Texts for Dharma Group Study
Rinpoche offered the following advice concerning which texts to study at new Dharma groups. He also commented which text would be more beneficial for this particular group to study out of a lamrim text, a lo-jong text, or Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life.
In this case, it would be more beneficial to study a lo-jong text. The lo-jong and lamrim texts are more beneficial for newer groups to study, as they give the outline of the whole path to enlightenment. Shantideva gives more detail of this outline.
So, it is like with the news on the television, the main points are presented and then you can decide whether to stay for the detailed report that follows. So, too, with the lamrim and lo-jong texts: you receive an outline, and then you can choose to study Shantideva for more details of this outline.