Sublime

Ajahn Chah said,

Today many people practice meditation and pursue Buddhism with the idea that it will make them better people, more effective in their work or more successful in life. Tokmé Zongpo would have found such a utilitarian approach incomprehensible. The spiritual practice described here is not about becoming a better person. It is not about increasing

Buddha in the Jungle by Kamala Tiyavanich. From her research of Buddhism in Thailand, extending back to the earliest written records of previous centuries, you see a very wide range of meditation practices in use. You read how the forest lineages included healers, educators, schoolteachers, priests, peacemakers, and meditators; some were

Mahayana does not mean leaving the world and abandoning social connections and responsibilities. Rather, it involves a more inner renunciation in which we give up our designs and preconceptions regarding others and aspire to work with them as and where they are

The process of the Four Noble Truths. The practice of mindful awareness. The power of self-reliance.

And just in case we doubt our ability to join this noble assembly, the Buddha tells us this teaching cannot be heard, believed, or practiced by those who do not share the bodhisattva’s resolve to liberate all beings.

The sole purpose of practicing the Dharma is to liberate yourself and all sentient beings. The aim should never be to become a Dharma teacher. But nowadays, under the pretext of needing to propagate the Dharma, the notion of a Buddhist teacher training keeps springing up from every corner.