Right Concentration: The Eighth Factor on the Noble Eightfold Path

Introduction

We are finally at the Eighth Factor: Right Concentration. But what is right concentration? The word concentration has multiple meanings. You read on laundry detergent labels “concentrated”, meaning thereis little or no dilution with other ingredients like water, or fillers.

When we speak of the concentrated mind, it too is free of dilution… or another term more commonly used in the practice: Free of Delusion, the unnecessary or watered down ingredients of our minds and are only left with stillness, and emptiness.

Concentration also means being very focused. Like concentrating on our work, no ADHD, or distractedness. When we are focused, it is like being in a tunnel with no other exit but what is right in front of us at that moment.

In the Heart Sutra, which is an explanation of the realization of emptiness, it speaks of going beyond all thatour individual minds experience, and becoming awakened. Awakened to the unborn, universal compassion and wisdom. In right concentration we are able to go journey across the sea of suffering (our scattered mind caught up in the perceptions of our senses) and enter into the deep peace of awakening.

Connection through Stories

These concepts can be hard to connect to. Stories sometimes help make things clearer. So, we will take a look at two stories the Buddha used to explain right concentration.

The Farmer Who Waters the Wrong Field – Misplaced Focus

A farmer asked the Buddha why his meditation wasn’t working. The Buddha replied: “You are like a manwatering a neighbor’s field, then wondering why your crops do not grow. Your mind is on the past, on resentment, on gain and loss. Bring your attention home—to this breath, this step, this moment.”

The Lotus that Grew in Still Water – Stillness Reveals Truth

A disciple once asked, “Master, why must we still the mind?”
The Buddha pointed to a pond muddied by a thrown stone. “Can you see your reflection?”
“No, Master.”
 
Then they waited. Slowly, the water stilled, and the disciple saw his face.
“Only in stillness,” said the Buddha, “do we see things as they truly are.”
 
Right concentration allows the mind to settle so that wisdom can arise—like a calm pond reflects the moon.