Only way to emancipation
In the Mahāparinibbāna sutta, that deals with the last days of the Buddha, we learn of a person called Subhadda who came to the Buddha and asked, “Are there emancipated spiritual men in other religious sects in the world?”
The Buddha replied, “I do not wish to talk about other religious sects. I will speak only about the views of my own religious sect. As long as the Supernormal Eightfold Way is practiced, the world would not be devoid of emancipated spiritual men.”
This clearly indicates that if we want to be spiritually emancipated, or to solve the problem of existence, or be freed from the insecurity of life, the path to be followed is the Supernormal Eightfold Way. This is why the method of meditation discussed in this booklet is based on this Supernormal Eightfold Way (ariya aṭṭhangika magga), as practised and taught by the Buddha in the Sutta Pitaka. It is not based on the Visuddhi Magga, the famous book on meditation, written by the well known author Buddhaghosha. This Supernormal Eightfold Way is as follows:
(1) Harmonious Perspective (Sammā Diṭṭhi)
(2) Harmonious Orientation (Sammā Sankappa)
(3) Harmonious Speech (Sammā Vācā)
(4) Harmonious Action (Sammā Kammanta)
(5) Harmonious Life Style (Sammā Ājīva)
(6) Harmonious Exercise (Sammā Vāyāma)
(7) Harmonious Attention (Sammā Sati)
(8) Harmonious Equilibrium (Sammā Samādhi).
This Supernormal Eightfold Way has been explained in more detail in the first and second books on meditation published by us. The reader is encouraged to read them for further clarification.