Ethical Conduct Is the Essence of Dharma Practice
The Dalai Lama and Thubten Chodron explain three roots of Buddhist morality, how to adhere to them, and what happens when we fail to meet the standards.
Buddhists recognize that there is a greater significance to life than simply indulging in pleasure, accumulating wealth, attaining power, achieving social standing, and garnering admiration in the present.
They believe that achieving a fortunate rebirth, liberation, and enlightenment are of utmost importance in the grand scheme of things.
We strive to minimize and ultimately eliminate afflictions that impede us from fulfilling our spiritual destiny.
We are guided by ethical codes to control our physical, verbal, and mental behavior. These codes involve teachings from a spiritual guide and provide specific instructions on how to conduct ourselves.
Mental development is the process of decreasing negative mental states and increasing positive ones, in order to be able to meditate with single-pointed concentration and gain insight into emptiness.
In order to achieve focus, it is essential to cultivate mindfulness and introspective awareness in order to overcome both external and internal distractions.
This is done through the practice of ethical conduct.
