The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Eight: Right Samadhi

The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Eight: Right Samadhi

Author: Susan Piver April 3, 2026 Duration: 25:29

Send us Fan Mail

This week we arrive at the final step of the Noble Eightfold Path: Right Samadhi, often translated as concentration or absorption. If the earlier steps help us see clearly and act with intention, this final step gathers the mind into a unified experience.

Right Samadhi is not about forcing the mind to focus. It begins with learning to place attention on one thing and come back when it wanders. From there, it deepens into the ability to give your attention fully to another person. And eventually, it points beyond both of those, toward a loosening of the sense that there is a separate “you” paying attention to something else.

In this episode, I explore Right Samadhi through three lenses: foundational, relational, and transformational.

Highlights

  • What Right Samadhi actually means beyond “concentration”
  • Why the ability to focus is becoming rare and why it matters
  • Meditation as training attention
  • Attention as the basis of love
  • What it means to truly listen to another person
  • The challenge of stepping outside self-focused attention
  • The possibility of awareness without a subject or object
  • Right Samadhi as the culmination of the Noble Eightfold Path

Music After Party

This week I share “Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears” by A Winged Victory for the Sullen.

You can also listen here.

Watch this episode on video
If you’d like to watch the podcast, the video version is coming soon.

Thoughts?
You can send your questions or reflections via Instagram DM or through
our form — I’d love to include them in future episodes.

Get your copy of The Buddhist Enneagram
From March 10 – April 10, you can receive 30% off the new physical edition of
The Buddhist Enneagram when you order directly from Shambhala Publications. Use code ENNEAGRAM30 at checkout. If this book has been on your reading list, or if you know someone who might benefit from this perspective on the Enneagram, this is a great time to pick up a copy. Buy yours here.

If you’d like a free chapter, sign up for my weekly meditation newsletter here.

Fearless Creativity: A Meditation and

If you enjoyed this episode:

Please rate, review, and share it with a friend who’s curious about mindfulness, spiritual commitment, or the Buddhist path.

For more on Buddhist teachings and how our humanity isn’t necessarily in our way, sign up for my free weekly newsletter or join the Open Heart Project sangha for more connection with community and with me.

If this podcast has been meaningful to you, it would be great if you would subscribe, give it a five star rating and share it with a friend. To join or learn more about The Open Heart Project please visit openheartproject.com.

Thoughts? Email us at info@susanpiver.com

Produced by Citizens of Sound

Music by: Derek O'Brien

©Open Heart Project 


In Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver, the ancient wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism meets the messy reality of modern living. Susan Piver, drawing from three decades of personal practice and her role guiding a large online meditation community, acts as a thoughtful companion rather than a distant teacher. Each conversation in this podcast moves beyond theoretical doctrine to explore how core teachings-from the four noble truths to the practice of the paramitas-can be woven into the fabric of daily experience. You’ll hear discussions that feel applicable whether you’re dealing with stress, navigating relationships, or simply seeking a more grounded sense of purpose. The tone is accessible and personal, focusing on direct experience over dogma. This approach makes the podcast a resource for anyone curious about integrating contemplative practice into areas of health, fitness, and personal spirituality, regardless of their background. It’s about finding practical clarity and an open heart amidst life’s constant changes, with Susan offering insights that feel both timeless and immediately useful.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 52

Buddhism Beyond Belief with Susan Piver
Podcast Episodes
The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Seven: Right Mindfulness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:45
Send us Fan MailThis week we explore Right Mindfulness, the seventh step of the Noble Eightfold Path. While the earlier steps shape how we see and act in the world, this step turns us inward again, toward our direct expe…
The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Six: Right Effort [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:59
Send us Fan MailThis week we explore Right Effort, the sixth step of the Noble Eightfold Path. While the earlier steps guide how we understand reality and how we act in the world, Right Effort begins to turn inward. It c…
A Powerful New Take on the Enneagram (from my new book) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:08
Send us Fan MailThis episode, we pause our exploration of the Noble Eightfold Path before returning next week with Right Effort.This week, Shambhala Publications (my favorite publisher) is reissuing my book, The Buddhist…
The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Five: Right Livelihood [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:42
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I explore Right Livelihood, the fifth step on the Noble Eightfold Path. We began with Right View and Right Intention, then moved into speech and action. Now we turn to how we earn a livin…
The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Four: Right Action [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:40
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I explore Right Action, the fourth step on the Noble Eightfold Path. We begin with Right View and Right Intention, then move outward into speech. Now we take those steps into how we live…
The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Three: Right Speech [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:11
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I explore the third step of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Speech, and why it might more accurately be called Right Listening. I begin with a story about the so-called “Marcus Syndrome”,…
The Noble Eightfold Path: Step Two: The Power of Intention [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:50
Send us Fan MailWhen I first started my own business years ago, I was full of doubt, excitement, fear, and hope, often all at the same time. Out of nowhere, a major opportunity landed in my lap that could have launched e…
The Noble Eightfold Path: Step One: Seeing Clearly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:58
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I begin a conversation about the Fourth Noble Truth, the Noble Eightfold Path, and its first step, Right View. I review the first three Noble Truths and reflect on how Buddhism is often m…
Strength in a Time of Crisis: What Helps? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:05
Send us Fan MailThis morning, the Open Heart Project Sangha gathered as we do every day to meditate and reflect together. The group was larger than usual, a clear sign of how shaken many of us are by what is happening in…
Four Karmas: Actions That Protect the Mind [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:41
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I introduce the Four Karmas—pacifying, enriching, magnetizing, and destroying—as practical actions for meeting chaos, conflict, and confusion without losing clarity or heart. In this Budd…