Noble 8 Fold Path from Cattarisaka Sutta

Today, I went for the class on the Noble 8 Fold Path by Bro Piya and came back really happy. All my life i have been a Buddhist, and have studied and heard of the 8 Fold Path many times. But today, Bro Piya taught from the sutta directly, the Cattaridaka Sitta(Discourse on the Great Forty).

It is very interesting, a new way of learning and using that brings a new dimension. It is a sutra that the Buddha started talking without being asked a qustion. It is VERY systematic so I'll try to summarise its structure here. But if you want to know the defination, please look up the sutta.

First, the Buddha told the monks that He'll teach them Noble Right Concentration and its supports and requisites today...

And how does one get Right Noble Concentration?
Through the cultivation of the 7 Noble Right Paths which are the supports and requisites that He was talking abt just now.

So, He started by telling them and defining first what is Right View, then Right Intention, then Right Speech, then Right Action and finally Right Livelihood.

And in each of this 5 paths path, He would explain two ways of practicing the path.

1. The Right _____ with mental influxes, partaking of merit and ripening in acquisistions(of aggregates).

2. The Right _____ which is Noble without mental influxes, supramundane , a path factor.

The first is the mudane, normal day, normal guy method of the path. The next is the high level, high class method of the path.

Next, at the end of every path, he would say,

"One who makes an effort to give up _______(give up this particular wrong path) to cultivate the __________(cultivate the particular right path), this is one's right effort"

and

"One who is mindful gives up _______(give up this particular wrong path) to dwell cultivating __________(cultivate the particular right path), this is one's right mindfulness"

then He would basically say that:

Right View with Right Effort with Right Mindfulness is the way to cultivate this particular Right Path.

So this way of speaking is repeated 5 times for Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood.

Finally, after cultivating all these 7 Right Paths, one gets Right Concentration.

And, next, get Right Concentration to do what?
To cultivate Right Knowledge and Right Liberation then gain Arahanthood.

There, the 10 Rightness is completed. *Bow*_(|)_

It is really Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu!! Excellent!!! Everything is explained systematically and clearly.

But do you get what I mean? If you don't ask me next time or google the sutta yourself.


The other interesting thing is that in the Right Livelihood, I usually only learn of only Right occupation/job. Which is not to engage in jobs which violates the 5 precepts or cause them to be violated eg.dealing in arms, in beings, in meat, in intoxicants and poisons. However, in the sutra there is more, not to engage in

1. Deceitful pretensions(to attainments),
2. Flattery(for gain),
3. Subtle insinuation or hinting (for gain),
4. Pressuring (for offerings), and
5. Pursuing gain for gain.

However, this applies more to the monastics. But it is really interesting, because I do 2,3,4 and 5 all the time while scheming of ways to obtain things. So it is really an eye opener today. Really interesting. Thanks Bro. Piya!! Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu!