Right Concentration

Dear Readers,

Thank you for continuing to learn about the Noble Eightfold Path. If you want to see the old newsletters about the Noble Eightfold Path, scroll down to the "Old Newsletters" section and click on the links. This month, we will be learning about the seventh step on the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Concentration. 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 Concentration, and Right Mindfulness. Try to follow the Noble Eightfold Path in your life, and you will have complete happiness, free from suffering.

What is Right Concentration? Right Concentration means being focused and mindful of what is happening in your life. By staying concentrated on something, you can fully understand it. By staying concentrated on what is happening around you, you can fully understand life. Having this wisdom will help you prevent dukkha from entering your life.

Here's how to use Right Concentration:

1. Do not work hard to get dukkha.

2. Do not work hard to get complete happiness (bliss).

3. Work hard to have neither bliss nor dukkha. This is called equanimity.

It seems obvious that you shouldn't try to have suffering in your life. What is surprising is to not try to have bliss in your life, right? But being the happiest person in the world is not that great. Having too much happiness is hard to keep, and you will quickly return to dukkha again. That's why the best place to be is right in the middle - equanimity. There, you are neither too happy nor too sad - you aremindful. In this place, you have complete wisdom and open-mindedness to understand life. But to get to equanimity, you have to give up bliss and dukkha. You can use Right Concentration to do this.

Although it may seem difficult, you can use Right Concentration in your life everyday! When you are trying to make a decision, choose the one that does not cause others to suffer, and do not choose the one that will make you completely blissful. Stay focused, clear your mind, and make your decisions with wisdom. When you do this, you will be on your way on the Noble Eightfold Path. Remember if you make any mistakes on your path, it's okay. Just remember to learn from them!

Now we have completed learning about seven steps on the Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, and Right Concentration. There's only one more left! Remember to use what we learned in your life! Check back in December to learn about the last step, Right Mindfulness.

Thank you for learning!

Ruvini