Most important bit of dharma?

[Anicca]

No disagreement with any of the other posts - only adding this because it hasn't made the list yet - and it is the one reason i logon to Dhamma Wheel

association with wisdom

Metta

[OcTavO]

Hmm, what exactly do you mean by that? The dhamma doesn't work anymore and so we should just work on gaining merit? Or, people these days are nastier than they used to be, so we better put alotta extra effort into counteracting that? Or we're all more depressed so we should be kinder? For what reason is compassion more important than in the past?

The world population is approaching 7 billion and the rate of increase is accelerating. We'll likely reach 10 billion by the middle of this century. Global resources are taxed further each day. Life is different these days, extending far beyond the family/tribal or local-geographical unit. We're interwoven and interdependent in ways we never were before. Now an event in one country can topple and cause hardship throughout the rest of the world (the sub-prime mortgage collapse for example). I agree with you that the human mind likely remains essentially unchanged today than it was in times past, but the circumstances in which it finds itself are dramatically changed. This is why I think more compassion is relevant to the age.

[Moggalana]

Excellent suggestions so far. Another one:

'Lord, this spiritual friendship, spiritual companionship and spiritual intimacy is no less than half of the spiritual life.' 'Say not so, Ananda,' the Buddha replies. 'It is the whole, not the half of the spiritual life.'

[Kenshou]

We're interwoven and interdependent in ways we never were before.

Good point there. That has ramifications far beyond simply compassion, but since this is a short-answer sort of thread I shouldn't gripe about that.

[Spiny Norman]

The most important bit is the one that you're able to make use of at the moment.

[dhamma_spoon]

The most important bit is the one that you're able to make use of at the moment.

The in- and out-breath is what we can make use at any moment!

Tep
----

[Nibbida]

"He who sees Dependent Origination, sees the Dhamma; he who sees the Dhamma, sees Dependent Origination." MN 28

Everything else in the Dhamma can be derived from that (impermanence, kamma, compassion, anatta, etc.)

[Lombardi4]

Peace is the most important thing.

[Spiny Norman]

How can I choose only one?

Okay, easy:

Samma Ditthi (Right Understanding)

That covers everything; understanding of the Four Noble Truths, the way to end suffering, and the Path out of suffering.

I wish I'd thought of that.

P