The Noble Eightfold Path

Manly P. Hall

ISBN 10: 0893143375 ISBN 13: 9780893143374

Publisher: Philosophical Research Society, 1995

Synopsis

An essay on the life and teachings of Buddha and the basic tenets of Buddhism in language that is easily understandable, but beneficial to those students new to Buddhism, and those who have been following its teachings their whole lives. Buddhism is based upon the theory that ignorance is the cause of all worldly misery and that only self-knowledge and the knowledge of the relation of self to the Great Plan can combat this ignorance. Buddha taught that out of ignorance are born sin and iniquity. If the human race could see clearly, it would do right; but the blurred vision removes the incentive to right action and right thought, which are absolutely necessary to intelligent living and true spirituality. Buddha's gods were god-men, human beings who had raised themselves above the ignorance of the race, and who, sitting upon the mountain peaks, gazed upon the entire pageantry of life, seeing with that fullness which makes all things good, while man, dwelling in the valleys, sees so little that all things seem bad.

About this title

About the Author

Manly P. Hall (1901-1990) was a seeker and lover of wisdom (the very definition of a philosopher) he had the courage and raw energy to look for wisdom in places most men had long since forgotten or never knew existed. As the Philosophical Research Society's founder and first president, he began his career in an era when most Americans did not look toward other cultures and traditions without looking down. And yet, Manly P. Hall spoke and wrote extensively on the wisdom found in all ancient traditions, and the deep cross-cultural threads and many interconnected roots of modern religious expression. While neither guru nor saint (he made no claim of perfection, far from it), his work is exceedingly rare in its grand scope, detail and synthesis. He embraced the wisdom of every tradition and, with a fluid command of the obscure and complex contents of these traditions, worked to express their unifying truths. In his long career, spanning more than seventy years of dynamic public activity, Mr. Hall delivered over 8000 lectures in the United States and abroad, authored over 200 books, essays, and magazine articles, and left the world one of the finest libraries in the field, as well as a University that continues in his spirit of universal learning. The Philosophical Research Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1934 by Manly P. Hall for the purpose of providing thoughtful persons rare access to the depth and breadth of the world's wisdom literature. PRS is entirely free from doctrinal, political, or ecclesiastical affiliation and provides an environment sheltered from any interest intending to coerce or convert. The institution's goal is to enable the individual to develop a mature philosophy of life, dedicated to understanding and appreciating one's own unique possibilities in the unfolding universal pattern. The works published by PRS, most of which are written by Manly P. Hall himself, probe the life mysteries and spiritual issues with which every inquisitive individual is concerned. Whether interested in creating a personal library of philosophical insights, or just beginning the search for enlightenment, one will find the works featured here valuable steps through the 'gates of wisdom' to the greater world around.

Edition details

• Publisher: Philosophical Research Society
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0893143375
• ISBN 13: 9780893143374
• Binding: Pamphlet
• Number of pages: 48