Lama Marut opens the Dharma Essentials series with what the word 'dharma' means: from the Sanskrit root dhṛ, it relates to something that holds up or supports. The daily essentials of a spiritual life are reviewed, such as study, meditation, ethics and practicing kindness. The class then moves into Je Tsongkapa’s 'Three Principal Paths' of renunciation, bodhicitta and correct view. Finally, the qualities of a good teacher, the qualities of a good student, the 'three problems of the pot' and the marks of an authentic teaching, are examined before the class is guided in a meditation on the teacher.