Advice on Treading the Buddhist Path

Variant of Varada mudra, left hand has fingers pointing down.

The Buddha’s teaching was given to help people find true happiness by putting an end to suffer­ing. True happiness is attained by doing certain things and leaving certain things undone. The following has been adapted from various sources on how to tread the Buddhist path.

To make far-reaching plans as though we were going to establish permanent residence in this world, instead of living as though each day were the last, is foolish.

Sorrow and misfortune are teachers that convince us of the need to lead a religious life.

Reflecting upon the miseries which all sentient beings suffer will encourage us to attain liberation.

There is no real happiness outside of enlightenment.

It should be realised that all sorrows are the result of past actions.

Reflecting upon the nature of cause and effect will encourage us to avoid unskilful and unwise actions.

Avoid those actions which harm the mind and impede spiritual development.

Freedom from desire and attachment is necessary if we wish to be free of suffering.

Refrain from harming any living thing.

Eating meat is like eating one’s own chil­dren.

We should consider that all sentient beings are no other than the Buddha himself.

Refrain from earning a living by means of deceit and theft.

Unless all ambitions are eradicated, we are likely to fall into the error of allowing ourselves to be dominated by worldly motives.

It is useless devoting our lives to the acquisition of worldly things, seeing that when death comes we must relinquish even our own bodies.

Act so that you have no cause to be ashamed of yourselves, and hold fast to this rule.

Instead of hankering after the transitory pleasures of this life, we should devote ourselves to realising the eternal bliss of nirvana.

To enjoy a single moment of nirvanic bliss is more precious than to enjoy any amount of sensual bliss.

Be content with simple things and be free from craving for worldly possessions.

Hurt none by word or deed.

Reason, being one’s best friend, should not be abandoned.

It is not only necessary to understand the teaching; it is also necessary to apply it to our own needs.

Awareness and humility are required to keep body, speech and mind free from defilement.

A team of the fastest horses cannot overtake a word once it has left the lips.

Don’t ever dispute on religious belief.

Constantly maintain alertness of mind in walking, sitting, eating and sleeping.

It is good to train the wandering mind. A mind under control brings great happiness.

If great attachment, craving, or unwhole­some mental states arise, make an effort to eradicate them as soon as possible.

It is good to abandon attachment to all things and attain knowledge of reality.

Cultivate friendliness, compassion, and wisdom.

Reflecting upon death and the imperma­nence of life will encourage us to live skilfully and without blame.

We can only acquire knowledge of the path by treading it.

Reflecting upon the uselessness of aimlessly frittering away our lives will encourage us to tread the path diligently.

To enter upon the path and not to tread it is foolish.

To know the precepts and not apply them to clearing away defilement is to be like a sick man who never takes his medicine.

To be idle and indifferent when the circum­stances are favourable for realisation is foolish.

To be clever concerning precepts, yet ignorant of the experiences which come from applying them, is to be like a rich man who has lost the key of his treasury.

To enter upon the path and to cling to worldly feelings of attraction and aversion is foolish.

To live hypocritically is as stupid as poison­ing our own food.

Without practical and adequate understand­ing of the teaching, we are likely to fall into the error of religious self-conceit.

Don’t despise a beginner if you are a seeker of supreme enlightenment. Never say to anyone: You will not obtain superior knowledge.

Trying to reform others instead of reform­ing ourselves is an error.

Let go!

Once spiritual knowledge has dawned, do not neglect it through laziness, but cultivate it vigorously.

Avoid concealing one’s own faults and broadcasting the faults of others.

Don’t boast of your own attainment, but apply it to the realisation of truth.

By permitting credulous admirers to congre­gate about us, we are likely to become puffed up with worldly pride.

Performing good actions merely to attain fame and praise is like exchanging the mystic wish-granting gem for a pellet of goat’s dung.

To cunningly praise ourselves while dispar­aging others is foolish.

To devote ourselves to selfish ambitions instead of working for the good of others is as foolish as a blind man allowing himself to become lost in a desert.

See all beings as on the way to their slaugh­ter.

Fools think they harm themselves by putting others first.

One does no good to oneself by taking advantage of others.

If we slight others we harm ourselves.

Unless we are selfless and compassionate, we are likely to fall into the error of seeking liberation for ourselves alone.

If only the good of others is sought in all that we do, then it will be realised there is no need to seek any benefit for ourselves.

Helping others, however limited our abilities may be, should not be avoided.

The mind, imbued with compassion in thought and deed, should always be directed to the service of all sentient beings.

Reflecting upon the evils of life in the round of successive existences will encourage us to seek freedom from birth and death.

To spend our lives oscillating between hope and fear instead of understanding reality is an error.

Supreme enlightenment is easy to know—just cut yourself off from seizing upon false views.

When we understand the teachings, it is the same whether we meet with good fortune or with bad.

Those who tread the path should be indiffer­ent to both comfort and hardship.

When we realise that all phenomena are illusory, then we realise there is no need to seek or reject anything.

When we are truly compassionate, it is the same whether we practise meditation in solitude or work for the good of others in the midst of society.

It is a great joy to realise that the path to freedom, which all the buddhas have trodden, is ever-present, ever-unchanged, and ever-open to those who are ready to enter upon it.

Straightforward action will lead us to liberation directly.

Study the teachings of the great sages of all sects impartially.

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Books used

Dhammapada, J. Austin, (ed.), 1983, The Buddhist Society, London.

The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom, E. Conze, 1975, University of California Press.

The Path of Freedom, Rev. N.R.M. Ehara, et al., 1977, BPS.

Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines, W.Y. Evans­Wentz (ed.), 1969, OUP.

Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa, W.Y. Evans-Wentz (ed.), 1969, OUP.

The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui Neng, Wong Mou-Lam (trans.), 1969, Shambhala.

The Lankavatara Sutra, D.T. Suzuki (trans.), 1973, RKP.

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