Daily Dharma - The Buddha's Path

A little dharma for the weekend morning, from Tricycle's Daily Dharma.

The Buddha's Path

Suppose we use a traveling metaphor for the universal spiritual quest. The main map the Buddha offered for the trip to happiness and contentment is called the Eightfold Path, but I have often thought it should be called the Eightfold Circle. A path goes from here to there, and the nearer you are to there, the farther you are from here. A path is progressive... on a genuine path you need to start at the beginning and proceed in a linear way until the end. With a circle, you can join in anywhere, and it's the same circle.

When the Buddha taught his path, he said it had a specific number of constituent parts; people could be sure they were going the right way if they saw any one of eight special markers....The order in which the traveler sees the signs doesn't matter. If we look at any sign closely, it becomes apparent that Right Understanding, the suspicion that it is possible to be contented even if we aren't pleased, arouses Right Aspiration to make a lot of Right Effort to develop more Right Understanding.... It's all connected.

- Sylvia Boorstein, It's Easier Than You Think

From Everyday Mind, a Tricycle book edited by Jean Smith

Read this Daily Dharma on tricycle.com

Tags: Daily Dharma, The Buddha's Path, Noble Eightfold Path, Buddhism, Trcycle, Sylvia Boorstein, It's Easier Than You Think