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There are some people now that are really pitiful. Shortsighted and simpleminded, they are contented with their current lot, think they have everything they deserve, and do not feel it is necessary to practice.

This is a deluded way of thinking since such a person cannot look beyond the present. Although they have everything they want now – good health, a successful career, and a happy family, who can guarantee these things will last? No one can give this assurance, not in this life, let alone the next. Thus, even with power and wealth, we need to practice.

Conversely, some people from low-income families will question how they can find time to practice and study the teachings when their livelihood is still an issue that has to be resolved. For them, it’s wait and see!

This viewpoint is also incorrect. If we lack for food, we can borrow money or even beg to get something to eat; whatever the situation, there is always a way. However, on a major issue such as birth, aging, illness, and death, we cannot borrow money or beg for help; without prior practice, there is nothing that can be done. Thus, even the poor have to practice.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "The Importance of Practice"

To every practitioner, actual methods are extremely important. One must truly practice in order to achieve liberation. By reciting the name of the Buddha one-pointedly, we can go to Western Pure Land; by practicing renunciation, bodhicitta, and emptiness, we can gradually eradicate our afflictions and attain liberation in the end.

We should all recite the Buddha’s name on a regular basis, but to be fully prepared, we should also undertake a concurrent practice. That is to say, we should choose one of the Middle Way practices in either Vajrayana or exoteric Buddhism to ensure all grounds are covered. If we can realize emptiness, that certainly is best; if not, we can still go to Western Pure Land if we are sincere in chanting the Buddha’s name. The two should be practiced together, this is also His Holiness Jigme Phunstok Rinpoche’s advice. At the same time, listening and contemplating the Dharma are both helpful to the practice and to chanting the Buddha’s name, so these activities are complementary. An integrated practice like this is definitely beyond error.

- Quote from The Four Seals of Dhama, "The Importance of Practice"