The Noble Eightfold Way To Face Suffering According To Buddhism

The noble eightfold path tells of a revelation enunciated by the Buddha himself after two months of meditating in solitude. She explains that life goes hand in hand with suffering.

However, this always has a cause that can be dealt with and alleviated in order to transcend and move forward in peace. How to achieve this requires that we put into practice eight very specific rules.

If there is one thing that Buddhism and psychology have in common, it is their purpose to alleviate suffering. Especially if we delve into many of their practices, approaches and strategies, we will see how these types of traditions that are situated between spirituality, philosophy and religion served as inspiration for many of the techniques that modern psychology uses.

Dr. Alan Wallace of the University of San Diego has published an interesting study in the journal American Psychological Association , in which he delves into the great benefits of bringing the two disciplines together.

Thus, by building bridges between Buddhism and psychology, we promote mental balance and more positive emotional health. This is, without a doubt, what can be seen in many clinics and in everyday psychological practice.

Thus, theories as useful as the noble eightfold path enunciated by Siddharta Gautama facilitate, for example, the deepening of several aspects related to suffering. It is a principle of personal growth, overcoming and enlightening ourselves, which can be of great help. 

What does the noble eightfold path consist of?

The noble eightfold path is part of what are known as the four noble truths of suffering. After these two months of complete isolation and meditation, Buddha returned with the assurance that he had attained enlightenment.

First, to have access to such knowledge, he had to understand and overcome suffering. This veil so subtle, but always present between us, is possibly our eternal source of discomfort and unhappiness.

In this way, Buddha based a good part of the practice of his philosophy on transmitting to others the 4 truths of suffering. According to this line of thought, once we can face the root of these inner upheavals, we will be able to heal and attain enlightenment through the noble eightfold path: eight strategies to understand and practice daily.

Therefore, to begin this path of healing, the first step is to go deeper into the four truths of suffering.

What do the four truths of suffering tell us?

Let’s look at them:

• All existence is suffering. As Sutra Benarés says (the first speech or teaching recorded by Buddha), birth is suffering, old age is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering, living with the undesirable is suffering, separating from the desirable is suffering, not getting what you want is suffering, etc. Life often has this flavor and this eternal feeling. Accepting and understanding this is the first step towards our growth process.

• The origin of suffering is desire. In our daily lives, we live with many “poisons”, harmful dimensions that make the seed of pain grow. The poisons Buddha referred to are attachment, hatred, envy, feeling of want, ignorance, etc.
• Suffering can be extinguished. The third truth says that we can all erase the pain by treating the cause.
• To extinguish the cause of suffering, one must practice the noble eightfold path. As we said at the beginning of the article, our discomfort can disappear. Our worries and unhappiness can disappear whenever we put into practice this principle enunciated by Buddha which requires applying 8 principles in our daily lives.

The inner journey of the noble eightfold path

The eight parts of the path to liberation are grouped into three pillars of Buddhist practice itself. Thus, and in some way, they are also quite related to many other of these psychological perspectives based on humanism or positive approaches.

Thus, the three dimensions that structure the noble eightfold path are correct behavior, mental discipline, and wisdom. 

Buddha spoke of this practice in all his speeches. He considered it essential to his philosophy, a legacy to be passed on to those closest to us and to humanity itself. Let us see, therefore, what this path consists of.

• The right understanding. We must understand that everything in life is fleeting and perishable. Things come and go, they have their course, their beginning and their end.
• Right thinking. Thoughts determine the quality of our life. If we strive to guide our thoughts always on the margins of hope, liberation, balance and the positive, we will be able to dissuade suffering.
• Correct speech, direct word. In the noble eightfold path, the need to make use of the truth is emphasized, to address others without falsehood. It is not necessary to talk the talk or fall into empty speeches, full of criticism or contempt.

• Right action. We must act without letting go of emotions. Kindness brings balance. Respect and humility bring inner peace (less suffering).
• Right livelihoods. Your profession, your behavior, your greatest actions, or the smallest of them, must always be oriented towards doing good.
• Right effort. In this world, nothing is achieved without effort. Only when we invest all our energies and hopes in something do we feel fulfilled, complete and lucky.
• The right attention. We must control the mind itself, train it in attention, in the gaze we choose to focus on without losing its objective and its humility.
• Correct concentration. The last step of the noble eightfold path makes reference, of course, to meditation. A calm mind alleviates worries and erases sufferings. It is a way of freeing ourselves and achieving enlightenment.

In conclusion, as we can see, this theory, lesson or principle of spiritual growth is highly inspiring. Taking it as a reference or as an exercise in reflection can be very useful to improve our quality of life. Worth trying!