3 Minute Morning Read
The Eightfold Path: A Skillful Way to Live
The Eightfold Path Explained
The Eightfold Path is a core teaching in Buddhism. It includes eight parts:
Right Action – living without harming others.
Right Speech – speaking truthfully.
Right Livelihood – working in ways that do not cause suffering.
Right Mindfulness – being aware of our emotions and the emotions of others.
Right Effort – focusing on compassion, kindness, and meditation.
Right Concentration – developing focus through meditation.
Right View – understanding the consequences of our actions.
Right Intention – being clear about why we follow this path.
At first glance, these may look like rules. Instead, let’s consider replacing the word “Right” with “Skillful.”
This small change shifts the path from a rigid list of dos and don’ts into a guide for living with greater awareness, care, and purpose.
The Raft and the Shore
The Buddha once said:
“My teaching is like a raft that can help you get to the other shore. Don’t grasp at the raft and think that the raft is the shore.”
In other words, the Eightfold Path is not the final goal—it is a tool. The “raft” helps us cross life’s waters, but the “shore” is the deeper peace we find when we live skillfully, with compassion and mindfulness.
The Foundation: Mindfulness
Mindfulness runs through every part of the Eightfold Path. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen teacher, described skillful living as a practice that fills us with love, peace, and kindness.
When we are mindful, each step on the path—our speech, work, focus, and actions—becomes a chance to live with greater care for ourselves and others.
A Beginner’s Mind
I wasn’t raised Buddhist. At first, approaching Buddhism felt overwhelming. But this also gave me a “beginner’s mind,” what Zen tradition calls Shoshin—a clear, open state that welcomes new ideas.
A Taoist story reminds us:
“The value of a vessel is its emptiness.”
An empty cup can hold fresh water. In the same way, an open mind can receive new wisdom.
A Contrast With Western Ethics
Growing up in a Western tradition, I often heard ethics explained through virtue, morality, or being right. Buddhism looks at things differently.
Instead of focusing only on personal goodness, Buddhism asks: What effect does my behavior have on others?
The shift is both elegant and radical. The goal is not simply to be “good,” but to create compassion, reduce suffering, and live skillfully in daily life.
Everyday Questions
The Eightfold Path invites us to ask practical questions:
Work: Does my job help people, or does it cause harm? Am I satisfied with its impact?
Speech: Do my words build trust and connection? Or do they push people away?
Actions: How do my choices feel in my own heart? How do they affect the people around me?
These are not abstract questions. They point us back to daily life—the work we do, the conversations we have, the intentions we carry.
Takeaway
The Eightfold Path is not a rulebook but a guide. It helps us ask how our work, words, and actions affect ourselves and others. With mindfulness as its foundation, the path leads us not to rigid virtue but to skillful living—a life filled with peace, compassion, and love.
Until next time,
Matt
For someone like me who tries to resist the labeling of right/wrong, good/bad, etc, etc. which differs from person to person and requires a certainty that can often mirror arrogance, this simple and "skillful" modification works very well!
Awesome Matt -- thank you for these great "life raft" words.