The truth of the Fourth Noble Truth is this: The Noble Eight-Fold Path is the way out of suffering.
The Noble 8-Fold Path is composed of the following:
Right view
Right Intention
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
In case you’re wondering about the word “Right” which sounds a bit judgmental and clearly calls its opposite “wrong” to mind, another word that could be used is “wise.” Wise View, wise Intention, wise speech…etc. This allows the invitation that is extended here to investigate and see for yourself what leads to suffering and what leads to freedom from suffering.
But to be clear, sometimes “right” is exactly what is meant versus “wrong.” When the Dalai Lama first heard the phrase “self-hatred” from Western scientists, he simply couldn’t understand it. When it was finally translated to him in a fiercely whispered exchange with his translator, he looked up at the assemblage of scientists and declared with energy, "That is just wrong view!”
This teaching, as are all the Buddha’s teachings, is an invitation to come and see for yourself. There is nothing to believe, no doctrines to memorize. The truth is what you discover in your own hearts and minds, in your own experience. These teachings are like the finger pointing to the moon. Do not be confused by the finger; look in the direction the finger is pointing and see the moon for yourself.
Thich Nhat Hanh says it so eloquently:
"Bhikkus, the teaching is merely a vehicle to describe the truth. Don’t mistake it for the truth itself. A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. The finger is needed to know where to look for the moon, but if you mistake the finger for the moon itself, you will never know the real moon.
"The teaching is like a raft that carries you to the other shore. The raft is needed but the raft is not the other shore. An intelligent person would not carry the raft around on his head after making it across to the other shore. Bhikkhus, my teaching is the raft which can help you cross to the other shore beyond birth and death. Use the raft to cross to the other shore, but don’t hang onto it as your property. Do not become caught in the teaching. You must be able to let it go."
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha
The path factors of the Noble Eight-fold Path are divided into three groups - the Wisdom factors, the Moral or Relationship factors, and the Mental training/discipline factors.
They are, nevertheless, inextricably linked. Suffering cannot be eliminated if one is stealing and harming no matter how blissful the meditation. And by the way, the meditation (mindfulness and concentration) will not proceed well if the mind is disturbed by unwholesome states of harming - whether to self or to others.
The Wisdom Factors are Wise View and Wise Intention.
The Moral or Relationship Factors are Wise Speech, Wise Action, and Wise Livelihood.
The Mental Training/Discipline Factors are Wise Effort, Wise Mindfulness, and Wise Concentration.
A quote from Bhikkhu Bodhi’s The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering (1999):
To follow the Noble Eightfold Path is a matter of practice rather than intellectual knowledge, but to apply the path correctly it has to be properly understood. In fact, right understanding of the path is itself a part of the practice. It is a facet of right view, the first path factor, the forerunner and guide for the rest of the path.
One of the delights and surprises for me in looking more deeply into the The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path is how, as one teacher said, like a hologram it is. The Noble Eightfold Path is contained in the Fourth Noble Truth. And in turn, the Four Noble Truths are contained in Right or Wise View, the first path factor of the Noble Eightfold Path.
As the we begin to explore the Noble Eightfold Path, we’ll see the worlds within worlds it contains.