Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org

A Comprehensive Practice
Introduction
A common difficulty for newcomers to the Buddha’s teaching
is in acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the course
of practice laid out by the Buddha. The Buddha himself often
gave specific teachings to individuals or groups, tailored to
suit the specific needs of the audience. Thus, at first glance,
it may seem that in order to put his teachings into practice,
one must either pick and choose according to one’s
preference or take the time to study all of the teachings and
practice them all together. Since the latter is more or less
impossible even for those who have the time, it is common
to find Buddhists taking the former route, picking and
choosing practices from the Buddha’s teaching based on
personal preference.
As a result, many Buddhists come to have a lopsided
understanding of the Buddha’s teaching and so too a
lopsided practice – a practice lacking in certain aspects or
deficient in certain qualities. For example, some meditators
focus on tranquillity, neglecting to cultivate insight; others
may focus on cultivating intellectual understanding and
neglect the cultivation of tranquillity. Some Buddhists focus
on charity and public service, while others focus on strict
moral practice and austerity.
As a result, though all of these practices are designed to lead
one closer to the goal of freedom from suffering, such
practitioners may be unable to achieve the goal due to
omitting other important, supportive aspects of the practice.
Putting aside the practice itself, the vastness of the Buddha’s
teaching creates problems on a different level in terms of
clearly understanding what it was the Buddha actually
taught. If one is not able to obtain a comprehensive
understanding of the Buddha’s teaching, one may give rise
to misunderstanding, attributing qualities to the Buddha’s
teaching that it doesn’t possess and denying its possession
of attributes which it truly possesses. One may not
25