Hoa Vo Uu (Buddha Dharma Education Association)
Venerable Shravasti Dhammika
The Buddha’s Words of Wisdom
I will teach you the Noble Eightfold Path; I will analyze it for you. Listen carefully and I will speak. And what is the Eightfold Path? It is Perfect View, Perfect Thought, Perfect Speech, Perfect Action, Perfect Livelihood, Perfect Effort, Perfect Mindfulness, and Perfect Concentration.
1. And what is Perfect View? It is the knowledge of suffering, the cause of suffering, the overcoming of suffering, and the way of the overcoming of suffering.
2. And what is Perfect Thought? It is the thought of giving up, the thought of love, and the thought of helpfulness.
3. And what is Perfect Speech? It is the avoiding of lying, slanderous, harsh speech, idle chatter.
4. And what is Perfect Action? It is the avoiding of killing, stealing and sexual mis conduct.
5. And what is Perfect Livelihood? Concerning this, a noble disciple, by giving up wrong means of livelihood adopts a perfect livelihood.
6. And what is Perfect Effort? Concerning this, one puts forth the desire, makes and effort, strives, applies the mind and directs it to prevent the arising of evil unskilled states not yet arisen, to destroy evil unskilled states that have already arisen, to arouse skillful states that have not yet arisen, and finally, one puts forth the desire, makes an effort, strives, applies the mind and directs it towards the continuation, the unification, the growth, the development and the fulfilment of skillful states of mind.
7. And what is Perfect Mindfulness? Concerning this, one abides contemplating body in body, feeling in feeling, mind in mind, and mental states in mental states, ardent, clearly conscious so as to control the attraction and repulsion in the world.
8. And what is Perfect Concentration? Concerning this one cultivates the four jhãnas.
