To practice the Dharma, we need to focus on 3 things: cultivating the body, cultivating speech, and cultivating the mind.
Cultivating the body involves three things: not killing, not stealing, and avoiding improper conduct.
Cultivating speech includes 4 things:
- Not lying, meaning not saying something that is untrue or denying something that is true.
- Not engaging in divisive speech, causing discord or harming relationships between others.
- Not using harsh speech, not speaking in ways that hurt or insult others, and not engaging in idle chatter that brings no benefit.
- Not speaking with a double tongue, saying one thing and meaning another, leading to misunderstandings and resentment.
Cultivating the mind involves 3 things:
- Reducing desire, living simply, being content, and practicing generosity.
- Reducing anger, cultivating compassion, seeing all beings as family, or even as oneself, in order to love and care for them.
- Reducing ignorance, as ignorance arises from not understanding the causes and conditions of all things. When we understand these causes and conditions, we will no longer be angry or deluded.
Each day, we create karma. If we maintain mindfulness, we will generate good karma through our body, speech, and mind. If we lack awareness, we will create negative karma. All of this comes from our body, speech, and mind.
- What is the nature of Buddhist practice? The most essential answer
- Caution in Buddhist Practice
- The Four Noble Truths: Everything you need to know
- The Noble Eightfold Path: A Simple Yet In-Depth Explanation
Lesson by Venerable Thích Pháp Hoà
