The path that leads away from suffering never gets old.
I remember the first Buddhist teaching I ever listened to. It was the summer of 1995 and somebody had lent me a set of cassette tapes — remember those? — by a guy I had never heard of: Jack Kornfield. The topic was the Eightfold Path.
I needed something to entertain myself with as I painted my living room. So I slipped the first cassette into the tape player of my old home stereo system — the one with the cheap but enormous speakers — and went to work as Jack began speaking in soft, gentle tones about the reality of suffering.
Suffering. There was something about hearing someone acknowledge that life is hard, really hard sometimes, that made me feel relieved. It didn’t sound depressing to me. It sounded true. And when Jack got to the part that promised a way out of suffering, I could not tear myself away.
It took several days for me to complete the painting project, by which time I had listened to every tape. Then I went on vacation to the East Coast, so I copied the tapes and listened to them again on my car stereo. Then, after I returned home, I went through to the whole series a third time on my bright yellow Sony Walkman during dog walks in the fall.
I’ve long lost track of those tapes and I remember only a few of the particulars of Jack’s stories. One I do recall was an illustration of Right Livelihood. Jack was in India and needed to have his leather suitcase repaired. The man repairing it took his time, was very thorough, and took great care in doing his work. By the time he was done it was perfectly mended. This aspect of right livelihood — doing your job humbly and to the best of your ability while following the precept to do no harm — stuck with me for many years in my work as a reporter, writer, and editor.
In the twenty or so years that I have been offering dharma talks I have often spoken of the Eightfold Path. And now I am preparing to do it again in a series of online talks on Wednesday nights that will stretch out over the next few months, with help from Debra Wiens.
Somehow it never gets old. Each time I do this, I learn something new. It’s like polishing a stone — it gets smoother, brighter, and more beautiful with time.
If you are interested in following along as we explore the Eightfold Path together in the coming weeks, here are a few reference books you may find useful:
Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Bhante Gunaratana.
What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula.
Dancing With Life by Phillip Moffitt.
And there are literally hundreds of free talks about the Eightfold Path on Dharma Seed. In fact, Jack’s recording that I heard so many years ago is archived on that site. I may go down memory lane and give it another listen…this time on my iPhone.
—Nelle Oosterom