OVERSEAS TEACHING AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

This three-fold formula of view, practice and conduct is not just spoken of in the religious context. Any kind of work we undertake also has a view, a practice and conduct that underpins it. And not only positive actions have their own view, practice and conduct, but negative ones as well. In the view, practice and conduct of a thief, for example, the view would be the decision not to work or do business, but instead to steal from other people. The meditation of a thief would be thinking constantly, time and time again about how they are going to go about stealing from other people. The conduct of a thief would be actually going and stealing the property of others.

What we need to do is abandon incorrect view, meditation and conduct and instead cultivate positive view, meditation and conduct.

Depicted from "Buddhism in the 21st Century - Part 8" June, Sydney, Australia

As Buddhist practitioners, it is important that we start by developing a correct view. When we talk about “view”, it often means something that we see with our eyes, like when we start off along a path and need to ascertain where we are going so we avoid veering off to the left or right.

Depicted from "Buddhism in the 21st Century - Part 5" June, Sydney, Australia

As far as what we might need beyond the material realm, we have religious traditions that go back thousands of years. These traditions have primarily contributed to improving the ethical and moral conduct of humans, as well as their mental development.

Despite the fact that we now have unprecedented affluence, and despite the fact that we know more than we ever have, we still have the basic afflictions of attachment, desire, hatred, anger and ignorance.

Depicted from "Buddhism in the 21st Century - Part 2" June, Sydney, Australia

The third stage is our conduct. Having established our view, and having practiced meditation well, what sort of actions should we undertake? If we have a solid foundation in our view and practice then this will produce good results in our conduct.

Depicted from "Buddhism in the 21st Century - Part 7" June, Sydney, Australia

Regarding Buddhist practitioners in the 21st century, I’d like to address three topics: the view that contemporary practitioners need to develop, their meditation practice, and their conduct.

The first topic, view, refers to our developing correct ideas about the world as it is.

The second, meditation, refers to what kind of practice we should be engaging in.

Thirdly, as a result of our practice, we will discuss how we should be benefiting society through our conduct.

Depicted from "Buddhism in the 21st Century - Part 4" June, Sydney, Australia

The topic for this discussion is how to go about being a Buddhist and practice Buddhism in the 21st century.

After we have determined our view, it is necessary for us to engage in meditation practice. This can be likened to actually walking along the path that we have set for ourselves with our eyes. Simply fixing our eyes on the road ahead of us and thinking we need to go to the left or to the right, without actually moving our legs, will not get us very far.

Depicted from "Buddhism in the 21st Century - Part 6" June, Sydney, Australia

Different religious traditions have their own characteristic ways of explaining negative emotions and situations, and how to resolve them. However, here we are going to discuss the perspective of the Buddhist tradition, how to go about practicing in the 21st century, and how to bring benefit to society.

Depicted from "Buddhism in the 21st Century - Part 3" June, Sydney, Australia

I really hope that everybody engages in practice; it is crucial to actually practice what we have learned. We may listen to different teachers, but ultimately, without practicing ourselves, although we may be accumulating knowledge, we are really not developing any kind of meaningful personal experience.

Depicted from "Guide to the Four Preliminary Practices 3 - Part 40" April, 2015, Vancouver, Canada