Righteous Life

八圣道的生活：

戒Sila

正 语Sammàvàca

正 业Sammàkammanta

正 命Sammà-àjãva

定Samàdhi

正精进Sammàvàyàma

正 念Sammàsati

正 定Sammàsamàdhi

慧Pa¤¤a

正 见Sammàdiññhi

正思维Sammàsaïkappa

The Eightfold path consists of the following eight factors:

Sila (Morality) - Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood

Samadhi (Mental culture) - Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration

Panna (Wisdom) - Right Understanding, Right Thoughts

慧学：

What is Right Understanding? It is explained as having the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths. In other words, it is the understanding of things as they really are. Right Understanding also means that one understands the nature of what are wholesome kamma (merits) and unwholesome kamma (demerits), and how they may be performed with the body, speech and mind. By understanding kamma, a person will learn to avoid evil and do good, thereby creating favorable outcomes in his life. When a person has Right Understanding, he also understands the Three Characteristics of Life (that all compounded things are transient, subject to suffering, and without a Self) and understands the Law of Dependent Origination. A person with complete Right Understanding is one who is free from ignorance, and by the nature of that enlightenment removes the roots of evil from his mind and becomes liberated. A lofty aim of a practising Buddhist is to cultivate Wisdom and gain Right Understanding about himself, life and all phenomena.

什么是正见？正见就是对四圣谛有所认识，或了解事物的真相。正见也指明了各种善业和不善业，及它们对人类身、语、意的影响。认识「业」以后，人们就懂得远离邪恶和向善，缔造美好的生活。当一个人拥有正见时，他了解人性的三种本质：无常、苦和无我，也了解十二缘起法。当一个人发展了正见之后，觉悟于真性，断除邪恶之根，因此而获得解脱。要达到这个目的，就必须发展智慧，从智慧中获得对自我、对生命和对一切现象的正见。

When a person has Right Understanding, he or she develops Right Thought as well. This factor is sometimes known as 'Right Resolution', 'Right Aspirations" and 'Right Ideas'. It refers to the mental state which eliminates wrong ideas or notions and promotes the other moral factors to be directed to Nibbana. This factor serves a double purpose of eliminating evil thoughts and developing pure thoughts. Right Thought is important because it is one's thoughts which either purify or defile a person. There are three aspects to Right Thought. First, a person should maintaining an attitude of detachment from worldly pleasures rather than being selfishly attached to them. He should be selfless in his thoughts and think of the welfare of others. Second, he should maintain loving-kindness, goodwill and benevolence in his mind, which is opposed to hatred, ill-will or aversion. Third, he should act with thoughts of harmlessness or compassion to all beings, which is opposed to cruelty and lack of consideration for others. As a person progresses along the spiritual path, his thoughts will become increasingly benevolent, harmless, selfless, and filled with love and compassion.

当一个人获得正见后，他将进一步发展正思维，这就是拥有不动摇的心、正确的抱负和正确的思想。在精神境界放弃一切不正确的思想，培养通往涅槃的道德戒行。正思维就是弃除邪恶的思想和培养纯正的思想。正思维是非常重要的，它影响了一个人思想的净化或污染。

正思维有三重意义：

一、放弃私心，为世间谋求幸福，利益他人。

二、发展慈心，以慈心对治邪恶和伤害。

三、发展悲心，以大悲心对待一切众生。

当一个人心灵之道获得发展，在思想上，仁慈之心会日益增长、不再伤害、不自私、充满了爱心和慈悲心。

Right Understanding and Right Thought, which are Wisdom factors, will lead to good, moral conduct. There are three factors under moral conduct: Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood.

正见和正思维是属于慧学，它培养善与道德的真性。

Right Speech involves respect for truth and respect for the welfare for others. It means to avoid lying, to avoid backbiting or slander, to avoid harsh speech, and to avoid idle talk. We have often underestimated the power of speech and tend to use little control over our speech faculty. But we have all been hurt by someone's words at some time of our life, and similarly we have been encouraged by the words of another. It is said that a harsh word can wound more deeply than weapons, where as a gentle word can change the heart and mind of the most hardened criminal. So to develop a harmonious society, we should cultivate and use our speech positively. We speak words which are truthful, bring harmony, kind and meaningful. The Buddha once said 'pleasant speech is sweet as honey, truthful speech is beautiful like a flower, and wrong speech is unwholesome like filth'.

戒学：

戒学分三类：正语、正业、正命。

正语即尊重于真理及他人的福利。也就是不撒谎、不毁谤、不造谣、不奉承及不胡言乱语。我们经常忽略了语言的威力，因此不关注于语言。

但是，我们无时无刻都受到语言的伤害，语言有时候比武器要来得厉害。有时候，因为一句话改变了你的想法，或因此导致犯罪。要发展和谐的社会，就必须先控制不良语言和使用正面的语言，只说一些真实、平和、善良和有意义的话。佛陀说：「令人愉快的言语，像蜜糖一样甜，真实的言语，像鲜花一样芳香，不正确的言语却像污秽物。」

The next factor under good, moral conduct is Right Action. Right Action entails respect for life, respect for property, and respect for personal relationships. It corresponds to the first three of the Five Precepts to be practised by every Buddhist, that is, dear to all, and all tremble at punishment, all fear death and value life. Hence, we should abstain from taking a life which we ourselves cannot give and we should not harm other sentient beings. Respect for property means that we should not take what is not given, by stealing, cheating, or force. Respect for personal relationship means that we should not commit adultery and avoid sexual misconducts, which is important for maintaining the love and trust of those we love as well as making our society a better place to live in.

正业是戒学中的第二项。正业就是珍惜生命、珍惜财物和珍惜人与人之间的关系。正业和五戒中的前三戒息息相关，那就是不杀生、不偷盗、不邪淫。生命比一切都珍贵，大家都害怕被惩罚，珍惜生命畏惧于死亡。我们在珍惜自己生命的同时，也应该更爱惜其他众生的生命，不要对其他众生造成伤害。珍惜财物就是：那些不属于我们的财物，不要据为己有，比如：偷盗、欺骗或抢夺。珍惜人与人之间的关系就是：不要搞正常婚姻以外的性关系，要信任和爱护自己的配偶。通过正业，我们能缔造一个更平稳和更适合人类居住的社会。

Right Livelihood is a factor under moral conduct which refers to how we earn our living in society. It is an extension of the two other factors of Right Speech and Right Action which refer to the respect for truth, life, property and personal relationships. Right Livelihood means that we should earn a living without violating these principles of a moral conduct. Buddhists are discouraged from being engaged in the following five kinds of livelihood: trading in human beings, trading in weapons, trading in flesh, trading in intoxicating drinks and drugs, and trading in poison. Some people may say that they have to do such a business for their living and, therefore, it is not wrong for them to do so. But this argument is entirely baseless. If it were valid, then thieves, murderers, gangsters, thugs, smugglers and swindlers can also just as easily say that they are also doing such unrighteous acts only for their living and, therefore, there is nothing wrong with their way of life. Some people believe that fishing and hunting animals for pleasure and slaughtering animals for food are not against the Buddhist precepts. This is another misconception that arises owing to a lack of knowledge in Dhamma. All these are not decent actions and bring suffering to other beings. But in all these actions, the one who is harmed most of all is the one who performs these unwholesome actions. Maintaining a life through wrong means is not in accordance with the Buddha's teaching.

正命是戒学中的第三项。正命指示了人类在这个社会中如何获得生存的权力。正语和正业之道指导我们如何珍惜生命、财物和人与人之间的关系。正命却指示了我们如何在不违反道德准则中生活。佛教徒应该远离五种不道德的行业：人口买卖、武器买卖、肉类买卖、酒类和麻醉品买卖和毒品买卖。有些人说，他们从事这类的买卖是为了 生活，所以他们并没有犯错。但是，这种说法并没有说服力，如果他们没有错，那么，小偷、杀人犯、歹徒、凶手、走私犯和骗子，也可以这么说：他们从事这些不正当的行业并没有错，同样是为了生活。

有人认为钓鱼和狩猎是一种高尚的娱乐，屠宰动物是为了食物，因此并不犯戒。这是一种错误的观念，是因为对佛法缺乏认识的缘故，这些都不是高尚的生活方式，任何生类都不应该对其他生类造成伤害。这些伤害都是一些没有必要的伤害。对生命抱着错误的观念，并非佛陀所教。

The Buddha once said, 'Though one should live a hundred years immorally and unrestrained, yet it would indeed be better to live one day virtuously and meditatively.' (Dhammapada 103) It is better to die as a cultured and respected person than to live as a wicked person.

佛陀说：「一个没有道德的人，在不安定的日子里活了一百岁，不如一个持戒和有禅定修养的人活一天。」《法句经》

宁可死得有道德和值得尊敬，也不要活得像一个邪恶和狡猾的人。

The remaining three factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are factors for the development of wisdom through the purification of the mind. They are Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. These factors, when practised, enable a person to strengthen and gain control over the mind, thereby ensuring that his actions will continue to be good and that his mind is being prepared to realize the Truth, which will open the door to Freedom, to Enlightenment.

定学：

定学共有三项：正精进、正念和正定。通过定学的锻炼，可以净化自身和获得智慧，也能够更有效的控制我们自己的心识，从而获得智慧和善性，并为我们打开了证悟和解脱的大门。

正精进，就是全面的发展，如：通过不懈努力、坚韧不拔的意志，学习和实践佛法，而获得各方面的进展，这就是正精进。正精进有四种属性。

一、已生恶令灭。

二、未生恶令不生。

三、已生善令增长。

四、未生善令生。

正精进于我们的生活起着决定性的作用，它令我们的精神境界获得充分的发展，让我们更清楚的认识行法的无常性。

Right Effort means that we cultivate a positive attitude and have enthusiasm in the things we do, whether in our career, in our study, or in our practice of the Dhamma. With such a sustained enthusiasm and cheerful determination, we can succeed in the things we do. There are four aspects of Right Effort, two of which refer to evil and the other two to good. First, is the effort to reject evil that has already arisen; and second, the effort to prevent the arising of evil. Third, is the effort to develop unarisen good, and fourth, the effort to maintain the good which has arisen. By applying Right Effort in our lives, we can reduce and eventually eliminate the number of unwholesome mental states and increase and firmly establish wholesome thoughts as a natural part of our mind.

正精进和正念关系密切。身为一个佛教徒，培养正念是必要的。佛陀说过，正念是唯一灭苦的途径。正念(依所缘)有四种：

一、念于身(身念处，观身不净)。

二、念于受(受念处，观受是苦)。

三、念于心(心念处，观心无常)。

四、念于法(法念处，观法无我)。

正念体现于我们日常生活中，我们的一切受、想、行、识都受到「念」的支配。因此，我们生活中，应该非常关注于「念」，使「念」清晰，培养正念。

Right Effort is closely associated with Right Mindfulness. The practice of mindfulness is important in Buddhism. The Buddha said that mindfulness is the one way to achieve the end of suffering. Mindfulness can be developed by being constantly aware of four particular aspects. These are the application of mindfulness with regard to the body (body postures, breathing so forth), feelings (whether pleasant, unpleasant or neutrally); mind (whether the mind is greedy or not, angry, dispersed or deluded or not); and mind objects (whether there are mental hindrances to concentration, the Four Noble Truths, and so on). Mindfulness is essential even in our daily life in which we act in full awareness of our actions, feelings and thoughts as well as that of our environment. The mind should always be clear and attentive rather than distracted and clouded. Whereas Right Mindfulness is directing our attention to our body, feelings, mind, or mental object or being sensitive to others, in other words, putting our attention to where we choose to, Right Concentration is the sustained application of that attention on the object without the mind being distracted.

Concentration is the practice of developing one-pointedness of the mind on one single object, either physical or mental. The mind is totally absorbed in the object without distractions, wavering, anxiety or drowsiness. Through practice under an experienced teacher, Right Concentration brings two benefits. Firstly, it leads to mental and physical well-being, comfort, joy, calm, tranquility. Secondly, it turns the mind into an instrument capable of seeing things as they truly are, and prepares the mind to attain wisdom. The Noble Eightfold Path is the fourth important truth taught by the Buddha. As a competent spiritual physician, the Buddha has identified a disease that afflicts all forms of life, and this is Dukkha or unsatisfactoriness. He then diagnosed the cause of the unsatisfactoriness to be selfish greed and craving. He discovered that there is a cure for the disease, Nibbana, the state where all unsatisfactoriness ceases. And the prescription is the Noble Eightfold Path. When a competent doctor treats a patient for a serious illness, his prescription is not only for physical treatment, but it is also psychological. The Noble Eightfold path, the path leading to the end of suffering, is an integrated therapy designed to cure the disease of Samsara through the cultivation of moral speech and action, the development of the mind, and the complete transformation of one's level of understanding and quality of thought. It shows the way to gain spiritual maturity and be released completely from suffering.

正念影响了我们的身、受、心与法，及其它一切的有关行为。因此，导致于我们向往「定」。正定导致我们无论在精神或肉体，都能获得「专注」(心一境性)的能力，心识关注于一个目标，不受外在所有因素的影响。通过正确的途径锻炼正念，可获得两种利益。

一、在身心方面获得平静、舒适和欢愉。

二、提升心的洞察力，生起观想事物本性的能力，进而引发智慧。

八圣道是佛陀教义中的精粹。是完整的心灵发展的原动力。是佛陀为众生找出的病源──苦，和诊治的唯一方法。「苦」的根源就是欲念和贪，当消除欲念和贪后，就能轻易的进入无苦的涅槃，这就是八圣道的真正定义。当一位高明的医生在为病人诊治严重的疾病时，他不单治疗病人的肉体，也给病人做了精神的辅导。八圣道是灭苦的唯一途径，同时也是对治轮回的良方，发展我们的心识和提升我们的本质，它指示了如何获得心灵纯净和通往无苦境界的道路。