Eightfold Farms is located on a beautiful stretch of land overlooking the Red River, and its 208.87 acres feature hayfields, a fishing lake, and many trails and paths to explore. This land was purchased in 2015 by Hanna Gamble and Carol Gamble, and their dream was to create a farm that embodies the spirit and tenets of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism. This desire led to what is now Eightfold Farms, a place for community involvement and communing with nature.
Our Vision & Inspiration
The name “Eightfold Farms” comes from Hanna’s belief in the Buddhist traditions of the four noble truths and the eightfold path to enlightenment. Hanna first learned about Buddhism in 2010 when she opted to take Buddhism as an elective course during her studies at Tulane. This class introduced her to the concept of mindfulness which allowed her to begin experiencing life to the fullest and remain unaffected by the challenges of life.
The Four Noble Truths
NUMBER 1
Ordinary Life brings about suffering
NUMBER 2
The origin of suffering is attachment
NUMBER 3
The cessation of suffering is attainable
NUMBER 4
There is an eightfold path to the cessation of suffering
The Eightfold Path
The Path, preached by Lord Buddha to his disciples, provides a practical guideline to ethical and mental development by freeing one from attachments and delusions. This paves the way to the quest for truth, and the eight factors combine together to stand on the threshold of the transcendent attainments.
Right view simply means to see and to understand things as they really are, not as you ‘wish’ them to be.
Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical behavior for the good of the whole.
Buddha explains right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech; not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully; 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to speak maliciously against others; 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others; and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth.
1. To abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or unconsciously, including eating the flesh of others beings; 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty; and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct.
Buddha teaches four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason: 1. dealing in weapons; 2. dealing in living beings (including slave trade and prostitution as well as raising animals for slaughter); 3. working in meat production and butchery; and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs.
1. To prevent the arising of unwholesome states; 2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen; 3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen; and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.
1. Contemplation of the body; 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral); 3. contemplation of the state of mind; and 4. contemplation of the phenomena.
Right concentration is the practice of meditation.
The Gambles
Carol Gamble
Carol, the co-owner of Eightfold Farms, graduated from LSU with a B.A. in General Studies. She founded the company Little Partners, which sells her patented design, the Learning Tower.
Hanna Gamble
Hanna, the co-owner of Eightfold Farms, graduated from Tulane University with a B.A. in Science and Management. She is an avid English horseback rider, and a lover of the outdoors and animals.