Eightfold Path Study
SETTING FORTH ON THE JOURNEY
Why study the Eightfold Path?
“Practically the whole teaching of the Buddha, to which he devoted himself during 45 years, deals in some way or other with this path. He explained it in different ways and in different words to different people, according to the stage of their development and their capacity to understand and follow him. But the essence of those many thousand discourses scattered in the Buddhist scriptures is found in the noble eightfold path.” ~ {excerpted from The Noble Eightfold Path, Tricycle}.
As the Zen teacher, Peg Syverson, states - “The Eightfold Path illuminates the way for healthy communities and harmonious societies. It can be a framework for shared inquiry and a way to monitor healthy development.” The Buddha’s Fourth Noble Truth declares that there is a way to end suffering and that way is the Eightfold Path.
The Spanish poet, Antonio Machado, states - “Traveler, there is no path, The path is made by walking…” While the elements of the Eightfold Path were clearly described by the Buddha, the path only exists for each one of us if it is walked, if it is lived out in our daily lives. This study of the Eightfold Path will be an exploration of what it looks like to live in accordance with the Dharma. This study will help to reveal the ways in which every moment of our lives, every action and each choice point, is a place of practice, and in walking the path together, we will better understand how we can live rightly, experience wholeness, and move towards the end of suffering and the restoration of joy.
What are the learning objectives of the course?
The spirit of the course will be infused with a strong heart-centered practice-orientation for everyday life. In this spirit, participants will engage in a full range of feeling, sensing, relating, connecting, discussing, thinking, critical reflection, and action in order to:
Attain perspective on an essential teaching within the Zen tradition and how walking the Eightfold Path may transform individuals, the community, and the world.
Participate in movement toward individual and collective wholeness.
Deepen inquiry into patterns, habits, and activity of daily life.
To bring the teaching of the Buddha to life in our daily life
Explore how the Eightfold Path as the embodiment of our Buddhist practice can lead us toward more ethical, wholesome, wise, compassionate, and connective conduct.
With the Eightfold Path as a mirror, we will examine patterns in our lives, the habits and conditioning that push and pull us and can keep us caught in a dream of self and move our lives into greater alignment with the Dharma.
Formulate your own personalized expression of practice and ethical discernment through the understanding of the Eightfold Path. (This can naturally take different shapes through continued practice).
Discover a regular daily practice rhythm that supports you, your relationships, your life, and your offering to the world. (This includes our foundational practice of zazen. This can also be a part of our discussion and we can offer assistance and further resources.)
Enrich our experience of one another as Sangha.
Investigate, engage, study, reflect, and practice meeting each fold/aspect of the Eightfold Path with these questions:
What is clarified?
What is freed/loosened?
What is being expressed?
What is being embraced?
What is being embodied?
Recorded Teachings from Our Eightfold Path Study (2024)
Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path -
A Conversation with Liên Shutt and Flint Sparks
Our Launch session with a conversation between Liên Shutt and Flint Sparks on the Eightfold Path covering the Four Noble Truths and Right View.
Align the Heart-Mind's Compass & Know Your Motivation (Right Intention) - Suzanne Kilkus
A Teaching on the Eightfold Path element of Right Intention offered by Suzanne Kilkus, followed by Q&A.
Communicate Skillfully & Connect With Compassion (Right Speech) - Joel Barna
A teaching on the Eightfold Path element of Right Speech offered by Joel Barna, followed by Q&A
Mind Your Step & Enact Wholeness (Right Action) - Ryan Van Wyk
A teaching on the Eightfold Path element of Right Action offered by Ryan Van Wyk.
Do Good Work & Skillfully Support the Whole of Life (Right Livelihood) - Trudy Johnston
A teaching on the Eightfold Path element of Right Livelihood offered by Trudy Johnston.
Activate "Just Right" Energy & Find Rest Within Continuous Practice (Right Effort) - Josh Gifford
A teaching on the Eightfold Path element of Right Effort offered by Josh Gifford.
Remember Attention & Expand to Embrace it All (Right Mindfulness) - Kim Neuschel
A teaching on the Eightfold Path element of Right Mindfulness offered by Kim Neuschel.
Ground in Awareness & Walk While the Heart-Mind Sits (Right Concentration)
- Koshin Paley Ellison
A teaching on the Eightfold Path element of Right Concentration offered by Koshin Paley Ellison.