Page 38 - Suffering
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‘‘ Finally, Liberation ‘‘
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* Pali: Ariya Atthangika Magga. In early Buddhism, the Noble Eightfold Path
practices started with understanding that the body-mind works in a corrupted
way (right view), followed by entering the Buddhist path of self-observance, self-
restraint, and cultivating kindness and compassion; and culminating in samadhi,
which reinforces these practices for the development of the body-mind. Today,
Buddhism, insight became the central psychological instrument leading to a
different concept and structure of the path in which the “goal” of the Buddhist
path came to be specified as ending ignorance and rebirth.
The Buddha described the Eightfold Path as a means to enlightenment, like a
raft for crossing a river. Once one has reached the opposite shore, one no longer
needs the raft and can leave it behind.
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