B OBSCURATIONS REMOVAL X REALIZING EMPTINESS X MIFU X ANP

The Dalai Lama and Thubten Chodron remind us, in no uncertain terms, where this practice starts and what it’s really all about:

“For obscurations to be removed from the root by the wisdom realizing emptiness, our mind must first be capable of meditating with single-pointed concentration. To subdue the subtle internal distractions that interfere with concentration, firm mindfulness and introspective awareness are necessary. To strengthen our mindfulness and introspective awareness and to gain concentration, we must first overcome the grosser external distractions by developing mindfulness and introspective awareness of our physical and verbal actions. This is done through the practice of ethical conduct.