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Eightfold Path: Right Consideration (3 of 3)

So, my friends, it is the task today to continue with the Eightfold Path, and the topic is quite topical for our times.

The first two factors of the Eightfold Path are usually considered to be wisdom factors. Some people translate the Pali word paññā^[1] as discernment—the ability to discern, to see clearly what is going on here. With wisdom comes action, and the next part of the Eightfold Path is called sīla^[2], usually translated into English as ethics or virtue. But the word sīla literally means conduct, and it is usually understood in this context to mean virtuous conduct. Wisdom, the first two factors of the path, prepares us for conduct: how we act, and the actions we take in the world.

There are three kinds of actions that Buddhism emphasizes: actions of the body, of speech, and of the mind. The wisdom factors encourage us to begin—maybe in small baby steps at first—to take responsibility. We avoid actions which are unwholesome or unhealthy, and choose those which are healthy. We are not to force ourselves, overlay something on top of ourselves, pretend, or live under heavy obligation. If the world begins with us, then it begins by us looking at what is here for us and really getting to know what is here before we act.

To say it differently: to be mindful is the first act. Maybe we can allow the world to begin with each act of mindfulness—this simple knowing, simply recognizing what is here.

Of course, there are going to be all kinds of things we do which are unwholesome or unhelpful—getting caught up in anger, hostility, greed, and delusion. As our mindfulness gets strong, we learn to see that clearly without shame or conflict. We allow it to be there, only in a certain kind of way, just sitting in our awareness. Then, in seeing clearly, we have the wherewithal to say, "Nope, I don't have to get involved with that. That is there, that has arisen, I've had those thoughts, but I don't have to invest in those, believe in them, or go along with them." That can be done peacefully. It can be done without conflict, hostility, or shame. Just, "No."

Right Consideration and Freedom

We can choose what is wholesome, and maybe take some reflection, some consideration, to discover what is wholesome. We learn to discover it in a way that has integrity, not doing it simply because it's a policy we feel we should follow. This is the phenomenal benefit of meditating: to discover a way of being where there is "response-ability," but without the heavy burden of responsibility carried with a sense of obligation.

Where the Eightfold Path is going, what it is really about as a goal and as a beginning, is freedom—the heart's release from all its suffering and constriction. As I have been saying, there are two versions of the Eightfold Path: the version that takes us to freedom, and the version that arises from our freedom.

On the way to freedom, we learn to pay attention to all these different factors. The first factor is to deeply appreciate that our actions have consequences. As we begin to discover freedom, we begin to have more and more freedom in choosing how to create our world—the world that flows out of us. We can choose that which is wholesome, but sometimes that takes some consideration. It takes reflection and discernment about what is helpful, wholesome, and good here.

This is the second factor of the Eightfold Path: Right Consideration^[3]. Whatever we do, we carry these considerations and concerns as a part of figuring out what to do. One consideration is to avoid addiction to sensual pleasure, to avoid being caught in the grip of that. We also avoid ill will, and we avoid cruelty, which is sometimes translated as harmfulness—doing harmful things. Instead, we do skillful, wholesome things. That is appropriate consideration.

The Positive Fruits of Renunciation

There are also positive sides to this. I think of this renunciation of sensual pleasure as a life of a blessed simplicity. It is a beautiful quality of simplicity of being that doesn't need sensual pleasure for satisfaction, happiness, joy, or a sense of being alive and connected. There is a deep sense of blessed simplicity that is a kind of phenomenal wealth. Non-ill will is kindness, care, and loving-kindness. To act with friendliness is skillful and wholesome. And the idea of non-harm or non-cruelty encompasses compassion and care for the world.

On the way to freedom, we understand that caring for the world—this kindness, friendliness, and compassion—really sets up the conditions for freedom. It sets up the conditions for growth in the Dharma^[4]. It nourishes and supports us, and it is meant to nourish the world.

To care for our society is to avoid sensual addictions. To not be involved with addictions to sex, which causes so much suffering in our society, or to be caught up in the addictions of alcohol, which causes widespread suffering in families for generations. To care for our society is to be kind, friendly, and compassionate. Right Consideration is integrally connected to the actions that we set in motion in the world. The next set of factors on the Eightfold Path have to do entirely with action, and Right Consideration sets the stage for the quality of those actions.

We are given consideration: What do we want to infuse our actions with? What do we want to flower and flow from our actions? What do we want the fruit of our actions to be?

The fruits, results, and consequences of our actions make a world of difference if we avoid the unwholesome and do the wholesome, especially in our social actions. So we practice kindness, friendliness, loving-kindness, compassion, and care. I love the word care because of its dual meanings. It means to have a kind regard or concern about something—to appreciate it and value it. The other meaning is to tend to, to fix, to repair, to heal, or to do something supportive. I care for my family, and therefore I care for them; I do things for them. I care for this world.

Let the World Begin With You

The question for you is: how is it that something wonderful like blessed simplicity, friendliness, compassion, and care can arise out of your freedom and tenderness? Out of a place of being non-conflictive? When you settle deeply—perhaps coming out of meditation, a walk in nature, or a time when you really feel at home, at peace, and centered—how is it that these beautiful qualities flow from our inner non-conflict and freedom?

If you have some sense that this is possible, then even when you don't feel your freedom, maybe you can discover a quality of freedom by acting with kindness, compassion, care, and simplicity. To consider, act, and be this way can also be a discovery of freedom.

It is important that we don't do it as an obligation, forcing ourselves and gritting our teeth. Instead, we ask: what do we have to let go of? What do we have to release? How do we open up so that, in a genuine way, we can have blessed simplicity and friendliness for all people, and have compassion and care for all people in this world?

How can we be free from looking at the wider world and expecting it to be different, to behave well, or to provide its own answer to the ills of our society? Why give that authority away? Of course, we can wish and work for that, but let the world begin with you. Let your goodness—what you most strongly believe are the best, nourishing, and wholesome parts of who you are—act in ways that bring forth the best in other people and out into the world. Let your wholesomeness and your freedom be the beginning, every day, for a better world that spreads from you.

Right Consideration, the second factor of the Eightfold Path, is to think deeply and considerately about what is wholesome and unwholesome, and to act in ways that are beneficial. This sets the foundation and brings us to the next steps of the Eightfold Path, which all have to do with action and how we affect the world around us. This path of Dharma is intimately and integrally connected to making a better world by being in the world in a particular way.

That is why at the end of the meditation, I said—perhaps somewhat challengingly or heuristically as a teaching point—that meditation is the preparation for the practice. The practice begins as we leave our meditation and are out in the world.

Thank you. May you take very good care of yourself today and this week in all kinds of ways. If you have this practice, you will find your way. It might take a while, but you will find your way. Thank you.