Losing sight of the message

Kudos to Pravit Rojanaphruk for pointing out what is essential in Buddhism and what is not. People often get distracted by peripheral issues in religion and focus on them rather than the essentials. The Buddha was aware of the problem, and defined it in the Dhammapada I:11: “In the non-essential they imagine the essential; the essential they regard as non-essential. Those who feed on such wrong thoughts never realise the essence.” In this article, Pravit has identified some non-essentials in Buddhism and turned our attention back to the essentials. May his counsel be heeded.

William Page

Samut Prakan