The Noble Eightfold Path

In front of the pagoda gate, the boy stopped and tipped his head back. At the very top of the gate sat a round stone wheel. It was not joined to any cart. It just stood still against the sky.

"Grandma, what is that wheel on top of the pagoda gate? It can't even roll."

Grandma led him closer so he could see it clearly. "Try counting the spokes. The bars from the middle out to the rim."

The boy pointed and counted. One, two, three, and on up to eight.

"Eight spokes," Grandma said. "People call it the Dharma wheel. Dharma means the teaching of the Buddha. The eight spokes are the eight steps of a path. That path is called Bát Chánh Đạo, the Noble Eightfold Path."

"A path that sits on a wheel, Grandma?"

Grandma laughed. "Yes. Because it is a path we walk inside our own hearts, and we walk it all our lives. The Buddha said that every life has its times of suffering, but there is a way out. That way is not eight rules to learn by heart. It is eight habits of living, practiced a little every day."

She sat down on the step and pulled him down beside her. "People gather these eight steps into three groups, to make them easy to remember. The first group trains the mind to see clearly. The second trains our actions to be upright. The third trains the heart to be calm. I will tell them one by one."

She pointed up at the first two spokes. "The first group is called wisdom, which means clear understanding. It has two steps. Step one is Right View, which means seeing things truly. Say we break a bowl. Seeing truly means admitting that our hand slipped, instead of blaming the cat. Step two is Right Thought, which means thinking kindly. When we are angry with a friend, we don't plan how to get back at him. We stop and wonder whether something sad has happened to him."

The boy nodded slowly. "See truly, think kindly. I've got it."

"Good boy. Now the second group, called virtue, which means living straight and honest. This group has three steps, and they are about what we do with the people around us." She pointed to the next three spokes.

"Step three is Right Speech, which means speaking truthfully. Think of a time when the whole class ganged up to mock one child. We don't join in and talk behind that child's back. We don't make up stories just for fun, either. Step four is Right Action, which means doing what is right. If someone drops money, we pick it up and give it back. We never take anything that isn't ours. Step five is Right Livelihood, which means earning a living kindly. When we grow up, we choose work that harms no one. Growing rice, teaching, healing the sick, building tables and chairs. Any work that feeds us without bringing misery to anyone is good work."

"So selling something poisonous to people is not allowed, Grandma?"

"That's right. Staying away from that is what earning a living kindly means."

She pointed to the last three spokes. "The third group is called concentration, which means keeping the heart calm. It has three steps too. Step six is Right Effort, which means keeping at it steadily. It's like handwriting practice. We don't work hard for one day and then give up. We practice a little every day, nice and steady. Step seven is Right Mindfulness, which means paying attention to what we are doing. When we eat, we know we are eating. When we walk, we know we are walking. We don't let our thoughts run off. Step eight is Right Concentration, which means letting the heart settle deep. It's like water left alone for a while. It settles clear, and we can see all the way to the bottom."

The boy looked back up at the wheel, then turned to his grandmother. "Eight whole steps. That's so many, Grandma."

She stroked his hair. "That's all right. Nobody has to do them all in one day. Remember that thorn I pulled out for you a while back. I once said the Buddha was like a good doctor. He said plainly that life has suffering. He showed why the suffering comes. Then he promised that it can be drawn out. These eight steps are the medicine he gave, to draw that suffering out. The four truths he taught are called the Four Noble Truths. The last of those four truths, the one that shows the way, is this very path of eight steps."

She went on, her voice warm. "So there is no need to rattle off all eight names. Practice just one step a day. Today, tell one truth that is hard to say. Tomorrow, pay closer attention while doing homework. The day after, give a friend your seat. Keep going like that, and the path will appear on its own, right under our feet."

"Are these steps very hard, Grandma?"

"Some are easy and some are hard. But the wonderful thing is that the eight steps lean on one another. Only when we see truly can we think kindly. Only when we think kindly can we speak truthfully. Speaking truthfully and doing right make the heart light. When the heart is light, we can sit still and calm. It's like these eight spokes. If one is missing, the wheel won't roll smoothly."

Grandma stood up, brushed off her clothes, and led him through the gate. Before stepping into the pagoda courtyard, the boy turned back for one more look at the stone wheel.

This time he didn't see a decoration on a gate. He saw a map. Eight spokes, eight steps, one whole, round path to walk for a lifetime. And he saw that he had just set his small foot on the very first step.