Four Noble Truths/Noble Eightfold Path Follow-Up Post

Post date: Mar 18, 2011 2:15:16 PM

A few months ago I published a post about the confusion I was experiencing with the inter-relationship of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold path, going so far as to try and diagram it out.

In starting my first MA course I’ve been introduced to my late professor Dr. Santina and his text: The Tree of Enlightenment. In Chapter 5, he gives the best analogy that I’ve come across so far:

…we used the analogy of climbing a mountain, where the very first step depends on keeping the summit firmly in view, while the last step depends on being careful not to stumble at the outset. In other words, each part of the way depends on the other parts, and if any part of the path is not completed, the summit will not be gained. In the same way, in the case of the Noble Eightfold Path, all the steps are interrrelated and depend on one another.

This could not be a better visualization for a hiker like me!

-PHIL