Importance of Studying and Applying Lamrim in Daily Life
At the 2018 November Course at Kopan Monastery, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche discussed the path to enlightenment that is outlined in the lamrim and the importance of studying it. He emphasized that simply understanding the lamrim is not enough; it must be put into practice in one’s life. Here is an excerpt from Rinpoche’s teachings.
Engage in mindfulness and the three key components of enlightenment—abandonment, bodhicitta, and correct understanding.
This way, all activities done with abandonment will lead to freedom from suffering and will not cause further entrapment in samsara.
All actions taken with bodhicitta will be a step towards enlightenment. With the right view, all actions will be remedies for ignorance, the root of suffering, and a cure for samsara.
Lamrim is a type of Buddhist text that outlines the various stages of enlightenment as taught by Buddha.
It was initially developed by Atiśa in the 11th century with his work, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathapradīpa).
Since then, there have been many interpretations of lamrim created by teachers from the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools.