The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation

Right View, the first part of the Eightfold Path, is the ability to understand the difference between “wholesome” and “unwholesome” elements of ourselves (51). The author believes that all people are born with the capacity for both loving and hateful actions, calling this potential their “seeds.” For instance, if someone’s seed of loyalty is encouraged, they will become a loyal person, but if the seed of betrayal is nurtured, they will be a deceitful person. In addition to all of these, each person also has “the seed of Buddhahood” (52), or the ability to wake up and become enlightened.

The foundation of people’s views is their perceptions. Unfortunately, so many perceptions are mistaken, as they are based in ignorance, cravings, or prejudice. People perceive things differently depending on their individual mind and personal experiences. By questioning and reflecting on their perceptions, people can see things more accurately.

Parents and spiritual teachers can only try to nurture the seeds of Right View in their children or students. Ultimately, however, everyone is responsible for tending to their own minds and achieving Right View for themselves. Thích explains that Buddhism is a practice for eliminating wrong views, which in turn eliminates all views, since “No view can ever be the truth” (56). With practice and experience, people will recognize the “seed of Buddhahood” (56) in themselves and everyone else. This recognition is Right View, which is interdependent on all of the other parts of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Right View supports Right Thinking, which the author calls “the speech of our mind” (59). Right Thinking is difficult, because it involves unifying one’s thoughts with one’s actions, rather than allowing the mind to drift away from the actions of the body. He compares thoughts to a recording which runs endlessly in people’s minds. Mindfulness allows them to actually notice their thoughts and whether they are helpful and useful or not.

Thinking consists of initial thoughts and developing thoughts. At first, meditating requires both, but eventually it requires neither, since the mind is free of concepts and thoughts. Thích encourages the reader to engage with their thinking using four steps.

First, asking, “Are you sure?” to reflect on the accuracy of one’s thoughts. Second, asking, “What Am I Doing?” to bring the mind back into step with the body. Third, acknowledging one’s “habit energy” to overcome robotic behaviors. Lastly, developing “bodhichitta,” or a “mind of love” to bring happiness to oneself and other beings (61).

Thích concludes his chapter by reiterating that the goal of Right Thinking is to free oneself from mindless repetition, worrying, and negative thoughts, and live in unison with one’s body in the present moment.

Right Mindfulness is the force which brings people back into experiencing the present moment. Inappropriate attention is when people pay attention to something which distracts them, while appropriate attention roots people in the here and now. Mindfulness brings many “miracles”: The ability to be fully present, the ability to make the object of one’s attention present as well, and the ability to show love to the object of one’s attention. Thích warns against taking others for granted by mentally checking out of interactions. He believes being fully present is a crucial way of showing love.

The fourth miracle of mindfulness is relieving others’ suffering with one’s presence and support. The fifth miracle is to look deeply with concentration, and the sixth miracle is the understanding this creates. Finally, the seventh miracle of mindfulness is transformation, as mindfulness helps people transform their own suffering into something positive. The role of people’s communities, or sangha, is important in this journey, as collective mindfulness helps to overcome people’s habit energies.

There are four major mindfulness practices: The body, feelings, mind, and the objects of the mind. The first body mindfulness practice is “mere recognition,” or recognizing what one’s body is doing, such as sitting, standing, and so on. The second is to acknowledge each body part in a friendly and accepting way. The third is to recognize what the body is actually made of: Air, fire, water, and earth. With each breath in and out, practitioners think about how their bodies are connected to the rest of the universe. Becoming aware of one’s breathing is another valuable mindfulness practice. This can include counting breaths, reciting poetry with breathwork, or identifying feelings while breathing.

Difficult emotions pose a challenge to everyone; people must learn to acknowledge and embrace them without allowing them to dominate one’s thoughts and actions. Feelings are an example of mental formations. Some are beneficial, while others are destructive. Some mental formations can be wholesome or unwholesome depending on the context. For instance, the feeling of sleepiness is appropriate when your body needs rest, but people should not sleep all the time. Simply observing one’s feelings activates mindfulness.

Feelings are the product of both the individual’s consciousness and the collective consciousness, which are interdependent. For instance, someone’s craving for something like a new dress is the product of the collective culture which has given that object value. Mindfulness of Phenomena, or the objects of the mind, means being attentive about our feelings towards certain people and things. The Buddha taught that people focus too much on the appearance of things without trying to understand their true nature. By investigating the 18 elements, or the sensory experiences which inform our consciousness, people can begin to interpret reality more accurately.

Buddha taught that there are different realms, such as anxiety, happiness, suffering, joy, letting go, ignorance, and more, which we can change in ourselves by practicing Right Mindfulness. The author encourages the reader to consider how their perceptions are integrating different people and things into their consciousness, and how their own feelings affect them.

Rather than being separate, people and things are inherently intertwined with everything else. Thích writes, “When we hate someone, we also hate ourself. The object of our mindfulness is actually the whole cosmos” (81). The author concludes his chapter by urging the reader to practice Buddha’s precepts and incorporate mindfulness into their thoughts and actions, as it is the beginning of achieving the understanding necessary to help oneself and others.

Thích believes that Right Speech is a crucial part of life, as words are powerful and we now have the ability to communicate instantly in so many ways. He outlines Buddha’s teachings on Right Speech: Speak truthfully, speak honestly, do not speak cruelly, do not exaggerate or embellish. Right Speech is dependent on Right Thoughts, since speaking is like offering someone an earphone into one’s own mind. It is also dependent on deep listening, because without listening, people cannot truly respond to others.

Thích considers listening deeply and responding with kindness to be the foundation of loving relationships. He laments how even within their own families, people can feel so lonely because no one listens to each other. Thích coaches the reader to breathe out their negative feelings so they can maintain compassionate listening for one hour. He advises people to ask for space if they feel themselves becoming overwhelmed by their emotions. Writing letters is another, more careful, form of speech, because they can be rewritten as needed. Letters should be truthful and avoid upsetting their recipients; like other speech they can help positive transformations begin.

The author believes that silence is another boon to learning Right Speech, as it keeps people “in touch with the essence of things” (91). The author concludes his chapter by warning the reader to always be honest in their speech—including in their profession, as living truthfully is an inherent part of practicing social justice.

Right Action is the practice of non-violence. By behaving mindfully, we can stop ourselves from being violent or supporting violence with our actions. Thích clarifies that this includes “the way we eat, drink, and use the land, air, and water” (94). Right Action requires practitioners to live in a way that promotes a healthy, socially just society. This means not only avoiding wrong-doing, but actively contributing to society. Right Action extends to sexual relationships, teaching people to only engage in committed, loving sexual relationships and to not violate others’ bodies or commitments.

Another form of Right Action is mindful drinking and eating. Thích believes that practicing a diet free from toxins and intoxicants frees oneself—and society—from harm. He urges the reader to consider how their habits really affect them, their children, and their whole community. This includes daily indulgences like alcohol.

Right Action is also related to Right Livelihood, or profession. If one’s actions are exploiting or harming others, even with good intentions in other parts of one’s life, one’s overall contribution will be negative. The author reminds the reader to be generous, consume mindfully, act responsibly, and protect other beings by practicing Right Action.

Right Diligence is also called Right Effort. It refers to putting one’s effort into the right activities. Even well-meaning efforts, like meditation, can be negative if they detract from our lives or relationships. Thích gives the example of a Buddhist monk who meditated constantly, trying hard to become a Buddha. By becoming arrogant about his practice and attaching it to ambition, the monk lost sight of the real purpose of his meditation.

Four practices support Right Diligence: Preventing negative thoughts from arising; removing negative thoughts from our consciousness; nurturing new and existing positive thoughts. By maintaining one’s own mind, people will naturally put effort into the right things. Being joyful and healthy also supports Right Effort, as do The Seven Factors of Awakening.

Living mindfully always supports Right Diligence. By learning to pay attention to their efforts and experiences, people will direct their efforts into good works. People’s mindfulness and meditation practice should bring them joy and awareness; Thích advises people who suffer for their practice to reevaluate it.

Right Concentration requires evenness, honing one’s mind to be “neither too excited nor too dull” (105). Thích identifies two kinds of concentration: Active concentration, and selective concentration. With active concentration, people focus on what is going on in the present moment, observing its changes and welcoming them. Right Concentration supports Right Action.

Buddhism teaches nine levels of meditative concentration. In the first level, practitioners are thinking, but in the following eight thinking is transformed into other energies. These forms of concentration help people recognize the interdependence of all things, seeing through outward appearances to the reality of how everything contains everything else, and cannot be neatly separated. By moving beyond superficial “signs,” people become more wise. These meditations help the practitioner, but their suffering is still intact.

The ninth and final meditative concentration is called “cessation,” because ignorant perceptions stop completely, producing real insight and allowing all the previous eight consciousnesses to continue working. The author urges the reader to concentrate deeply on the present. He provides the example of tourists eager to visit the Buddha statue in India. On the plane and at the historical site, they are not really there. Instead they rush through, taking pictures for others’ benefit, and never being mindful. Thích maintains that everyone has the Buddha available to them all the time, simply by living in touch with their present moment.

The Buddha’s teachings on Right Livelihood instruct people on how to make a living without violating important morals. The Buddha identified the sale of weapons, alcohol, meat, harmful drugs and poisons, and the trade in enslaved persons as immoral professions. He also warned against telling prophecies or selling fortunes.

Thích encourages the reader to try their best to find a new job if their current profession violates these morals. He grapples with the difficulty of finding an ethical profession and actually making a living from it. He gives the example of a cow farmer who tries to treat his cattle ethically, but is not sure how to make a living without killing the cattle. Thích promises that by living mindfully, the solution would present itself to the farmer.

The author laments the global problem of weapons manufacturing and sales, and how so many people make a living in this way. He urges people to question this reality and try to not only live out their compassion in their work, but to create employment for others, too. Thích believes that wrong livelihood will affect people’s consciousness, bringing more suffering to them and to others.

The author concludes his passage, and all of Part 2, by reminding the reader of the inherent interconnectedness of all of Buddha’s teachings. He encourages the reader to use their Mindfulness Training in every aspect of their life, from speech and listening to actions and livelihood.