As I stated in my previous post about Benjamin
Franklin’s 13 Virtues, I was struck by the similarity between his virtues
and the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. Not just by the virtues themselves, but
how he organized them. He realized that each affected the other, and without
bettering oneself in the first, one could not master the next. Again, this is
not too dissimilar to the steps of the Eightfold Path.
Around the same time that I was reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,
I was learning about the Law of Attraction. In fact, I had
even purchased a Law of Attraction planner to help set goals for myself to
better organize my days, weeks, and months. In addition, I was reading and listening
to the works of Napoleon Hill, and Earl Nightingale. Like Benjamin Franklin,
Hill had a list of his virtues, which he called his Keys to Success. Like
Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, Hill’s success principles relied on a commitment
to self-discipline, having a definite purpose or goal, and learning from
adversity as a means to one’s success. And, like Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon
Hill encouraged keeping a notebook or journal to record one’s goals,
progression, and ideas, so that one could maintain accountability for their
actions, and routines.
When I learned of these methods of journaling
for goal setting, organization, accountability, I immediately thought, “could
one use these same methods to utilize the Noble Eightfold Path to make oneself
a better person through accountability and reflection, and for mastering goal
setting and accomplishments?”
I believe that one absolutely can do this!
To begin, I have to consider the first step of
the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, called Right Understanding, and how it
applies to the rest of the steps as I begin my personal journey. Depending on
the interpretation, it is also referred to as Right View, as it is called in Bhikkhu Bodhi’s book, The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of
Suffering.
No matter the word used, it is simply the act
of accepting the teachings of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, whereby the Buddha
teaches that as living beings, we suffer and that there exists cessation from suffering.
And that cessation comes by way of the steps of the Noble Eightfold Path.
In Right Understanding, we are to recognize the
source of our suffering, and have a vision for the relief of whatever we suffer
from. If I may refer back to Napoleon Hill’s 17 Keys to Success, this is
similar to his first key: Develop a
Definiteness of Purpose. In his book, Keys
to Success, 17 Principles of Personal Achievement, Hill states:
“Definiteness
of purpose is the starting point of all achievement, and its lack is the
stumbling block for ninety-eight out of every hundred people simply because
they never really define their goals and start towards them.”
Just as Peter D Santini writes in his book, Fundamentals of Buddhism:
“Why do
we begin with Right Understanding? It is because in order to climb a mountain,
we have to have the summit clearly in view.”
In Right
Understanding, we have the opportunity to be real and honest with ourselves,
and to see our environment, our shortcomings, and our strengths as they are. We
are at the beginning stages of tackling the root of our suffering, or the
starting point of the project, or goal we want to see to completion. For me, I
set out to create this blog as a journal of my own journey as a means of
accountability and to learn from others who have, or are on this same path.
Your step into Right Understanding may be totally different or more substantial
and meaningful than writing a blog and drawing some cartoons.
Whatever the case, utilizing the step of Right
Understanding, can be the first, and very powerful beginning to ones goal. You
would not just go on vacation, driving around aimlessly without a plan or a
destination. With Right Understanding,
you would say, “I’m going to Disney Land!” and pack a road atlas to help you
get there!
Now, this does not mean that the trip will be
an easy one without flat tires, road closures, detours, tolls, and potty breaks!
Just as Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai writes in The Teaching of Buddha:
“If a
diver is to secure pearls he must descend to the bottom of the sea, braving all
dangers of jagged coral and vicious sharks. So man must face the perils of
worldly passion if he is to secure the precious pearl of Enlightenment.”
That said, we must not allow obstacles to get
in our way of achieving our goals, or working past our point of suffering.
Instead, we must face them head-on, identify them, and make our plan for
success.
On the subject of adversity, in his book Keys to Success, 17 Principles of Personal
Achievement, Napoleon Hill wrote:
“Failure
and pain are one language through which nature speaks to every living creature…
you must become humble so that you can acquire wisdom and understanding.
Realize that the turning point at which you begin to attain success is usually
defined by some form of defeat or failure.”
Remember, Buddha broke the Noble Eightfold Path
into three disciplines: Ethics,
Concentration, and Wisdom. Is it coincidence that Hill refers to understanding
and wisdom together, considering that the Buddha classified the step of Right Understanding under the teaching
of Wisdom?
Right Understanding is also
joined by the next step, Right Thought,
under the umbrella of Wisdom. For
many of us, me included, setting our intention/goal, or recognizing the root of
our suffering is pretty easy. For my money, that next step of Right Thought can pretty challenging.
Especially when met with adversity!
For now, I am setting my goal towards
maintaining this blog once a week, minimum. I’ve also got some personal goals
concerning my career. As this blog progresses, I may share with you some of my
tools that I use to keep myself accountable to my work, and my goals.
As always, I am happy to hear your thoughts.
So, please feel free to offer your experiences with living the Buddha’s Noble
Eightfold Path.
In the meantime, I would like to share a few
books, tools, and videos that I have come to enjoy in my studies…
The Teaching of Buddha,
written by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai can be found at http://www.bdkamerica.org/book/teaching-buddha-japaneseenglish-edition
You can find a free digital copy of Benjamin
Franklin’s autobiography on The Electric
Ben Franklin at http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/autobiography/
You can find a lot of great information about
Napoleon Hill at the Napoleon Hill Foundation’s website at http://www.naphill.org. In addition, you may enjoy seeing and hearing Napoleon Hill
explaining his Keys to Success in his own words on the Napoleon Hill’s Master
Key channel on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXEns75ExsEwvw6UNmOQcNQ
My planner of choice, the Law of Attraction
Planner can be found at https://manifestationplanner.com/optin.
