Talk:Noble Eightfold Path

Right Effort

The gloss given for "Right Resolve/Intention", "the giving up of home and adopting the life of a religious mendicant in order to follow the path" is inaccurate, and is not supported by the cited source, Harvey's An Introduction to Buddhism. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.85.187.147 (talk) 19:02, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

I agree. The Harvey passage cited, reads, in its entirety:

2. Right resolve ( samma-sahkappa , Skt samyak-samkalpa ): A ‘sahkappd is seen as springing from what one focuses perception on, and to potentially lead on to desire-to-do, yearning and seeking something out (S.11.143), reminiscent of the samkalpa or preparatory resolve that the Brahmins made before carrying out a sacrificial ritual. It concerns the emotions and aspirations and is:

i) at the ‘ordinary’ level, resolve for: a) nekkhamma (Skt naiskamya ), peaceful ‘renun¬ ciation’ or ‘non-sensuality’, and away from sense-pleasures ( kdmas)\ b) non-ill-will, equivalent to lovingkindness, and away from ill-will; c) non-cruelty, equivalent to compassion, and away from cruelty.

ii) at the Noble level: focused mental application ( vitakka , Skt vitarka ) in accord with right seeing. It is seen to both spring from and aid right view, both being part of wisdom. It aids right view as it is a repeated application of the mind to an object of contemplation, so that this can be rightly seen and understood, in a deep and discerning way, to be impermanent, dukkha, non-Self.

I don't see how the text as it currently stands is supported by this citation.

By contrast, Vetter reads (again, in its entirety):

leaving horne and trying to follow this path as a religious mendicant

Some comments:

1. The text as it currently stands isn't really supported by the Vetter citation as it stands, which does not include anything about "dedicate himself to an ascetic pursuit." Perhaps this interpretation is supported elsewhere in Vetter; I haven't read the whole book. But the phrase "ascetic pursuit" does not occur in Vetter.
2. The interpretation that Right Thought/Right Resolve refers to becoming a mendicant, based on checking a few references (e.g., Bhikkhu Bodhi's The Noble Eightfold Path, The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Walpola Rahula's What the Buddha Taught, etc.), appears to be peculiar to Vetter, and not representative of other translations.

Craig Stuntz (talk) 15:58, 1 October 2023 (UTC)

Translation

The translation used in this article is a little unusual. I've collected several translations of the Noble Eightfold Path:

Bodhi	Hanh	Keown	Lopez, Donald S. (Britannica)	Rahula	Sujato	Vetter
right view	right view	right view	correct view	right understanding	right view	right views
right intention	right thinking	right resolve	correct intention	right thought	right thought	right resolve
right speech	right speech	right speech	correct speech	right speech	right speech	right speech
right action	right action	right action	correct action	right action	right action	right conduct
right livelihood	right livelihood	right livelihood	correct livelihood	right livelihood	right livelihood	right livelihood
right effort	right diligence	right effort	correct effort	right effort	right effort	right effort
right mindfulness	right mindfulness	right mindfulness	correct mindfulness	right mindfulness	right mindfulness	right mindfulness
right concentration	right concentration	right meditation	correct concentration	right concentration	right immersion	right samādhi (concentration)

The article currently uses the Vetter translation. I am not sure that is the best translation to use, and I think it would make sense to note that the Noble Eightfold Path is translated into English differently by different translators?

Craig Stuntz (talk) 16:51, 4 July 2021 (UTC)

Vetter is also used to explain the eight elements. He stays close to the 'original' descriptions, that is, as aimed at monks (compare right lilivelihood). Some alternative terms are also given, as far as I can see. Joshua Jonathan -Let's talk! 05:23, 5 July 2021 (UTC)

Putting in chart above

I believe the chart in the above discussion would be a great addiction to the article.

Anyone disagree? Sethie (talk) 19:42, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

It seems overdone to me; only the second step is clearly ambigious. Joshua Jonathan - Let's talk! 01:59, 12 January 2024 (UTC)