The Noble Eight-factored Path, the Precepts and the Vinaya

An Interpretation

I am a Novice. For most of my life I have only had isolated encounters with Buddhism and I have only
been studying it intensely for three weeks now. Nevertheless, I have had some profound spiritual
experiences with it; experiences which have shown me a clear path on what to do. For this path, I
need to know about the Noble Eight-factored Path, the Precepts and the Vinaya. In this essay the
individual contents of these guidelines will be described, compared and interpreted.

The Noble Eight-factored Path
The four True Realities for the Spiritually Ennobled are the most important teachings of Buddhism.
They are the elephants footprint, into which the other teachings fit. They are:
1. The Painful
2. The Origin of the Painful
3. The Cessation of the Painful
4. The Path to the Cessation of the Painful
They sum up that all reality is suffering, that suffering is caused by desire and that the cessation of
desire leads to the cessation of suffering. The way to achieve this is the Noble Eight-factored Path,
which consists of:
1. Right view
2. Right resolve
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration / mental unification
According to Harvey (2013) these eight Factors are grouped into three sections: wisdom (1-2), moral
virtue (3-5) and meditation (6-8). Each factor is further grouped into two basic levels; the ordinary
and the transcendent, which contain more detailed instructions. This path is neither seen as a divine
command nor a moral imperative, instead it is formulated as a guideline. It can be traced back
directly to the Buddha (Harvey, 2013). Following this path leads to a clearer mind and a happier life
for oneself and others, with the ultimate goal of Nirva.






The Moral Precepts
The Precepts are the ethical code of Buddhism. Contrary to the Noble Eight-factored Path, the
Precepts are not guidelines, but a set of rules and regulations. However, they are not
commandments from a higher being, but more a vow to oneself. According to Epstein (2003, p. 144)
their purpose is to Stop evil and avoid misdeeds; not do any evil, but offer up all good conduct. The
Precepts include the Precept Dharma, the Precept Substance and the Precept Mark. The
fundamentals of the Precept Dharma consist of:
The Five Precepts
The Eight Precepts
The Ten Precepts
Buddhist Ethics have different levels of commitments rather than one set of universal rules. The most
basic version is the Five Precepts:
1. Not killing
2. Not stealing
3. Not misusing sex
4. Not lying
5. Not abusing intoxicants
The Precepts directly correspond to the Moral Virtue part of the Noble Eight-factored Path.
According to Epstein (2003), Buddha endorsed the Moral Precepts. However, it is clear that the
modern versions of the precepts come from different sources, as there are different versions and
interpretations of the Precepts in different geographic regions. One of the most fundamental
differences is the interpretation of not abusing alcohol, which can range from not overusing alcohol
to total prohibition of any kind of intoxicants. The interpretation of not misusing sex, to not having
sex at all, is another major difference between the Precept codes. An additional factor of
differentiation is that some versions of the Precepts are only taken for periods of time. They also
differ between types of people, for example lay persons and novice monks. The process of taking the
precepts varies across Buddhist schools as well. In some they can be freely embraced by singing
them, in others they are part of a week-long ceremony.
The Noble Eight-folded Path is part of the Four Noble Truths and is therefore seen as a reality of
existence. The Precepts, on the other hand, are ethical codes of conduct, interpretations on how to
live your life. A variety of factors cause these Precepts to vary in practical application. Some go far
beyond the original Noble Eight-factored Path. Buddhism promotes following a middle way when
keeping the Precepts, avoiding extremes of laxity and rigidity. Vowing not to have sex anymore, or
not consuming any kind of intoxicants at all, are rigid constrictions to a human being. If the middle
path is flanked by the wall of a cliff on one side, and a deep abyss on the other, then these strict
Precepts force you to slither along the wall of the cliff.
Nevertheless, the Buddha had strong words for a monk who had sex without disrobing first:
Worthless man, it would be better that your penis be stuck into the mouth of a poisonous snake
than into a woman's vagina (Thaniassaro, 1996, p. 14). A lot of this has to do with attachment to
sensual pleasures and passion, which you are supposed to let go. If you remove these emotions from
your relationship, you should still be able to have one.



Another purpose of these rigid laws must be putting temptations so far out of reach, that the abyss
of abuse is unlikely. Not having sex or intoxicating yourself at all, reduces the likelihood of giving
yourself over to abuse. However, according to Harvey (2013), a fixed clinging to rules and
observances as if they alone were the whole of the path, is seen as a hindering fetter. It is only
logical that if you choose not to follow the stricter versions of the Precepts, but still follow the Noble
Eight-factored path, that you can find Nirva.
Buddhism puts an emphasis on loving kindness and compassion towards others as part of the right
resolve in the Noble Eight-factored Path. If one is in a relationship and choses to become a monk,
the Precepts would require terminating that relationship. This is likely to cause much grief to the
monks partner. It therefore contradicts the loving kindness and compassion towards others
promoted by Buddhism. The Buddha himself had a wife and children.

You should not go along with something because of what you have been told, because of
authority, because of tradition, because of accordance with a transmitted text, on the
grounds of reason, on the grounds of logic, because of analytic thought, because of abstract
theoretic pondering, because of the appearance of the speaker, or because some ascetic is
your teacher the Buddha (Harvey, 2013, p. 30)

The Vinaya
The Sangha, which is the fellowship of the Buddhist Monasticism, is regulated in the Vinaya. The
monastic life of the Buddhist Monks is designed so that they can live with little distraction from
worldly weaknesses. The lives of ordinary people can be difficult, and therefore, it can be hard to
strive for salvation. A life separated from the lay is preferred and that life is regulated by rules called
pimokkha. (Harvey, 2013)
Originally the Buddha and his disciples lived in harmony without any rules. When more and more
people of all kinds of spiritual suitability joined the Buddhist movement, the elegant guidelines of the
Noble Eight-factored Path were not enough anymore. Practical rules became a necessity in order to
limit the excesses of the masses. The pimokkha were introduced and gradually evolved.
There are different versions of pimokkha. They range from 227 rules for Southern Buddhism monks
to 366 rules for Northern Buddhism Nuns. These rules are ordered into categories according to their
degrees of gravity (Thaniassaro, 2007). Some schools of Buddhism keep them in secret. There have
been controversies over these rule sets and certain Buddhist sects have rejected them, claiming that
the original rules have been lost (Baruah, 2008). Celibacy is seen as an important, if difficult part of
most rule sets. There are some exceptions to this though; for example, Zen Buddhism does not
require celibacy in certain cases. Some ordinations can be temporary, while others are for life. The
variety of different sets of rules makes them questionable. Especially when some parts openly
contradict the Buddha, like the existence of caste in the Sri Lankan Sangha (Harvey, 2013).
While the sheer amount of rules can keep monks and nuns busy and therefore undistracted, it also
causes a certain impracticability. Reciting a vow before drinking water may cultivate the mind, but
not being allowed to handle any kind of money is a major hindrance. It may prevent the corruption
from money, but it physically confines the monks and nuns, as well as making them reliant on
laypeople to do things for them. While Buddhist Monks and Nuns are active in charity and teaching
outside of monasteries, this confinement can result in them having little time for such activities,
especially if they are far away from the retreat.
The main downside of this is that it prevents the spread of the message of the Buddha. It would be
very hard for a person to become a monk and then, for example, go to Germany and start a new
Buddhist retreat there. Some may say that this could be done by laypeople, but ordinary people will,
of course, be more likely to listen to someone who looks like a Buddhist monk, has the knowledge of
a Buddhist monk and can say that he is a Buddhist monk.
This clinging to the rules is most likely due to social expectations. Monks and Nuns who do not follow
the rules are regarded as impure. This kind of narrow-mindedness was criticized by the Buddha
himself. In his wisdom, the Buddha left a trapdoor open. Before he died, he said that some of the
lesser rules could be given up and only the important ones should be kept. He did not say which
though, that is why all were kept. It is a matter of personal interpretation.


(EmilysQuotes.Com, 2014)

Conclusion
The original Noble Eight-folded Path is pure and untainted. The Precepts and pimokkha are
additional layers added to guide people lacking mental balance (Harvey, 2013, p. 85). While
certainly helpful for such people, this inflexibility constrains the truths of Buddhism, much as the
author of this essay is constrained by the inflexibility of the word count. The experts of Buddhism,
the monks and nuns, are geographically contained. If the intention of Buddhism is the salvation of all
beings, not just of the monks and nuns themselves, then reform is needed. If the Buddha had
thought that self-liberation was the goal, would he not just have kept his enlightenment to himself?



References

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Harvey, P. (2013). An introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, history and practices. New York:
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Lee, B. (2014). A teacher is never a giver of truth [Image]. Retrieved from
http://emilysquotes.com/a-teacher-is-never-a-giver-of-truth-he-is-a-guide-a-pointer-to-the-
truth-that-each-student-must-find-for-himself/

OBrien, B. (2014). The Buddhist Precepts. Retrieved from 2014,
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