AN IDEAL PRACTIONER OF BUDDHISM

The Buddha discovered through personal experience the Middle Path ‘which gives vision and knowledge, which leads to Calm, Insight, Enlightenment, Nibbāṇa'. This Middle Path is generally referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path, because it is composed of eight categories or divisions: namely, 1. Right Understanding (Sammādiṭṭhi) 2. Right Thought (Sammāsaṅkappa) 3. Right Speech (Sammāvācā) 4. Right Action (Sammākammanta) 5. Right Livelihood (Sammāājīva) 6. Right Effort (Sammāvāyāma) 7. Right Mindfulness (Sammā sati) 8. Right Concentration (Sammāsamādhi). The teaching of the Buddha is meant not only for monks in monasteries, but also for ordinary men and women living at home with their families. The Noble Eightfold Path, which is the Buddhist way of life, is meant for all, without distinction of any kind. The Buddha taught not to do any evil, to do good and to purify one's mind, this is the teaching of all Buddhas.Hetaught four Brahamvihāra: Mettā- extending unlimited, universal love and good-will to all living beings without any kind of discrimination just as a mother loves her only child, Karuṇā- compassion for all living beings who are suffering, in trouble and affliction, Muditāsympathetic joy in others' success, welfare and happiness, and Uppekhā- equanimity in all vicissitudes of life. These teachings are the ways to become an ideal practitioner of the Buddha.