By Victor M Fontane
Lamrim (Tibetan: "stages of the path") is a Tibetan Buddhist textual form for presenting the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of Lamrim, presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools.
Lamrim describes the importance of recognizing the value of human life. When we are incarnated in the human body we potentially have all the attributes and tools to be able to advance our spiritual liberation process and move forward on the path. The Lamrim explains to us the benefits of having good karma in our incarnation. First, having a healthy body, having been born in a country where there is freedom to learn and practice spirituality, having had the good karma of finding someone to nourish us, guide us and teach us the spiritual path, having the time available to practice the spiritual path and having the means to do so. It is important to note that all of these situations are not guaranteed for the next incarnation depending on our present actions and accumulated karma. In other words, we should not waste opportunities in our current incarnation, which is called precious life.
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