Middle Path Vs. Extreme Ends Essay

The Middle Path vs. Extreme Ends After his enlightenment when he was 35 years old, the Buddha had traveled to teach people his ideas of being liberated from suffering. He says that when there is life, there will always be suffering. The fact of suffering is explained by the Four Noble Truths. On the other hand, the Noble Eightfold Path describes the characters that would lead the soul to liberation (one can call it the “guide” to the end of suffering). According to the Buddha, the “middle path” is what describes the character of the Eightfold Path. It teaches that by having control of oneself, practicing discipline, and meditating, one will be able to free him/herself from the suffering caused by desires. When one follows the Noble Eightfold Path, he/she would practice right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. By practicing this, the person is already following the “middle path”. Buddha says that by following the eightfold path, the person is avoiding all extremes in both action and thought. He also says that following the course of the extremes will
These ideas are better explained with the following imagery: a bridge over a steep valley has no barriers on both sides, and there’s little room to move on the bridge. If you go too far left, you would risk falling, and same goes for when you go too far right. If you walk in the middle, however, where there is enough room, you wouldn’t risk falling, and this middle is the Middle Path. The two sides are self-explanatory, self-indulgence includes reliance upon intense pleasure in order to find happiness. On the other hand, some philosophical systems say that somehow by torturing one’s own body, his/her soul will be able to soar free and he/she would be