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The basic rules of life are no different today than they were in the past. If we want to live well and do our best while we are in this world, then we must live in accordance with the flow of nature as it finds expression both inside of us and outside of us. We must honor the rights and feelings of our spouses, children, neighbors and coworkers. If we want to begin a new business enterprise, we must respect the marketplace and take into consideration all of the many factors that will go into making our efforts pay off. If we want to improve the governance of our societies, then we must pay close attention to the needs of the people as we strive to set an example that is worthy of their natural and heartfelt respect. The imperative that we live in accordance with the natural laws of nature and the human heart is even more important for those of us who call ourselves Buddhists. Above all others, we must strive to set examples that inspire and comfort our fellow beings. Our words must be truthful and our motives must be pure, for this is the only way that we can ever hope to be of lasting value to others. In seeking this way of being, we will find that we are conforming perfectly to the way of nature as well, for the Tao of nature lies as much in our hearts as it does in the world that surrounds us.

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It is essential to satisfy our daily needs for clothing, food, lodging and transportation. Even if you are a perfectly enlightened Buddha, your daily livelihood is what needs to keep you alive in this world. In your Buddhist cultivation, it is not necessary to maintain a poverty-stricken and austere lifestyle. In fact, Buddhism encourages its devotees to be prosperous by being successful businesspersons or industrious employees

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Our Buddhist culture taught us from our young days how we should keep in mind our welfare not only in this life but also in the afterlife as well in whatever we think, say or do. Belief in Rebirth and the Karmic Law – Law of Cause and Effect, were two fundamental teachings we were taught to keep in mind. Economics and Politics or any other department of life cannot function without adverse consequences if we resort to unrighteous or wrongful ways. Good ends can be realised only by good means.

1. Accept everything just the way it is.
2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
5. Be detached from desire your whole life long.
6. Do not regret what you have done.
7. Never be jealous.
8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.
10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
11. In all things have no preferences.
12. Be indifferent to where you live.
13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.
14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
15. Do not act following customary beliefs.
16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
17. Do not fear death.
18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
19. Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.
20. You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.
21. Never stray from the Way.

If you know anything about Buddhism, you will know that the most important point is to be yourself and not try to become anything that you are not already. Buddhism is fundamentally about being in touch with your own deepest nature and letting it flow out of you unimpeded.

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Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit the evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now. You are not some disinterested bystander. Participate. Exert yourself. Respect your partnership with providence. Ask yourself often, How may I perform this particular deed such that it would be consistent with and acceptable to the divine will? Heed the answer and get to work. When your doors are shut and your room is dark, you are not alone. The will of nature is within you as your natural genius is within. Listen to its importunings. Follow its directives. As concerns the art of living, the material is your own life. No great thing is created suddenly. There must be time. Give your best and always be kind.

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Don't live by your own rules, but in harmony with nature

For Buddhism, however, the basic moral law is inherent in life itself. It is a special case of the law of cause and effect, needing neither a divine law-giver nor depending upon the fluctuating human conceptions of socially-conditioned minor moralities and conventions.

Live according to Nature, runs the maxim of the West; but according to what nature, the nature of the body or the nature which exceeds the body? This first we ought to determine.

Like painting and music or any other art... living requires the understanding of and adherence to the laws and rules under which the art can flourish. This essentially new concept of living relates it to the great Law of Cause and Effect (the Law of Karma in the East) and the connected Law of Rebirth, the basic laws of our planetary existence. The correct understanding and following of these two laws are prerequisites for the creation of harmlessness in every sphere of our lives and thus also for the creation of right human relations, itself the prerequisite for human happiness.

In its capacity as a religion, too, Theosophy gives its followers a rule of life, based not on alleged commands delivered at some remote period of the past, but on plain common sense as indicated by observed facts. The attitude of the student of Theosophy towards the rules which it prescribes resembles rather that which we adopt to hygienic regulations than obedience to religious commandments. We may say, if we wish, that this thing or that is in accordance with the divine Will, for the divine Will is expressed in what we know as the laws of Nature. Because that Will wisely ordereth all things, to infringe its laws means to disturb the smooth working of the scheme, to hold back for a moment that fragment or tiny part of evolution, and consequently to bring discomfort upon ourselves and others. It is for that reason that the wise man avoids infringing them -- not to escape the imaginary wrath of some offended deity. Ch I

Develop a true mind that is as intrinsic as our nature: Each one of us possesses an intrinsically true nature. Once we uncover the true nature that is like the ocean, like space and like the earth, we can take one step further and uncover our original face, return to our native home, and retrieve what has been ours from the very beginning. In general, anything that enables us to accomplish the ultimate goal of benefiting both oneself and others as well as enlightening both oneself and others must never be lost or forgotten by learners of the Dharma. These include gratitude, humility, determination for the Way, merit, deep belief, respect, magnanimity, and endurance, all of which are the resolves that Buddhists cannot do without.

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