by Daniel Whelan

Created on: February 22, 2007   Last Updated: April 02, 2010

The noble eightfold path is not just eight steps for a Buddhist but it is eight parts of a Buddhists life. Each of these eight parts can be sectioned into either:

Wisdom (Right understanding/view, Right intention/ resolve),

Morality (Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood),

Meditation/ mental Training (Right effort,

Right mindfulness, Right meditation/ concentration.

These aspects of the eightfold path can have huge implications on the life of a new Buddhist.

For right understanding, right view, a Buddhist would have to have read and accepted the teachings of the Buddha, this means the Buddhist would have to put aside time to read and study the teachings of the Buddha. The implications of this would be that the Buddhist would have to go to bed later or to make time by giving up an aspect of their previous lives. A Buddhist would have to give up their previous thoughts on many subjects and accept those of the Buddha. For some this could take a lot of time and effort.

The second aspect of the noble eightfold path is right intention/resolve. This would mean not only reading an understanding the teachings of the Buddha, this means putting it into practice into their day to day lives. The impact this would have on a Buddhists daily lie is that they would have to make a serious commitment to make the right decisions for the right reasons for some this could mean giving up on drug addictions and other cravings such as greed, lust and things that would go against the teachings of the Buddha.

The third aspect of the eightfold path and the first in the morality section is Right speech. This would affect a Buddhist in his or her daily lives by meaning they would have to refrain from using foul language or swearing and other obvious things. However they would also have to refrain from harsh words, lies, gossip and idle chatter, as all these can lead to suffering and hurt for someone else. This could mean an entire change of lifestyle or fighting against what has sometimes become a habit. A Buddhist must tell the truth in a nice way that is thoughtful to other people, promote peace and harmony and value silence.

The fourth aspect of the noble eightfold path is right action. This would mean that a Buddhist would have to refrain from wrong bodily behaviour such as killing or harming another living being. To a new Buddhist this would be a difficult thing to apply to his or hers own lives, he or she would have to give up eating meat and become a vegetarian. This would

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