Editing Noble Eightfold Path (section)

== Etymology and nomenclature ==
The Pali term {{transliteration|pi|ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga}} ([[Sanskrit]]: {{IAST|āryāṣṭāṅgamārga}}) is typically translated in English as 'Noble Eightfold Path'. This translation is a convention started by the early translators of Buddhist texts into English, just like {{IAST|ariya sacca}} is translated as '[[Four Noble Truths]]'.{{sfn|Williams|2002|p=41}}{{Sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2003|p=66}} However, the phrase does not mean the path is noble, rather that the path is {{em|of the noble people}} ([[Pali]]: {{transliteration|pi|[[Arya (Buddhism)|ariya]]}}, meaning 'enlightened, noble, precious people').{{sfn|Williams|2002|p=52}} The term {{transliteration|pi|magga}} (Sanskrit: {{IAST|[[Buddhist paths to liberation|mārga]]}}) means 'path', while {{transliteration|pi|aṭṭhaṅgika}} (Sanskrit: {{IAST|[[wikt:ashtanga|aṣṭāṅga]]}}) means 'eightfold'. Thus, an alternate rendering of {{transliteration|pi|ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga}} is 'eightfold path of the noble ones',{{sfn|Anderson|2013|pp=64–65}}{{Sfn| Buswell|2004|p=296}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche |title=Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0FCCNiVsA8C |year=2007 |publisher=Snow Lion |isbn=978-1-55939-973-9 |page=80 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> or 'Eightfold Ariya Path'.<ref name="DavidsStede1921p695" /><ref>{{cite book|author1=Mkhas-grub Dge-legs-dpal-bzaṅ-po|author2=José Ignacio Cabezón |title=A Dose of Emptiness: An Annotated Translation of the sTong thun chen mo of mKhas grub dGe legs dpal bzang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3KqnpqRajPEC |year=1992|publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-0729-5 |page=214 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Chögyam Trungpa |title=The Heart of the Buddha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BdCjGgmMJcoC  |year=2010|publisher=Shambhala Publications |isbn=978-0-8348-2125-5 |page=119 }}</ref>

All eight elements of the Path begin with the word {{IAST|samyañc}} (in Sanskrit) or {{transliteration|pi|sammā}} (in Pāli) which means 'right, proper, as it ought to be, best'.<ref name="DavidsStede1921p695">{{cite book|author1=Thomas William Rhys Davids |author2=William Stede |title=Pali-English Dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC |year=1921|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1144-7 |pages=695–96 }}</ref> The Buddhist texts contrast {{transliteration|pi|samma}} with its opposite, {{transliteration|pi|miccha}}.<ref name="DavidsStede1921p695" />

The Noble Eightfold Path, in the Buddhist traditions, is the direct means to nirvana and brings a release from the cycle of life and death in the realms of samsara.{{Sfn|Lopez|1995|p=159}}{{Sfn| Hirakawa|1990|p=41}}