Ernie: What do Buddhists mean by "practice?" There are any number of views
of the matter but it seems to me that in every case what it is all about is following the Noble Eightfold Path. Maybe you can think of these eight principles as a sort of "positive 10 Commandments," that is, instead of "shalt nots" there is a set of "thou shalts." Both approaches, in my humble opinion., have genuine value. What are these noble practices? Although there is a preferred order you can also take them in any order; the point is to internalize all of the principles some way, and make them your own. These are: * Right Purpose, aka Right Views or Right Intentions This, for me, refers to one's philosophy of life, to the values in that philosophy, to the outlook you have on life itself, which, for a Buddhist, simply must be realistic, no nonsense about anything, no chasing after illusions, no self deception, no malicious or selfish deception of others, and, instead, seeking after what is genuinely true. And what is genuinely good. This is anything but "anything goes," it is, instead, the view that some things "go" very well, indeed, but some things are sick and ugly and depraved and we should have nothing at all to do with any of them -so that we can cherish and live for what is noble. And we should seek enlightenment, or as much enlightenment as is possible anyway, so that our views each have a foundation that can withstand any tests we may need to face in life. This is all about your view of the future, and your desire to make the most of whatever future is ahead of you. BTW, my interpretation of the word "desire" follows from Archie Bahm's book, Philosophy of the Buddha, which says that what is wrong is wrong desire, not desire itself, which can be very good. This is about setting goals for yourself and sticking to them, "whatever it takes" to make your dreams into reality. Implicit, or so it seems to me, is permission you give yourself to change goals if circumstances warrant it, if circumstances demand it, but then re-setting your goals to make the most of your new future * Right Understanding As E.A.Burt said in his book, The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha, this part of the equation is essential to everything else for "without a right understanding of the problem of life and a settled purpose to achieve the solution no further progress can be expected." We are bound to suffer in life; there is no escape from it. But we can learn from our tragedies and mistakes and bad luck even if there may be no perfect resolutions to our problems. The point is to make the best out of even very bad situations. And the point is to see opportunities when they present themselves. One Buddhist thinker, cited in William Theodore de Bary's book, The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan, even added a "9th" truth to the set, what he called "Right Recognition," to convey the idea. That is, to perceive any actual opportunity. But keep in mind that not all opportunities are lasting, Some may simply be a raft that helps you cross a raging river that, on the other shore, you abandon as no longer useful to you, which you need to leave in your past. If there is one weakness in the set it is that there needs to be something like a 10th principle, "Right Correction of Mistakes." I think this is implied in at least one teaching, Right Mindfulness, but it would be very useful if this was spelled out because it would help toward recognizing the truth that we all make mistakes and we all would benefit by correcting our errors and cases of bad judgement. There are right ways to correct mistakes and there are unhelpful ways and we need to use the helpful ways and never anything else. * Right Speech In other words, tell others about your views, speak the truth to others and seek the well-being of others through the words you speak. Also, cultivate the art of speaking well, expand your vocabulary, learn how to communicate effectively, and know the difference between truth that harms others and truth that helps others * Right Conduct Do what is right, or "practice what you preach," to use Christian idiom. That is, be a moral person, be good to others whenever you can even if you need to protect yourself from bad people or from good people who may do bad things. As in Asian philosophy generally, this is partly a matter of what is appropriate, and of sound judgment, deciding what is best to do in any given circumstance. * Right Livelihood Choose your vocation wisely. Your work is basic to who you are as a person. Make sure that your vocation is the best available choice, it makes no sense to spend years of your life doing what you cannot stand even if that activity makes a lot of money for you, or anything else, except the kind of satisfaction that makes you a better person and that allows you to persevere in the world. Maybe you can say that a wise choice in livelihood multiplies your chances for gaining real leverage in life to further the truths of Buddhism and all other truths you make your own. * Right Effort Work hard, don't give up, press ahead, do your best, always. Still, there is more to "right effort" than this. You also need to "work smart," to think about the best way to get things done, and do those things. * Right Mindfulness As it is said in the Majjhima Nikaya, a "book" within the basic scripture called the Three Baskets, the Tripitaka, it is crucial to be objective, as objective as it is possible for you to be. This is absolutely essential for Buddhist practice. But how do you do this? Among other things by making your mind like water -into which people may put just about anything, including a great many bad things. Yet the water always remains water. Or think about fire, which also remains fire whatever you may burn with it. Or think about the air or about the three dimensions of the world we live in. Yes, many bad things exist, we need to be conscious of them, but this does not mean that we should be stained by these bad things. To counter the effects of bad things, and to carry out things that are good for us, we need to cultivate the four Buddhist virtues, which are friendship, compassion, joyfulness when good things happen in our lives, which implies sharing joy with others, and a spirit of equanimity, a steady hand on the tiller, an ability to navigate between the extremes, to "roll with the punches" to use another Western idiom, to "land on your feet" when you are knocked off balance. * Right Concentration, aka Right Focus This is about thinking the best thoughts, always keeping the best thoughts before you, and seeking the good in everything you do. To do this requires that you set aside just about all sectarian views -for just about every sectarian doctrine of every school of thought is a mixture of true and false, or fact and fiction. Do not be misled by counterfeits of truth, by claims to truth that cannot be proven or disproven, by statements which are questionable. You are responsible for arriving at truth on your own and there is no excuse for blind belief of any kind. Keep this principle clearly in your mind as you live your life, never forget it or stray from it. Focus on what truly is important, worthy of your time, that can serve good purposes and only good purposes. ------------------------- Such is "Buddhist practice." This is my interpretation of the Noble Eightfold Path, my first formal effort even though in the past I have read the list many times. Billy -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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