Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
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A Comprehensive Practice<br />
<strong>In</strong>troduction<br />
A common difficulty for newcomers to the Buddha’s teaching<br />
is in acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the course<br />
of practice laid out by the Buddha. The Buddha himself often<br />
gave specific teachings to individuals or groups, tailored to<br />
suit the specific needs of the audience. Thus, at first glance,<br />
it may seem that in order to put his teachings into practice,<br />
one must either pick and choose according to one’s<br />
preference or take the time to study all of the teachings and<br />
practice them all together. Since the latter is more or less<br />
impossible even for those who have the time, it is common<br />
to find Buddhists taking the former route, picking and<br />
choosing practices from the Buddha’s teaching based on<br />
personal preference.<br />
As a result, many Buddhists come to have a lopsided<br />
understanding of the Buddha’s teaching and so too a<br />
lopsided practice – a practice lacking in certain aspects or<br />
deficient in certain qualities. For example, some meditators<br />
focus on tranquillity, neglecting to cultivate insight; others<br />
may focus on cultivating intellectual understanding and<br />
neglect the cultivation of tranquillity. Some Buddhists focus<br />
on charity and public service, while others focus on strict<br />
moral practice and austerity.<br />
As a result, though all of these practices are designed to lead<br />
one closer to the goal of freedom from suffering, such<br />
practitioners may be unable to achieve the goal due to<br />
omitting other important, supportive aspects of the practice.<br />
Putting aside the practice itself, the vastness of the Buddha’s<br />
teaching creates problems on a different level in terms of<br />
clearly understanding what it was the Buddha actually<br />
taught. If one is not able to obtain a comprehensive<br />
understanding of the Buddha’s teaching, one may give rise<br />
to misunderstanding, attributing qualities to the Buddha’s<br />
teaching that it doesn’t possess and denying its possession<br />
of attributes which it truly possesses. One may not<br />
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