ideas in action, from small-scale initiatives to the challenges of wider implementation. Can these radical concepts break through entrenched power structures? The Future of Humanity: Dr. Cunningham shares his optimistic yet realistic perspective on positive change, exploring the idea that perhaps "evil must exhaust itself" before true good can emerge.   Bonus: Hear a sneak peek about  Dr. Cunningham's upcoming book, which will delve into the surprising connections between the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path and Christ's Beatitudes.   Join us for a mind-expanding conversation that challenges conventional thinking and explores alternative paths towards a more harmonious and spiritually fulfilling future.

Send us a Text Message.Ready to discover a path that promises true liberation from suffering? Join us for a transformative meditation session focusing on the Noble Awakening Meditation. By reflecting on the fourth noble truth and the path leading to the cessation of suffering, you'll learn how the Noble Eightfold Path can bring you clarity, insight, and a sense of profound liberation. This session is designed to help you embody the qualities of morality, concentration, and wisdom, while gently releasing the obstacles that stand in your way.Check us on Social Media:Facebook:  @RecoveryCollectiveMdYouTube: @RecoveryCollectiveInstagram: @recovery_collective_mdTikTok: @lukederecoverycollectiveNew Episodes are released every other Monday.Please send your questions to: luke@recoverycollectivemd.comThanks for listening, and please subscribe/comment/review/follow/like; if you think others would benefit from the podcast episode, share with others, as COLLECTIVELY, we can find solutions to all thing's health and wellness.The episodes contain content, including information provided by guests, intended for perspective, informational, and entertainment purposes only. The content is not intended to replace or substitute for any professional medical, counseling, therapeutic, legal, or other advice. If you have specific concerns or a situation in which you require professional advice, you should consult with an appropriately trained and qualified professional expert and specialist. If you have a health or mental health emergency, please call 9-1-1 or 9-8-8Support the Show.

This is a recording from Cross River Meditation Center in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Our Dhamma classes are streamed live via Zoom on Tuesday at 7:15 pm and Saturday at 8:30 am Eastern Us Time. Join Live Through your web browse: https://zoom.us/j/9083919079  Join Live Through your Android device here: Zoom Android App  Join Live Through your IOS device here: Zoom IOS Ap   There are guided Jhana meditations, more than 300 restored Suttas and 800 Dhamma class recordings at Becoming-Buddha.com Each Dhamma class will have a Jhana meditation session followed by a Dhamma talk and Sangha discussion. We conclude with mindfulness of Metta.   New audio and video recordings are posted typically within twenty-four hours post-class:   Podcast/Audio Archive   Video Archive   If you are subscribed to our Podcast on Podbean or iTunes, you will receive notifications when new episodes are posted.   To schedule private, individual, or group Dhamma instruction via video conference please Email Cross River Dhamma To continue to develop and share the Buddha's timeless wisdom and preserve the legacy of our friend and teacher John Haspel, we offer weekly classes, both online and in person, both residential and local retreats, and our website with its extensive video and audio archive.  None of this would be possible without your support and donations.  Please continue to support us by donating here: Support Becoming-Buddha Cross River Dhamma

This is a recording from Cross River Meditation Center in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Our Dhamma classes are streamed live via Zoom on Tuesday at 7:15 pm and Saturday at 8:30 am Eastern Us Time. Join Live Through your web browse: https://zoom.us/j/9083919079  Join Live Through your Android device here: Zoom Android App  Join Live Through your IOS device here: Zoom IOS Ap   There are guided Jhana meditations, more than 300 restored Suttas and 800 Dhamma class recordings at Becoming-Buddha.com Each Dhamma class will have a Jhana meditation session followed by a Dhamma talk and Sangha discussion. We conclude with mindfulness of Metta.   New audio and video recordings are posted typically within twenty-four hours post-class:   Podcast/Audio Archive   Video Archive   If you are subscribed to our Podcast on Podbean or iTunes, you will receive notifications when new episodes are posted.   To schedule private, individual, or group Dhamma instruction via video conference please Email Cross River Dhamma To continue to develop and share the Buddha's timeless wisdom and preserve the legacy of our friend and teacher John Haspel, we offer weekly classes, both online and in person, both residential and local retreats, and our website with its extensive video and audio archive.  None of this would be possible without your support and donations.  Please continue to support us by donating here: Support Becoming-Buddha Cross River Dhamma

This is a recording from Cross River Meditation Center in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Our Dhamma classes are streamed live via Zoom on Tuesday at 7:15 pm and Saturday at 8:30 am Eastern Us Time. Join Live Through your web browse: https://zoom.us/j/9083919079  Join Live Through your Android device here: Zoom Android App  Join Live Through your IOS device here: Zoom IOS Ap   There are guided Jhana meditations, more than 300 restored Suttas and 800 Dhamma class recordings at Becoming-Buddha.com Each Dhamma class will have a Jhana meditation session followed by a Dhamma talk and Sangha discussion. We conclude with mindfulness of Metta.   New audio and video recordings are posted typically within twenty-four hours post-class:   Podcast/Audio Archive   Video Archive   If you are subscribed to our Podcast on Podbean or iTunes, you will receive notifications when new episodes are posted.   To schedule private, individual, or group Dhamma instruction via video conference please Email Cross River Dhamma To continue to develop and share the Buddha's timeless wisdom and preserve the legacy of our friend and teacher John Haspel, we offer weekly classes, both online and in person, both residential and local retreats, and our website with its extensive video and audio archive.  None of this would be possible without your support and donations.  Please continue to support us by donating here: Support Becoming-Buddha Cross River Dhamma

This week's dharma talk explores the 6th step in the teaching of the Buddha called “The Noble Eightfold-Path.”  This 6th step takes us into the “discipline aggregate” of the eight steps.  Here we learn how to cultivate beneficial qualities of mind and how to disarm unbeneficial qualities of mind.  The talk this week was given by Lezlie Laws.

This week's dharma talk explores the 7th step in the teaching of the Buddha called “The Noble Eightfold-Path.”  This 7th step is Right Mindfulness. We will explore this key practice that has been described as the watch guard of the mind and an aid to recognize, prevent and release craving and clinging that causes suffering. We […]

In the last segment of UnMind, we took up the most social of the Three Treasures: Sangha, or community. In this segment, we will continue with our analysis of the design of Dharma study; and in the next, that of Buddha practice, Zen's unique meditation, or zazen. These three constitute the highest values and manifestations of Buddhism in the real world, and the simplest model for the comprehensive nature of living a Zen life. They are regarded as three legs, without any one of which the stool of Zen is unstable. Design intent is reflected in their modus operandi, message, and method, respectively. Dharma study consists in reviewing and contemplating the “compassionate teachings,” the message transmitted by Shakyamuni and the ancestors down to the present day. While they were all, in effect, “speaking with one voice,” nonetheless Dharma ranks second in importance and emphasis, as an adjunct to meditation, just as Sangha comes in third, in providing the harmonious community and conducive environment for Zen. As referenced in Dogen's Jijuyu Zammai – Self-fulfilling Samadhi: Grass, trees and walls bring forth the teaching for all beingsCommon people as well as sages The “walls” are the infrastructure that was built around personal and communal practice in the form of our sitting space at home, grass hut hermitages, and meditation halls of temples, centers, or monasteries. This is the millennia-old design-build activity of the ancestors attested to by the stupas of India and the monasteries of China, Tibet, Japan, and the Far East, the legacy inherited by modern proponents of Zen in the West. Dharma likewise has been codified, collected, and contained in tangible documents, originally in the form of rice paper scrolls, now in books distributed worldwide in hardbound and paperback format. My own two current volumes in print ‑ “The Original Frontier” and “The Razorblade of Zen” ‑ were actually printed and bound in India, the home country of Buddhism They are also, or will soon be, available in electronic form, as eBooks and audiobooks accessible to virtually anyone, anywhere, anytime. It is as if Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion – s/he of the innumerable eyes and ears needed to see and hear the sights and sounds of dukkha in the world, with innumerable arms and hands bringing the tools necessary to help ‑ has come to be manifested globally, in the form of the worldwide network of mobile media. By means of which her ongoing witness to the suffering of the world is also recorded for posterity. Thus, the potential for Dharma to have an effect on the world at large has expanded exponentially, as in the vow: “I take refuge in Dharma, the compassionate teachings.” Taking refuge in the Dharma means returning ‑ or “fleeing back” ‑ to the original truths or laws of existence, and our place in it. Consider what the first teachings of Buddha really had to say, and what was their intended effect upon the audience. The First Sermon lays out the essential logic of the Middle Way, and its avoidance of extremes of attitudes and approaches to the fundamental problem of existence as a sentient, human being. The design intent of the Dharma as expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha, was, as far as we can determine from the written record, to correct the conventional wisdom of the time, which I take to have been primarily based on beliefs and doctrines of Hinduism. One well-known example is his teaching of anatta or anatman, a refutation of the Hindu belief in a self-existent soul, or atman. Not being a scholar, I am basing this on my scant study of the canon and the opinion of others more learned than I. Considering how the Dharma was first shared gives us an insight more technically oriented to the intent of its design. In the beginning was the spoken word of Siddhartha Gautama, similar to the Bible's creation story. Buddha never committed a single word to paper, or so we are told. It is also said that he “never spoke a word,” a comment I take to mean that while language can point at the truths of Buddhism, it cannot capture them. Buddhist truth is uniquely experiential. It has to go through a kind of translation into language that is beyond language itself, as in the last stanza of Hsinhsinming‑Trust in Mind: Words! The Way is beyond language for in itthere is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today Later given the honorifics of “Buddha, ‑ fully awakened one” and “Shakyamuni ‑ sage of the Shakya clan,” and others, ten in total, Siddhartha's First Sermon to the five ascetics with whom he had been practicing, begins with: O monks, these two extremes ought not be followed by one going forth from the household life. What are the two?There is devotion to the indulgence of self-gratificationWhich is low, common, the way of ordinary peopleUnworthy and unprofitableThere is devotion to the indulgence of self-mortificationWhich is painful unworthy and unprofitableAvoiding both these extremes the Tathagata has realized the Middle WayIt gives vision it gives knowledge and it leads to calm to insight to awakening to Nirvana The intent of the content was to dissuade these monks from continuing to follow the dictates of their method of asceticism, which Buddha had found to be ineffective, to say the least. And to hold out the hope that if they were able to relinquish their own opinions of the truth they were seeking, and the method for apprehending it, they would be able to accede to the insight that he had experienced directly in meditation, the “middle way.” “Tathagata,” by the way, is also one of the ten honorifics accorded to Buddha later in the course of his teaching career, meaning something like the “thus-come one.” It was most likely appended to this narrative when finally committed to written form, some four centuries after-the-fact. But our point is that the spoken language was the medium in which the teaching was first shared. Buddha was said to have spoken Pali, which is similar to, and perhaps a dialect of, Sanskrit. The theory I have heard explaining why they were not recorded in written form is that they were considered sacred, and writing them down would have made them vulnerable to accidental or intentional change. The oral tradition was more dependable in terms of preserving them with their original intent intact. So the “design intent” of Buddha's use of kind or loving speech was not the usual intent of language in general. It was intended to encourage others to apprehend the “Great Matter” of life-and-death in the most direct way, the only way, possible. Buddha recognized that there was no way of sharing his experience with others in the ordinary sense, so he resorted to parables and analogies, to allow his audience to see themselves in the pictures he painted, and to transcend ordinary understanding in words and phrases, or the pursuit of information, the usual application of language. The later codifying and organization of the original spoken teachings into the Tripitaka or “three baskets” was designed to allow teachers and students to study the voluminous canon in an orderly way, and to prioritize their approach to it in digestible bites. It was most likely understood that the existing literature of the time ‑ which had to be scarce, compared to today's glut of publications – was to be absorbed in concert with practicing the meditation that had led to Buddha's insight to begin with. As Master Dogen reminds: Now all ancestors and all buddhas who uphold buddha-dharma have made it the true path of enlightenment to sit upright practicing in the midst of self-fulfilling samadhiThose who attained enlightenment in India and China followed this wayIt was done so because teachers and disciples personally transmitted this excellent method as the essence of the teaching In the authentic tradition of our teaching it is said that this directly transmitted straightforward buddha- dharma is the unsurpassable of the unsurpassable The design intent of the teachings has been, from the very beginning, the direct transmission of the buddha-dharma, what Matsuoka-roshi referred to as “living Zen.” In the daily lives of monks and nuns, frequent repetition of chanting selected teachings enabled the monastics to deeply assimilate them. Master Dogen was known for connecting each and every regular daily routine with brief recitations, such as the Meal Verse, in order to bridge the gap between the sacred and the profane, the physical and the spiritual. Codification of the koan collections of Rinzai Zen ‑ some 1700 strong according to tradition, later organized into five sets by Hakuin Ekaku Zenji, the 18th Century Rinzai master ‑ represent design efforts to structure the lore and legacy of Zen's anecdotal history of exchanges between masters and students available in progressive levels of difficulty, enabling accessibility of the apparent dichotomies of Dharma. Soto Zen simplifies the approach even further by regarding zazen itself as representing the living koan, requiring nothing further to complement, or complicate, the process of insight. All the various models of buddha-dharma developed by the ancients qualify as efforts in information design ‑ visualizing images and what is called “pattern-thinking” ‑ that allow us to grasp the form of the Dharma beyond what mere words can convey. The Four Noble Truths comprise the first historical example of these descriptive models, including the prescriptive Noble Eightfold Path. Tozan's “Five Ranks” and Rinzai's “Host and Guest” come later, but have the same design intent – to help their students get beyond the limitation of the linear nature of language. My semantic models of the teachings, published in “The Razorblade of Zen,” represent more contemporary cases in point. Nowadays ‑ as testimonial evidence indicates, from one-on-one encounters in online and in-person dharma dialogs with modern students of the Way ‑ people are no longer studying buddha-dharma as they may have throughout history, when documents were rare. More often than not, they are reading more than one book at a time, in a nonlinear process I refer to as “cross-coupling”: simultaneously absorbing commentaries from one author or translator along with others; or perhaps comparing the teachings of more than one ancestor of Zen to those of a different ancestor. This may be an artifact or anomaly of the ubiquitous presence and availability of Zen material in print form, as well as the encyclopedic scope of online resources on offer today. It seems that in every category, and every language, we have at our fingertips a greater textual resource than ever conceivable in history, dwarfing the great libraries of legend. We can “google” virtually anything – no pun - with a few strokes of a keyboard. In addition, Artificial Intelligence threatens to bring together summaries and concoctions of content at the whim of any researcher; documents are readily searchable for those who wish to quantify uses of words and phrases at any point in history, teasing out trends and making judgments as to the hidden patterns in historical evolution of ideas. In this context it is difficult to ascertain the design intent of dharma as articulated today. It is not easy to discern the intent of the publish-or-perish, rush-into-print crowd, or to judge whether a given piece of contemporary writing is worth our effort and time to read. Fortunately, Zen offers a wormhole out of this literary catch-22. Zazen provides recourse to an even greater inventory of databases, built into our immediate sensorium. We can always return to upright sitting, facing the wall. This is where we will find the nonverbal answers we are seeking so feverishly, and somewhat futilely, in “words and letters” as Master Dogen reminds us in his seminal tract on meditation, Fukanzazengi: You should stop pursuing words and lettersand learn to withdraw and turn the light on yourselfwhen you do so your body and mind will naturally fall awayand your original buddha-nature will appear This stanza is sometimes interpreted as a slam on the nature of contemporaneous Rinzai practice predominant in the Japan of Dogen's time. But I think we should take a broader view of the great master's intent. He is merely cluing us in to the fact of the futility of pursuing literal, linear understanding of the Dharma in its manifestation as verbal expression. We are to turn our attention, instead, to the immediate and intimate presence of the self of body-and-mind ‑ beyond, or before, words can interfere. Here is where, and now is when, we will witness the full force of the design intent of the Dharma.* * * Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Shinjin Larry Little

Almost every world religion offers a pathway to heaven through good works and personal efforts. Some even include a list of sacraments: Holy rituals by which a person can merit salvation. But Christianity is different. According to the Bible, there's only one way to know if you're good enough for God, and it has nothing to do with what you can do.--The Unveiling Mormonism podcast pulls back the curtain on Mormon history, culture and doctrine. Join us for new episodes every Monday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org/mormonism.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Before we look at what the Bible says, let's do a quick survey of a few popular world religions…Hinduism: Hinduism does not have a singular concept of salvation but rather multiple paths (yogas) that lead to spiritual liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara). These paths include devotion (bhakti), knowledge (jnana), and selfless action (karma yoga), among others. Salvation is achieved when an individual realizes their true self (atman) as one with the ultimate reality (Brahman). (Liberation depends on YOU.)Buddhism: Salvation in Buddhism is the cessation of suffering and the cycle of rebirth, achieved through the elimination of desire and ignorance. In Buddhism, the goal is to attain enlightenment (nirvana) by following the Noble Eightfold Path, which includes principles such as right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. (Nirvana depends on YOU.)Islam: In Islam, the plan of salvation involves belief in the oneness of God (Allah) and the prophethood of Muhammad. Muslims believe in living a righteous life according to the teachings of the Quran and the Hadith (sayings of Muhammad). Salvation is achieved through faith, repentance, and good deeds, with the ultimate reward being entry into paradise. Salvation in Islam is not guaranteed solely by faith or deeds but is ultimately dependent on the mercy and judgment of Allah. Muslims strive to live a life that is pleasing to Allah and to follow the teachings of Islam in the hope of attaining salvation in the afterlife. (Paradise depends on YOU.)(Note: similarity with Mormonism. “Saved by grace after all we can do.”) - Don't include this in sermon!TRANS: So what does Christianity teach? To find that answer we need to look at one more world religion: Judaism. Jesus was Jewish. Christianity came out of Judaism. Understanding the link between those two religions, and specifically the key difference between them, will give us the insight we need to answer our question today. Let's start with the words of Jesus from his famous Sermon on the Mount:PerfectionMatthew 5:17 (NLT) “Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”When Jesus talks about “the law and the prophets” he's referring to Judaism. Here's Judaism in a nutshell:God chose Abraham and made him some promises (Gen 12)God gave the 10 commandments to Moses - rules to live by in the land of promise they were

Almost every world religion offers a pathway to heaven through good works and personal efforts. Some even include a list of sacraments: Holy rituals by which a person can merit salvation. But Christianity is different. According to the Bible, there's only one way to know if you're good enough for God, and it has nothing to do with what you can do. --The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Before we look at what the Bible says, let's do a quick survey of a few popular world religions…Hinduism: Hinduism does not have a singular concept of salvation but rather multiple paths (yogas) that lead to spiritual liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara). These paths include devotion (bhakti), knowledge (jnana), and selfless action (karma yoga), among others. Salvation is achieved when an individual realizes their true self (atman) as one with the ultimate reality (Brahman). (Liberation depends on YOU.)Buddhism: Salvation in Buddhism is the cessation of suffering and the cycle of rebirth, achieved through the elimination of desire and ignorance. In Buddhism, the goal is to attain enlightenment (nirvana) by following the Noble Eightfold Path, which includes principles such as right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. (Nirvana depends on YOU.)Islam: In Islam, the plan of salvation involves belief in the oneness of God (Allah) and the prophethood of Muhammad. Muslims believe in living a righteous life according to the teachings of the Quran and the Hadith (sayings of Muhammad). Salvation is achieved through faith, repentance, and good deeds, with the ultimate reward being entry into paradise. Salvation in Islam is not guaranteed solely by faith or deeds but is ultimately dependent on the mercy and judgment of Allah. Muslims strive to live a life that is pleasing to Allah and to follow the teachings of Islam in the hope of attaining salvation in the afterlife. (Paradise depends on YOU.)(Note: similarity with Mormonism. “Saved by grace after all we can do.”) - Don't include this in sermon!TRANS: So what does Christianity teach? To find that answer we need to look at one more world religion: Judaism. Jesus was Jewish. Christianity came out of Judaism. Understanding the link between those two religions, and specifically the key difference between them, will give us the insight we need to answer our question today. Let's start with the words of Jesus from his famous Sermon on the Mount:PerfectionMatthew 5:17 (NLT) “Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”When Jesus talks about “the law and the prophets” he's referring to Judaism. Here's Judaism in a nutshell:God chose Abraham and made him some promises (Gen 12)God gave the...

Almost every world religion offers a pathway to heaven through good works and personal efforts. Some even include a list of sacraments: Holy rituals by which a person can merit salvation. But Christianity is different. According to the Bible, there's only one way to know if you're good enough for God, and it has nothing to do with what you can do. --The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --Before we look at what the Bible says, let's do a quick survey of a few popular world religions…Hinduism: Hinduism does not have a singular concept of salvation but rather multiple paths (yogas) that lead to spiritual liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (samsara). These paths include devotion (bhakti), knowledge (jnana), and selfless action (karma yoga), among others. Salvation is achieved when an individual realizes their true self (atman) as one with the ultimate reality (Brahman). (Liberation depends on YOU.)Buddhism: Salvation in Buddhism is the cessation of suffering and the cycle of rebirth, achieved through the elimination of desire and ignorance. In Buddhism, the goal is to attain enlightenment (nirvana) by following the Noble Eightfold Path, which includes principles such as right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. (Nirvana depends on YOU.)Islam: In Islam, the plan of salvation involves belief in the oneness of God (Allah) and the prophethood of Muhammad. Muslims believe in living a righteous life according to the teachings of the Quran and the Hadith (sayings of Muhammad). Salvation is achieved through faith, repentance, and good deeds, with the ultimate reward being entry into paradise. Salvation in Islam is not guaranteed solely by faith or deeds but is ultimately dependent on the mercy and judgment of Allah. Muslims strive to live a life that is pleasing to Allah and to follow the teachings of Islam in the hope of attaining salvation in the afterlife. (Paradise depends on YOU.)(Note: similarity with Mormonism. “Saved by grace after all we can do.”) - Don't include this in sermon!TRANS: So what does Christianity teach? To find that answer we need to look at one more world religion: Judaism. Jesus was Jewish. Christianity came out of Judaism. Understanding the link between those two religions, and specifically the key difference between them, will give us the insight we need to answer our question today. Let's start with the words of Jesus from his famous Sermon on the Mount:PerfectionMatthew 5:17 (NLT) “Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”When Jesus talks about “the law and the prophets” he's referring to Judaism. Here's Judaism in a nutshell:God chose Abraham and made him some promises (Gen 12)God gave the...

The traditional rendering of samma ajiva in english is Right Livelihood; during this talk, Peter revises this part of the Noble Eightfold Path as Right Lifestyle, as life is more complex and more stressful psychologically in contemporary American culture.  He describes the demands of work, finances, societal conflict, physical well-being, and environmental disruption through the […]

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 3/2/24 - How do we create suffering, and how do we unmake it? What is skillful? What isn't? Hojin Sensei speaks about the Fourth Noble Truth and the Eightfold Path.

It's the eighth and final day of Sam's Eightfold Path guide. Today, she dives into ways to gain insight that goes beyond what we learn in books. Learn more about the Noble Eightfold Path here. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's day 7 of Sam's guide to the Eightfold Path. Today, she talks about the power of setting intentions and the difference they can make in everything we do. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam's back for day 6 of the Eightfold Path. Today's teaching is all about the power of focus, and why we don't have to give in to distractions. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, Sam continues to break down the teachings of the Eightfold Path. In this episode, she goes back to basics with a guide to mindfulness and all the benefits it can bring. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's day 4 of Sam's Eightfold Path segment. Today, she talks about the value of wholesomeness and why it's important to notice what we consume. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's day 3 of Sam's guide to the Eightfold Path. Today, she talks about how to align our work with our values and even create meaning at a less-than-ideal job. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's day 2 of Sam's Eightfold Path segment. Today, she shares some tips on what to ask ourselves when we're faced with tough choices. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, Sam begins her segment on the Eightfold Path, a group of Buddhist teachings designed to help us with whatever life throws our way. This first episode is all about using our words more mindfully. Sam has taught mindfulness and social emotional learning to teens, families and adults all over the world for more than 12 years. She obtained her master's degrees in clinical and educational psychology from Columbia University, and an M.S. in emotion science from Mid-Sweden University. You can reach out to Sam on Instagram here! Try the Headspace app free for 30 days here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Virtue is a tricky topic. It's often sold to us by religious leaders who are thundering judgmentally, and sometimes hypocritically, down to us from the mountaintop. But from the Buddhist perspective, there is actually a deeply self-interested case for ethics and virtue. The Buddhists are not trying to get you to follow a bunch of very specific rules: they are trying to get you to do no harm because that will make you happy. This is part two of our series on a venerable Buddhist list called the Noble Eightfold Path. The three middle items on the list all have to do with ethical conduct. They are: right speech, right action, and right livelihood. Our guest today, Eugene Cash, is gonna talk about this stuff in super practical, non-dogmatic and non-preachy ways. Cash has been a Buddhist teacher since 1990. He's the founding teacher of San Francisco Insight and a senior teacher on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. His teaching is influenced by many streams of Buddhism— Theravada, Zen and Tibetan. In this conversation we talk about: How to make terms such as virtue and ethics more attractive to skepticsEugene's case that being ethical is in your self-interestHis idea that kindness can actually be hard-nosed and toughHow the Buddha could be hard on people when it was helpful for those peopleHow to use right speech skillfullyWhy he says that practicing right action all day long is his idea of fun The technical versus the holistic understanding of right livelihoodThe difference between “being present” and “presence” And what has kept him devoted to the eightfold path for so many years Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/eugene-cash-595See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.