Ways of Practice  


1. For those who seek Enlightenment there are three ways of
practice that must be understood and fol owed. First, disciplines
for practical behaviour; second, right concentration; and third,
wisdom.
What are the disciplines? Every man, whether he is a commoner
or way-seeker, should fol ow the precepts for good behaviour.
He should control both his mind and body and guard the gates
of his five senses. He should be afraid of even a trifling evil and,
from moment to moment, should endeavour to practise good
deeds.
What is meant by the concentration of the mind? It means to get
quickly away from greedy and evil desires as they arise and to
hold the mind pure and tranquil.
What then is wisdom? It is the wisdom to perfectly understand
and to patiently accept the Four Noble Truths -- to know the
fact of suffering and its nature; to know the source of suffering;
to know what constitutes the end of suffering; and to know the
Noble Path that leads to the end of suffering.
ose who earnestly fol ow these three ways of practice may
rightly be cal ed the disciples of the Buddha.
2. It is difficult to advance along the path that leads to En-
lightenment so long as one is covetous of comfort and luxuries

and his mind be disturbed by the desires of the senses. ere is a
wide difference between the enjoyment of life and the enjoyment
of the True Path. If the mind enjoys worldly affairs, il usions
and suffering will inevitably fol ow, but if the mind enjoys the
True Path, happiness, contentment and enlightenment will just
as surely fol ow.
erefore, those who are seeking Enlightenment should keep
their minds pure and patiently keep and practise the ree Ways.
If they keep the precepts they will natural y obtain concentra-
tion of the mind and if they obtain concentration of the mind
it will be just as natural for them to grasp wisdom, and wisdom
will lead them to Enlightenment.
Indeed these ree Ways are the true path to Enlightenment.
By not fol owing them, people have for a long time accumulated
mental delusions, which are the root causes of all sufferings.
3. If the ree Ways of practice are analysed, they will reveal
the Eightfold Path, the Four Viewpoints to be considered, the
Four Right Procedures, the Five Faculties of Power to be em-
ployed, and the Perfection of the Six Paramitas.
e Noble Eightfold Path refers to right view, right thought,
right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness and right concentration.
Right View includes: to thoroughly understand the Four Noble
Truths, to believe in the Law of Cause and Effect and not to be
deceived by appearances and desires.

Right ought means the resolution not to cherish desires, not
to be greedy, not to be angry and not to do any harmful deed.
Right Speech is the avoidance of lying words, idle words, abusive
words and double-tongues.
Right Action means not to destroy any life, not to steal, or not
to commit adultery.
Right Livelihood means to avoid any life that would bring shame
to a man.
Right Effort means to try to do one's best diligently towards the
right direction.
Right Mindfulness means to maintain a pure and thoughtful
mind.
Right Concentration means to keep the mind right and tranquil
for its concentration, seeking to realise the mind's own essence.
e Four Viewpoints to be considered include: (1) To consider
the body as impure, to remove all attachments to it. (2) To con-
sider the senses as a source of suffering, whatever their feelings
of pain or pleasure may be. (3) To consider everything in the
world as being a consequence of causes and conditions and that
nothing remains unchanged forever.
e Four Right Procedures are: (1) To prevent any evil from
starting. (2) To remove any evil as soon as it starts. (3) To in-
duce the doing of good deeds. (4) To encourage the growth and
continuance of good deeds that have already started. One must
endeavour to keep these four procedures.

e Five Faculties of Power are: (1) e faith to believe. (2) e
will to make the endeavour, (3) e faculty of reliable memory.
(4) e ability to concentrate one's mind and (5) e ability to
maintain clear wisdom. ese five faculties are necessary powers
to attain Enlightenment.
e Perfection of the Six Paramitas for reaching the other shore
of Enlightenment are: e path of offering, the path of keeping
precepts, the path of endurance, the path of endeavour, the path
of concentration of mind, and the path of wisdom. By fol owing
these paths, one can surely pass from the shore of delusion over
to the shore of Enlightenment.
e practice of Offering gets rid of selfishness; the practice of
the Precepts keeps one thoughtful of the rights and comforts of
others; the practice of Endurance helps one to control a fearful or
angry mind; the practice of Endeavour helps one to be diligent
and faithful; the practice of Concentration helps one to control a
wandering and futile mind; and the practice of Wisdom changes
a dark and confused mind into a clear and penetrating insight.
Offering and keeping Precepts make the foundation necessary
to build a great castle on. Endurance and Endeavour are the
wal s of the castle that protect it against enemies from outside.
Concentration and Wisdom are the personal armour that pro-
tects one against the assault of life and death.
`xtracted from `e eaching of uddha' published by
ukkyo endo yokai, okyo, apan.

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