Questions

Sheri Brown, Seattle, 2011

If faith is to be based on empirical evidence and not blind belief, should not The Four Noble Truths better be called The Four Theorems or The Four Propositions, or even The Four Practices (accepting the existence of suffering, abandoning the cause of suffering, realizing the cessation of suffering, and cultivating the eightfold path)?

And while we're at it, should the various aspects of the eightfold path really be called "right" understanding, "right" thought, "right" speech, etc.?  Doesn't "right" imply an acceptance of dogma, and isn't it more than just a little dualistic?  If we're to whole-heartedly and completely practice the eightfold path, wouldn't "whole" or "complete" understanding, thought, speech and so on be a better label for the holistic engagement in the eightfold path?

Or, since the buddha-way existed before our knowing it or naming it, wouldn't it be best to not call it anything at all, but to just do it?