mendous stress on moral exertion. One must seek to eliminate any evil qualities within and prevent any new ones from arising. One should seek to attain good and moral qualities and develop those already possessed. Seek to grow in maturity and perfection until universal love is attained. Step seven is "Right Mindfulness". This implies continuing self-examination and awareness. Nothing has more infulence over life than the mind. "All we are is the result of what we have thought." Ignorance is life's primary adversary. One must be observant, contemplative, and free of desire and sorrow. Self awareness will lead to liberation from unconscious, mechanical existance. See everything as 'it really is'. Maintain a steady attention to your thoughts and feelings. Step eight is "Right Absorption." This is the final goal to be absorbed into a state of Nirvana. With the elimination of the three poisons, delusion, craving , and hostility, we see that things are not as we supposed. It is the kind of mental concentration which is presented in every wholesome state of consciousness, and hence is accompanied by at least Right Thought, Right Effort and Right Mindfulness. Compliance to the path does not guarantee reaching Nirvana, but it is the only path that leads to Nirvana. Only by following this path, a Buddhist could have a chance to reach enlightenment, to free oneself from the continuous rounds of birth, death and rebirth, to have reached the ultimate goal --- to be absorbed into a state of Nirvana. Ideally, suppositions of whatever sort have vanished, to be replaced by direct perception. The mind reposes in it's true condition. What is Zen you ask? If I were a Zen master, I might lift my index finger in reply, or kick a ball, or perhaps slap you for asking. This is not an easy question to answer, since Zen doesnt fit very well into conventional categories. In one sense, the question cant be answered at all; in another sense...
