Berig     Created on Thursday, 19 January 2006 16:51  
  The Eightfold Path (Part 2)  
 
5. Right Livelihood
Often when one is walking the path to inner peace, there are many forks in the road.  There may be no turning back, but you can reevaluate your lifestyle and work you way to the path you wish to be following.  Sufferings radiates from both not being able to have the luxuries you want, but also when you lose them.  Living the bare minimum of life is not healthy either, but there is a margin in between called the middle way.  To truly be humble, you must work for everything you earn; never flaunt or brag your accomplishments.  There will be many opportunities to take advantage of people; however, you should instead tell them the error of their dealings to help protect them.

6. Right Effort
Effort is the deciding factor in the progression of your path.  Your effort must be disciplined and diligent to preserve and carve the path that you follow as the path to inner peace is long with many distractions.  Without having Right Effort to follow through with your thoughts, your actions with not accomplish what you intended.  By using Right Effort, you know how much energy to focus, and where and when to apply it.  When you do not apply enough effort, you will realize that laziness can be a step back instead of a smaller forward.  Although suffering habits are a strong part of your life when you begin the path to inner peace, you can learn to use the Right Effort to keep your pace steady.

7. Right Mindfulness
Being mindful will help you realize and understand the reasons why you suffer.   By paying attention to your bodily health, you will be able to concentrate easier on your inner being.  Observing your feelings by studying your mental highs and lows of motivation and emotion, you can predict the change of your mental state and anticipate it.  By deducing the reasons you feel attached to things, you can more easily let go of old suffering habits.  Your thoughts make up the point of reference on your path to inner peace, and help you move forward.  By realizing and observing Right Mindfulness, you can recognize the five hindrances: sensual desire, ill-will, laziness, anxiety, and doubt.  By realizing and understanding the nature of these hindrances, you will learn how to overcome them.  These four frames of reference and help you unlock the secrets that are within your heart which brings you closer to inner peace.

8. Concentration
The path to inner peace is a difficult one, however with the Right Concentration you will always be able to pick yourself back up when you trip, and continue on forward.  It means recognizing when and why you may have fallen, and if you are about to fall.  You must continue upon the path without hesitation or doubt.  You mind is filled with new information everyday which can be the source of many distractions.  You must focus on the things that matter most by filtering out hindrances.  You must focus on things have significance, and block out distractions.  Having Right Concentration means you will observe the Eightfold path in it's entirety constantly double checking each point it tries to make to rid you of your suffering.  This is the path to Nirvana.

-Vexiplex
-Berig