Buddhism discusses the self from two levels: one is relative truth; the other is the ultimate truth. Our five sensory perceptions are called relative truth. Without rigorous examination, we consider the perceptions of our physical sense faculties to be true — if the eye sees the colour red, we believe it is red; if the eye sees the colour white, we believe it is white. All the values and the view of the world formed on this basis are very superficial.

Surpassing the perceptions of the sense faculties is the ultimate truth. The true reality of the world and of the self is the ultimate truth.

~ Depicted from Suffering is just a Paper Tiger

The Ornament of Clear Realization by the Bodhisattva Maitreya named seven supreme methods. Every one of the six paramitas (generosity, morality, patience, diligence, contemplation and wisdom) that bodhisattva practices must incorporate the seven supreme methods. These seven can be summed up more concisely in three. The virtuous actions we undertake, like meditating, burning incense or prostrating, should all be done in accordance with the three supreme methods. If so, even a simple act, such as offering a butter lamp or kneeling down to pay homage to the Buddha, can be the cause of enlightenment. Otherwise, no amount of virtuous deeds can lead us to the path of liberation or be the cause of Buddhahood.

With regard to the mental aspect of human life, we can only rely on the teachings of the Buddha because only he knows the truth completely. How do we know this? The fact that many practitioners have gained extraordinary accomplishment by following the Buddha’s instructions validates the teachings being the right view and the right path.

So what should we do now? Our very first task should be to destroy ignorance. Before that is done, doing prostrations, reciting sutras and performing virtuous deeds can at best allow us to enjoy certain worldly benefits. But ignorance cannot be destroyed this way as these good actions are not its antidote. If we do not want to continue roaming about in samsara, we need to find a tool that can exert a sharp and counteracting force on ignorance so as to be able to eradicate it. That tool is the realization of emptiness. This is a very important point to note.

~ Depicted from The Twelve Nidanas1—the sequence of cyclic

Many people think wealth is the answer to happiness. However, after acquiring wealth, they often do not experience the happiness they imagine. In the period from the 1950’s up to the year 2000, income in the West increased threefold, but people’s well-being actually declined. A lot of psychologists, sociologists, and economists have studied this phenomenon over a half century and have concluded: when our annual income is around forty thousand US dollars, money brings a sense of security, which in turn leads to sense of well-being; when annual income exceeds this amount, there is no longer a connection between money and happiness. Thus, having more wealth is no guarantee of happiness.

~ Depicted from THE PAPER TIGER - The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness

The Hinayana Standpoint

According to the Theravadin Vinaya, during the time of the Buddha, there was a layperson, a village head, who had many hunters working as his subordinates. Before he was enlightened, the hunters used to offer him large amount of meat from their hunt. After receiving some teachings from Shakyamuni Buddha, he eventually attained realization of the Hinayana path of seeing and stopped eating meat. However, his subordinates continued to hunt and offer him meat. He would instead offer the meat to the monastics whenever they came begging for alms. Once the monastics ate the offered meat. Some non-Buddhists then began to attack them by saying, “Laypersons would not eat that meat, but the disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha would. This is outrageous!” On hearing this, some bhikshus, seeking the Buddha’s advice, asked, “What should we do about these comments from others now that we are eating meat?” The Buddha then set the rule of eating only the three kinds of clean flesh of which some special requirements were also laid down. That is, the meat of snake, dog, horse and ox were not to be eaten even if they had met the standards of the three kinds of clean meat. Because Indians, during the time of the Buddha, considered the meat of these animals unclean like human’s. To date, the Southern Buddhist tradition still upholds this rule.

~ Depicted from WHY Vegetarian?

The Buddha knew very well the relationship between material wealth and man’s desires—how people’s minds change with the rise and fall of their fortune. This is why the Buddha had specifically instructed this mode of life for the Buddhists.

Other worldly disciplines such as philosophy have so far failed to answer this question fully. The general view is that nothing remains after death, so the meaning of life is to enjoy life to the fullest while it lasts even at the cost of squandering the precious lifetime, depleting massive amount of resources and destroying the natural environment. Still, happiness is beyond reach. It shows that to pursue happiness this way only leads to disappointment.

Every sentient being is endowed with wisdom, but our wisdom is limited in depth and scope because we lack proper training of the mind. Zhi hui du refers specifically to the training of the mind, to cultivating the wisdom that allows us to reach the unsurpassed state of attainment — Buddhahood. From the view of an outsider, the process appears to be mysterious and connected in some way with religion; however, a true practitioner knows this training of the mind is very real. The sutras most people are familiar with, such as the Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra, as well as many Ch'an discourses belong to the second turning of the wheel of Dharma. The teachings of the second turning are likened to courses given in secondary school.

~ Depicted from ARE You READY FOR HAPPINESS : The Significance of Buddhist Philosophy Today

To liberate lives is a common practice frequently performed by many Buddhists. When conducted properly, the resulting merit is boundless. Otherwise, the merit will be greatly diminished. It is therefore very important for us to know the proper way of liberating living beings.

All the activities of a bodhisattva can be put into six different categories, that is, the six paramitas or the six perfections. In other words, the bodhisattva’s view, conduct, practice and activities of benefiting and delivering sentient beings are vast like the ocean, but all can be summed up in the six paramitas.

If we can perform properly every time, liberating lives can also be fully endowed with the remarkable quality of the six paramitas, even to liberate just a single life. Now let us see how this can be done.

~ Depicted from Liberating Living Beings

However, in the context of wisdom and compassion, wisdom can simply be put as realization of emptiness, which encompasses many meanings: realization of no-self, of emptiness pertaining to Madhyamaka of the exoteric school, and realization of Great Emptiness and Clear Light. From the point of view of the esoteric Buddhism, which also includes the view of the Great Perfection, emptiness and clear light are one and the same.

The term “Great Emptiness” has never appeared in the history of man’s thought and literature. And even if it did, it was only to mean the void as a result of matter being decomposed to decreasing size of particles until it could decompose no more. Some people now still do not dare to affirm even this void, insisting rather that energy should remain at the end. (Energy is matter too.) If energy also ends in a state of emptiness, it will be as if all matter were born from nothing. This, to many, is an unacceptable conclusion. So what these people are able to comprehend is even less than that of the exoteric school.