Let’s say that my ‘path’ through Buddhism was rather short-lived. The closest I got to it was by creating an ‘art piece’ that was called ‘Kit for the Traveling Buddhist’ which contained a little effigy of Buddha along with a small cardboard box that resembled a shrine, a little book that sums up the basics of Buddhism, some incense and porcelain incense holders. I actually bought that in Tower Records which to me made quite a cool depiction of how Religions have become nothing else but another set of products that one can buy along with any other entertainment and collector’s items.. I wonder if someday they’ll make a mini-Jesus version with a little cross that you can bury in a little clay monticule.
Let’s look at the Buddhist teachings/principles from a Destonian perspective – hereby I take all the necessary steps to place anyone into an appropriate context in relation to what the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’ is. See how great it sounds:
The Way to the End of Suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, the way to deliverance from suffering taught by the Buddha. The higher reaches of the path may seem remote from us in our present position, the demands of practice may appear difficult to fulfill. But even if the heights of realization are now distant, all that we need to reach them lies just beneath our feet. The eight factors of the path are always accessible to us; they are mental components which can be established in the mind simply through determination and effort. We have to begin by straightening out our views and clarifying our intentions. Then we have to purify our conduct — our speech, action, and livelihood. Taking these measures as our foundation, we have to apply ourselves with energy and mindfulness to the cultivation of concentration and insight. The rest is a matter of gradual practice and gradual progress, without expecting quick results. For some, progress may be rapid, while for others it may be slow, but the rate at which progress occurs should not cause elation or discouragement. Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.
There is no doubt that the MONEY factor is completely overlooked from the get-go. Sure thing, directing ourselves one and equal as our mind is one of the first points to consider if we want to create a point of change in this world – however, if one really takes a closer look at this, you’ll see that there is almost this ‘invisible force’ that will apparently make it all ‘work’ just by walking in an almost a blind-mode toward this elusive goal. These ‘invisible forces’ are equal in nature to the current ‘market forces’ that are the holy ghost of economics, human’s most well-sustained projection of there being something apparently undeniable and uncontrollable, like some type of force that has a life of its own, which is obviously b.s. No ‘greater intention’ will be able to create an actual change in the world unless there is a physical and sustainable platform that is able to actually allow the manifestation of ‘heaven on Earth’ if we dare to speak in such ideal-terms. All I see that we require is to give each other equal opportunity to coexist as equals, having equal access to what is HERE by default, by mere fact of being a living, breathing being that is part of this world.
Now, let’s place these 8 ‘noble ways’ into perspective.
1. Right View
See things as they truly are without delusions or distortions
for all things change. Develop wisdom by knowing how things
work, knowing oneself and others.
At Desteni we share how walking in this physical reality requires being Self Honest about our own experience, and our everyday living activities while daring to live without having to create emotions and feelings as a way to ‘feel alive.’ We live here as breath, walking the physical reality that is HERE.
We walk a process of first getting to know ourselves in order to then be able to stand in a position of correcting and directing ourselves as equals coming from that vantage point of understanding how we function at a mind level, and how it is that ‘who we are’ within our mind creates the reality that we live in. Through this process we’re able to get to know others as well, because we understand that we have in fact been preprogrammed Mind Consciousness Systems that have exactly the same mechanisms of defense, of ‘living’ as a rather looping-life system with cycles that keep us trapped within a single life-design with no ability to ‘breakthrough’ – apparently.
Heaven is no more and we are now ensuring the old system ends with ourselves. We are walking the actual process of stopping our own constant delusions that exist every moment that we think, feel, believe, imagine or talk back to ourselves perpetuating our faith to our self-religions of ‘who we are’ as personalities, entities of knowledge and information that get activated through the use of memory and associations according to an entire lifetime of experiences. This is how ‘Wisdom’ has been useless in fact, because it has only served to separate ourselves from the commonsensical realization that who we are doesn’t require ‘knowledge’ to exist. Thus it only compounds as a nice thick layer of words that have no practical purpose in supporting who we are as life. Knowledge without application is useless – hence we cultivate Self Honesty to walk through the world, get to know how it works so that we are in fact able to realize our potential in order to change it once we stop existing as a bundle of limitations and fears. Within seeing what’s actually Here in fact without the unnecessary ‘rationalization’ that goes on in our minds, we are able to simplify our living reality because there is no need to make ‘wisdom’ about it, but just doing/ living what’s best for all.
The Right View is then linked to developing common sense to see where and how what’s best for all is able to be practically lived and applied in every moment that we are here -seeing with our physical eyes what is here without creating further judgment about it, thus stopping ourselves from re-creating the past from a single point of perception.
“Process is to find self honestly how things really work, to self forgive yourself for allowing it to work this way and then to expose the dishonesty and abuse about the system to help others see as well to strengthen the group that must be one and equal to bring change. The change will be common sense once one develop a self honest sense.”
Bernard Poolman
2. Right Intention
Wholehearted resolution and dedication to overcoming the
dislocation of self-centered craving through the development
of loving kindness, empathy and compassion.
What we have discovered is how many of us wanted to ‘change the world’ and ‘change ourselves’ from the starting point of bettering ourselves, being ‘more’ than what we perceived ourselves to be, sometimes even trying to gain some self-worth through ‘altruistic works.’ We wanted to create a sense of completion through ‘saving others’ and pretending to care without ever first asking ourselves Why and How we have accepted and allowed ourselves to perpetuate a system where there is not enough for everyone? How come we were trying to save others and ‘care for another’ without first even daring to care for our own lives? We never realized that we had to first make of ourselves the point of our existence.
All of these efforts were done in separation, disregarding the vital questions that are now the starting point of the solution we are presenting for this world: we cannot go around perpetuating charity and ‘good intentions’ while inflating our egos with any form of experience stemming from the gratitude that one would get by doing something that should be a living right, that should be readily given by virtue of being alive. Altruism is definitely another ego trip wherein one can get a fluffy feeling out of supporting someone that has been born in miserable conditions by default. This is unacceptable.
I’ve had short-lived experiences within this and being part of ‘missions’ wherein you go and live in the house of poor people and ‘live as they do’ for some 4 days to apparently get a reality check, while having the certainty that, no matter what, you will have a bus coming to pick you up and go back to your house where all food, comfort and $ecurity is in place. These types of actions might give you a little taste of what being poor is like, however it will never be like actually living within the fact that you have no possibility of stepping out of that system because there are no choices for you. However, it did give me a great lesson: I cannot cross my arms and do nothing about it. That’s how I sought for ‘answers’ in all places, including spirituality – to no avail, of course. It is now that I am able to stand for a feasible solution that will enable an actual platform of support for all beings in this world.
Hence the decision to live a process of Self Realization as Life is able to be lived/walked within the starting point of Ourselves. This means first getting to actually accept ourselves, while learning how to practically stop the constant/ consistent self-repetition of patterns and cycles that are not supportive for anyone in this world. The Intention is at all times that of supporting ourselves to understand what it means to live as equals, which, for the most part, is not trying to become something ‘wonderful’ or ‘marvelous’ according to any sort of belief that could point out that we are actually that. The intention must be based on what is best for all at all times. As the saying goes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions – which is how any ‘intention’ is merely the starting point that must be fully and thoroughly walked to its completion – otherwise, the middle road is simply something unacceptable.
We’ve learned how to first look at ourselves, and within stopping our inner turmoil, fears, beliefs, and judgments, we are then able to start looking outside ourselves to see the magnitude and extent of work that must be done in order to create a world that’s acceptable to live in for all living beings. We understand that ‘love’ is not real and that any form of kindness is often linked to a point of self interest wherein we only care enough because there is some benefit for us.
We focus on ourselves and learn to accept and give to ourselves that which we have perceived ourselves to lack; we learn that we can only exist as limitations of being ‘too flawed to change’ and ‘way too fucked up to correct ourselves’ if we remain in that intention of change without taking it full-on and living it/ applying it as the necessary process of Self-Correction to live as who we really are. This is a living decision that is not only built out of nice words and great intentions, but lived fully and completely wherein actual change is lived as self, which will then inevitably so within standing together as a group, and become the platform to create a world system that supports All Equally.
One can only desire to help because of tacitly accepting and allowing a disadvantage point as the foundation of our current reality: this is unacceptable.
3. Right Speech
Abstinence from lies and deceptions, backbiting, idle
babble and abusive speech. Cultivate honesty and
truthfulness; practice speech that is kind and benevolent.
Let your words reflect your desire to help, not harm others.
Being the living word – being Self Honest – daring to see the truth that lies behind the usual characters that we use to play the game within society, where we manipulate each other and trick ourselves into striving to be the eventual ‘winner’ of it all, uttering words of apparent benevolence, hiding the actual ‘gist’ of it all which is mostly self interest and a sheer lack of common sense.
What are lies but only a way to hide ourselves from our responsibility toward who we are and what we have created? Therefore, lies would not even have to be ‘avoided,’ but simply seen for what they are: ways in which we manipulate each other to believe something of ourselves that we are not, ways to win, ways to be apparently ‘more than.’ It’s fairly simply – lying leads to making up statements/judgments that are simply not supportive for anyone.
Backchatting/ backbiting, idle babble and talking to ourselves are forms of mental possession wherein we can only become aware of one thing: we’re not HERE considering the physical reality that doesn’t require our marvelous human input to judge/ point out and essentially denigrate a reality that we have become so used to continuously judging, and within doing so, creating self-judgment that eventually becomes ‘who we are’ at all levels. We have already spoiled this reality to a great extent due to our ‘rationalization’ of reality wherein logic is taught in schools, losing sight of what ‘common sense within the consideration of all beings equally’ actually entails.
Hatred, harm, violence, abuse, denigration can only exist if one has not first debunked such words for what they are/stand for in their very ‘nature.’ There’s no doubt that we as humanity can get to know ourselves through the words that exist here as proof of the extent of separation we have created from who we really are. Such self-loathing and self-deprecation can only be created in a mind which then turns into a living-reality for many who are currently forced to suffer the outcome of such violence within wars, forced labor, family violence, social rejection and any other form of abuse we can name with words/ concepts.
Thus, what would speaking about such fallacies and intangible concepts such as ‘love’ and ‘light’ as a ‘non-physical energetic luminosity’ indicate about us human beings? Nothing else but a deluded ‘suit of benevolence’ as a ‘nice personality’ that is only seeking and sticking to positivity because of believing that, by doing this, the ‘other side’ as negativity and all the ‘bad stuff’ in this world will eat itself, which is obviously a rather naïve way of wanting to look at this world. Just another self-manipulative form to talk ourselves into a heavenly mental-reality that is nowhere to be seen or found in this physical-reality where the exact opposite is all that I can confirm: there is no god, and we are the ones that have created all this, so we must cut the positive perorate to actually take Self Responsibility for this world.
We don’t require to speak of ‘love’ and ‘light’ or ‘positivity,’ or use words to portray ourselves as pseudo-gods, instead we act and live words that can create and depict what we are here to be and become as life, words that represent who we really are, words that we can use to heal us, words that actually mean something because we live them – not words that have been extensively used and abused as a means of selling an idea of what ‘love’ and ‘compassion’ is. We don’t know what those words are, simply because all words are currently tainted by our current monetary system which has been the foundation of what we call a ‘life.’
Because of this, we must learn how to Live the Words we Speak – by saying this, we can see that many of the words that we currently use to define ourselves and the world will not exist, because they were never meant to support Life or Self Expression. Within walking a process of being the living word, we realize that our vocabulary must be self-corrected and ‘purified’ to see if such words are able to stand as who we really are, or were simply supporting a system of separation and self-deprecation.
4. Right Action
Practice self-less conduct that reflects the highest
statement of the life you want to live. Express conduct
that is peaceful, honest and pure showing compassion
for all beings.
We could carry ourselves with as much grace on the outside yet feeling like shit on the inside and still be regarded as being ‘peaceful’ and ‘honest,’ or ‘unbreakable,’ being ‘tolerant’ while raging inside ourselves, continuing to suppress our ‘true nature’ which comes in the form of thoughts that can only be hidden for so long until there is no other valve of escape left, which is how any form of limitation to only act in ‘the right way’ leads to a point of self-limitation. This is what morality does and the same applies to any of the current points we’re revisiting here. See how the word ‘right’ is used as a direction toward only looking at a single side of the coin, which is tacitly implying that we must not look/ direct ourselves on the other side – what would be the ‘wrong’ actions then?
We don’t require to name them all – we just have to ask ourselves what is causing harm and abuse in this world and we’ll get an idea of that which is not best for all/ the wrong actions, and we can get our answer within looking at the byproducts of capitalism. How could we then try to ‘cover the sun with one finger’ and stick to ‘right actions’ while the very foundation of this world is misery, abuse, jealousy, hatred, disregard of any other being as ourselves? Unless we learn how to correct ourselves and stand up from that ‘shady side’ of our reality, we’ll continue living in fear while sticking ourselves to the ‘right side.’ Self Honesty is not nice or beautiful, which implies that we will have to face those dark corridors within our own mind and walk through them with Self Forgiveness to actually realize that all the ‘evil’ in this world has been created by ourselves, and within ourselves.
5. Right Livelihood
Avoidance of work that causes suffering to others or that
makes a decent, virtuous life impossible. Do not engage
in any occupation that opposes or distracts one from the
path. Love and serve our world through your work.
It is definitely not about showing a graceful smile and pretending to be ‘at ease’ while doing the ‘right thing.’ It is about actually living in Self Honesty, which will mostly bring out the true demons that we have accepted and allowed ourselves to become. How could we dare to think that being devoid of any apparent desire will automatically lead us to some greater experience in life – that is absolutely ludicrous. None of these ‘selfless conducts’ will work because even if you see yourself ‘devoid’ of such mind and thoughts and had ‘positive self-talk’ to have your ‘peace of mind,’ you will still have to buy food to eat and coexist with the rest of the world that is still based/ founded upon abuse. What if there comes a situation where you are not able to get any money to buy food or have a place to live? I bet that such ‘pure expression’ becomes pure anger and frustration for not having created a solution that involved Equal Support for all living beings. Do we have to go that far?
We are already engaged within a world wherein we are inherently supporting a system of abuse. How come we never saw the obvious? How come we never questioned how Money had become the decisive factor between life and death for billions of beings on this planet? How come we have created such an artificial system and dare to accept it ‘as it is?’ Such ignorance is over – the way to live in common sense Here is giving equal access to resources and services that enable life within our current societies. Literally giving to each other what we want for ourselves – there can be nothing ‘greater’ than that.
The Right livelihood must be what is best for all, and that implies taking the necessary steps to intervene within the current political scenario in order to establish a solution that will require no further ‘benevolence’ than taking one single action: providing support for all beings to have a dignified life here. Sustaining such a system within actions that count and accumulate toward what’s best for all will be our day-to-day living.
6. Right Effort
Seek to make the balance between the exertion of following
the spiritual path and a moderate life that is not over-zealous.
Work to develop more wholesome mind states, while gently
striving to go deeper and live more fully.
There would be no need to ‘seek balance’ between two poles that should not even exist as such in the first place. We can only seek balance by continuously fighting ourselves as ‘energy,’ as thoughts/ emotions/ feelings that create this entire ‘extra-reality’ as an ‘extra-dimension’ in separation of who we really are as physical living beings, that could simply become used to doing what’s best for all, as natural as breathing. There is no need to create an ‘extra effort’ if we move at the physical pace of living and breathing – directing ourselves every moment to simply sustain a proper living-reality for all, which obviously includes ourselves.
There is no need to ‘moderate life’ if Life is walked as a Principle wherein all is considered – all excess, all deprivation are but mind-created dysfunctions that are not in accordance with what the physical requires, to the physical reality that is constant and consistent. This will certainly imply getting to know what it is to ‘live in moderation’ as a best-for-all type of living at a physical level. Money won’t exist as a limitation, therefore ‘living fully’ can only come once an Equal Money System is established so that we can focus on discovering what Life/ Living is really like in consideration of all within the same reality-equation.
There is no need to ‘work-out’ the mind – it is about stopping the mind from creating an alternate invisible reality with programmed patterns that have no correlation to what is HERE. No need to seek such ‘spiritual path’ because the steps are already here and they are all dramatically mundane which might ‘crush the heart’ of many that still thought there could be something magnificently ‘godly’ about it all in the sense of light, angels, masters and some ‘golden’ type of divinity.
7. Right Mindfulness
Through constant vigilance in thought, speech and action
seek to rid the mind of self-centered thoughts that separate
and replace them with those that bind all beings together.
Be aware of your thoughts, emotions, body and world as they
exist in the present moment. Your thoughts create your reality.
Thoughts exist in the ‘present moment’ tied to a past and a future within/ as consciousness = a limited system that we have accepted and allowed ourselves to call ‘life.’ If our thoughts would create our reality, then by me creating ‘positive thoughts’ it would imply that I could have already stopped world hunger and human trafficking in this world, which obviously hasn’t happened at all.
It is not to become a constant ‘policeman in the head,’ a constant vigilante of ourselves, but being aware of such thoughts in order to take responsibility for them and walk an actual process of self-correction. Desteni is then the right place to learn how to ‘walk the talk’ and actually become the living words that will be supportive for all beings here.
8. Right Concentration
Through the application of meditation and mental discipline seek to extinguish the last flame of grasping consciousness and develop an emptiness that has room to embrace and love all things.
The mind as the con-center is certainly not the way to go. There is no meditation required other than seeing the world as it is and taking the necessary actions in order to enable LIFE to be equalized in this world. There is no need to create a ‘void’ to embrace – it is about mingling as one and equal with/ as everything and everyone that is equally here. That sounds great, and it is certainly easier said than done, but we cannot remain in the bubble of speaking nice words and talking about paths without having a direct confirmation of us ‘living the change’ that we want to see in this world.
When our attention and focus is here in the physical world, we will already be one point that stops the usual conflict that creates wars and segregation within our reality. This gives us then the ability to focus on doing what is necessary to create a world that’s best for all. It won’t be meditating, it won’t be preaching, it won’t be repeating mantras or praying to a non-existent god, but walking the correction and actions ourselves because that is, in essence, where we have missed ourselves.
Walk with us at Desteni and become part of the new Culture of Life that doesn’t require a doctrine to follow other than a single principle: What is Best for All – this will certainly end all suffering in this world.
A Must-Hear to understand what Practivism is:
And Buddha opening his eyes after a prolonged meditation, realized that he was still living in a world where abuse, suffering, poverty, starvation were existing. Where had he been while seeking Nirvana? Did that make any difference to this world?
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