The Buddha organized these ideas into the Fourfold Truth as follows:

1. That life consists entirely of suffering;
2. That suffering has causes;
   (The above two are the description of reality.)
3. That the causes of suffering can be extinguished;
4. That there exists a way to extinguish the causes.
   (The last two express the ideal.)

These constitute the Fourfold Truth to be believed by the ariya or those who pursue the way toward Nirvana. (Hereafter the word ariya or arya will be used in preference to its English equivalent ‘the noble.’ Ariya as used in Buddhism includes both those who aspire to become noble and those who are already noble.)

In explanation of the fourth Noble Truth the Buddha taught the Eightfold Way to be pursued by the ariya as follows:

1. Right View, by which to see the real state of all things.
2. Right Thought
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
   (Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action are the elements of human character.)
5. Right Mindfulness
6. Right Endeavor
7. Right Livelihood
   (These three are the elements of human life or the dynamic aspects of human character.)
8. Right Concentration, which is the motive power to carry one through all the worlds—this human world of desire, the heaven of (bodily-) beings, the higher heaven of formless (bodiless) beings and holy beings (arhats)—finally to reach the state of Parinirvana (Highest Nirvana), the Buddhahood.

The Eightfold Way may be regarded as the practical ethics of Buddhism for the purpose of building up the human character and improving it, but at the same time it is the way of the holy religion for attaining the highest enlightenment—the Buddhahood. …

The Eightfold Way should not be regarded as a combination of eight different ways. It is a unitary way—the Path of Insight (Darsana-marga) – to lead the ariya toward perfection.