In this module of Living in the Path, Lama Zopa Rinpoche clearly sets out the steps for achieving the realizations of the lamrim. Rinpoche advises us to begin by choosing a lamrim text and then studying it thoroughly, up to three times. When the topics have become familiar, we should divide the topics into one or more meditation sessions a day ranging over the period of a year. We, then, train in these meditations with effort until we get the “effortful experience,” the thought, "Now, if I really meditate, I can get realizations." At this point, we can begin to meditate on each of the topics for as long as it takes to get the “effortless experience” of it. When this experience proves stable for weeks, months, and years, we have achieved its realization.

These teachings are extracted from the Light of the Path Retreat 2014 held in North Carolina, USA.