Customer Reviews

The Noble Eightfold Path

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book really took me to the next level of my understanding of the Buddhist eightfold path. Which is:

Right View (understanding)

Right Intention (Thought)

Right Speech

Right Action

Right Livelihood

Right Effort

Right Mindfulness

Right Concentration

It really explains what Buddhists mean by each of these stages based on the original language the Buddhist scriptures were written in. I also like the authors translation of the first two into view and intention, a lot of times they are translated as understanding and thought. These words brought me to a much better understanding. The author also touched on the wisdom of dispensing with the false ego and understanding how the five aggregates are what we really are feelings,perceptions,consciousness,material form, and mind formations. This book will probably be a little advanced for first time readers of Buddhist philosophy but if you have an understanding of the 4 noble truths and have read the Dhammapada and are ready for the next level, you can't get better than this condensed wisdom in 120 pages. I am different now from having read it.

This a marvelous gem of a book, a concise yet thorough overview of all Theravadin philosophy and practice. Bhikkhu Bodhi, a wonderful scholar- practitioner, and a wonderful writer, has set forth in clear language the entire Buddhist path to enlightenment, and he has not merely done so in the abstract, but has pointed the way to the practical application of Buddhist techniques in our very lives. This is a real handbook for daily practice and study. You can't go wrong here.

This book was incredibly helpful to me. I would recommend it as the most beautiful exposition of the Eightfold Noble Path that I'm aware of. It has informed my readings of other Sutra's and my practice tremendously. My deepest gratitude to the author.

This is probably the best book I have ever read. It is concise and does not insult one's intelligence with "witty" anecdotes or pop psychology, nor does it have any stink of New Agey fluff. I can't understand how any intelligent person who has had his/her taste of suffering and honestly examined it can disagree with the message and practice outlines of this book. The most startling revelation that this book had for me though was that all searches for God, Buddha-nature, the Tao, Brahma, etc. are all really just ploys to alleviate suffering, much like a young girl imagining a perfectly happy life in marriage, a house, and children. This book cuts past all of that straight to the heart of the matter.

I searched high and low for a book like this. When I found Bhikkhu Bodhi's book, it was a wonderful moment. And this book is as close to perfect as a book like this can be. One to study for the rest of this life.

I can't quite recommend this book as a Beginner's Book, for one who has no knowledge of Buddhism. But this is highly recommended for an intermediate student of Buddhism, and even a good review for the advanced student.

I have read a couple dozen books on Buddhism as well as many articles and mp3 lectures and so on - and this is one of the best.

This is the most clear and concise explanation of Buddhism I have seen yet.

And the last couple of chapters on Mindfulness and Concentration - the 7th and 8th Paths of the Eightfold Path - are a very helpful description of signposts along the path of meditation, what one can expect to encounter as one embarks on this journey.

I recommend that ANYone with a serious interest in Buddhism read this book!

And here's a clue: if you poke around on the net you can find a pdf version of the book for free. However, for the small price, this book IS worth buying and owning especially if you like to underline, mark pages, etc...

If you are looking for commentary on the 8-fold path,Bikkhu Bodhi's book is worth checking out.

Bodhi is a scholar of the highest caliber.

His explanations of Buddha's teachings are well defined, clear, and accessible to beginner and a gift to the long term practitioner.

Anyone interested in the foundations of Buddhism will no doubt benefit from his work.

How much is enough? Not everyone will agree on any given answer to this question, but I will add my vote for 5 stars to those who voted the same way. Having read nearly all of the Sutta Pitaka, as much of the Visuddhimagga as I could tolerate, and numerous commentaries on Buddhist thought by more modern commentators, I am hard pressed to think of any important precept that cannot be found in this little volume by Bikkhu Bodhi. As he says in the preface, "The essence of the Buddha's teaching can be summed up in two principles: the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The first covers the side of doctrine, and the primary response it elicits is understanding; the second covers the side of discipline ... and the primary response it calls for is practice. In the structure of the teaching these two principles lock together into an indivisible unity called the dhamma-vinaya, the doctrin-and-discipline..."

Buddhism is, after all, a prescription for conducting one's life in a way that leads to harmlessness (ahimsa), happiness, awareness (samadhi), and understanding (panna), and the foundation of the whole teaching is right behavior (sila). The nature of Buddhist discipline is experiential, not intellectual, and the goal of practice, nibbana, can be reached just as well by the illiterate as by the scholarly. In fact, it may be that the illiterate have an advantage in one respect, being less likely to get caught up in their conceits and the pride of their minds (see Romans 12:16). Knowledge is important, but it is also important to recognize how easily one can lose track of the Middle Way in a maelstrom of words. It know it seems odd to refer to Judeo-Christian scriptures in a review of a Buddhist text, and I hope to be forgiven for it if that is perceived wrongly, but truth is where you find it, and I can think of no more eloquent way of expressing the caution I have in mind than this: "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow (Eccl 1:18)." It is not necessary to memorize the ethical principles of Buddhism from some book or exegetical commentary because human beings, for the most part, have an innate ability to recognize what is skillful and what is not ((Genesis 3:5). It is through their words and conceptual convolutions that humans become confused and lost. Maybe that explains what happened to Sangharakshita. I don't know anyone that hasn't gone down that path, or one similar to it, at one time or another. Mindfulness is the cure.

Personally, I believe this is the best of Bikkhu Bodhi's writings. It is clear, concise, and complete, and I thank him for it. What remains to be done is practice with hope and faith that one lifetime is sufficient.

To be on the Noble 8-Fold Path is what the practice of the radical revolutionary mental discipline of the Dharma is all about. It is against human nature and that's why the effort to keep this transformative endeavor in one's awareness and mindfulness has to be constant. Meditation is just part of the concentration aspect of the Path, what makes the mind pliable to see the Path more clearly. Bhikkhu Bodhi's concise and to the point explanation is succinct and clear, brief so it can be read over and over until it becomes our second nature. Practice makes perfect the world's best kept secret, the beauty and perfection of the Buddha's Dharma.