Path in Buddhism

From: Then and Now 26
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Audioclip

One of the things I've always appreciated about Buddhism is its great emphasis on path, which distinguishes it from a lot of the people who have spontaneous awakening, like Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi. And while they are very notable people in their own right, they downplay the role of path. And path is basically the process of awakening evolving and growing in us, and creating the conditions for that to happen.

In the Tibetan tradition this is expressed and translated as "the" path. I've always had a little bit of tension with that, because the stages of the path that you were meant to follow never worked for me, so I've always had to find my own way. And then I realized that I actually do the same thing with every student that I work with. I never work with two people exactly the same way. 

And then some comments that I was listening to from Stephen Batchelor pulled the whole thing together for me. There isn’t "the" path. You find "a" path. And what you actually do is you find "your" path. So it’s a path to awakening for you.

Note:  Other commentaries on path in Buddhism include: Eightfold Path 01, Then and Now 35,  and What do I do Now