"Monks, these two extremes ought not to be
practiced by one who has gone forth from
the household life. (What are the two?) There
is addiction to indulgence of sense-pleasures,
which is low, coarse, the way of ordinary
people, unworthy, and unprofitable; and there
is addiction to self-mortification, which is
painful, unworthy, and unprofitable. Avoiding
both these extremes, the Tathagata (the
Perfect One) has realized the Middle Path; it
gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to
calm, to insight, to enlightenment and to
Nibbana. And what is that Middle Path realized
by the Tathagata...? It is the Noble Eightfold
path, and nothing else, namely: right
understanding, right thought, right speech,
right action, right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness and right concentration."
- Siddhārtha Gautama, Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
