“Buddhism does not teach disrespectfulness to anyone.
On the contrary, it declares that respect should be
paid to all those to whom respect is due and the Dhamma
should not be withheld from the knowledge of others
and kept only to oneself. Whoever desires to study
and practice the Dhamma may do so without having
to first profess the Buddhist faith.”

“In daily life, a way to bring more
collectedness to the mind and to quieten the mind
when it comes under the power of sensual love,
hatred or delusion is to change the feeling of the mind.
As it is already known that the feeling
of sensual love can give rise to loving fondness,
that feeling should be replaced by a feeling free from
sensual love. Sensual love may be replaced by
loving kindness, Mettā, which is pure love
found among friends, relatives and among
parents and their children.”

“The focal point of worship in Buddhism is the
Ti-ratana (The Triple Gem) namely the Buddha
who by himself discovered, realized and proclaimed
the Dhamma, thereby establishing the Buddhist religion,
the Dhamma (Universal Truth), discovered, realized
and proclaimed by the Buddha and the Sangha or
community of those who hear, follow and realize
the Buddha’s Teachings. Some members of the Sangha
become monks and help in the dissemination of
Buddhism and the perpetuation of the monkhood
up to the present time.”

“A Buddhist may associate himself or herself
with people of other faiths and pay respect to objects
of reverence of other religions in an appropriate manner
in the same way as he or she may pay respect to the father,
mother or elders of other people while having at the
same time his or her own father. He will not lose his
Buddhist religion as long as he believes in the Triple Gem,
just as he will remain the son of his own father as long
as he does not disown him and adopt someone else as his
father instead, or just as he will remain a Thai as long as
he does not adopt another nationality.”

“The Buddha was once asked what was meant
by saying that “Dhamma” including “Nibbāna” may be
“realized by everyone personally”. The Buddha’s reply
was as follows: When one’s mind is influenced by greed,
hatred and delusion, volition harmful to oneself or others
or to both oneself and others will arise, causing physical
and/or mental suffering. As soon as such volition arises,
unwholesome actions, be they of body, speech or mind,
will inevitably follow. One in such a state of mind will
never be able to recognize, in the light of truth, what is to
his own or others’ benefit, not to the benefit of both.
However when greed, hatred and delusion are eliminated,
when there is no more volition harmful to oneself or others,
or both, no more unwholesome bodily, verbal or mental
actions, when what is to one’s own or others’ benefit,
or both, is recognized in the light of truth and no more
suffering of the body nor even of the mind occurs, this is
the meaning of “Dhamma” leading to “Nibbāna”.”

“According to this explanation of the Buddha, realization
of the Dhamma means realization of one’s own mental
states, good as well as bad. No matter in what state the
mind may find itself, one should realize it correctly in
the light of truth. This is what is called realization of the
Dhamma. It may be asked what benefit can be derived
from such a realization ? The answer is that it will bring
peace of mind. When the mind is poisoned by greed,
hatred and delusion, it always looses concentration.
If it is brought back to itself, the fire of craving, hatred and
delusion will ultimately subside and peace of mind will ensue.
This peace should be carefully discerned and diligently
cultivated. This then is realization of peace of mind which
is realization of Nibbāna. The way to realize the Dhamma
and attain Nibbāna as taught by the Buddha is a natural
one which can be practiced by all from the simplest and
lowest to the highest level.”