So long as the following 7 are respected, Buddhism will continue to endure in this world for a long time to come.
1) Respect for the Buddha. 2) Respect for the Dhamma. 3) Respect for the Sangha.
These three are already familiar to us — they are, in essence, respect for the Triple Gem.
4) Respect for the Training — that is, respect for study and learning. What is to be studied? The Dhamma and the Vinaya — or in other words, the study of how-to bring morality and purification to oneself.
5) Respect for Meditation. With this form of respect firmly held, if one has not yet cultivated meditation to the point where the mind becomes stilled and settled, then in this very lifetime, one should not hope to attain the Dhamma that the Buddha taught. This is because the Triple Gem exists in both its outer form and its inner form. If one only studies the Tipitaka without engaging in earnest practice, one will attain only respect for the outer Triple Gem. In any case, one must apply oneself diligently to meditation — training the mind to sustain mindfulness and composure continuously within oneself — and before long, one will reach the inner Triple Gem.
6) Respect for Nonrecklessness. One must strive earnestly and hold oneself to account without complacency. Consider this: even Devadatta — who possessed such extraordinary powers as the ability to travel underground and to fly through the air — still fell into the lower realms, precisely because of negligence, because he ceased to press onward in his striving.
7) Respect for Hospitality. This, above all, is the most significant — for it is the very heart of the propagation of Buddhism.
Source: Dhamma Teaching on the Dhamma Missionary Training Programme
