Buddhism explained as I see it
(with help from Thich Nhat Hanh)

1. Dukkha: Life is suffering.
2. Samudaya: Desire creates suffering
3. Nirodha: Eliminating desire strikes at the root cause of suffering
4. Marga: The eightfold path that leads us to refrain from doing the things that cause us to suffer

Right View: Shariputra (one of the two original disciples of the Buddha) described right view as the ability to distinguish wholesome roots from unwholesome roots. First in the eightfold path, right view is imperative to be able to follow the rest. Without right view, we are unable to identify the right and true path from that which is false. We all carry both of these roots within us. When we act in an unwholesome way, we water the roots of anger, craving and violence. Right view is to recognize which roots are wholesome and to encourage those roots to be watered.

Right Thinking: The next step along the eightfold path is right thinking. With right view as the foundation, our thinking becomes the speech of our minds, and makes our verbal speech clear and beneficial. Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that we write the words "are you sure?" on a large piece of paper and hang it where you will see it often. Ask yourself this question again and again. Wrong perceptions cause incorrect thinking and unnecessary suffering.

Right Speech: In considering what to say about right speech, I remembered an essay by Thich Nhat Hanh. He explained it much better than I could:

"Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am determined to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self confidence, joy and hope. I will not spread news that I do not know to be certain and will not criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I am determined to make all efforts to reconcile or resolve all conflicts, however small."
--Thich Nhat Hanh, the Heart of Buddha's Teaching pg 84

Right Action: When we act in accordance with our moral principals we act rightly. Do our actions prevent harm to others? Do our actions promote well being in ourselves, our families and communities? Do we take responsibility for our actions, learn from them and continue to act for the benefit of all? Our actions should reflect our commitment to our beliefs. We need to constantly monitor our behavior, and by our right actions contribute to the well being of society.

Right Livelihood: We all must earn our living. We need to be aware of the consequences of what we do to earn our daily bread. Does your occupation contribute to the greater good? We must be mindful of the effect we have on the world around us. In our thoughts as of late are the police, fire fighters and rescue workers injured and killed in the world trade center tragedy. A more positive example of right livelihood would be difficult to find. Of course, we can't all pursue those occupations, but we can focus our energy in making a living in a positive fashion.

Right Diligence: This is the effort we take to maintain ourselves. We concentrate on the positive aspects of our lives and nurture that effort. We identify the negatives, and discard them. By right diligence, even small tasks become a joy to us.
Right Mindfulness: “There are many beautiful aspects of our consciousness, like faith, humility, self respect, non-craving, non-anger, non-ignorance, diligence ease, care, equanimity and non-violence.

Unwholesome mental formations on the other hand, are like a tangled ball of string. when we try to untangle it, we only wind it around ourselves until we can not move. The basic unwholesome mental formations are greed, hatred, ignorance, pride, doubt and views. The secondary unwholesome mental formations, arising from the basic ones are anger, malice, hypocrisy, malevolence, jealousy, selfishness, deception, guile, unwholesome excitement, the wish to harm, immodesty, arrogance, dullness, agitation, lack of faith, indolence, carelessness, forgetfulness, distraction and lack of attention.”
--Thich Nhat Hanh (once again) from the Heart of Buddha's Teaching pg74

By practicing right mindfulness, we are able to identify and act upon our thoughts, nurturing the positive and discarding the negative.

Right Concentration: There are two types of concentration: active and selective. When we actively concentrate we are aware of all that is around us. When we selectively concentrate, we focus in on one thing.

Enjoying a walk in the park allows active concentration. We smell the flowers, enjoy the beauty of the trees, and the laughter of the happy children on the playground.

When we do our taxes, we selectively concentrate, focusing in on the math and the confusing forms. We close ourselves off from the distractions of life to surmount the problem before us.

Through active and selective concentration, we live fully in each moment, and live in the joy of that which is around us. Sometimes joy can be the selective concentration of the beauty of one flower.