Noble Eightfold Path– Annotated Lectures of Bhikkhu Bodhi

The 8 spoke Dharma wheel signifies the Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Course (Pali: ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga; Sanskrit: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga) is an early summary of the course of Buddhist practices leading to freedom from samsara, the agonizing cycle of rebirth.The Eightfold Path includes 8 practices: ideal view, ideal willpower, ideal speech, best conduct, best income, ideal effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi (‘meditative absorption or union’). In early Buddhism, these practices began with comprehending that the body-mind works in a damaged way (best view), followed by entering the Buddhist course of self-observance, self-restraint, and cultivating kindness and compassion; and culminating in dhyana or samadhi, which re-inforces these practices for the advancement of the body-mind. In later on Buddhism, insight (Prajñā) became the central soteriological instrument, leading to a various concept and structure of the path, in which the “objective” of the Buddhist path came to be defined as ending lack of knowledge and rebirth.The Noble Eightfold Path is among the principal mentors of Theravada Buddhism, taught to cause Arhatship. In the Theravada custom, this courseis likewise summarized as sila(morality), samadhi (meditation)and prajna (insight). In Mahayana Buddhism, this course is contrasted with the Bodhisattva course, which is thought to exceed Arahatship to complete Buddhahood. In Buddhist significance , the Noble Eightfold Course is often represented by ways of the dharma wheel(dharmachakra ), in which its 8 spokes represent the 8 aspects of the path. Source