The Burmese lay teacher Satya Narayan Goenka, said: “This is the Teaching of the Buddha as it affects the lay-person’s life. It is at once an ideal and a method. As an ideal, it aims at the evolution of a person toward the attainment of Nirvana — in this very life itself, by one’s own efforts. As a method, it teaches us that the ideal can become real by the practice and development of the Noble Eightfold Path. Each of us develops according to our own ability; according to our needs, using our own minds, by our own efforts come to know ourselves, train ourselves, and free ourselves from craving and attachment, aversion, and most of all — from ignorance.”

In the Buddha’s teachings all people unite “even as do the waters of the rivers that flow into the sea.” He also said that society, as with all conditioned phenomena, “has no finality of form and therefore changes with the passage of time,” and, “the layperson’s objective [is to] live a long and dignified life with the wealth obtained through rightful means.”

Arun Pandit wrote that there are ultimately two aspects to Right livelihood: “making a living by doing something which doesn’t inhibit your own ability to realize peace and making a living doing something which doesn’t inhibit others ability to realize peace.”

Knowing that the economic aspect of a community profoundly affects its other aspects, Thich Nhat Hanh once said, “The layperson’s objective [is to] live a long and dignified life with the wealth obtained through rightful means.” He said that society, as with all conditioned phenomena, “has no finality of form and therefore changes with the passage of time.”

The first of the ethics trainings is Wise Speech.  The point of Wise Speech is to continually bring ourselves back to the present moment, for ourselves and for others.  Wise Speech helps us realize what leads us out of confusion and bondage.  It helps us see what’s really going on; see what will lead us and others into hatred, confusion, difficulty and suffering; and, see what words and actions will lead us into peace, harmony, understanding, and compassion. at any given moment our eyes must be open to see our situation fully for what it is.  Our intention and the speech or actions that arise from that intention is the bottom line. 

“Cynthia Kane wrote, With the rules of Wise speech, we now have a foundational understanding of how a Buddhist communicates. She uses words that are true, balanced, necessary, and kind. She listens intently to others and to herself. And while she realizes that she is only responsible for what she says (not what others hear), she still takes great care to choose her words skillfully, so that the recipient is more likely to hear and understand them. She doesn’t speak negatively about people. She speaks from the heart. And once the words are said, she lets them go. The rules of Wise speech are by design simple and easy to remember. But that doesn’t mean they’re simple and easy to apply.”

Equally important to the way we speak is the way we listen. Thich Nhat Hanh emphasized the art of Deep Listening. When we bring mindfulness to ordinary conversation, we find that mindful listening means attending to our own physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions, as well as to the voice, tone, facial expressions, gestures, pauses, etc. all the rich nuances that go along with the words that people speak .

Christine Longaker wrote, “You must listen with your whole being, not just your ears. Listen with your body, your heart, your eyes, your energy, your total presence. Listen in silence, without interrupting. Fill any spaces of silence between you with love.”

The next three steps in the Eightfold Path are the ethical aspect of the path. This is called sila in Sanskrit.  Sila, consists of Wise Speech, Wise Action and Wise Livelihood.

Lama Surya Das wrote, “Carlos Castaneda wrote that Don Juan talked about choosing “a path with heart,” (which is the title of one of Jack Kornfield’s books) – that in choosing a way of practice or a way of life, we should ask: Is this a path with heart? Is this one that I can follow and live according to, and live in harmony with the deepest longings of my heart?”

What is a path with heart? It is a path that not only includes speaking, acting and living ethically, but with compassion, lovingkindness and equanimity. It doesn’t include judgment and contempt as guiding principle’s, but rather wisdom and discernment and understanding.

Ajahn Jayasaro wrote, “the Buddha said that sila is the most beautiful adornment for a human being, it’s the only fragrance that is all-pervasive.”