Why We Should All Follow the Noble Eightfold Path.

Mar 25/26 – Blog #11

The Noble Eightfold Path as defined in the context of Buddhism are the eight things required in a path to liberation. It’s stated that ethical conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom are the essential elements of said path. In today’s society, we strive for perfection, and we aim to be as perfect as the models we look up to everyday. However, each part of the eightfold path has its own significance and can serve a grater purpose in anyone’s life without the dependance on the other parts of the path.

When looking at the essential elements of the eightfold path, wisdom is the one that stands out to me. Wisdom is an intuitive trait that provides useful in almost every walk of life. It is necessary when making moral decisions, giving important advice, or even simply thinking of what to say to someone. It is an important characteristic no matter who you are, but since we are talking about me, I will tell you a little about how it relates to me.

In some capacity, Buddha states that if the eightfold path is not followed in some manner, suffering will occur. This is to say that if we do not live wise and ethical lives, it will lead to suffering. In my own life, I have found that this is an accurate prediction, most of the time. As humans, we can be as ethical and wise as possible, but by no means does this guarantee us salvation, or a happy life. Aside from conformity, there is the usual case of bad luck, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, that may alter the course of following the eightfold path. This is evident in most areas of my life, prevalently so when I do something with good intentions, but it turns out to backfire on me. What I mean to say is that we can do everything in life with good intentions, and try to live as ethically as possible, but not everything goes our way, and that is just a facet of life. Unfortunate, but true as it may be, we must take this into account when following the eightfold path(if that’s what you choose).

Read the full description on The Noble Eightfold Path.

380 words.