Not quite but, it does put you into the best position to help both yourself and others. However, given the importance of compassion in the Buddhist praxis engaging others from this point of view wanted to alleviate their problems even slightly is an important mind to cultivate.

So I think the best way to understand how to put this into practice is this…continually practice and study in order to become a Buddha knowing this is the best way you can help others. Then, when you get the chance to help others do so. Sometimes our practice can include directly helping others i.e working with the sick or dying or lonely. At other times that can mean going into meditation retreats. In your meditation retreat your motivation for doing the retreat is to develop qualities such as compassion, patience, generosity, wisdom and so on, that will benefit not just yourself but others also.

I hope that makes it clearer?

LJ

Question; Are you saying in para.# 4 that you can’t help others unless you are enlightenend? Or fully help others most likely, I am not enlightened but more so awakened at this point. I try my best to search for all possibilities between which is right and which is wrong and open as many roads as I can to achieve this. I find that when I am off the path and do not look inside for the truth I am easily distracted for some periods of time. When I am finally (and I say this happily) disgusted with living like this, only then am I able to be happiest without my distractions. People don’t realize that we have all kinds of addictions and that Buddism can help with every single one. I for example love to shop. When I am disgusted finally and quite happy even exhilerated at the same time, I am then able to realize, “Wow, why did I do this or that?” Especially when I read in Time magazine about children starving in Etheopia and China not letting an American participate in the Olympics because he is an activist for Darfur & Tibet. You see you have mentioned in your post that “we can simply identify faults as faults” this is a tool that pschologists and therapists have been using for a long time. When you have a fear you give it a name, this is with all feelings and as we know with actions as well. The Dalai Lama always refers to science of the mind and it’s abilities to concur or agree with Buddist teachings and Buddist teachings agreeing with mind science. Thank you always for your encouragement.
Thank you for your wisdom.
Namaste, All as ONE.

Yep, I think that is close to the mark.

Much of Buddhism can seem counter intutitive. This indicates to me that we have for a long time been fooling ourselves. We believe what we believe, and we believe it to be true! Rather than not know how things such as our lives function or what the real causes of happiness are. We believe they function in a way, that will in fact cause dissatisfaction and so forth to arise. It is not a passive “not knowing” but rather an “active mis-knowing”.

Therefore study and meditation are central to a spiritual aspirates life.

Thanks for this wonderful post.
What caught my attention is the fact that for most people happiness is a never ending trip to achieve more – in job, at school, at home and in all spheres of life.
Competition and peer pressure drives most of us to try to achieve things which we don’t want or need.
So that’s why there is no satisfaction after we get what we think we desire.

After studying Buddhist topics I understand that happiness is an illusion, a dream not worth chasing.
Rather happiness is the end of all ‘dukkha’.
So if we can try to turn inwards as you have mentioned and attempt to end our negative states of mind we will reach a point where we get happiness.
Happiness will come running to us rather than we running after it.
Please let me know if my understanding is correct.

Warm regards,
Anwesh