Introduction
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”
– Proverbs 4:23
“When a thing disturbs the peace of your heart, give it up.”
– Muhammad
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”
– Buddha
“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Through fighting in PMO War VI and falling on Day 31, I have experienced first-hand how critical willpower and discipline are for a young recruit trying to realize freedom from addiction. That said, I also see that the end goal cannot be abstinence for 49 or 90 days. I don’t even think abstinence forever can be the goal for myself, as abstinence implies giving up something which someone desires. I may be wrong, but I do not believe the end goal should leave us with a daily battle against desire. Thus, I see freedom from desire and escapism as the end goal of No PMO.
Luckily, such a path exists and has been tried and tested since the time of the Buddha around 500 B.C. It is called The Noble Eightfold Path, but before we jump into it I’d like to first cover a couple other teachings upon which the Eightfold Path follows.
Note: The below is not a complete teaching of the concepts. It is my understanding of them, and hopefully people can help me improve it if any inconsistencies are found.
Foundational Truths
The teachings here themselves are very simple and logical. There are certain claims that are understood to be fundamental truths for how reality works. The first set of such truths are the Three Universal Truths, followed by the Four Noble Truths.
The Three Universal Truths
The Three Universal Truths essentially describe reality, how it relates to us, and how we perceive it.
- All forms are impermanent and changing
- Impermanence leads to suffering, making life seem imperfect
- The self is both impersonal and unchanging
The Four Noble Truths
The Four Noble Truths follow the pattern of a doctor’s visit – diagnosis of the illness, identification of the cause, prognosis for recovery, and the cure.
- All life involves suffering (The Truth of Suffering)
- Suffering is caused by desire and attachment (The Truth of the Cause)
- Desire and attachment can be overcome (The Truth of Cessation)
- The way to overcome them is the Eightfold Path (The Truth of the Path)
The Noble Eightfold Path
1. Right View
- Goal is to ”see things are they truly are”, without illusion or alteration.
- Two kinds of ways to cultivate:
- Knowing through direct experience
- Knowing through teachings of others (study)
- In both cases, the ultimate goal is to meditate and confirm our knowledge, transforming it into knowing through direct experience. We never accept teachings without first confirming them ourselves.
- Mantra: “I seek nothing more, nothing less than to see things as they truly are.”
- Exercise: When you find yourself craving or averse to something, ask yourself, “How would my mother view this? How would a dog view it? How might an enlightened person view it?” Then, when you see from their view, notice the difference and ask yourself which view is closer to the true nature of that thing?
2. Right Intention
- Goal is to remove feelings of desire/greed (craving) and hatred/anger (aversion)
- To remove desire and greed, cultivate selfless renunciation or detachment
- To remove hatred and ill-will, cultivate kindness, compassion, and acceptance
- Mantra: “I accept all experience life brings my way without clinging or pushing away.”
- Exercise 1: Take a cold shower and repeat the above mantra to yourself. Allow yourself to be calm and at peace in the cold water.
- Exercise 2: Next time someone hurts you and you are unable or unwilling to remove yourself from the situation, think to yourself, “At least they did not [insert something worse]. How compassionate of them!”
- Exercise 3: Think of someone you love and sit while meditating and tell yourself, “I wish happiness for this person.” Let yourself be filled with the actual loving feeling. Then think of someone whom you feel neutral towards and repeat the statement. Then imagine someone who wishes you harm and tell yourself, “I wish happiness for this person, for if they were truly happy, they would have no reason to hurt me.”
3. Right Speech
- Goal is help yourself and others along the path by speaking and writing only wholesome words
- Based on the principle of equality and reciprocity (e.g. The Golden Rule)
- Four kinds of unwholesome speech to abstain from:
- False Speech (lying and deceit)
- Slanderous Speech (hurtful words)
- Harsh speech (offensive words)
- Idle speech (gossip)
- Mantra: “I use my words to spread love and compassion unconditionally to all beings”
- Exercise: Watch the words you are saying to others and see if you notice any unwholesome speech. If you notice something, such as hurtful words, try to separate the intention (what you are trying to accomplish) from the words (the way it is conveyed). Then try to find another way to accomplish the same thing using positive/wholesome words.
4. Right Action
- Goal is to not allow unwholesome thoughts into one’s actions
- Wholesome actions respect life, property, and personal relationships
- Three kinds of activities to abstain from:
- Murder of sentient beings (Respect for Life)
- Stealing (Respect for Property)
- Adultery or sexual misconduct (Respect for Relationships)
- Mantra: “All unwholesome thoughts stop at the door of my mind and find no path to action.”
5. Right Livelihood
- Goal is to cultivate inner peace, stability, and security by not spreading suffering
- Five kinds of livelihood to avoid:
- Dealing in animals for slaughter
- Dealing in exploitation (slavery, loan-sharking, prostitution, etc)
- Dealing in weapons
- Dealing in poisons
- Dealing in intoxicants (drugs, alcohol)
- Mantra: “I work for the ultimate good of all sentient beings.”
6. Right Effort
- Goal is to maintain a positive and enthusiastic attitude at all times in doing our undertakings
- Strive for the Middle Path - don’t work too much, don’t work too little
- Ensure at all times that you are well-rested, well-nourished, physically fit through regular exercise, and peaceful inside through meditation
- Mantra: “Not too much, not too little, but always I do things with a pure and joyful heart.”
- Exercise: Create a daily routine for yourself, mapping out when you will do what wholesome activities, such as sleep, meditation, exercise, and eating nourishing foods.
7. Right Mindfulness
- Goal is to cultivate an ever-present awareness of the present moment
- Practice includes four particular applications/focuses:
- Body awareness - awareness of one’s physical body, its position, and its sensations
- Feeling awareness - awareness of one’s emotional state, pleasant or otherwise
- Thought awareness - awareness of one’s thoughts
- Form awareness - awareness of a focus object, such as a mandala
- Mantra: “I am content just as I am, here and now.”
- Exercise: Meditate for 10 minutes, placing your awareness on one of the four above focuses.
8. Right Concentration
- Goal is to strive for intensity and single-pointedness of mind (samadhi)
- When one’s attention strays, gently return it to the focus object without judgment
- This trains you to maintain focus on a single object or task, critical for not straying from your decided path of freedom from suffering.
- Mantra: “With unwavering concentration, I focus on the goal.”