Even though I am far from an adept at any mathematical discipline, I often borrow terminology from both set theory and chaos theory to illustrate the impact of meditation or Buddhist teachings. Today I submit for any interested perusal how the 鈥渧enn diagram鈥� might be able to present the famous teaching of the 8-fold path.
Venn diagrams are classes, represented by regions in such relation to one another that all the possible logical relations of these classes can be indicated in the same diagram. The regions represent 'sets', which are collections of objects. Usually these sets are represted by circles that overlap; in my adaptation I use cloud-like forms to indicate that in Buddhist thought things are often ephemeral and not clearly defined.
In classical Buddhist teaching the 8-fold path is clustered into the three essentials of training and discipline. The three essentials are, knowledge/wisdom, good conduct and meditation. In modern teaching all three are required in order to generate a stable, happy life. Here's how the eight are rendered as three:
Knowledge/Wisdom (Skt.= Praj帽膩): comprised of 'right view' and 'right intention'.
Good Conduct (Skt.= 艢墨la) comprised of 'right speech, 'right action' and 'right livelihood'.
Meditation (Skt.= Bh膩van膩) comprised of 'right effort', 'right mindfulness' and 'right concentration'.
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So, the Venn of Zen might look like this:
