The purpose of this challenge is to immerse yourself in a psedo-buddhist lifestyle. To learn more about buddhist philosophy, and to see how I could adopt common Buddhist practices into your life. You don’t have to desire to become a monk or anything like that, but desire to achieve a higher level of inner-peace and mindfulness in your life.
There is no “key” to success in a challenge aside from perserverance. Making it for the 30 days is a success in its own, in that you get to learn about yourself and have a chance to make peace and say “I really gave it a chance”.
OK, so to the parameters. I’m going to use the Eightfold path as a general guide. The Eightfold path is meant as a means to an end of suffering.
WISDOM
1. Right View
Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realize the Four Noble Truth. I don’t see any parameters involved here.
2. Right Intention
the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire,. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion, and the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion. I need to constantly make good intent of pure thoughts and peacefulness.
ETHICAL CONDUCT
3. Right Speech
mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary. Be kind, maintain calm, curb anger, speak positive, don’t put down others. This is one that I don’t think is hard for me, but I know I stray from this path daily, especially at work. I will need to keep something at work to remind me of this.
4. Right Action
right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. I constantly monitor my actions, and I’m pretty geniune and honest. However, I’m not very compassionate. I will need to make an effort to go out of my way to be more compassionate.
5. Right Livelihood
Right livelihood means that one should earn one’s living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. In general, no parameters here. I’m not changing jobs or anything like that.
MENTAL DEVELOPMENT
6. Right Effort
Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Doing the 30 day challenge, in some ways is right effort. This can encompass many parameters, but I will not likely realize them until my effort reaches that level. A genuine way of showing right effort will be through the following of paramaters of Right Inention, Right Speech, and Right Action. Antoher parameter here could be my effort toward studying Buddhist Practices.
7. Right Mindfulness
Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Pure thoughts. A defined paramter for this would be to keep something with me at all times, perhaps in my pocket, to remind me of pure thoughts. Unfortunately, I don’t know, except through conscience, what defines a pure thought. What I mean is that we are constantly told what is pure and impure which clouds are ability to judge. Purity is a relative term and is best classified by the individual. There is no such thing as defined pure thought, so how could one know what constitutes such a thing as a pure thought?
8. Right Concentration
Right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. A definite parameter here is the practise of meditation.
