Four Foundations of Buddhist Practice

Thrangu Rinpoche discusses The Four Common Foundations of Buddhist Practice which are often called “the four thoughts that turn the mind” is what we should contemplate before beginning a spiritual practice. Contemplating this even just briefly with bring meaning to our practice.

The first foundation which is a precious human birth, explains in detail why practice is important. All beings have a precious birth, but only a very few animals and other human beings have a situation in which they can receive and actually practice the teachings to improve their life and future lifetimes.

The second foundation, impermanence. We must realize that no one can predict their death or any drastic change in their life situations. So we should practice as if might be our last practice and not get caught up in meaningless daily activities. 

The third foundation of karma, cause and effect is the most difficult to understand. This is lucidly explained by Thrangu Rinpoche because if we understand karma properly, we can change our behavior so that in the long-term our life situation will be much more pleasant and fruitful. 

The fourth foundation is the difficulties of Samsara. Samsara is our viewing the world in the view of relative reality so we end up with great frustrations and disappointment and unfilled desires. I we can begin to see reality in a dharmic way in our practice and wife, we will be able to achieve true realization.

"Thrangu Rinpoche's fine new book will be a great support to anyone making the effort to study, reflect upon, and put the teachings of the four foundations into practice."–– David Curtis, Director, Tibet Language Institute

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