The domain address of this site is 8fold.blog (if it ever expires, it will revert to xesl.wordpress.com).
8 Fold is a reference to the Eight-fold path, which was the prescription for a cultivated mind and a life of reduced suffering prescribed by a philosopher and teacher named Siddhartha Gautama.
I am not proselytizing, and anyone considering hiring me, should not worry about that; I am very professional at work. I am merely paying honor to Siddhartha by having named this site as I have, because through the course of my life, I have grown to appreciate his philosophy (as well as those of others), enough to want to herald it for friends far and wide to see. In addition to the ideas of Siddhartha, there are the ideas of those others who are worth mentioning–as good influencers for a better life (and the list could be endless, but to name a few–I think principally of the Stoics, such as Zeno, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and perhaps Socrates and Plato).
Of course, Seneca, Spinoza and other Enlightenment philosophers, such as Voltaire and Bacon, along with other great revolutionary thinkers, writers, scientists and actors of the sixteenth, seventeen and eighteen centuries were instrumental in freeing our minds from the confines of religious thinking and the crown, loom large in my appreciation, too–but before politics there is the self to deal with, and Siddhartha gave us a prescription for our moment-to-moment refreshment of mind and for reducing foolishness and pain.
You can stop here, or read on for more about this, but to learn the 8 Fold Path and Four Noble Truths, one will have to do his or her own investigation…. Not research; that carries a sinister meaning, these days. Investigation. There is a difference….
Sure: In the dictionary, ‘research’ and ‘investigation’ are synonyms; however, in today’s culture, the former word is often met with a negative connotation, and alternatively, a snarky, circumspect air at the same time―a suspicious and paranoid one; and in many instances, deservedly so―but the latter word, investigation, is one of open heartedness and requires an innocence of intention. Learning something perhaps non-intuitive, as with science and aspects of history, also requires an honest objectivity―the capacity to challenge oneself and one’s assumed notions, and finally, to accept evidence over revelation. For me―this is the seed of normal mental health…. And so―after all, perhaps a better word would be–exploration….
. . .
I started meditating at 19 years of age, but didn’t learn to do it properly until I read Dan Millman and Zen Masters such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Shinryu Suzuki and Seung Sahn Sunim…
Later, in Korea–where I also attended Dharma talks at Hwa Gye Sa Temple and the Buddhist English Library in Seoul, my understanding drew deeper.
Finally, at Han Maum Zen Center in Kwanak, South Korea– I took my precepts and formally became a Buddhist–but my Buddhism is secular and a simple practice of meditation, aphorisms, realizations and… the 8 Fold Path. I’m not fanatical about it; I use it as a tool, the way Siddhartha intended, and as a way of attaining my better self.
Attaining Your Better Self—or–Better Mind
Do you have a way of doing that–on your own–attaining your better self? Many must look outside themselves to do this.…
The 8 Fold Path teaches you to do it yourself. What’s the difference? Well–
there is no waiting,
no expectation…
no entitlement–and thus…
far less disappointment…. For…
What you think,
what you practice,
what work you do,
what ways in which you act,
what words you choose to speak, and
what company you keep;
what nutriment you sow into your eyes and mind–
you likely reap.
You are responsible.
You could say Siddhartha’s prescription was the first Self-help doctrine. But then, the comedian George Carlin used to say, “if you got it from someone else, that’s not self-help…. That’s help!” True! But this is something you can do by yourself, without help, once you have learned it! And that is a powerful and valuable skill–because we are often alone, even when with others.
. . .
In Tokyo, I attended several meditation sessions in Sato Zen Temples. For more on meditation, you can hear my ideas in my podcast.
The point is, I find a secular spiritual path, with a brotherhood & sisterhood, and a secular meditation practice, to be a most useful laboratory in which to observe one’s mind, clear it, and bring it peace. This also brings more peace to others as it improves ourselves.
© Copyright 2009 – 2025 CA / All rights reserved.
As you might have noticed, This site is also called Cradle of The Universe, which is a reference to the mind–in that I feel each mind holds its own view and interpretations of the universe, so should never be harmed by anyone…. This was sort of my contribution to the notion that sentient life is sacred and thus should be cherished and safeguarded.
The Eight Fold Path deals with our minds, behavior and orientation–prescribed by a man who sat in meditation until he found clarity and a way forward that mirrored the wisdom of the Stoics, only he gave us a path in which to calibrate the and cultivate our conscious experiences.
For a deeper understanding of these points and the ideas behind them–you can go here.
Thank you for reading. Please take care of your cradle of the universe.
Carl Atteniese II,
AKA Mando,
New York,
Tokyo and
Wheat Ridge, Colorado
PS: One more thing about Siddhartha:
Once, a person encountered him on the road, and thinking Siddhartha seemed bright, the person asked what Siddhartha was–be he merely a man or a god. Siddhartha replied: I am neither. I am awake. And that is why we call him a Buddha. You can be a Buddha, too–but first you must explore yourself.
