Solid Traditional Foundations
Our meditation method rests on solid traditional foundations:
The Buddha’s Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path, and Asanga’s Elephant Path, as outlined in The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa. Its practical aspects are emphasized and further developed through The Playful Path.
INTRODUCTION
This article is part of the Meditation Adventure class, “Context for the Meditative Journey.” It clarifies the traditional roots of our teachings, their expression in later Buddhism, and how they are represented in The Mind Illuminated. It also introduces innovative elements unique to Mind Muar. We encourage you to follow your curiosity and explore these subjects through independent research. You’re also welcome to ask questions in the comments; we’ll happily reply.
LANGUAGES
The terms in the slide titles are written in Sanskrit, reflecting the influence of later Buddhist traditions (Mahayana) on our teachings. To include early Buddhism (Theravada), whose scriptures were written in Pali, the article presents both Sanskrit and Pali terms alongside their English equivalents.
NESTED STRUCTURE
The slide provides context for our teachings by demonstrating how each foundation is nested within the one preceding it. This allows us to orient within the vast Buddhist landscape and its rich body of wisdom, as we zoom in on the specific aspects to highlight.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The Four Noble Truths are The Buddha’s foundational teaching on the nature of suffering and the path to liberation. Like a skilled doctor, the Buddha recognizes the illness, identifies its cause, knows it is curable, and prescribes an effective treatment:
1st - Suffering (Duhkha / Dukkha)
Suffering is interwoven into human existence. As listed in the Mahā Satipatthāna Sutta: birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair; association with the unloved; separation from the loved; not getting what one wants; and, in brief, clinging to the five aggregates.
2nd - Origin of Suffering (Samudaya / Samudaya)
Suffering arises through the mind’s tendency toward Craving (Trishna / Tanha, meaning “thirst”). The slide expands this core concept by mentioning The Three Poisons that lie at its root:
Desire grasps at what seems pleasant or fulfilling.
Aversion pushes away what feels unpleasant, painful, or threatening.
Ignorance misperceives the true nature of reality, giving rise to various illusions and false assumptions.
3rd - Cessation of Suffering (Nirodha / Nirodha)
It’s possible to put an end to suffering and become fully liberated. When the mind is free of craving, clinging, and ignorance, we find True Peace (Nirvāna / Nibbāna).
4th - Path (Mārga / Magga)
There is a path leading to liberation: the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path, outlined in the next section.
THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH
Formulated by Gautama the Buddha in the 5th century BCE, The Noble Eightfold Path consists of eight practices, forming the path liberating from suffering and leading to true peace. They cover three aspects essential for leading a virtuous living: supporting inner peace through ethical conduct, achieving mental clarity through disciplined meditation, and developing liberating wisdom through insight.
Note: the ordering presented here is aligned with Mind Muar’s pedagogical approach, and is different than the traditional order in the Buddhist canon.
ETHICAL CONDUCT (Śīla / Sīla)
Right Speech (Samyag-Vāc / Sammā-Vācā)
Abstaining from lying, backbiting, slander, and any talk that could lead to hatred, enmity, or disharmony among people. It also requires abstaining from harsh, rude, or abusive language and from idle, useless gossip. Instead, one should speak the truth using words that are friendly, benevolent, pleasant, meaningful, and useful, ensuring that speech occurs at the appropriate time and place.
Right Action (Samyak-Karmānta / Sammā-Kammanta)
Aims to promote moral, honourable, and peaceful conduct in one's life: abstaining from killing or hurting living beings, taking something that isn’t willfully given, from business rooted in dishonesty, and from illegitimate sexual conduct.
Right Livelihood (Samyag-Ajīva / Sammā-Ajīva)
Mandates that one should earn their living through a profession that is honourable, blameless, and innocent of harm to others. One must abstain from professions that bring harm to others, such as trading in arms and lethal weapons, intoxicating drinks, poisons, or killing animals, as well as avoid making a living through cheating and deciet.
Mind Muar extends this principle to refrain from gambeling or engaging in monetary zero-sum games, in favor of professions that generate genuine value to the world and its inhabitants.
MEDITATIVE STABILITY (Samādhi / Samādhi)
Right Effort (Samyag-Vyāyāma / Sammā-Vāyāma)
Directing one’s energy toward four specific mental goals:
Preventing evil and unwholesome states of mind from arising
Getting rid of evil and unwholesome states if they have already arisen.
Producing benevolent and wholesome states of mind that have not yet appeared.
Developing and bringing to perfection benevolent and wholesome states that are already present.
Right Mindfulness (Samyak-Smrti / Sammā-Sati)
Developing attentiveness and awareness in four specific domains:
The physical body (e.g., breath, posture, organs)
The sensations in the body (e.g., hedonic nature, arising/passing, with or without clinging)
The mind itself (i.e, states of mind: focused, scattered, distracted, stable, exalted, liberated, etc.’)
The phenomena within the mind (hindrances, distractions, sensorial and conceptual objects, the seven factors of enlightenment).
These domains are thoroughly explained in the Maha Satipatthana Suta.
Right Concentration (Samyak-Samādhi / Sammā-Samādhi)
The cultivation of stable attention to the point of entering four stages of deep meditative absorptions (Jhanas / Dhyanas):
Passionate desires and unwholesome thoughts are abandoned while joy (Piti / Piti) and happiness remain.
Intellectual activities are suppressed in favor of a single-pointed exclusive attention, while the feelings of joy and happiness is retained.
Joy subsides and transformes into mindful equanimity
All that remains is pure awareness characturized by deep tranquility and profound equanimity, with all sensations of happiness or sorrow completely vanished.
These meditative absorptions creates the ideal conditions for acquiring Insight and developing the wisdom of Right View.
WISDOM (Prajñā / Paññā)
Right View (Samyag-Drsti / Sammā-Ditthi)
Also translated as “Right Understanding.” It is the highest wisdom that sees the true nature of reality, by understanding things exactly as they are. Right View combines both an intellectual understanding, and a deep, intuitive, non-conceptual understanding, that develops and matures through meditation.
Right Intention (Samyak-Samkalpa / Sammā-Sankappa)
Also translated as “Right Thought.” It encompasses thoughts of selfless renunciation or detachment, as well as thoughts of love and non-violence extended to all living beings. It also marks the abandonment of selfish desire, hatred, and violence.
