Like the Ten Commandments, Buddha’s Nobel Eightfold Path, is simple to understand but not really easy to accomplish. These eight attitudes are not moral precepts about specifically what not to do, though. They are a simple list of how to behave if you want to live a life with a minimum of suffering for yourself and others.

Buddha does use the word “right” but it is not in the sense that you are damned by God if you don’t take his recommendations. It is more in the sense of what is most appropriate for the moment. Here is the Noble Eighfold Path:

1. Right understanding
2. Right thought
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

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Because they are so simple, people can interpret these concepts in different ways. Huge volumes have been written on the subject. My interpretation, in short, is approach everything with a free, pure, unattached heart. This ensures that we say the appropriate words as well as perform appropriate actions. We consciously put our efforts towards meaningful goals while remaining grounded in what is eternal about ourselves.

Four of the ideas in The Noble Eightfold Path concern themselves with our inner selves: Understanding, thought, mindfulness, and concentration. This is different from the Ten Commandments, which do not concern themselves with a person’s inner life and more with their relationship to Jehovah and with each other.
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Four of the items on the Path are action-oriented: Speech, action, livelihood, and effort. The Buddha did not leave anything out. And by not defining precisely what each “right” thought or action is, he left a lot of room for interpretation. But the final test is, by living this way do you alleviate suffering? Thousands of years after he delivered his insights, they are still alive and bringing people and understanding of life, so they have stood the test of time.

When Eckhart Tolle says that problems are illusions, or that fear is an illusion, he is not making light of the pain and suffering we go through as humans. He knows very well the unhappiness and fear that so many people live in, regardless of their external circumstances.

Instead, he is referring to how we create problems and fear in our lives. We assume people are out to get us, that the Universe is playing tricks with us, and that we are helpless victims. Tolle’s approach to problems is threefold:

• Leave them
• Change them
• Accept them

. . . anything else is craziness.

If we have a clear view of these solutions, the problems no longer remain problems because we have walked away, changed the situation, or accepted that the situation is not going to change so we might as well be happy and get on with our lives. Therefore, they are no longer problems, they are decisions we have a to make.

Fear is also an illusion. We cannot touch fear and we cannot make it stand still. It is a part of our thinking patterns that are influenced by so many things, including our brains’ hard-wiring for fear as a survival tactic. Tolle cites the example of sleeping in a safe, warm bed at night. The ego-mind will start conjuring up all kinds of things to be afraid of: Financial ruin, ill health, and even dying.
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Meanwhile, we are snug and secure in our warm bed creating mental strife for ourselves. There is nothing to be afraid of and we are tied in knots of fear and dread. That is why Eckhart Tolle describes fear as an illusion. And like problems, fear disappears when we understand the reality of our existence as Eternal Souls.

If you are talking about the patriarchal Old Man in the Sky, who watches every move you make and punishes and rewards accordingly, then, no Eckhart Tolle does not believe in God. This is a primitive God, created in the image of a vindictive, capricious, and unjust man by men who were trying to put a face on the forces of nature. This is a God that has been constructed through fear and the desire to find safety in exchange for rituals and obedience.

Eckart Tolle does not believe in a God that created us from the “dust of the ground,” the way a potter forms a clay pot. Rather, we have emerged from the Creative Forces of the Universe. We are the natural outcropping of many physical and spiritual interactions and were not put here by some man-like God who then tasks us with proving that we are worthy of being alive.
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Furthermore, Tolle does not believe in the hellish aftermath of life that is imposed by a punitive God who has watched us floundering around as we attempt to keep His commandments. Tolle doesn’t even come from “belief” for belief means we really don’t know but would like to think it is true. Like a child believes in Santa Claus. Rather, Eckhart Tolle comes from a sense of knowing. This knowing is based on his own experiences and not on some fairy tale made up by our forefathers a long, long time ago.

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Applying philosophy to physical training enables us to enjoy better workouts and make overall improvements. Philosophies such as “No pain, go gain,” are specifically aimed at physical fitness. But we can apply any ancient wisdom to bring more energy and enthusiasm to our workouts.
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“No pain, no gain” applies to any undertaking in life if we want to grow. If we want to gain muscle, of course we must push ourselves to failure to initiate the process of growth. And it is the same for anything in life that is worth achieving. Sometimes it hurts when we fail or fall down or exert ourselves. But if we learn from the process, it can only increase our spiritual and mental strength.

The Stoic philosophers have great relevance for athletes. They believed we could live a virtuous life by implementing a fitness routine based on discipline and self-reliance.They didn’t believe in lifting weights just to look good. They advocated lifting weights to lead a better life, according to the way of Nature.

The Stoics believed in keeping our bodies in good working condition and ready for action. One of their primary principles is that life is short. Therefore live your best life by building and maintaining your best body. The Stoic philosopher Seneca said, “. . . there are short and simple exercises, which tire the body rapidly and so save our time; and time is something of which we ought to keep strict account.”

When we apply a workout philosophy to our fitness routines, we are more apt to stick to the program. Random workouts based on how we are feeling at the moment, rarely produce consistent results. But if we go in with philosophy behind us, not only are our workouts more meaningful, they are also more effective.

If we define happiness as a state of inner peace regardless of outer circumstances, then, yes, Eckhart Tolle’s idea of presence is a state of happiness. Happiness does not always mean constant ecstatic bliss. It can be a state of underlying joy regardless of how our ego-minds rush forward into the future or obsess about the past. Even if we are in prison or being tortured, we can maintain a state of presence that diminishes the suffering.

This means that we are able to be clearly here and now. This is a very difficult state for the ego-mind, which relies on fear for its nourishment. But when there is fear, happiness cannot exist. They cannot be in the same space. Fear is what amplifies our pain and increases our suffering. Happiness and suffering are mutually exclusive.

The only place we can find happiness is in the present moment. As Eckhart Tolle points out, the past no longer exists and the future does not exist either. We only have the present moment, regardless of how our ego-minds kick and scream. There is nothing else. Realizing this allows for a clarity of vision that is not clouded by illusions that there is something better than right now.
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We cannot control our outer circumstances. There will always be global disasters and interpersonal strife. The only thing we have control over is how present we can be. If we are not in control, the ego-mind will take us down a painful and meaningless path. The Eternal Now is all we have ever had. And if we cannot recognize this, no matter how much wealth we accumulate or worldly honors, we will never be happy.

Many philosophical systems, such as Stoicism, may lead to a happier and more peaceful life. But just studying them misses the point. We must find what is true for us in our lives. Marcus Aurelius makes many observations and statements that could turn the light on inside the reader or listener and lead to the way out of anxiety and stress:

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”

“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”

Marcus Aurelius is just one of may brilliant philosophers who contemplated how to avoid the upsets and troubles of life and be emotionally free. Yet, as we know, Marcus Aurelius and others came many centuries before us, and the world, as a whole, has not paid much attention.

The world is still engaged in behaviors that do not lead to peace or happiness. However, everyone can benefit from the great thinkers in their daily lives for they have shown us the way. Their words have helped many individuals and that is why they have survived to this day.

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The purpose of philosophy is to do exactly what you're doing right now: To ask “why?”. After all of our basic needs are taken care of, such as food, shelter, and procreation, we then start asking the question "why?".

Until our basic needs are taken care of, we don’t have time to sit around and contemplate, “Why are we doing all this?” We just survived, if we were lucky or skillful enough. But all animals survive. What differentiates us from the animals is that we ask “Why?”

The ancient philosophers looked up at the sky and wondered, “What is this all about? Why are we here? Did anybody, such as God, put us here? Who are we? How can we be at peace within ourselves, now that all our needs are met?

The Stoic philosophers, the Buddha, Lao Tsu, and so many others realized that we have the capacity to reason, figure things out, and find a way to live at peace with ourselves, nature, and each other. This is why philosophy came about. As humans we have the unique capacity to contemplate our own deaths and frame our lives accordingly.
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Of course, nothing can really be known with our limited brains, and we can debate about objectivity and subjectivity forever. But that is not the point. We are philosophizing animals if we live beyond the survival stage. And we will continually wonder why.

Western Philosophy, with some exceptions, is a temple to the rational mind. Reasoning and figuring out why things are the way they are, are the main focus. For example, the Philosopher Kant, formulated reasons for why we need to behave altruistically towards others. Even Descartes, with his, “I think, therefore I am,” emphasizes the rational mind. He does not say: “I feel therefore I am,” or “I witness, therefore I am.”
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Eastern philosophy is more concerned with going within to find who we are as an Eternal reflection of cosmic consciousness. To do this, we must bypass the rational mind and forget about the “why’s” of things. They are the way they are and no matter how bright we are, we will never get to the bottom of it all—but Who and What is it that wants to understand?

To find out who we are, behind the labels, masks, and conditioning, we must not be distracted by the constant stream of thoughts that swirl through the mind. It takes discipline to rise above this whirlpool. It takes training to recognize the tricks of the mind. This is what Eastern philosophy aims to do. And it offers pointers to how to move away from the collector’s search for never-ending knowledge.

In general, Western philosophy is about knowing. Eastern philosophy is about finding our unity with an underlying structure of reality that never dies and never changes. It presumes we can never fully know, but we can still unite in peace with All That Is, because, at base, this is who we really are anyway. All knowledge passes away, but the Soul, in its union with the Universe, is eternal.

We can collect as much knowledge as we want, but it does not bring peace or comfort. But once we go within, with a truly quiet mind, all the harmony of the Universe is revealed.

Carl Jung is saying the that the lower mind (as opposed to Divine Consciousness) moves mechanically, restlessly on the move, non-stop, like a pendulum. He thinks it is not so much concerned with what is right and wrong while it swings back and forth between fantasy and reality.
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Right and wrong have to do with what we are taught, whereas, the mind, left on its own is like a wild stallion. It is not easy to tame and disregards what we are taught to be good and bad. It runs back and forth from pleasure to pain, love and hate, anger and peace, regardless of how right or wrong these feelings may be deemed to be by its society.

Yet, Carl Jung may have not seen how deeply the lower mind clings to the pendulum that swings between right and wrong. He may not have acknowledged that we are constantly judging, measuring ourselves against others, measuring others against ourselves, and coming up with conclusions that add to even more judgments about who is right and who is wrong. So I would amend that statement to read, “The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, right and wrong.” We move from fantasy to reality while we are constantly judging according to some yardstick, whether real or imagined.

For example, you are at a party and someone spills a syrupy drink all over you. You immediately swing from anger to forgiveness as the drink spiller desperately apologizes. Then you congratulate yourself inwardly for being the better person and not throwing your drink in his or her face. You feel pleased that you are being moral about it and doing the right thing. From there you can go into fantasy of overcoming the mishap and becoming the best of friends, even possible soul mates.

All the time you are presenting yourself to yourself in the best light in terms of right and wrong while you are living out a fantasy in your mind that may be completely preposterous (they’re married, you’re married, it truly was an accident and nothing more, in life drinks get spilled). Or the pendulum can swing the other way, combining nonsense with morality. You imagine yourself fighting this person because they were wrong to be so careless and end up berating yourself as a victim that always attracts bad things. You go to the corner to cry.

While I admire Carl Jung, I feel he did not recognize that the ego mind is not as straightforward as a pendulum. It is more like a free-flying, restless machine that is all over the place. A pendulum follows certain gravitational pulls, while the ego mind is capable of going off in a completely random way.

Philosophy is not a science in the sense that it can be proven under laboratory conditions. It is not a science at all. It is an art. Yes, it involves rules of logic. But logic can easily be led astray and become absurd. For example:

All cats have fur.
My dog has fur.
Therefore, my dog is a cat.

We can even argue that not all cats have fur, as in hairless cats. So philosophy can become a hair-splitting exercise in which we get bogged down in defining terms and allowing for exceptions to the rule. This kind of philosophy is bloodless and drab compared to philosophy that asks the deepest questions of life. It might mimic the scientific approach because of a system of rule, but it can lead to crazy conclusions.
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Determining how we know what we know can never be an exact science. We can follow the rules of deductive and inductive reasoning but in the end, they are dry and lifeless. The deeper questions about who we are, why we are here, who is God, and what happens after we die cannot ever be examined in a laboratory. Therefore, philosophy is more of an art, depending on revelation and inspiration. It is not a science with measurable results and repeatable experiments.

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