Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

are descriptions of negative purposes. Now we must
examine briefly the positive ones.
1. A man who desires to practice Buddhist meditation
must first obtain a good foundation in Buddhist
philosophy. Then, having a well established knowledge
of the sutras and so forth, and by the practice of
meditation, he receives the central thought of Buddhism;
that is, his mind never strays from Buddhist philosophy
in whatever situation he finds himself. Every action of
body, speech, and thought is then guided by a
Dharma-centered thought. This at least is necessary.
Even if one renounces the world and takes up monastic
life, many sorts of worldly thoughts may invade the
mind: of money, reputation, lust—such worldly ideas
mean that one has not yet developed the mind to center
upon the Buddha's teachings (see Appendix III, A and
Appendix II, A).
Until this is done, perfect understanding of the Dharma
(samyag drsti) cannot develop very much, nor can it
find expression in perfect livelihood (samyak ajiva).
When this latter is really perfect then we do nothing
unrelated to Dharma, and of course, nothing at all
opposed to it. With a mind constantly dwelling only
upon the Dharma (a difficult thing for lay people, who
have so many worldly activities), this central
thought-core is developed and the true meaning of the
Buddha's words becomes clear.
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