The Supreme Buddha named the one and only path to achieve Nibbana as the Aarya Ashthangika Margaya (the Noble Eight-Fold Path). This Noble Eight-Fold Path only exists in Buddhism. The noble path is a middle path rejecting two extremes; living a luxury life with high pleasures at all the time and living an excruciating life by torturing the body with extreme pains. The disciple needs to choose the middle path and live accordingly without entering to either of these two extremes. One of the important things that should be mentioned here is that you will feel a great pleasure to your body and to your mind when following the middle path. Such pleasure cannot be achieved by living a luxury life. This will encourage you to follow the Noble Eight-Fold Path with your own preference. Let us clarify this Noble Eight-Fold Path now.

As the name itself demonstrates, the Noble Eight-Fold Path consists of eight noble parts. They are Samma Ditthi, Samma Sankappa, Samma Vacha, Samma Kammanta, Samma Aajeeva, Samma Vayama, Samma Sati, and Samma Samadhi. Let us learn each of these eight parts separately.

Samma Ditthi – This is the wisdom about the suffering. The wisdom of how the suffering creates. The wisdom about the end of suffering. The wisdom of the path to eradicate the suffering. Lord Buddha taught us this wisdom as the Samma Ditthi.

Samma Sankappa – That is, thinking about the happiness that one can get by thinking about a pleasure other than a sensual satisfaction. Thinking about thoughts of Metta (loving-kindness) without thinking hatred thoughts and thinking kind and wholesome thoughts and not harmful thoughts are those ways of proper thinking. The disciple who follows the path shown by Buddha should think of these three types of thoughts. Lord Buddha taught us that this is the Samma Sankappa.

Samma Vacha – This means the disciple needs to purify the words. Here, we should exclude speaking bad words and should start speaking pure words. That is, restraining from speaking lies, rumors, offensive, and rubbish words. This was shown as the Samma Vacha by Lord Buddha.

Samma Kammanta – This implies that one should practice only the pure ways of life. This includes refrain from killing beings (human or animal), stealing, and adultery. Lord Buddha showed this as the Samma Kammanta.

Samma Aajeeva – Lord Buddha explained us of trying to live a rightful life by freeing from immoral life as the Samma Aajeeva.

Samma vayama – Most of the times, we try hard emotionally and physically to win obstacles in our day to day lives. Sometimes, we spent our whole lifetime to become successful. Someday, however, we have to leave behind what we achieved difficultly. Therefore, it is the effort that helps preventing us from becoming victims of suffering the greatest of all efforts. Lord Buddha showed that this effort is the Samma Vayama. This effort can be seen in four ways:

Effort to prevent forming the unborn defilements.
Effort to eradicate the defilements that are already there.
Effort to cultivate unborn merits.
Effort to expand the merits one has and to complete it as a meditation.

Lord Buddha mentioned that trying in these four ways as the Samma Vayama.

Samma Sati – The mindfulness that helps to realize the Four Noble Truths is the Samma Sati. Lord Buddha showed us four types be mindfulness to help realizing the Four Noble Truths. Those are to be mindful about the physical body, feeling, mind, and objectives of the mind. These are the four things that Lord Buddha explained as the Satara Satipatthanaya. Mindful on these four was shown as the Samma Sati by the Supreme Buddha.

Samma Samadhi – Suppressing the five things that prevent Nibbana or the Pancha Niivarana by concentrating the mind into one subject (for example, to the breath as inhale and exhale) is known as the Samma Samadhi. We can find many people who try to develop Samadhi (concentration) around the world. However, not all of them achieve the state of Samma Samadhi. We can realize Nibbana only if we cultivate Samma Samadhi. Therefore, one needs to nurture a Samadhi into a Samma Samadhi by developing the seven other items in the Noble Eight-Fold path ( Samma Ditthi, Samma Sankappa, Samma Vacha, Samma Kammanta, Samma Aajeeva, Samma Vayama, and Samma sati). Then only the Samadhi becomes a Samma Samadhi. Lord Buddha introduced Samma Samadhi as follows.

“Dear Monks, what does mean by the Samadhi or the concentration of mind that helps realizing life? Dear Monks, a disciple in this matter separates from worldly pleasures (figures, sounds, odor, taste, and touch) and separates from defilements of raga (desire), dvesha (hatred), and moha (ignorance of the four noble truths). Also, the disciple practices to behave himself in one of the four postures (Satara Satipatthanaya) by focusing his mind on that posture again and again. In this manner, that disciple lives in a state (Dhyana) in which one can achieve the first type of Samadhi with a leisure occurred by suppressing Pancha Neevarana (five things that prevent Nibbana) and with a physical and emotional happiness and pleasure. (This is known as the First Dhyana.)

The state of mind achieved by thinking within the four postures and focusing the mind towards them again and again becomes dissolved generating calmness. This leads to consent of the mind which in turn developing a concentration without difficulties of thinking about the postures or focusing on them further. The disciple will thus live developing a second state of strong concentration with the happiness and pleasure generated in the first state of concentration. (This is known as the Second Dhyana.)

A great person who realized the Dhamma introduces a moderate state as a pleasurable living with a great mindfulness. In this moderate state, the disciple lets go of the happiness and feel the pleasure attained by being in the moderate state with great mindfulness and wisdom. Thus, a disciple lives a life with the third state of concentration. (This is known as the Third dhyana.)

By giving up the desire to the pleasure and the clash with the sadness, the disciple becomes neutral eradicating the happiness and pain generate in the mind. Furthermore, the disciple lives in the third state of concentration with a great mindfulness and great concentration of neutrality. (This is known as the Fourth Dhyana.)
Dear Monks, this is known as the Samma Samadhi.”
(Gautama Buddha – Satipatthana Sutta, Deega Nikaya.)

The pure path for Nibbana or the Noble Eight-Fold Path that Lord Buddha taught us is what you have just read above. Develop this Noble Eight-Fold Path, and you will then become free of every suffering of your life for sure.