the Eightfold Noble Path
1 Dec 2013
Good morning, everyone!
I am glad to see you this morning.
The other day, I wanted to eat chicken teriyaki. So, I went to Zippy's. It was good and I was happy until I looked at a guy next to me and saw him eating loco moco. It looked so delicious that I felt I should have ordered the loco moco instead.
If I were younger, I could eat both dishes at the same time; however, I don't think I can do that today. For a moment, I thought, “If I ordered the loco moco first, I would have probably regretted not choosing the chicken teriyaki.” I became confused as to which dish I should have eaten and was troubled until I realize that the difficulty I experienced in deciding which of the meals I should have eaten caused my subconscious desire to eat the chicken teriyaki and more. If I did not think of eating more than the chicken teriyaki and ate just what my wife placed before me to eat, I would have no trouble at all. Perhaps, some of you may have experienced similar situations.
Some say that Buddhism is very difficult to understand and to practice it. Others seem confused about how Buddha's teachings apply to our daily lives. Buddha's teachings may appear difficult to understand; however, he never taught complicated teachings. He tried to make it easy for all to understand by including many parables in the Lotus Sutra. The parables make it easy for all people beyond time, place and culture to understand.
The most basic teaching in Buddhism is the Four Noble Truth. They are: #1 we have to understand that this world is full of sufferings. #2 the cause of our suffering is our desire. #3 nirvana, an ideal world is free from sufferings. #4 the means for the attainment of nirvana is through the practice of the Eightfold Noble Path. You may wonder it that is all. Yes. It is and, they are very important to understand and apply to our daily lives.
Now, let me review what happened to me at Zippy's. First, I had a desire to eat chicken teriyaki so I went to Zippy's to satisfy my desire. My desire was fulfilled there and I was happy until I had the urge to eat loco moco too. Although I knew that I could not eat both meals, I kept dwelling on the choices of food until I realized later that I was suffering from my own desires. I should have known better and unfortunately, I didn't give it much thought. This experience has made me appreciate how meaningful and important the teachings of the Buddha are in our daily lives.
Although we try our best to apply the Buddha's teachings in our daily lives, we sometimes fail to understand the cause of our personal problems. We need to recognize that we, human beings, cause our own problems. It also means that we are the one who make it difficult to understand Buddha's teachings. We are the one who fail to practice his teachings when we need it. The teachings of the Buddha have a profound influence on every moment of our daily lives and we need to recognize its importance. The teachings are so important and that is why I want all of you to understand the Buddha's teachings thoroughly.
Let me talk about the Eightfold Noble Path too. The Eightfold Noble Path is: #1, correct view, which refers to a correct understanding of the Four Noble Truth. #2, correct thinking, which is the ability to reflect on the Four Noble Truth correctly. #3, correct speech, no false statement. #4, correct action, #5, correct livelihood, #6, correct endeavor, #7, correct memory, #8, correct meditation.
You may think that it is simple. I think that they sound like common sense. I am afraid that you don't think they are special. However, please reconsider them. If we try all of them in our daily lives, it would be very hard. Everybody is under a different situation and is living under many circumstances. I am afraid that many of us make a mistake at least once in our lifetime. In some cases, some people made mistakes even though they knew they were wrong. They might regret them. Thus, it is very hard for us to live correctly. I think that that is why the Buddha left a basic teaching for us.
It is said the Eightfold Noble Path is a practice for Hinayana Buddhists. We are Mahayana Buddhists. We are different from the Buddhists who concentrate for one's own enlightenment. We practice not only for ourselves but also others in a community.
And also, we are in a time of Mappo. It means that we, ordinary people in Mappo, are trying our practice hard for our bigger dreams under severer circumstances. Our Founder, Nichiren Shonin taught us that it was the best practice to chant the Odaimoku for the people like us in Mappo. It is because the Lotus Sutra is the best teaching of the Buddha. “Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo” means to devote ourselves to the Lotus Sutra. We can get great benefits with chanting the Odamiku.
Next Sunday is December 8th. It is a day when the Buddha attained Enlightenment. It is the birthday of Buddhism. Our history and culture started from this day. And, it is said that his first teaching was the Four Noble Truth and the Eightfold Noble Path. I wanted to study again the origin of Buddhism at a time of Bodhi Day. That is why I pick up this topic. The basic teaching is very important for us. Please think of the teaching sometime.