Noble Eightfold Path
	which is the Truth of Cause; to practise at al times the Bodhi- sat va Way, which is the Truth of the Truth of the Cause, thereby extinguishing al kinds of sufferings -- the Truth of Extinction. For those who sought to be Sravakas the Buddha taught the Law of the Four Noble Truths for the overcoming of birth, old age, disease and death, and final y leading to Nirvana. A Sravaka is one who listened to the preaching of the Buddha and whose goal is to become an Arahant. For those who sought to be Pretyekabuddhas, the Buddha preached the Law of the Twelve Causes or Dependent Origina- tions. A Pratyekabuddha is one who is self-enlightened, and hav- ing done so, does not give teaching to others. For the Bodhisat vas the Buddha preached the Six Paramitas or Perfections, to cause them to at ain Perfect Enlightenment and to at ain Wisdom. A Bodhisat va is one wishing to live for the bene- fit of al living beings and therefore strives for Buddhahood so that upon at ainment, wil assist others towards the same goal. he oble ightfold ath is Path that leads to the cessation of sorrow may be explained thus: RIGHT UNDERSTANDING means the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths so that one is able to understand things as they real y are. RIGHT THOUGHT means developing the noble qualities of love and the aversion to cause hurt to others. RIGHT SPEECH is to abstain from lying, idle-talk, slander and harsh words. RIGHT ACTION is to abstain from taking life, taking what is not given, and sexual misconduct. RIGHT LIVELIHOOD is to avoid any occupation that causes harm to others such as sel ing intoxicants of any kind, arms, poison and weapons, butchering, slave-trafficking, hunting, fishing and money-lending. RIGHT EFFORT requires assiduous self-discipline to attain full control of the mind so that evil mental states are rejected and wholesome mental states developed. RIGHT MINDFULNESS means developing full awareness of all actions of the body, speech and mind and to al ow nothing to happen heedlessly or mechanical y that may turn into an un- wholesome act. RIGHT CONCENTRATION is to attain mental quietude and the wisdom to realise the full significance of the Four Noble Truths. He who accepts this noble Path as his way of life will have his mind free from selfish desires, hatred and cruelty and will be saturated with the spirit of selflessness, loving-kindness and harmlessness. He will be a blessing to himself and others for he will live his life in perfect peace. ¡ûBACK¡û |INDEX| ¡úNEXT¡ú