Right Intention

June 7, 2014

Dear Readers,

Thank you for continuing to learn more about the Noble Eightfold Path. If you want to see the old newsletters where I talked about the Noble Eightfold Path and Right View, scroll down and click on April 2014 or May 2014. This month, we will be learning about the second step on the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Intention. But first, lets review.

Life has dukkha (suffering). The way to be free of suffering is to follow the Noble Eightfold Path by practicing eight points: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. Try to follow the Noble Eightfold Path in your life, and you will have complete happiness, free from suffering. Right View is having a very good understanding of the world so that we can make good decisions and live a good life.

What does Right Intention mean? Right means correct or wholesome (good). Intention means that something is done on purpose; it's not an accident. Right Intention means purposely making good decisions using Right View (what we know of the world). People with Right Intention always try to make wholesome, harmless decisions.

What are some things that people with Right Intention do?

1. They refuse to make violent decisions.

2. They always use good will (make wholesome decisions).

3. They are selfless (they think about others first; they are not selfish).

4. They are always harmless to other living things.

When we have Right Intention, we plan to do wholesome actions. We purposely do things to make life better.

How can you use Right Intention? Always purposely try to do good things. If something bad happened on accident, it's okay. Just remember to learn from your mistake and do good things. Don't make selfish, harmful, bad decisions. Make selfless, harmless, wholesome decisions.

Now we have completed learning about two steps on the Noble Eightfold Path, Right View and Right Intention. Remember to check back next month to learn about the next step, Right Speech.

Thank you for learning!

Ruvini