Buddhism is Finding the Way to Joy, Peace, and Liberation

“The practice of the Way is the same…Maintain your health. Be joyful.  Do not force yourself to do things you cannot do.” – The Buddha 

 Buddha was not a god; he suffered just like we all suffer in life.  It is because of the suffering within us all that the Buddha is able to enter our hearts.  The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path are vessels in which the Buddha holds the water or insight he had discovered.  

The First Noble Truth is suffering.  Everything is suffering.  The Second Noble Truth is the origin or nature of suffering.  How did our suffering come to be?  The Third Noble Truth is the end of creating suffering by ceasing the action that makes us suffer.  Healing from suffering is possible.  The Fourth Noble Truth is the path that leads to refraining from doing the things that cause us to suffer.  Once we have found the origin of our pain, we can either choose to feed it or stifle it.   

The Noble Eightfold Path helps us to eliminate the origin of our suffering.  The Noble Eightfold Path consists of the Right View, Right Speech, Right Effort, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood, Right Mindfulness, Right Thinking, and Right Action.  The Right view can be seen as having a positive attitude or hope that a person can change their suffering in order to experience joy, peace, and liberation.  The Right Thinking is important because when we are thinking, essentially, we are speaking in our mind.   

The Right Mindfulness is important because when we are made aware of our circumstances as well as actions, we are more likely to do a better job a disciplining ourselves and making right choices.  

 Right Speech is a product of Right Thinking since speaking is our thoughts being expressed aloud.  The basis of Right Action is Right Mindfulness.  “We can protect life, practicing generosity, behave responsibly, and consume mindfully.” (Hanh, p. 98)  Right Concentration is maintaining a balance between active and selective focus.  When practicing the Right Livelihood, you have to find a way to make a living without causing you or anyone else around you anymore suffering.  

      Last but not least, the Right Effort, is the energy that helps us realize which things to be diligent for.  When I dived into the Heart of the Buddhas’ Teaching, I began to question if I were in fact practicing the Way and in part practicing the Right Diligence or Right Effort.  During our journal challenges, as I made myself mindful of practicing the Right Effort, everything began to fall into place.  What the Buddha was saying about the Right Mindfulness being a key factor in all of the Noble Eightfold Paths rang true for me.