Buddhist professor THICH NU TINH QUANG : RIGHT ACTION (samyak-karmānta / sammā-kammanta)

Thich Nu Tinh Quang

The fourth stage of the Eightfold Path is called Right Action (samyak-karmanta; Pali samma-kammanta), and specifies the form and procedure to be followed on the path to enlightenment. Most lay people are accustomed to the fact that this formulation implies a basic relation to morals and ethics, a certain universal set of rules, according to which every act and is defined as true or false. Something like this set of rules we can call the Five Precepts; however, it is not the only commandment, and the main criterion, as it can not handle all the action. Five commandments only show us the things that do not cost, for one reason or another, being the first criterion.

However, apart from the above, in Buddhism the ideal ‘not-doing’ is also very important action, and the central criterion for its justification and necessity is awareness. You must be fully committed to Right Action and be aware of what is happening, constantly thinking about the consequences of your actions. It is important to the concept of causality because our every action has its consequences, from which much depends. To sum up, each committed action brings us pain or pleasure, depending on it, and should make the decision. Therefore, it turns out that we are up against the question of intelligence because the understanding of causality and competent use is possible only with its help. Whereby, actions in Buddhism are divided into skillful and unskillful to be explained in responding to our problems that the Buddha divides them as follows:

“Now what is unskillful? Taking life is unskillful, taking what is not given ... sexual misconduct ... lying ... abusive speech ... divisive tale-bearing ... idle chatter is unskillful. Covetousness ... ill will ... wrong views are unskillful. These things are termed unskillful. And what are the roots of what is unskillful? Greed is a root of what is unskillful; aversion is a root of what is unskillful; delusion is a root of what is unskillful. These are termed the roots of what is unskillful.”

“And what is skillful? Abstaining from taking life is skillful, abstaining from taking what is not given ... from sexual misconduct ... from lying ... from abusive speech ... from divisive tale-bearing ... abstaining from idle chatter is skillful. Lack of covetousness ... lack of ill will ... right views are skillful. These things are termed skillful. And what are the roots of what is skillful? Lack of greed is a root of what is skillful; lack of aversion is a root of what is skillful; lack of delusion is a root of what is skillful. These are termed the roots of what is skillful.”[1]

According to Buddhism, the proper action should be as nourishment for humans, respectively, every action must contribute to the growth and promotion to get rid of suffering and attain enlightenment, and to provide energy for future efficiencies and maintain life better.

“There are these four nutriments for the maintenance of beings that have come into being or for the support of those in search of a place to be born. Which four? Physical food, gross or refined, contacts as the second, intellectual intention the third, and consciousness the fourth; from the origination of craving comes the origination of nutriment. From the cessation of craving comes the cessation of nutriment.”[2]

Being one of the fundamental consequences of the actions of each person, fourth nutriment principle should be used very skillfully. When they are assumed as nutrition, life-sustaining and developing by them, and the lack of them, so anything can be eradicated. Therefore, the consequences of these actions can be very different, for the demands of the body and thoughts-the matter is how we nourish our body and mind in skilful or unskillful thing; we should definitely contemplate when thoughts arise, starting to some matter, asking thinking that is negative or positive by ourselves.

Just do not forget about what emotions we invest in their actions, as Right Action - the fourth of the steps of the Eightfold Path, expressed by the action from the Right View and Perfect Emotion, and helping us on the path to enlightenment. Also, we should know that Right Action ideally requires a full dedication, when the execution of an action directed all the essence and energy of man, all his physical strength, all his wisdom, and all compassion and all the love. Of course, it is quite difficult to put all their energies to fulfill the purpose, not being distracted by external factors, but concentrating fully on it their whole essence. Accordingly, the concentration ability is of great value in this context, and, of course, requires constant training.

Thus, Right Action implies quite rigorous analysis of your own actions, involving a careful thought in this, instead of just following a set of rules. While starting the implementation of an action, if you are following the word of the Buddha, you should first make sure there is not contrary to the commandments of the five action plans, and then to think about the potential consequences both positive and negative to avoid the latter. Keep in mind that every action eventually brings pain or joy, and constantly train your mind in proper planning. In addition, you always maintain mindfulness and focus on certain emotion in any circumstance, as Right Action it is also an integral action to which all the physical and mental force is directed. From this it follows that Right Action implies and regulates not only the fact of the correctness of the action with respect to the Buddha's teachings, but also the constant training of the mind in order to achieve the maximum effect of their actions. In Buddhism, there are also practices that help to develop our minds to more exalted states of consciousness and existence in general. It is believed that the best method for such developing is meditation, which is practiced in the context of the Buddhist spiritual life called ‘bhavana’. According to the Buddha’s teaching, there are four higher states of mind; each of them is more advanced, than the previous one. Thus, success in mind development is measured as an attainment of a higher level of the Right action, which is called dhyanas (Sanskrit, Pali – jhanas). It seems to be impossible to describe them, as they completely change the structure of the inner and outer world. In such case, the Buddha gave their description in a figurative, metaphorical way; to which in essence, there is nothing to add.

The first dhyana is a first one of the higher meditative states. To enter the first dhyana, as the Buddha says, the only way to reach it is to become withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from wrong ations, and withdrawn from unskillful qualities; after reaching it, people become filled with joy and delight which have arisen due to successful searches of wisdom. ‘There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born from withdrawa; this one state of mind could be compared to soap mixed with water: ‘Just as if a skilled bathman or bathman's apprentice would pour bath powder into a brass basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again and again with water, so that his ball of bath powder - saturated, moisture-laden, permeated within and without - would nevertheless not drip; even so, the monk permeates, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of withdrawal. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal...’[3]

To reach the second level, a monk has to attain a state of calm down from rapture and pleasure due to his directed Right action of thoughts and evaluations. To show us the essence of the second dhyana, the Buddha told “Just like a lake with spring-water welling up from within, having no inflow from east, west, north, or south, and with the skies periodically supplying abundant showers, so that the cool fount of water welling up from within the lake would permeate and pervade, suffuse and fill it with cool waters, there being no part of the lake unpervaded by the cool waters; even so, the monk permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of composure. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born of composure...”[4]

After passing a second level of mind, monk has a chance to go even further with the fading of rapture state, he remains equanimous, mindful, and alert, and senses pleasure along with his body. The simile for the third dhyana state is: ‘Just as in a blue-, white-, or red-lotus pond, there may be some of the blue, white, or red lotuses which born and growing in the water, stay immersed in the water and flourish without standing up out of the water, so that they are permeated and pervaded, suffused and filled with cool water from their roots to their tips, and nothing of those blue, white, or red lotuses would be unpervaded with cool water; even so, the monk permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture...’[5]

The final, the highest of meditative states or dhyanas is only available for those who had overcome the states of pleasure and the stress and the difference between them, as rising above the distinction of them. According to the Buddha’s words, its definition is following: “And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure and stress - as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress - he enters and remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. He sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness, so that there is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure, bright awareness.”[6]

Therefore, the Right Action is conducts correcting that based on two aspects: body and mind. In term of body, Buddha advised laypeople to practice five precepts[7] and avoid all the other evils, for making the happiness, and peace for oneself and others. Further, for those who are on the path to enlightenment, the Buddha has suggested the four meditative states to keep the mind detach from desires, pleasures, thoughts and attachments which cause stress and pain for inner and obscure the pure light of ours mind. Practicing Right Action, the body’s always in good conducts, and the thinking’s always mindfulness and equanimity; there is also the whole meaning of the Buddha's teachings.

“Every evil never doing

And in wholesomeness increasing

And one’s heart well-purifying:

This is the Buddha’s Teaching.”[8]

(Sabbapapassa akaranaj

Kusalassa upasampada

Sacittapariyodapanaj

Etaj buddhana sasanaj)

[1] MN 9, Sammaditthi Sutta: translated from the Pali by Ñanamoli Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi

[2] Ibid…

[3] AN 5.28, Samadhanga Sutta: The Factors of Concentration

[4] Ibid…