These eight principles were later organized in three stages, as follows:•(1) Morality (shila): speech, action, livelihood•(2) Meditation (dhyana): effort, mindfulness, concentration•(3) Insight or wisdom (prajna): views and thought.•The Theravada Buddhist commentator known as Buddhaghosa (5thcentury CE) followed this arrangement in theorizing the stages of reaching enlightenment.•In this scheme, the Eightfold Path entails a moral progression as the foundation for meditation