Why Samma Farm?

Right Action

(Samma Kammanta)

Right Action is a part of the Noble Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha. It includes, first of all, the kinds of actions that can help humans and other living beings who are being destroyed by war, political oppression, social injustice, and hunger. To protect life, prevent war, and serve living beings, we need to cultivate our energy of loving kindness.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Right Livelihood

(Samma Vayama)

Given that almost everyone’s life includes an economic dimension, work and career need to be integrated into life as a Buddhist. Most of us spend the majority of our waking lives at work, so it’s important to assess how our work affects our mind and heart. How can work become meaningful? How can it be a support not a hindrance to spiritual practice — a place to deepen our awareness and kindness?

~thebuddhistcentre.com

Right Thought

(Samma Sankappa)

According to Buddha, our thoughts are very powerful; they determine our mental states (such as happiness or sadness) and then our actions. With this understanding, one is then asked to have the right intentions. While this means several different things, it is essentially asking you to turn away from the vicious cycle of craving and desire by committing to a lifestyle of self-improvement and ethical conduct. In this, the commitment to a life of heedfulness, Buddha finds the seeds of happiness.

~thebuddhistcentre.com

Right Speech

(Samma Vaca)

Buddha knew the tremendous power of words. Words and the ideas that they represent can change minds and lives and so Buddha advised: 1) don’t lie 2) don’t gossip 3) don’t hurt others with words and 4) to avoid idle chatter. In positive terms, we might be asked to tell the truth, be polite, courteous to others when we speak and to talk only when it is necessary. In this way, consideration and kindness to others brings happiness to others and consequently, ourselves. It’s easy to see the simple truths behind this advice, even if it’s not easy to actually do. But by doing things that aren’t easy and don’t necessarily come naturally, we improve our control over ourselves.

~pursuit-of-happiness.org

Right Mindfulness

(Samma Sati)

Mindfulness is one of the most influential teachings of Buddhism and has filtered into popular culture as well as modern psychotherapy. The Buddha felt that it was imperative to cultivate right mindfulness for all aspects of life in order to see things as they really are, or in other words, to “stop and smell the roses.” Through right mindfulness, one can free oneself from passions and cravings, which so often make us prisoners of past regrets or future preoccupations.

To be mindful is to be fully present, not lost in daydreams, anticipation, indulgences, or worry.

Almost twenty years ago, I learned mindfulness in a simple way. When you wash the dishes, think of nothing else but washing the dishes and then apply this same concept to everything else in life. Do not think of the past or the future but only of the present moment.

~pursuit-of-happiness.org

Right Effort

(Samma Vayama)

“ The idea of “Right Effort” is that the effort exerted in practice and in life needs to be “Right.” It needs to be finely tuned, neither too lax, nor too effortful. The Buddha taught that practice should be like a well-tuned string instrument. If the strings are too loose, they won’t play a sound. If they are too tight, they will break. Practice should be nourishing, not draining. So, “Right Effort” actually points precisely to the Buddha’s “Middle Way.”

The notion of “Right Effort” is not just for meditation practice but for how we conduct our lives. It calls for us to develop and encourage good qualities, ones that will lead forward on the path, and reduce or discourage bad qualities, ones that interfere or block progress.

~John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

Right Concentration

(Samma Samadhi)

Right Concentration is a mental discipline that aims to transform your mind. As the core practice of “meditation,” right concentration is a foundational activity within Buddhist thought and practice.

According to Buddha, there are four stages of deeper concentration:

1. The first stage of concentration is one in which mental hindrances and impure intentions disappear and a sense of bliss is achieved.

2. In the second stage, activities of the mind come to an end and only bliss remains.

3. In the third stage, bliss itself begins to disappear.

4. In the final stage, all sensations including bliss disappear and are replaced by a total peace of mind, which Buddha described as a deeper sense of happiness.

~tricycle.org

Right Understanding

(Samma Ditthi)

In Buddhism, it is the relentless drive to fulfill our never-ending cravings that. Like a vicious cycle, instead of making us happy, fulfilling our desires only drives us to fulfill other bigger, more complex desires when we realize that we were not completely satisfied. It is only when we can have the right views about the nature of reality that we can become free from the vicious cycle of suffering.

~pursuit-of-happiness.org