It no doubt contains an excellent ethical code which is unparalleled in its perfection and altruistic attitude. It deals with one way of life for the monks and another for the laity. But Buddhism is much more than an ordinary moral teaching. Morality is only the preliminary stage on the Path of Purity, and is a means to an end, but not an end in itself.

Ideally, education is the principal tool of human growth, essential for transforming the unlettered child into a mature and responsible adult. Yet everywhere today, both in the developed world and the developing world, we can see that formal education is in serious trouble. Classroom instruction has become so routinized and flat that children often consider school an exercise in patience rather than an adventure in learning.

We are here with one common interest among all of us. Instead of a room of individuals all following their own views and opinions, tonight we are all here because of a common interest in the practice of the Dhamma. When this many people come together on Sunday night, you begin to see the potential for human existence, a society based on this common interest in the truth. In the Dhamma we merge.

This paper gives an account of some of the major aspects of Buddhist psychology. The survey is confined to the texts of Early, or Theravada,Buddhism--that is, the canonical texts and their early Pali commentaries and related expository texts. The importance of psychological concepts in the philosophy and practice of Buddhism is highlighted.

Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche is the foremost disciple of Lama Thubten Yeshe and a highly revered teacher in his own right. He has taught the graduated path to enlightenment to thousands of people, over one hundred of whom have taken ordination as monks and nuns. This teaching was given at Tushita on July 4th, 1979.

Dukkha often translates as "suffering", but it also means the quality of unsatisfactoriness and uncertainty related to change. According to Buddhists all the conditional states of life are dukkha. The alleviation or elimination of dukkha or the path to freedom is a very personal path which may include western psychotherapies and or spiritual practices.

The 'Going for Refuge' and taking the Precepts define a person as a practising Buddhist. Going for Refuge gives a continual perspective on life by referring one's conduct and understanding to the qualities of Buddha (wisdom), Dhamma (truth) and Sangha (virtue).

The topic for tonight is the Buddhist view toward sexual ethics. In general, in Buddhism, we always try to follow a middle path, and so regarding sexuality, we want to avoid two extremes. One extreme is that of being very strict and severe.

For those interested in religious ethics, the emergence of a "Western" Buddhism offers potential new sources of knowledge and insight. [1] This is so for Buddhist scholars as well: until recently studies of Buddhist ethics were limited to Asian Buddhist texts and communities.

It is no denying fact that the Buddha for the first time in history of thought has laid stress on the importance of intention or volition (cetanaa) in performing an act ethically. Cetanaa "refers only to the self-centred, goal-directed and result-oriented volitional disposition which impels the worldly individual (puthujjana)."