Question: What should one do in order to live according to the Buddhist teachings?

Answer: One should develop right undrstanding of the teachings by reading, considering and discussing. One should apply the teachings in one’s life as best as one can.

Question: When one develops understanding is one not preoccupied only with one’s own mental progress and is this not a selfish attitude?

Answer: No, one develops more understanding of the world in and around oneself. The self is not a reality. As understanding develops there will be less concern about the self. We have accumulated such an amount of ignorance and this conditions many kinds of defilements. When ignorance is eliminated there will be less unwholesomeness and this is beneficial for oneself and for the people around oneself.