THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATHS

A Web-based Narrative Video

Pocholo DC. Felix

April 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background 1

Project Description 2

Rationale 3

Project Objectives 3

Communication Objectives 3

Marketing Objectives 4

Theoretical Frameworks 5

Project Brief 6

Review of Related Literature and Works 10

Proposed Methodology 14
BACKGROUND

Buddhism, as it is most commonly defined, is a religion or a philosophy largely

based from the beliefs and traditions set by Siddharta Gautama or more

commonly known as Buddha (Sanskrit for ‘the Enlightened One’).

From an article called: “Killing the Buddha”, it is stated that it can be said that

‘Buddhism is not a religion.’ But then again, most Buddhists worldwide

practice it in the naïve and superstitious ways in which all religions are

practiced (Harris, 2006). Thus, the ongoing issue of whether or not Buddhism

is a philosophy or a religion.

Whether it is a philosophy or a religion, the teachings of the Buddha still have

a big impact all over the world. Its optimistic views on life made people, like

the proponent, fascinated.

Buddhism’s teachings are of various categories: the three universal truths, the

four noble truths, the five precepts, the noble eightfold paths, karma and many

others. All of these teachings talk about life: how it is viewed in the world, the

concept of suffering and its solutions and many others.

Of all the many teachings of Buddhism, the proponent was personally amused

by the teaching of the Noble Eightfold Paths – which basically is the

expansion of the fourth noble truth that states that: “there is a cessation of

suffering.”

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The Buddha taught the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’ in order to end one’s suffering.

The path consists of: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action,

Right Work, Right Progress, Right Mind and Right Concentration.

The term “Noble Eightfold Paths” was explained by the Venerable Master

Hsing Yun in his article on the topic from his book “The Core Teachings”

revised in 2008. He mentions that it’s called ‘Noble’ because the teaching is

morally correct and it contains nothing that will lead the people astray. There

are eight parts (or facets) in the path so the term ‘Eightfold’ is given. Finally, it

is a ‘Path’ because it must be followed over a period of time much the same

way a normal path is followed and because it leads us to the ultimate goal of

the cessation of suffering.

It is believed that when the paths are followed, one will end his suffering and

thus, achieving enlightenment.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This project is a Web-based Video Narrative about the Buddhist teaching of

the Noble Eightfold Paths that seeks to show the relevance of this teaching to

contemporary life specifically for the people who believe that they still

experience suffering by providing them a visual interpretation for them to see

that they can end their suffering if they follow the paths.

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RATIONALE

There is suffering in the world. Everyday, people experience different types of

suffering, whether it’s physical, psychological or spiritual. There are times that

people believe that they’re suffering will never end. Through a video narrative,

these people who are starting to lose hope will be able to change their minds

and give them some light and make them believe that there is indeed a

cessation of suffering if they follow the Noble Eightfold Paths.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

This project seeks to:

• Explain the Noble Eightfold Paths teaching of Buddhism

• Show the relevance of the Noble Eightfold Paths teaching to everyday

contemporary life; and

• Entertain through an original video narrative

COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES

This project aims to express that:

For Project Objective 1: Explain the Noble Eightfold Paths teaching of

Buddhism:

o Suffering can end.

o By doing the right things in life, one will have an enlightened life.

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 For Project Objective 2: Show the relevance of the Noble Eightfold

Path teaching to everyday contemporary life:

o Suffering still exists today.

o No matter what type of person one is, the paths can still help

them end their suffering and be enlightened.

For Project Objective 3: Entertain through an original video narrative:

o There can be another medium to explain what the paths teach

other than textbooks and articles.

o Through a video narrative, people can relate themselves to the

characters in the video – thus, applying the principles and

processes seen in the video in real life.

MARKETING OBJECTIVES

This project will be promoted by:

• Posting the URL in religious forums and other related websites.

• Endorsing the website to Philosophy professors in order to become a

teaching tool.

• Releasing a promotional website wherein the viewers can view the

film’s synopsis, download wallpapers and icons. The same website will

be used to release the actual film.

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

1. Mediamorphosis

The main principle of this theory is that media evolves due to the needs

of the people.

The proponent believes that a web-based video narrative is the best way to

explain its target audience the Buddhist teaching of the Noble Eightfold Paths.

Usually, the explanations for this topic (along with other Buddhist teachings)

are found in textbooks, newspaper articles and other printed media. With the

arrival of the Digital Age (and Globalization), the youth of today, which are the

target audience, will not be able to spend time in reading tons of words and

rather spend time in front of their computers.

Also, by using video as the medium, the people will not just read theories but

rather see for themselves that suffering can indeed end because of the real-

life portrayal in the video narrative.

2. Message Development

The principle of message development is to be able to send a clear and

effective message to the audience.

With suffering still present in our world today, this project will be an effective

way to give hope to its audience and make them see that the paths can still

help modern-day individuals to end suffering, thus encouraging them to follow

the paths in order to end their own sufferings.

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PROJECT BRIEF

Technical Description

The video will be about the application of the Noble Eightfold Paths teaching

of Buddhism to the contemporary life. It will be web-based, thus making the

Internet as its viewing medium, making it accessible to everyone who has

Internet access. It will have a running time of 8 – 10 minutes, thus making its

loading time faster and also to not bore the viewer/s.

Content Outline

• The video will be the ‘main attraction’ of the website

• The website will also have the following navigation buttons:

o About the Film – The page will give the viewer an overview of

the film by providing the synopsis and the cast and crew.

o The Noble Eightfold Paths – This page will be about the

Buddhist teaching the film adheres to explained in a general

way.

o Photos and Videos – The main video will not only be the

medium present in the website. The viewer will be able to see

some Production Photos, Behind-the-scenes footages, official

stills and trailers related to the film.

o Downloads –The viewer will also have the opportunity to

download wallpapers, posters and icons from the film.

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Components

Main Feature (Video)

• Will be shot in 720x480 pixels, widescreen video but will be resized to

320x240 pixels for faster web upload and download.

• Resized video will be a Flash video (.swf)

• Play, Stop, Pause, Forward and Rewind Buttons will be present so that

the viewer can control the video using the mouse.

• Speakers are needed to hear the sound track of the video.

• Internet connection will be required.

Website

• Will have a width of 960 pixels to ensure proper viewing in all types of

monitors. Height will depend on the content.

• HTML and CSS files will be used.

• Internet connection will be required.

• Makes use of the mouse

• Speakers are needed for necessary music and video content.

AUDIENCE, BENEFICIARY AND MARKET PROFILE

Target Audience: College Philosophy students who are taking up Buddhism

Target Beneficiary: Lower and Middle class people who are losing hope

because of too much suffering

Target Market: Non-government organizations, Counselling Organizations,

Support Groups who inspire people (e.g. 700 Club Asia) and College

professors who teach Philosophy as a subject

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Sample Audience:

Consuelo De la Cruz is a 38-year old businesswoman. She lost her husband,

the only breadwinner in the family, six months ago. He died of cancer.

Consuelo is now a single parent of three and lives in an average house in

Pasig City. Seven months ago, her family was one of the many victims of

typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. Consuelo was waiting hopelessly on top of their

roof, along with her ailing husband and three young children, while waiting for

rescue teams. Due to the typhoons, she and her family lost their possessions

– thus, making the business’ income lower. She is now going to every office in

Ortigas, selling snacks to its employees in order to feed her children. But

because of the series of sufferings that she and her family went through, she

is starting to lose hope that these unfortunate events will ever end.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The project will be a web-based narrative video focusing only on the Noble

Eightfold Paths teaching of Buddhism and will not further elaborate on other

teachings.

A website will act as a viewing platform for the main video but it will also have

other navigation links, as mentioned in the Content Outline part of this paper,

to maximize the interactivity to the users.

The video narrative will only run from eight to ten minutes to ensure faster

loading time, since it will be web-based.

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Different Buddhism-related articles on the Noble Eightfold Paths and related

teachings will be used as references for the plot of the narrative.

For the design of the website, websites of local and Hollywood movies will be

used as references. As for the style of the video, local digital films and Asian

movies will be used as pegs.

Though the project will be talking about the Paths, it will not discuss in

technical terms the meaning of the Paths but rather, show its audience how

the paths can be applied to everyday life without necessarily mentioning

Buddha and other related Buddhist terms to be able to reach out to

non-Buddhist audiences.

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND WORKS

Related Literature:

a. “The Core Teachings” by Venerable Master Hsing Yun ( rev. 2008)

- The book has many articles on the different teachings of the

Buddha and one of them is a depth discussion of the paths that can

be used as reference for the proper application of the paths.

b. “The Noble Eightfold Path: A Way to the End of Suffering” by Bhikkhu

Bodhi (November, 2000)

- A book about the paths’ teachings. Each chapter gives an in-depth

discussion of the paths. This will be helpful in the project as it will be

able to give a larger view of the proposed topic.

c. “Killing Buddha” – An article Sam Harris from Shambhala Sun (March

2006)

- Shambhala Sun is a monthly magazine about Buddhism. The

author discusses how people perceive Buddhism – a philosophy or

a religion. This can be applied to this project because not everyone

knows that Buddhism is mainly a philosophy that can be applied to

all people, Buddhist or not.

d. “Inner Victory” – An article by Sayadaw Pandita from Shambhala Sun

(May, 2006)

- From the same magazine about Buddhism wherein the author

discusses how he achieved ‘inner victory’ (enlightenment) by

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 following the Noble Eightfold Paths. This article can be of reference

to the construction of the narrative’s character’s storyline and how

he used the path to end his suffering.

e. “It takes a Sangha” – An article by Noah Levine from the Shambhala

Sun (February, 2009)

- Also from the Shambhala Sun, the author talks about how people

must do something positive together with using livelihood and the

life’s energy in order to be truly free of suffering. This certain article

can be of reference to the plot of the narrative as it can dictate what

the characters can do, in applying the Noble Eightfold Paths, to end

their suffering.

Related Works:

a. “The Buddha” – A documentary on the life of Buddha, Buddhism and

its teachings. (April, 2010)

- Directed by David Grubin, this 2010 documentary film discusses

Buddhist teachings and how it can give spiritual enlightenment. As

this is a documentary, it contains accounts from Buddhists about

their lives. The director, who is not a Buddhist, shares the same

objective as the proponent which is that Buddhism has a lot of

things to teach the people. It is of the same interpretative medium of

video and as this project. As this documentary discusses the whole

teaching of Buddhism, this proposed project will only discuss the

Noble Eightfold Paths.

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b. The Official Website of the documentary “The Buddha”

- The link to this website is http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/ and it

serves as the promotional website of the documentary mentioned

above. When visited, the viewer will be able to see an overview of

the documentary as well as the different Buddhist teachings tackled

in the documentary. One of the navigations in the website is a

timeline of significant events and a map detailing the significant

places that are part of Siddharta Gautama’s life. There is also a

game of Mahjong – which is a popular game among Buddhist

communities. Like the website, the proposed project will tackle the

Buddhist teaching relevant to the video narrative and will also serve

as a promotional material for the topic.

c. “Buddha” – A manga comic about the life of Siddharta Gautama

- Japanese manga artist Osamu Tezuka did a unique interpretation

of the life of Buddhism’s founder, Siddharta Gautama and his

teachings. The series had fourteen volumes published from 1972 –

1983 and was translated in English and published eight volumes in

2005. Since manga is one of the famous reading materials for the

youth today, it’s probably one of the most effective medium. In the

same way, this project has the same target audience as the manga

– the youth. Both the manga and this project have the same

objective: give a new touch in an already established set of

teachings. As mentioned before, this project will not cover the whole

of Buddhism but rather only one of its many teachings.

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d. “Flippish.com” – The First Online Pinoy TV Channel

- It is basically an online TV site wherein people can view different

shows of different genre, depending on the taste of the viewer. The

proponent was able to attend a seminar, with the producers of the

website and from there, it was discussed that most of the youth

nowadays depend on the Internet for entertainment, rather than

television – from a survey they conducted. The medium of

entertainment used by Flippish.com is the same as this project, a

web-based video.

e. New Zealand Short Films – Online

- The link for this website is http://www.nzshortfilm.com/ and it’s

about showcasing the best New Zealand short films to the world.

Once a film is selected, the viewers can opt to view each film’s

details while watching. Like the project, the Internet is the medium

used to send a message to the people.

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PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

A research on the topic will be done first as the proponent gathers the

necessary information to come up with a plot for the video narrative. Personal

interviews with Buddhists and Philosophy professors will be done separately

to see both the academic and the philosophical points of view on the same

topic of the Noble Eightfold Paths. A survey will also be conducted to College

students to see whether or not they are aware of the concept. Once all the

data have been gathered, a screenplay for the video narrative will be written.

Once the screenplay is done, pre-production shall take place – casting,

budgeting, storyboarding, location scouting and other related stuff will be

done. When everything is finalized, a full film production will take place in

different locations in a span of a week or two with six to eight hours of

shooting time per day. Meals will also be provided to the people involved.

Once filming wraps up, a week for post-production will be allotted – editing

(with Adobe Premiere CS3), special effects (if necessary, with Adobe After

Effects CS3). The musical score will be done once the film has been properly

cut. A final editing day will be done – to properly sync the musical score to the

sound track of the film.

While production is taking place, a promotional website will be created using

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 using HTML and CSS codes. The site will be

constantly updated with production photos and behind the scene materials.

Once the final cut of the film is done, it will be embedded using Flash in the

website for the user to be able to view the video narrative.

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