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Ven Bhikku Bodhi The next three path factors — right speech, right action, and right livelihood — may be treated together, as collectively they make up the first of the three divisions of the path, the division of moral discipline …

By Ven Bhikku Bodhi The intention of harmlessness is thought guided by compassion (karuna), aroused in opposition to cruel, aggressive, and violent thoughts. Compassion supplies the complement to loving-kindness. Whereas loving-kindness…

By Ven Bhikku Bodhi The intention of good will opposes the intention of ill will, thoughts governed by anger and aversion. As in the case of desire, there are two ineffective ways of handling ill will. One is to yield to it, to express…

By Ven Bhikku Bodhi The Buddha describes his teaching as running contrary to the way of the world. The way of the world is the way of desire, and the unenlightened who follow this way flow with the current of desire, seeking happiness by…

By Ven Bhikku Bodhi The second factor of the path is called in Pali samma sankappa, which we will translate as "right intention." The term is sometimes translated as "right thought," a rendering that can be accepted if we add the…

By Ven Bhikku Bodhi The right view of Kamma and its fruits provides a rationale for engaging in wholesome actions and attaining high status within the round of rebirths, but by itself, it does not lead to liberation. It is possible for…

When assessing Buddhism with other religions it is visible that Buddhism isn’t a religion which doesn’t require devotion. One can attain ‘Nibbāna’ by practicing the ‘threefold trainin’: ‘Sīla’ , ‘Samādhi’ and ‘Paññā’ . Buddhism is…

By Ven Bhikku Bodhi Mundane right view involves a correct grasp of the law of kamma, the moral efficacy of action. Its literal name is "right view of the ownership of action" (kammassakata sammaditthi), and it finds its standard…

By Ven Bhikku Bodhi The eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are not steps to be followed in sequence, one after another. They can be more aptly described as components rather than as steps, comparable to the intertwining strands of…

By Bhikku Bodhi To free ourselves from suffering fully and finally we have to eliminate it by the root, and that means to eliminate ignorance. But how does one go about eliminating ignorance? The answer follows clearly from the nature of…