General Spiritual Director
Day 4 ~ Practicing for Others
Jul 28, 2026
Learn more about Buddhism & Meditation
About Buddhism
Learn more about Buddhism - the practice of Buddha’s teachings, also called ‘Dharma’
What is Buddhism?
Buddhism is the practice of Buddha’s teachings, also called ‘Dharma’
Dharma means “protection”. By practicing Buddha’s teachings we protect ourself from suffering and problems. All the problems we experience during daily life originate in ignorance, and the method for eliminating ignorance is to practice Dharma.
Practicing Dharma is the supreme method for improving the quality of our human life. The quality of life depends not upon external development or material progress, but upon the inner development of peace and happiness.
For example, in the past many Buddhists lived in poor and underdeveloped countries, but they were able to find pure, lasting happiness by practicing what Buddha had taught.
Why are Buddha’s teachings relevant today?
If we integrate Buddha’s teachings into our daily life, we will be able to solve all our inner problems and attain a truly peaceful mind. Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.
If we first establish peace within our minds by training in spiritual paths, outer peace will come naturally; but if we do not, world peace will never be achieved, no matter how many people campaign for it.
ABOUT Buddhism
Lamrim
The stages of the path to enlightenment, or Lamrim in Tibetan, is the backbone of Kadampa Buddhism.
Lamrim is a special set of instructions that includes all the essential teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni arranged in such a way that all his Hinayana and Mahayana teachings can be put into practice in a single meditation session.
It was compiled by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha, who was invited to Tibet to teach by King Jangchub Ö in AD 1042.
Unbroken lineage
There is a completely pure and unbroken lineage of these Lamrim instructions from Buddha Shakyamuni up to our present day Spiritual Guides.
Many great Kadampa Teachers have said that it is far more important to gain experience of Lamrim than it is to attain clairvoyance, miracle powers, or high social status.
This is true because in previous lives we have often possessed clairvoyance and potent miracle powers, and many times in the past we have been in the highest positions in the human and god realms, but despite this we continue to experience uncontrolled rebirth and physical and mental suffering caused by anger, attachment, jealousy, and confusion.
Freedom from all suffering
If we gain deep experience of Lamrim there will be no basis for these problems; we shall be completely free of all of them.
First we must understand the value of Lamrim. Then by joyfully and patiently doing the meditations we shall gradually experience the fruits of Lamrim practice.
Eventually we shall attain freedom from all suffering and the unchanging peace and happiness of enlightenment.
Key Buddhist Concepts
Refuge
When we go for refuge to the Three Jewels we enter into Buddhism. To go for refuge to the Three Jewels means to apply effort to receiving inspiration, or blessings, from Buddha, to putting Buddha’s teachings, or Dharma, into practice, and to receiving help and support from Sangha, our spiritual friends, including our Spiritual Teacher. If we wish, we can make a promise to go for refuge to the Three Jewels throughout our life in a refuge vow ceremony.
Karma
Karma means ‘action’, and refers to the actions of our body, speech, and mind. The law of karma is a special instance of the law of cause and effect, according to which all our actions of body, speech, and mind are causes and all our experiences are their effects. Every action we perform leaves an imprint, or potentiality, on our very subtle mind, and each imprint eventually gives rise to its own effect. Virtuous actions sow seeds of future happiness, and non-virtuous actions sow seeds of future suffering.
Reincarnation - what happens after death?
Reincarnation means that even though the body disintegrates at death, the continuum of the mind remains unbroken. Instead of ceasing, the mind simply leaves the present body and goes to the next life. For ordinary beings, death brings new sufferings. The process of sleeping, dreaming, and waking closely resembles the process of death, intermediate state, and rebirth.
Renunciation - the wish for Liberation
Renunciation is not a wish to abandon our family, friends, home, job, and so forth and become like a beggar. Rather, it is a mind that functions to stop attachment to worldly pleasures and that seeks liberation from contaminated rebirth. We must learn to stop our attachment through the practice of renunciation or it will be a serious obstacle to our pure spiritual practice. The realization of renunciation is the gateway through which we enter the spiritual path to liberation, or nirvana.
A good heart of Compassion
Compassion is a mind that is motivated by cherishing other living beings and wishes to release them from their suffering. True compassion is necessarily based on cherishing others. It is the very essence of a spiritual life and the main practice of those who have devoted their lives to attaining enlightenment. It is the root of the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
Bodhichitta - The mind of Enlightenment
Bodhichitta literally means ‘mind of enlightenment’. It is defined as a mind, motivated by compassion for all living beings, that spontaneously seeks enlightenment. Bodhichitta is born from great compassion, which itself depends upon cherishing love. Of all Dharma realizations, bodhichitta is supreme. Developing the good heart of bodhichitta enables us to perfect all our virtues, solve all our problems, fulfill all our wishes, and develop the power to help others in the most appropriate and beneficial ways.
Wisdom realising emptiness
Emptiness is not nothingness, but is the real nature of phenomena. Ultimate truth, emptiness, and ultimate nature of phenomena are the same. We should know that all our problems arise because we do not realize ultimate truth. The only way to eradicate self-grasping ignorance, which is the source of all our negativity and problems, is to realize emptiness. The purpose of understanding and meditating on emptiness is to release our mind from wrong conceptions and mistaken appearances so that we shall become a completely pure, or enlightened, being.
What is Tantra?
The highest of all possible human goals is the attainment of complete enlightenment, an ultimate state of peace in which all obstacles obscuring the mind have been removed and all good qualities such as wisdom, compassion, and skillful means have been fully developed.
However, we cannot reach this ultimate goal merely by waiting for it; we need to use the appropriate methods to take us there.
At the moment, we have a great opportunity to practice these rare and beneficial teachings, so it is important that we develop a strong intention to practice them purely.
If the Mahayana teachings were to vanish from this world, we would have no opportunity to become a Buddha. Therefore, while we still have access to these precious teachings, we should apply ourself to them assiduously and try to gain some experience of them.
