The three talks we shared:

1. Right View
   In the first talk, “Right View,” Venerable Thubten Lamsel from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition discusses how the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path are interconnected. The fourth of the Four Noble Truths is the truth of the path to enlightenment, the Eightfold Noble Path, while a key aspect of Right View is the understanding of the Four Noble Truths.

   Ven. Lamsel explains that Right View is divided into “mundane” and “supramundane” aspects. Supramundane Right View involves a deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths and isn’t where a practitioner should expect to start. On the other hand, the Mundane Right View is like a foundational roadmap guiding a practitioner’s path, keeping their efforts in the right direction. Mundane Right View emphasizes that liberation is possible, one’s actions have consequences and a moral dimension, and that rebirth is influenced by one’s actions.

   Ven. Lamsel summarizes Right View by saying, “Right View is the ownership of actions.” It’s an empowering view that sets a foundation for the rest of the path.

2. Mundane Right View
   The second talk we shared, “Mundane Right View,” was given by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu of the Thai Forest tradition. Ṭhānissaro also emphasizes that Right View (in particular, Mundane Right View) is the foundation of practice. He describes Right View similarly to Ven. Lamsel, says that it’s an understanding of karma. Ṭhānissaro emphasizes that one has to believe this – karma (the law of cause and effect) means that enlightenment depends on our own actions. This is why practice matters.

   Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu says that the Buddha introduces these ideas by discussing generosity and gratitude. These are ways that people can experience the positive effects of skillful actions in their own lives. Generosity produces positive effects both for the recipient and for the giver. It also gets people used to taking actions that produce positive effects without knowing how or when they’ll see those positive effects. That’s like a meditation practice – meditation is a positive thing to do, both for oneself and for others, but the effects aren’t immediate. It’s helpful to think of “giving” to one’s meditation practice with an attitude of generosity.

3. The Noble Eightfold Path: (1) Right View
   The last talk we watched, “The Noble Eightfold Path: (1) Right View,” was given by Julian Daizan Skinner of the Zen tradition. Daizan approaches Right View differently from the other teachers. He describes Right View as an “awakened view,” seeing things as they truly are. He tells us that Right View is a view that’s awake to the truth of things, and the truth to which one must be awake is the Four Noble Truths. In particular, one must start by recognizing that life is not optimal, and the “dukkha” Buddha referred to in the first Nobel Truth, often manifests as a sense of separation, isolation, or “me against the world.”

   Daizan identifies three types of practitioners drawn to Buddhism: those who suffer from life’s challenges, those who have achieved societal success yet feel something is missing, and those who have glimpsed a deeper reality during a profound experience. All these experiences reveal a sense of unfulfilled potential and a desire to seek something deeper. He likens this to the hero’s journey—a quest to find what is missing and bring it back to benefit oneself and others. Right View evolves through practice, deepening one’s understanding of reality and continuously revealing new dimensions of potential, allowing for ongoing growth and awakening.

A common thread across the three talks is that Right View is important to practice, and it is both the beginning and the end of the path.

From the Teacher: Right View

Dharma Video 1: Right View

Right View — by Ven. Thubten Lamsel *

* Venerable Thubten Lamsel began studying the Dharma in 2011 at The Dhargyey Buddhist Centre in Dunedin, New Zealand. In 2016 she joined the month-long Winter Retreat at the Sravasti Abby in Newport, Washington, and returned again in 2017 to take the anagarika precepts. In 2018, she took the sramaneri and shikshamana vows during the Living Vinaya in the West course. And in 2024, she received bhikshini ordination at Fo En Si Temple in Taiwan.

Dharma Video 2: Mundane Right View

Mundane Right View — by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu **

** Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) is an American Buddhist monk of the Kammatthana (Thai Forest) Tradition. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1971 with a degree in European Intellectual History, he traveled to Thailand, where he studied meditation under Ajaan Fuang Jotiko, himself a student of the late Ajaan Lee. He ordained in 1976 and lived at Wat Dhammasathit, where he remained following his teacher’s death in 1986. In 1991 he traveled to the hills of San Diego County, USA, where he helped Ajaan Suwat Suvaco establish Metta Forest Monastery (Wat Mettavanaram). He was made abbot of the Monastery in 1993.


 

Dharma Video 3: The Noble Eightfold Path: (1) Right View

The Noble Eightfold Path: (1) Right View — by Julian Daizan Skinner ***

*** Julian Daizan Skinner began his Sōtō Zen training in 1989 at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in England and was ordained as a novice monk in 1991. After receiving inka (dharma transmission) in the Soto lineage, he trained with Rinzai Zen Master Shinzan Miyamae Rōshi in Japan from 2003. In 2007, Daizan received inka from Shinzan Rōshi and returned to the UK to teach Zen, founding Zenways that same year. He became the resident teacher at Yugagyo Dojo (Zen Yoga) in London in 2011. Daizan has served as a resident teacher at the Buddhist Society in London and a trainer at the College of Mindful Clinicians. He leads Zen retreats, and is head of a thriving Zen sangha based at Yugagyo Dojo in south London.