The last three limbs of the path are concerned with the practice of Samadhi, or meditation. Samadhi is a complicated word to translate. It can refer to meditation, but also to the state of mind that the meditation practice is trying to achieve or realise.

Limb 6 - Right or Perfect Effort

In Buddhism you need to make a conscious effort to develop and change. This involves work. This can be summed up by what is termed the Four Exertions:

1. Preventing Possible Unskillful states
2. Eradicating Present Unskillful states
3. Developing Potential Skillful states
4. Maintaining Present Skillful states

This limb is the first of the Meditation aspect of the path. It is concerned with dealing with the distractions that prevent someone from achieving a state of Meditation. Buddhism states that we tend to have a level of basic distractedness. If we just try to shut our eyes for a moment or two, this will reveal this distracted state. Our mind will fill full of mental chatter.

This is summed up as the Five Hindrances - these are:

1. Considering the consequences of being in and acting upon that state
2. Cultivating the opposite emotion or state of mind
3. Letting the distraction pass without paying attention
4. Suppressing the distraction
5. Going for Refuge

One of the most direct means to cultivate the opposite emotion or state of mind is through meditation. In Buddhism the word used for meditation practice is Bhavana (which means "making to become"). Meditation is a development of positive states of mind, states of clarity, awareness and relaxed concentration. Progress in meditation is marked by the attainment of the Dhyanas (S) Jhanas (P), which are termed higher states of consciousness.

Limb 7 - Right or Perfect Awareness

The practice of Meditation results in an experience of Dhyana; these have names such as Bliss, Rapture or Ecstasy. They are very pleasurable and happy states. However, the ultimate aim is not to have good meditations alone.

Buddhist meditation practices divide into two kinds, Samatha and Vipassana. Samatha is calming, the idea that the chattering and the distractedness of the mind is calmed and the sediment sinks so that one can see through the clear water. Calmness is important, as it is a basis to everything else. It is important that a person is healthy, happy, and has worked out their problems. Samatha meditation has as its aim the experience of Dhyana.

However, according to Buddhism, it is from this basis that one needs to break out of the wheel altogether, breaks out of Samsara. To do this one needs Insight. Insight is seeing all things as they really are. It is the second kind of Meditation, which is called Vipassana meditation, that is designed to do this. Vipassana mediation is concerned with Insight, allowing us to see and experience the universe as it really is.

The seventh limb is Samyak Smrti is best translated as Perfect Mindfulness or Awareness. This is the development of mindfulness or awareness, one pointedness or integration. This limb refers to the importance of the practice of meditation, of using or performing regular meditation sessions. The main practice to achieve this state of Smrti or Sati is the Mindfulness of Breathing or the Anapanasati.

The Buddhist tries to develop awareness on many levels:

• Awareness of things
• Awareness of oneself
• Awareness of one's body
• Awareness of feelings
• Awareness of thought
• Awareness of people
• Awareness of reality.

This last level of awareness corresponds to the last limb, which is, if you like, the fruit of the path. The Buddhist aims to achieve Insight or Bodhi. Sometimes this is called an awareness of Sunyata or the Void!

One other way to see it is that Limb 7 is concerned with Samatha Mediation and Limb 8 refers to Vipassana Meditation.

Limb 8 - Right or Perfect Meditation or Samadhi

Samyak Samadhi refers to the state of being fixed, or one- pointed, in a truly meditative state. This is the achievement of a concentrated mind. This means a meditative experience (as opposed to the performing or meditation practices which try to achieve these experiences).

On a deeper level it means the "fixing" or fully establishing the mind in a state of Enlightenment or wisdom. This is the state of Nirvana or Bodhi, the experience of Reality. It's difficult to say anything about that!