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Eightfold Path: Right Action (1 of 3)

So here we are, continuing with the Eightfold Path, and today we are focusing on the fourth factor, which is Right Action. Introducing this factor is very important because action means how we act in the world and what we do. Action is central to the Buddha's teachings. The Buddha was said to be a teacher of action, emphasizing that how we act and what we do is highly consequential. To be the caretakers of our actions—to act wisely and considerately—is a really important part of the path. The fact that the Buddha considers what we do with the mind to be an action as well means there is really no way of getting around action.

So, how do we act? What activities are we involved in—in body, speech, and mind—that are for our benefit, that bring peace and well-being?

The Trajectory of the Path

The next few talks will usually have to do with the precepts, and I'll say more about that in a few minutes. But first, I want to talk about the trajectory and the unfolding of the Eightfold Path. There is a logic, a process, a kind of psychophysical flow that is set in motion with Right View. We're following along a stream, and to understand that logic or flow is helpful.

At the very heart of what makes the Buddha's teaching different is this freedom from suffering. That is the enterprise; that is the orientation by which everything is understood. If a person wants to be free of suffering, then it is helpful to have Right View, the right understanding.

There are two types of Right View: the wisdom side and the liberation view. Both of them lead in the same direction. The wisdom side is often what we acquire from books and teachers. It's an understanding we have to believe to some degree. Buddhism doesn't require you to believe in rebirth, heavens, and supernatural things, but it does require a provisional belief that our actions make a difference. Our actions set the conditions in place for how things will unfold for us. If we want to be the custodians of our well-being, we have to care for our actions and what we do.

There are actions which are wholesome and helpful, and those which are unwholesome and not helpful. We choose the ones that are wholesome and helpful. The rest of the Eightfold Path is a description of the healthy actions to be engaged in.

Right Consideration and Liberation

If we are just learning from the Buddha, we go on to the next factor, Right Consideration (Right Intention). It is helpful to consider things from the point of view of not getting caught in sensual addiction—finding a simplicity of being, a renunciation. It's good to not be involved in ill will, and the corollary of that is goodwill: to live with friendliness and kindness. It is healthy and wholesome to live harmlessly, to not cause harm, and the corollary of that is to live a compassionate and caring life. This is the wisdom side. We take on these practices and learn from the Buddha what is wholesome and helpful.

The liberation side involves practicing deeply enough to begin understanding that there is freedom. First, the heart and mind can be free of attachments, clinging, and the causes of suffering. When the heart sings, completely opens, and soars like a free bird in the sky, we truly experience that freedom.

When we have a clear, embodied, and direct experience of freedom, there is a whole different reference point for the Eightfold Path. Now, there is a different understanding of what's possible. The reason not to be caught up in sensual desires, ill will, or causing harm (hiṃsā^[1], or cruelty, as it is sometimes called) is because it diminishes our freedom. We lose our freedom in being involved in addictive, compulsive behaviors. The heart closes down; it doesn't sing or fly in those activities.

Feeling how it causes suffering for ourselves to be involved in sensual addictions, ill will, and cruelty, the movement is to start finding out how to not do that—how to pick up and be involved in other things. Sometimes, the movements to cause harm are so deep inside of us. We don't want to cause more harm by being critical of ourselves for doing so, but we want to learn how to step away and look at our conditioning with more freedom, openness, compassion, and care, so we're not picking it up, fueling it, and continuing it.

When you have some experience of freedom on the liberation path, that freedom is brought to bear on the unhealthy motivations we might have. We hold ourselves free from them and choose not to get involved. We see that Right Consideration, the second factor, is intimately connected to not causing harm to ourselves and others.

The Precepts and Right Action

With that consideration as a reference point, it naturally affects how we speak. We want to be careful with our speech and speak in kind, supportive, truthful ways. Then we come to our actions: what we actually do and how we behave with our bodies in the world.

Here, the Buddha gave descriptions and definitions of what Right Action is. These are very important for the monastic community because they relate to the four most serious rules for Buddhist monastics^[2]. These rules are so serious that if a monastic violates any of the first four, they are automatically no longer a monastic and can never become a monastic again. For a monastic, they are: not to kill in any kind of way, not to steal or take what is not given, not to be involved in any kind of sexual behavior (they are celibate), and not to lie.

For laypeople, three of the precepts are the same: not to kill, not to take what is not given, and not to lie. However, the third precept for laypeople is not to engage in sexual misconduct, as opposed to requiring celibacy.

Actually, lying has already been covered by the third path factor, Right Speech. So the Buddha limits his definition of Right Action to three things: not killing, not stealing, and avoiding sexual misconduct (or maintaining celibacy for monastics).

What's interesting here is that the fifth precept—not engaging in intoxication from drugs or alcohol—is not mentioned in the Eightfold Path whatsoever. That's because alcohol and drugs belong to a different category. Being involved with them can cause a lot of harm, but not necessarily so. If the main thrust of the path is truly living a harmless life, the emphasis is placed heavily on these close-in areas of our lives that are 100% related to causing harm, and learning to avoid doing that.

The First Precept: Not Killing

The first element of Right Action is not to kill. The Pali expression for this^[3] means more than just "not to kill breathing beings"; it also implies not harming and not striking. You wouldn't even punch someone out. You don't want to cause any injury to anyone, and it's not just people, but anything that breathes.

How thoroughly do we want to live our lives in that level of harmlessness? Do we kill animals, birds, insects, and pests? How complete do we want to be? Buddhist monastics are supposed to be so careful that they don't want to kill anything in the ground. They're actually not allowed to do any gardening or farming because putting a spade into the ground might kill worms and things in the soil. It's not so much that they aren't supposed to kill plants, but rather they aren't supposed to kill the animals that breathe in the soil.

How thoroughly do we want to take this precept of not killing? That is a very personal answer that everyone has to grapple with. For laypeople, it often becomes a question of where the least harm lies. For example, if we have termites eating our home, where is the least harm? Is the least harm in killing the termites, or in letting the termites eat the house and destroy everything?

For laypeople, there's a much more complex consideration regarding trade-offs. It's challenging to navigate this, but it seems to be an inherent part of lay human life. The monastic life allows for a thorough, absolute dedication to non-harming, but for laypeople, how do we find the balance? How do we find the right way to engage and live this life?

Finding the Balance

I don't have definitive answers for that. When people come to me and ask, "What about the insects? What about the gophers in my garden? I need food for my family," I am reluctant to answer for them and dictate what they should do. But I love the fact that they're asking the question. I love that they are finding their way with this and trying to make the best choice, knowing that there will likely always be trade-offs.

In extreme situations—regarding insects, animals, euthanasia, or assisted suicide—we have to find our way by ourselves. However, there are some areas where Buddhism is absolutely categorical about not killing. We do not kill human beings. There are very few times the Buddha comes down in such a categorical way, but this is one of them. For the Buddha, there would be no capital punishment and no going to war. Such orientations raise many questions, considerations, and protests, but the teaching remains clear.

What I like to emphasize is that this first Right Action, not to kill, is a subject for deep reflection, contemplation, and consideration. Regardless of how we decide to navigate this "not killing" precept in our daily lives, can we base our choices on the preceding factors of the Eightfold Path? Can we base it on the consideration for non-addiction to sensual pleasure, non-involvement with ill will, and non-involvement with cruelty? And even better, can we base it on Right View and the movement toward freedom?

Can we base whatever choice we make on a commitment to safeguard the deepest, most wonderful place of freedom that can exist in our own heart? To not give that up. Whatever we do with this precept of not killing, especially in terms of pests and trade-offs, can we use that deeper freedom inside of us as our reference point? Can we safeguard the highest quality of heart, mind, and well-being that a person can have?

The Buddha's teaching is a radical teaching of non-harming for self and others. The first of the Right Actions is non-harming. Tomorrow, I'll talk more about not taking what is not given, and sexual misconduct.

May this be a day that you reflect, explore, and consider the thoroughness with which you would like to practice non-harming in your life. Maybe you'll go out into the world and practice more non-harming in speech, in body, and in mind. Thank you.