The Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo) is the Buddhist path leading to the cessation of suffering — the fourth of the Four Noble Truths.
Read the full sutta: Saccavibhaṅga Sutta (MN 141) — The Four Noble Truths defined: full text →Related: The Four Noble Truths · Sati · Facing Criticism and Slander
Where the path sits: it is the fourth Noble Truth
To understand what the Noble Eightfold Path is, start with where it is placed. In the Saccavibhaṅga Sutta (MN 141, 'The Analysis of the Truths'), the Buddha opens by declaring that the unsurpassed wheel of Dhamma he set rolling at the Deer Park consists precisely in the teaching and analysis of the Four Noble Truths — suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation. The Eightfold Path is not a separate doctrine appended to the truths; it is the fourth truth itself.
What makes this discourse remarkable is its structure. The Buddha states the theme, then tells the monks to rely on Sāriputta and Moggallāna, saying that Sāriputta is able to explain the Four Noble Truths in full detail. The rest of the sutta is Sāriputta's exposition. The definitions quoted on this page are therefore not later scholastic summaries — they are the standard definitions given by the Buddha's own foremost disciple to the early community.
When the exposition reaches the fourth truth, Sāriputta asks and answers: 'And what, friends, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering? It is this Noble Eightfold Path.' He then names the eight factors and defines each one in turn.
Tathāgatena bhikkhave arahatā sammāsambuddhena bārāṇasiyaṁ isipatane migadāye anuttaraṁ dhammacakkaṁ pavattitaṁ appaṭivattiyaṁ samaṇena vā brāhmaṇena vā devena vā mārena vā brahmunā vā kenaci vā lokasmiṁ yadidaṁ
「諸比丘，如來、阿羅漢、正等正覺者在波羅奈斯城仙人墮處鹿野苑轉動了無上法輪，此法輪不可逆轉，無論世間的沙門、婆羅門、天神、魔、梵天或任何人皆不能止息，即是——
catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ ācikkhanā desanā paññāpanā paṭṭhapanā vivaraṇā vibhajanā uttānīkammaṁ
對四聖諦的宣說、教導、闡明、建立、開示、分析與明解。
Katamañcāvuso dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccaṁ
諸友，那麼什麼是趣向苦滅的道聖諦？
Ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo seyyathidaṁ
就是這聖八支道，即：
sammādiṭṭhi sammāsaṅkappo sammāvācā sammākammanto sammāājīvo sammāvāyāmo sammāsati sammāsamādhi
正見、正思惟、正語、正業、正命、正精進、正念、正定。
Right view and right intention: knowing suffering, turning toward renunciation
The definition of right view (sammādiṭṭhi) is strikingly precise. It is not 'correct opinions' in general, but four kinds of knowledge: knowledge of suffering, of its origin, of its cessation, and of the way leading to its cessation. In other words, the content of right view is the Four Noble Truths themselves — which also explains why it stands first: it is the factor that sees the whole road.
Right intention (sammāsaṅkappa) concerns the quality of one's motivation. The text lists three intentions: the intention of renunciation, the intention of non-ill-will, and the intention of harmlessness. 'Intention' here is not thinking ability but the direction the mind leans — away from sensual indulgence toward letting go, away from hostility toward goodwill, away from cruelty toward non-harming.
Katamā cāvuso sammādiṭṭhi
諸友，何者是正見？
Yaṁ kho āvuso dukkhe ñāṇaṁ dukkhasamudaye ñāṇaṁ dukkhanirodhe ñāṇaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ñāṇaṁ
諸友，凡對苦有知智、對苦之生起有知智、對苦之止息有知智、對引向苦滅之道有知智者，
ayaṁ vuccatāvuso sammādiṭṭhi
諸友，此即稱為正見。
Katamo cāvuso sammāsaṅkappo
諸友，何者是正思惟？
Nekkhammasaṅkappo abyāpādasaṅkappo avihiṁsāsaṅkappo
出離的意向、無惡意的意向、不傷害的意向——
ayaṁ vuccatāvuso sammāsaṅkappo
諸友，此即稱為正思惟。
Right speech and right action: defined by abstention
Right speech (sammāvācā) is defined by four abstentions (veramaṇī): abstaining from false speech, from divisive speech, from harsh speech, and from idle chatter. Notice the form of the definition — it says what one refrains from, not what one must say. Right speech is first of all a discipline of restraint.
Right action (sammākammanta) is likewise defined by abstention, in three items: abstaining from killing living beings, from taking what is not given, and from sexual misconduct. These three coincide with the first precepts of lay ethics and mark the basic boundaries of bodily conduct.
Katamā cāvuso sammāvācā
諸友，何者是正語？
Musāvādā veramaṇī pisuṇāya vācāya veramaṇī pharusāya vācāya veramaṇī samphappalāpā veramaṇī
離妄語、離離間語、離粗惡語、離雜穢語——
ayaṁ vuccatāvuso sammāvācā
諸友，此即稱為正語。
Katamo cāvuso sammākammanto
「諸友，何謂正業？」
Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī adinnādānā veramaṇī kāmesumicchācārā veramaṇī
「離殺生之戒、離不與取之戒、離欲邪行之戒。」
ayaṁ vuccatāvuso sammākammanto
「諸友，此即稱為正業。」
Right livelihood: the shortest definition of all
Right livelihood (sammāājīva) receives the briefest definition of the eight: 'Here a noble disciple, having abandoned wrong livelihood, makes a living by right livelihood.' The sutta does not list which occupations count as wrong livelihood. The weight of the definition falls on the principle itself: the way you sustain your life must not contradict the rest of the path.
The brevity is not an oversight. Within this sutta's scheme of definitions, right livelihood is the one factor defined purely by the abandonment of its opposite — pointing at the overall quality of one's means of living rather than an exhaustible checklist. Later tradition spells out concrete examples of wrong livelihood (see the FAQ below), but that elaboration lies outside this text.
Katamo cāvuso sammāājīvo
「諸友，何謂正命？」
Idhāvuso ariyasāvako micchāājīvaṁ pahāya sammāājīvena jīvikaṁ kappeti
「諸友，於此，聖弟子捨棄邪命，以正命經營生計。」
ayaṁ vuccatāvuso sammāājīvo
「諸友，此即稱為正命。」
Right effort: four exertions
Right effort (sammāvāyāma) is defined as a tightly structured set of four exertions, mapped onto wholesome and unwholesome states, each either already arisen or not yet arisen: (1) preventing unarisen unwholesome states from arising; (2) abandoning unwholesome states that have arisen; (3) arousing wholesome states not yet arisen; (4) maintaining, strengthening, and bringing to fulfillment wholesome states that have arisen.
Each exertion is described with the same string of verbs: one 'generates desire, strives, arouses energy, exerts the mind, and endeavors.' Right effort is therefore not vague diligence. It begins with recognizing what is actually happening in the mind — wholesome or unwholesome, arisen or not — and applying energy accordingly. Of the eight factors, it is the most explicitly operational.
Katamo cāvuso sammāvāyāmo
「諸友，何謂正精進？」
Idhāvuso bhikkhu anuppannānaṁ pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ anuppādāya chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati
「諸友，於此，比丘為令未生起的惡、不善諸法不生起，生起欲求，努力、策勵、提舉（其心）、精勤。」
uppannānaṁ pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati
「為令已生起的惡、不善諸法得以捨棄，生起欲求，努力、策勵、提舉（其心）、精勤。」
anuppannānaṁ kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ uppādāya chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati
「為令未生起的善諸法得以生起，生起欲求，努力、策勵、提舉（其心）、精勤。」
uppannānaṁ kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ ṭhitiyā asammosāya bhiyyobhāvāya vepullāya bhāvanāya pāripūriyā chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati
為了已生起的善法的穩固、不忘失、增長、擴展、修習與完滿，（他）生起意欲、努力、振起精進、攝持心（資料標為「裝飾的」）、精勤。
ayaṁ vuccatāvuso sammāvāyāmo
諸友，此即稱為正精進。
Right mindfulness and right concentration: the four foundations and the four jhānas
Right mindfulness (sammāsati) is defined directly as the four foundations of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna): a practitioner abides contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, and phenomena in phenomena — 'ardent, clearly comprehending, and mindful, having subdued longing and dejection in regard to the world.' In its source context, 'mindfulness' is not generic present-moment awareness; it is this specific practice, with defined objects and defined qualities.
Right concentration (sammāsamādhi) is defined as the four jhānas: secluded from sensual pleasures and unwholesome states, one enters the first jhāna, with thought and examination and the joy and pleasure born of seclusion; with the stilling of thought and examination, the second jhāna, marked by inner clarity and unification of mind; then the third jhāna, dwelling equanimous with the fading of joy; and the fourth. Having defined all four, Sāriputta concludes: 'This is called right concentration' — and closes the exposition of the fourth truth.
Katamā cāvuso sammāsati
又，諸友，何為正念？
Idhāvuso bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ
諸友，於此，比丘於身隨觀身而住，熱誠、正知、具念，調伏世間的貪憂。
Vedanāsu vedanānupassī viharati pe
於諸受隨觀受而住……（省略）
citte cittānupassī viharati
於心隨觀心而住。
Katamo cāvuso sammāsamādhi
又，諸友，何為正定？
Idhāvuso bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṁ savicāraṁ vivekajaṁ pītisukhaṁ paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati
諸友，於此，比丘遠離諸欲，遠離不善諸法，有尋、有伺，具足由遠離所生之喜與樂，進入第一禪那而住。
vitakkavicārānaṁ vūpasamā ajjhattaṁ sampasādanaṁ cetaso ekodibhāvaṁ avitakkaṁ avicāraṁ samādhijaṁ pītisukhaṁ dutiyaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati
尋與伺平息之後，內在清澄、心得一境性；無尋、無伺，定生喜樂，第二禪而住。
pītiyā ca virāgā upekkhako ca viharati pe tatiyaṁ jhānaṁ pe
從喜的離欲，住於捨……第三禪……（pe 為文本縮略標記，資料不足，以省略號代）
Virtue, concentration, wisdom: a later, standard grouping
Readers often meet the eight factors grouped in three: right speech, action, and livelihood as virtue (sīla); right effort, mindfulness, and concentration as concentration (samādhi); right view and intention as wisdom (paññā). It should be said plainly: this threefold grouping does not appear in MN 141 itself. The sutta defines the factors one by one without grouping them. The three-trainings framework comes from other discourses in the Pali canon and from the commentarial tradition, and it became the standard teaching device because it is genuinely clarifying.
Its value is in showing how the factors support one another: restraint in conduct steadies the mind, and a steadied mind makes seeing things as they are possible. But in this sutta, the eight factors are proclaimed as a single path, and after the last definition Sāriputta folds them all back into the fourth Noble Truth.
Idaṁ vuccatāvuso dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccaṁ
朋友們，此稱為導向苦滅之行道的聖諦。
How to begin: the leads the sutta itself gives
MN 141 is a discourse of definitions, not a step-by-step manual — but it offers two practical leads of its own. First, the Buddha's opening instruction to the monks is itself practical advice: associate with and rely on wise companions such as Sāriputta and Moggallāna. According to the text, the first step in learning this path is finding someone who can explain it in full.
Second, two of the factors are directly actionable as defined. Right effort supplies a working framework — notice what is arisen or unarisen, wholesome or unwholesome, in your own mind, and apply energy accordingly. Right mindfulness supplies the objects — beginning with the body, then feelings, mind, and phenomena. And the definition of right view is a reminder of where all of it points: to knowing suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the way — so that understanding the Four Noble Truths is itself the beginning of right view.
Sevatha bhikkhave sāriputtamoggallāne
諸比丘，你們應親近舍利弗與目犍連。
bhajatha bhikkhave sāriputtamoggallāne
諸比丘，你們應結交舍利弗與目犍連。
Relation to Mahāyāna interpretation
The Mahāyāna traditions equally revere the Noble Eightfold Path, counting it among the thirty-seven aids to awakening, and the Chinese Madhyama Āgama preserves a parallel to this discourse (the 'Discourse on the Analysis of the Noble Truths'). In Mahāyāna interpretation, however, the path is usually read within the larger framework of the bodhisattva's career: right view is often extended beyond knowledge of the four truths to the middle-way insight into emptiness and dependent origination, and the factors are practiced in concert with the six perfections. Theravāda exegesis, by contrast, tends to stay close to the Nikāya definitions. These are developments within each tradition's own doctrinal history; this page presents the definitions as they stand in the Pali text of MN 141 for comparison, without adjudicating between interpretations.
What are the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path?
In the order given in MN 141: right view (sammādiṭṭhi), right intention (sammāsaṅkappa), right speech (sammāvācā), right action (sammākammanta), right livelihood (sammāājīva), right effort (sammāvāyāma), right mindfulness (sammāsati), and right concentration (sammāsamādhi). The sutta defines each: right view is knowledge of the Four Noble Truths; right intention is the threefold intention of renunciation, non-ill-will, and harmlessness; right speech is four abstentions in speech; right action is three abstentions in conduct; right livelihood is abandoning wrong livelihood; right effort is the four exertions; right mindfulness is the four foundations of mindfulness; right concentration is the four jhānas.
Does the order of the eight factors matter?
In MN 141 itself, the factors are always listed in a fixed order — right view first, right concentration last — but the text does not explain the reason for the sequence; it simply defines each factor in turn. Two later, widely used ways of reading the order are: taking right view as the forerunner that informs the other seven, and grouping the factors into the three trainings of virtue, concentration, and wisdom as a progression from conduct to mind to insight. Both are interpretive aids with real pedagogical value, but they should be distinguished from what the sutta itself states.
What does right livelihood mean for people today?
MN 141's definition is deliberately spare: abandon wrong livelihood and make one's living rightly — no list of occupations is given. Staying close to this text, the core is a principle: your means of living must not contradict the rest of the path — earning by deception conflicts with right speech, earning by harming beings conflicts with right action. Later tradition (other canonical passages and the commentaries) supplies concrete examples, most famously trade in weapons, living beings, meat, intoxicants, and poisons. That list is an elaboration from outside this sutta — illustrative applications of the principle rather than an exhaustive definition.
Which sutta does the Noble Eightfold Path come from?
As the fourth Noble Truth, the Eightfold Path belongs to the Buddha's earliest core teaching and appears throughout the Pali Nikāyas. This page is based on MN 141, the Saccavibhaṅga Sutta ('The Analysis of the Truths'), because it preserves factor-by-factor definitions and carries a notable pedigree: the Buddha himself directs the monks to Sāriputta, saying he can expound the Four Noble Truths in detail, and the exposition that follows is Sāriputta's. A parallel discourse survives in the Chinese Madhyama Āgama.