Going in the Right Direction

The most widely known formula encapsulating the whole of Buddhist training is the noble eightfold path. These are eight practices, often called "path factors," that prescribe ways of thinking, acting, and cultivating clarity of mind. In Pali, the liturgical language of Theravāda Buddhism and the closest we have to what the Buddha would have spoken, they are prefixed with the word sammā (samyak in Sanskrit). This is usually translated as "right." It is important to understand that, in this context, "right" does not refer to the moral value of these practices (although they are indeed morally beautiful). The Buddha did not give us commandments as a divine authority. Instead, he gave us a system for training the mind. That is, a system for training a specific set of skills. This means there are right ways to go about developing that skill set, and there are wrong ways of doing it. Some things you do can build those skills. Others will not build them, and might even impede progress in them. The eight path factors are: right view, right saṅkappa, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness.

Notice I didn't translate saṅkappa. That's because it's one of those words that's hard to render in English. Attempts have included "thought," "thinking," "resolve," and "intention." It doesn't exactly mean any of those things, or can be taken to mean all of them. It's the next step after right view (if we look at the path as a sequence rather than holistically). Right view is having some understanding of what suffering even is, and what you can do about it. The natural next step is to start actually doing something about it. To do something about it, we must first get some sort of direction for the mind. This is saṅkappa. It is that mental orientation. It is an overarching purpose that serves as scaffolding to build mental structures directed to Dhamma. It is a spiritual compass.

The Buddha specified three right saṅkappa that opposed three wrong ones. The wrong ones are kāma, byāpāda, and vihiṃsā, usually translated as "sensual pleasure," "ill will," and "cruelty," although we'll look more deeply into what meaning can't be captured in a short English term. The right ones, then, are nekkhamma, abyāpāda, and avihiṃsā, usually translated as "renunciation," "non ill will," and "non-cruelty." Again, there is nuance beyond what these might connote to an English speaker (especially the idea of "renunciation," seen by many as a form of self-harm by means of self-denial). Note that the last two right saṅkappa are expressed as negatives or absences. They represent the removal of byāpāda and vihiṃsā, but that is accomplished through the cultivation of the positive qualities of love and compassion.

I'll go through these now, first byāpāda and abyāpāda, then vihiṃsā and avihiṃsā, and finally kāma and nekkhamma.

Byāpāda, as I said, is usually translated as "ill will." A related word sometimes used is "malevolence." In this limited sense, it refers to wishing bad fortune for another. It is wanting bad things to happen to a person because you dislike them. Teachers usually broaden it to refer to any sort of aversion or dislike, so that includes the reaction we have that is pulling back or avoiding. I prefer the translation "hostility." And just as we can have hostility towards others, we can have hostility towards ourselves or our own experiences.

To remove this hostility, we cultivate mettā. This word derives from the word for "friend," and it has been translated as "friendliness" or "loving-friendliness," although most people are familiar with the term "loving-kindness." Just as byāpāda, in its limited sense, refers to wishing ill upon another, mettā, in a limited sense, means wishing good for another. It is goodwill and benevolence. It is recognizing that all beings wish for and are seeking happiness. Even if they are confused about what might bring them happiness, and believe that they can get happiness through means that harm themselves or others, happiness is what they want. Mettā is the wish for them to achieve that happiness. Not some lesser happiness that involves doing harm, but a boundless, wholesome happiness. This extends to ourselves, as well. Just as we can have hostility towards ourselves or our own experiences, we can also extend love and kindness to ourselves and our own experiences.

Vihiṃsā goes a step further. It is not only wishing misfortune on someone, but actively delighting in it, perhaps even wishing to be the instrument of that misfortune. The quality that can be developed to oppose this is compassion. That is, the recognition that all beings are suffering, and wishing for them to be relieved of suffering. Wishing for them to be free from suffering. And, whenever possible, being the instrument of that relief. Now, there is a widespread misunderstanding of compassion as taking on the pain of another, but that's not what we mean here. We are trying to end suffering, not multiply it! Compassion is a loving attitude, an attitude of warmth and kindness, to be a healing balm.

Finally, there is nekkhamma, usually translated as "renunciation." The word actually derives from the verb nikkhamati, "departs." We might use the same verb to refer to departing a city or our home. This is not the idea of "renunciation" as self-flagellation, deliberately inflicting pain on ourselves in the belief it will somehow purify or otherwise improve us. In fact, for that reason, "renunciation" is probably not the best gloss. This is really about a natural process of spiritual growth that leads to outgrowing attachments to lesser pleasures, departing from them to a greater spiritual joy. It means looking into the inadequacy of being driven by lust for sensuality, and deciding to leave it behind. It's parting from the drive to distraction through pleasure. It is, at a fundamental level, freedom from addiction.

So those are the three sammāsaṅkappa, the three ways of orienting our spiritual compass towards liberation. They provide a mental foundation for directing how we act in the world, and they give us specific ways of thinking that lead towards freedom, and away from bondage.