The Eightfold Path

We know the Eightfold Path is not a set of commandments or regulations we’re obligated to follow. The Path is a set of guidelines and practices that’ll help us develop the capacity to realize the Truth.

It’s as if the Buddha was a map maker and the Eightfold Path is the map he offered us.

The Buddha called this map of guidelines the Noble Eightfold Path; the Chinese translate it as the “Path of Eight Right Practices.” Whatever name we give these guidelines we know they are not something we follow sequentially. The elements are something we do as a whole. We take them on as a whole. We apply them as a whole. It’s been said one element on the Path contains the other seven elements.

All Practitioners know Buddhism is not a belief system, we know it’s a practice. To be a Buddhist, to call yourself a Buddhist, you do something. What do you do? You look to the Eightfold Path for inspiration and guidance.