For what purpose does one become ascetic? The short answer is, for the sake of final freedom, Nibbana. And how does one attain Nibbana? The short answer is, by following and developing the Noble Eightfold Path. By extinguishing all greed, lust, desire, hatred, ill will, and ignorance; by destroying all mental defilements, by observing morality and self-discipline, by living ethically, practicing diligently, developing the highest knowledge, called transcending understanding or wisdom (pañña). If one follows and develops the Path, if one lives by the Path, he or she will take exactly the same journey to Nibbana the Buddha did and will taste the same fruit the Buddha did. No more, no less.

All “steps” or components of the Path start with the word “right” and although it is the opposite of “wrong”, here it has the meaning of bringing about positive results, as in the “right” key to open the door. It is not about to be the good guy, or the story hero, it is about the most effective and only way for the direct experience of Nibbana. How is that possible?

By following the Noble Eightfold Path:

1. Right View (samma ditthi),
2. Right Motivation or Right Intention (samma sankappa),
3. Right Speech (samma vaca),
4. Right Action (samma kammanta),
5. Right Livelihood (samma ajiva),
6. Right Effort (samma vayama),
7. Right Awareness (samma sati),
8. Right Concentration (samma samadhi).

Right View comes first. It is the initial, the very first “step” of withdrawal from the world, of detachment, of stopping clinging to the world. It is where one says “Enough is enough”. Easy to say but hard to do. Why? Growing tomatoes or watching TV is much, much easier, isn’t it? That’s why very few undertake the Path, and very few, if any, go the long route to the end, knowing that it is worth the effort. And because of our skeptical views, because of our doubt and uncertainty, we cannot start our journey to Nibbana.

What makes it so difficult? Our perceptions (Pali: saññā, Skt: saṁjnā) associated with our wrong views (ditthi, dṛṣṭi) make it difficult. Our perceptions are closely associated with our views. These two – perceptions and views – affect our thinking (citta) and generate mental impulses (cetanā), the urge, the will to act. These mental impulses form and shape our mental constructions (sankhāra, saṁskāra), also called karmic probabilities or the field of karma (Pali: kamma). They, the sankhāras, are our karma, the plane or the world we live in. This is what conditions our future lives, because mental constructions (sometimes called mental fabrications and mental fermentations) condition consciousness. Knowing this, seeing this, is of utmost importance, because it leads to the elimination of all wrong views, 62 in number, from our mental constructions. This is what is called “purification of mind”. That’s why Right View comes first. (The 62 wrong views are explained in detail in Brahmajāla Sutta.)

Although Right View comes first it cannot be cultivated without observing morality (sῑla), meaning that Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood should be practiced to perfection before Right View is attained. Morality always comes first! Morality is where the Path starts. How is that? That is because if morality is not observed, there is regret and remorse and the degree of enthusiasm and effort to develop the Path and experience the fruit of the Path – Nibbana, is small. Because of regret and remorse our minds are disturbed, not free, and – unhappy. When one is unhappy, one cannot attain concentration. When one cannot attain concentration, one cannot understand the very nature of Existence and attain Nibbana!

What then is Right View? In its fullest measure Right View involves a correct understanding of the entire Dhamma. It means not merely aiming at spiritual progress from life to life, but aiming at final and irreversible release from suffering.

For practical purposes Right View is “limited” to knowledge with regard to the Four Noble Truths, the Ten Phenomena, the Law of Karma, the Three Universal Characteristics, and the Five Hindrances.

• The Four Noble Truths are: the Noble Truth of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering and the Noble Truth of the Path leading to Cessation of Suffering;
• The Ten Phenomena are: There is that which is given, offered, sacrificed. There is fruit or result of good or bad actions. There is this world, next world, mother, father, spontaneously reborn beings; contemplatives or brahmans who, faring rightly and practicing rightly, proclaim this world and the next after having directly known and realized it for themselves;
• The ownership of karma and karmic consequences are: We are born, we inherit our karma, and we alone create our karma. The effects of our intentional actions (karma) are ours and ours only. We and only we are the owners of our karma, and no one else should or could be blamed for our misery or happiness. Intention, cetanā is “Intention, I tell you, is karma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, and mind.” Karma is the intention, the urge, the will to act. In fact, intention plays the key role in every action (mental, verbal and bodily) as it forms a decision to act.

“Bhikkhus (Monks), for a person of wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong awareness, wrong concentration, wrong knowledge, and wrong liberation, whatever bodily kamma, verbal kamma, and mental kamma he instigates and undertakes in accordance with that view, and whatever his intention, yearning, inclination, and intentional (volitional) activities, all lead to what is unwished for, undesired, and disagreeable, to harm and suffering. For what reason? Because the view is bad.

…

“Bhikkhus, for a person of right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness, right concentration, right knowledge, and right liberation, whatever bodily kamma, verbal kamma, and mental kamma he instigates and undertakes in accordance with that view, and whatever his intention, yearning, inclination, and intentional activities, all lead to what is wished for, desired, and agreeable, to well-being and happiness. For what reason? Because the view is good.” (Anguttara Nikāya, V, 214);

• The three universal characteristics (tilakkhaṇa) are: (1) impermanence, (2) suffering and (3) non-Self (anattā)’;
• The five hindrances are: (1) the mental hindrance of desire for sensual pleasure (kāmacchanda); (2) the mental hindrance of aversion and ill-will (vyāpāda or byāpāda); (3) the mental hindrance of lethargy and laziness (thῑna–middha); (4) the mental hindrance of restlessness and regret (uddhacca-kukkucca); (5) the mental hindrance of doubt or uncertainty (vicikicchā), especially skeptical doubt about the Buddha’s enlightenment and Buddha’s Dhamma.

Right Motivation or Right Intention. Right Motivation is what keeps us on the Path. It is the mental state (cetasika) that directs the mind towards withdrawal, towards good will and harmlessness; towards giving up that which causes suffering. It is our intention or our willingness to move towards freedom, gaining this freedom, which is the end of suffering. That is what it is all about: freedom from bondage and freedom from all suffering!

“And what, Bhikkhus, is Right Motivation? Motivation of renunciation, motivation of non-ill will, motivation of harmlessness: this is called Right Motivation” (SN II, 1528).

Right Speech. Truth always triumph!

Our speech has an effect on other people and that’s why we should be aware that speech can convey love and hatred, be supportive and encouraging others in their own spiritual journey, or be harmful, deceptive, and false.

Right Speech recommends avoiding lying, false speech, divisive speech, abusive speech, and idle, empty gossip.

Also, before speaking one should consider: is what one is about to say true, helpful, kind (spoken with good-will), pleasant (not abusive), and timely? In other words, paying attention to how we express ourselves verbally is an essential part of Buddhist practice. We should make ourselves able to recognize what kind of speech leads to positive results. We should try to speak only when appropriate, and stop talking about inappropriate topics.

“And what, Bhikkhus, is Right Speech? Abstinence from false speech, abstinence from divisive speech, abstinence from harsh speech, abstinence from idle chatter: this is called Right Speech” (SN II, 1528).

Right Action. Buddha divided Right Action into three parts: refrain from taking life, refrain from stealing and refrain from sexual misconduct. It means not to harm yourself and others. The way to do it is to refrain from:

• taking the life of any being
• taking what is not freely given
• inappropriate sexual conduct
• lying
• divisive speech
• harsh words
• idle talk
• coveting other’s possessions and positions
• resenting the good fortune of others
• holding a closed mind about things one doesn’t fully understand.

“And what, Bhikkhus, is Right Action? Abstinence from the destruction of life, abstinence from taking what is not given, abstinence from sexual misconduct: this is called Right Action” (SN II, 1528).

Right Livelihood. “…One discerns wrong livelihood as wrong livelihood, and right livelihood as right livelihood. This is one’s right view. And what is wrong livelihood? Scheming, persuading, hinting, belittling, and pursuing gain with gain. This is Wrong Livelihood.

“And what, Bhikkhus, is Right Livelihood? Here a noble disciple, having abandoned a wrong mode of livelihood, earns his living by a right livelihood: this is called Right Livelihood“ (SN II, 1529).

Right Effort. “And what, Bhikkhus, is Right Effort? Here, Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu generates desire for the nonarising of unarisen evil unwholesome states; he makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind, and strives. He generates desire for the abandoning of arisen evil unwholesome states.. .. He generates desire for the arising of unarisen wholesome states.. .. He generates desire for the maintenance of arisen wholesome states, for their nondecay, increase, expansion, and fulfilment by development; he makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind, and strives. Tlus is called Right Effort” (SN II, 1529).

Right Awareness. The role of awareness is to keep the mind alert and clearly comprehending what exactly is going on in the present moment, not paying attention to other states. It means to keep the attention focused on the subject as per MahāSatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, one of the most important discourses in which the Buddha gave meditation technique in detail:

“One dwells considering again and again the body, kāya, as just body (not mine, not self, but just as an empty frame, an empty form comprising of cells, comprising of Four Great Elements, Mahābhūta – Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind) alert, clearly comprehending, and aware, putting aside and striving to end this urge, this strong desire for existence in the world and the suffering it brings.

“One dwells considering again and again feeling, vedanā, as just feelings, (not mine, not self, but just as assigned responses and reactions) alert, clearly comprehending, and aware, keeping away this urge, this strong desire for existence in the world and the suffering it brings.

“One dwells considering again and again the mind, citta, as just the mind (not mine, not self, but just as ever changing moods) alert, clearly comprehending, and aware, keeping away this urge, this strong desire for existence in the world and the suffering it brings.

“One dwells considering again and again all phenomena, dhammas, as just the dhammas (not mine, not self, but just as shifting mental states) alert, clearly comprehending, and aware, keeping away this urge, this strong desire for existence in the world and the suffering it brings” (MahāSatipaṭṭhāna Sutta).

In each of these cases, one is directed simply to be aware of the above four dhammas or phenomena as events, as mere appearances, and to let them follow their natural course so as to see the causal relationship between them and the factors conditioning them, accompanying them and leading to their comings and goings. “Simply to be aware” has a single essence, which consists of this alert contemplation of the four dhammas: body, feelings, mind or states of consciousness, and mental objects. Dhammas (mental objects) in turn comprise such dhammas as the five hindrances, the five skandhas (aggregates), the six sense bases (āyatanas), the seven factors or links to enlightenment, and the Four Noble Truths. Thus the practice of the Four Foundations of Awareness (MahāSatipaṭṭhāna Sutta) is identical with Right Awareness as the seventh factor or component of the Noble Eightfold Path.

“And what, Bhikkhus is Right Awareness? Here, Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu dwells contemplating the body in the body (just body, not “I am this body”), ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings (feelings themselves feel, not “I am feeling”), ardent, clearly comprehending, aware, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating mind in mind (mind itself thinks, not “I am thinking”), ardent, clearly comprehending, aware, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating phenomena in phenomena (only dhammas exist, not “I am these dhammas), ardent, clearly comprehending, aware, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. This is called Right Awareness” (SN II, 1529).

Right Concentration. The function of Right Concentration is to Breakthrough!”

“And what, Bhikkhus, is Right Concentration? Here, Bhikkhus, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a Bhikkhu enters and dwells in the first jhana (Skt: dhyana, absorption, meditative state), which is accompanied by thought and examination, with rapture and happiness born of seclusion. With the subsiding of thought and examination, he enters and dwells in the second jhana, which has  internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought and examination, and has rapture and happiness born of concentration. With the fading away as well of rapture, he dwells equanimous and, mindful and clearly comprehending, he experiences happiness with the body; he enters and dwells in the third jhana of which the noble ones declare: ‘He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells happily.’ With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant and includes the purification of awareness by equanimity. This is called Right Concentration” (SN II, 1529).

Once at Savatthi the Buddha said: “Bhikkhus, suppose a spike of rice or a spike of barley were wrongly directed and were pressed upon by the hand or the foot. That it could pierce the hand or the foot and draw blood: this is impossible. For what reason? Because the spike is wrongly directed. So too, Bhikkhus, that a Bhikkhu with a wrongly directed view, with a wrongly directed development of the Path, could pierce ignorance, arouse true knowledge, and realize Nibbana: this is impossible. For what reason? Because his view is wrongly directed.

“Bhikkhus, suppose a spike of rice or a spike of barley were rightly directed and were pressed upon by the hand or the foot. That it could pierce the hand or the foot and draw blood: this is possible. For what reason? Because the spike is rightly directed. So too, Bhikkhus, that a Bhikkhu with a rightly directed view, with a rightly directed development of the Path, could pierce ignorance, arouse true knowledge, and realize Nibbana: this is possible. For what reason? Because his view is rightly directed.

“And how does a Bhikkhu do so? Here, Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu develops right view, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. He develops Right View, Right Motivation, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Awareness, and Right Concentration, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.

“It is in this way, Bhikkhus, that a Bhikkhu with a rightly directed view, with a rightly directed development of the Path, pierces ignorance, arouses true knowledge, and realizes Nibbana. (SN II, 1530).