The Seven Treasures by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

 The Seven Treasures by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

"I was reading some comments made by a vipassana teacher who’d gone over to Asia and studied at a couple of monasteries. He commented that the laypeople over there, as far as he could see, didn’t have much of a practice. They just came and supported the monastery. Which is a peculiar thing to say — as if Buddhist practice were just practicing mindfulness, practicing meditation. Supporting a monastery is also a practice. Observing the precepts, developing all sorts of good qualities in the mind: These are all part of the practice.

When the Buddha gave his summary of the teachings — “The non-doing of any evil, the full development of skillfulness, the cleansing of the mind: these are the Buddha’s teachings” — all of those things are part of the practice. All those things are part of the path.

So it’s important that we understand this, that we’re not just here to meditate or to master the techniques. We’re also here to develop good qualities in the mind all-around."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Seven Treasures"

https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/CrossIndexed/Published/Meditations10/041206_The_Seven_Treasures.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0cBEh4As-5KHUYWm1DVU8gRCp3_mb1b5USFdaYTqaW-Uir4lNCmgRaPbk