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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Mark Epstein
Read between
June 23 - June 26, 2025
RIGHT VIEW
Right View asks us to focus on the incontrovertible truth of impermanence rather than trying to shore up a flawed and insecure self.
Right View states that the fundamental purpose of Buddhist meditation is not to create a comfortable hiding place for oneself; it is to acquaint the mind, on a moment-to-moment basis, with impermanence.
The word “right” means something to us that the original term (sammā) did not mean. When we hear “right,” we automatically think “wrong.” But the word, as the Buddha used it, had other primary connotations. Some translators use “realistic” to convey its sense; others use “complete.” To my mind, “right” means balanced, attuned, or fitting.
The Eightfold Path “is not a recipe for a pious Buddhist existence in which you do everything right and get nothing wrong,” says one contemporary Buddhist commentator; it is a means of orienting yourself so that your fears and habits do not tip the balance of your existence.
RIGHT MOTIVATION
Right Motivation, which is sometimes rendered as Right Intention, Right Thought, or Right Understanding, at its heart concerns the conscious resolve to shape one’s life based on Right View.
RIGHT SPEECH
Right Speech conventionally means abstaining from lying, gossip, vain talk, and hurtful rejoinders—all of which create turmoil in the mind—it
Right Speech is traditionally presented as the first of three ethical qualities to be cultivated on the Eightfold Path. Right Action and Right Livelihood are the subsequent two.
The classic approach to Right Speech asks us to pay attention to the space between thought and action and to intervene when the words we want to say have a toxic quality.
While the classical portrait focuses on refraining from harsh outer speech, in my view Right Speech can also be applied in our inner worlds.
RIGHT ACTION
Right Action classically means not acting destructively.
RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
Right Livelihood is the third of the ethical trilogy that began with Right Speech and Right Action.
Right Livelihood, from its inception, has asked people to consider the ethics of how they make their money.
“Right Livelihood is not only about what we do but also about how we do it,” writes Joseph Goldstein. Because it is about our behavior in the world, it can also be thought of as Right Living or Right Relationship.
RIGHT EFFORT
RIGHT MINDFULNESS
The trick to Right Mindfulness is not to turn it into another method of self-improvement. As with Right Effort, it is possible to try too hard and override the subtlety and simplicity of what mindfulness is.
It is a muscle of nonjudgmental self-observation,
RIGHT CONCENTRATION
Concentration is “Right” when it connects with the other branches of the whole. It is “Right” when it demonstrates the feasibility of training the mind, when it supports the investigation of impermanence, when it erodes selfish preoccupation, and when it reveals the benefits of surrender.
Concentration, from a Buddhist perspective, means keeping one’s attention steady on a single object such as the breath or a sound for extended periods of time.
