A contemplative path

The goal of the aryan eightfold and tenfold path is to get us to nirvana.  In this sense the path is a contemplative path with the goal of nirvana.  It should not be thought of as something like the Ten Commandments.  

This aryan path begins with right view.  Right view leads the way which is a supermundane (lokuttara) view.  A term such as right speech, for example, doesn’t refer to worldly speech but, instead, to esoteric speech which is transcendent or unuttered vâc (speech) which can only be properly understood if there is right aspiration or intention which is transcendent (samkalpa/sankappa can mean also imagination or thought as in right thinking).  Before right aspiration there has to be right view.  There is a sequence of steps the adept must take to reach nirvana. They can be seen here in the tenfold path beginning with right view. 

“As to this, monks, right view comes first.  And how, monks, does right view come first? From right view proceeds right aspiration, from right aspiration proceeds right speech, from right speech proceeds right action, from right action proceeds right livelihood, from right livelihood proceeds right effort, from right effort proceeds right mindfulness, from right mindfulness proceeds right concentration, from right concentration proceeds right gnosis, from right gnosis proceeds right liberation” (M. iii. 75–76).

Without supermundane right view nothing else follows—certainly not right liberation or nirvana which is what the path is all about.  The path without right view becomes a path of error leading to samsara. 

 

Comments

[Jure]

Tozen, don't let them trolls rustle your jimmies. That's a Wittgenstein quote! (I know that thanks to Google and not my useless Univ. degree.)

[minx]

My master told me:

"It seems to me that, in every culture, I come across a chapter headed Wisdom. And then I know exactly what is going to follow: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

Nice try to copycat my postings. The thing though is that your poor attempt to copycat and heckle what has been presented in the past for the good of the many by this poor attempt, is creating bad karma for you friend. I assume that the negative vasana you present here is just the tip of an iceberg that is keeping your spirit down in the mud of its own spiritual inadequacy, when it should be soaring beyond the shackles of the skandhas.

You seem to have issues. I kindly ask you to keep them to yourself and deal with them there.

[minx]

My master told me:

"It seems to me that, in every culture, I come across a chapter headed Wisdom. And then I know exactly what is going to follow: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

[minx]

Haven´t seen such a short and yet apt exposition on the tenfold path in a very long time. Thank you.