Unlike greed and anger which are quite noticeable, ignorance is a latent defilement. When we are angry or being greedy, it is obvious to not only ourselves but also others because our behaviour is different, whereas ignorance is hidden deep down and not easily detected. None of the wise and knowledgeable people in the world including scientists, philosophers and psychologists has yet to discover ultimate ignorance. Although various fields of study have helped us clear some delusions and revealed to us many truths about life and the world, ignorance, a defilement entrenched at the deepest level, has never been explored by either science, philosophy or religions. Moreover, as the methods provided by these disciplines are not counteractive to ignorance, they are unable to refute and end ignorance.

~ Depicted from "THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE"S JOURNEY : On The Three Poisons-How to Refute Ignorance

Although our living conditions today are much better than in the past, mentally we tend to feel empty, restless, anxious and inadequate, now more than ever. Distress from being destitute can end a life while mental suffering can be equally deadly.

According to a report from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are currently more than 100 million people in China with mental illness, 287,000 suicides and two million attempted suicides annually, plus anxiety disorders, manic depression and various other types of mental disorder. We can attribute this alarming situation to the high pressure from work and everyday life, but the fundamental cause, in Buddha’s words, is the three poisons—desire, aversion and delusion.

Money may have something to do with certain negative mental states, but money is no solution to those mental problems. Although medication is effective to a certain degree in alleviating the symptoms, its side effect should not be underestimated. Then, the safest and the most effective way to overcome difficulties of the mind is spiritual practice.

~ Depicted from "THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE"S JOURNEY : On The Three Poisons - How to Handle Desire"

On the basis of the alaya consciousness, manas, the seventh consciousness is formed. In Sanskrit, manas means attachment or self-grasping. Once there is self-grasping, a real being begins to take shape along with the development of the five sense organs. In Refuting Signs Treatise, Bodhidharma referred to all eight consciousnesses as defiled mind and luminous clarity of tathāgatagarbha as pure mind. Pure mind exists at all times even before life begins.

~ Depicted from "THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE"S JOURNEY : On Death And Rebirth-Understanding Death

For a seed to germinate, the right temperature, humidity and space must all be in place. These are the internal causes. The arising of desire also has three causes.

1. Everyone has the seed of desire, except bodhisattvas of the first bhumi and arhats who have destroyed the seed. For ordinary people, the seed of desire is always stored in the mind even when there is no thought of wanting anything or in deep sleep, just not that obvious. This is the primary cause.

2. External cause. For example, upon seeing your neighbour with a nice car, a thought comes up: I must buy a car better than that one. The thought wouldn’t have come up if you did not see the neighbour’s car in the first place. So, seeing the neighbour’s car is the external cause for this desire to arise.

Psychologists have reported that if we watch an hour of television every day, our weekly expense will go up by US$4. This is because the advertisements on television can induce us to buy things we don’t need. Also, shopping with a credit card often results in spending more than what we would with cash. As a credit card is not real cash, one tends to pretend that no money has actually been paid out. It is, however, a different matter when we feel our wallet get lighter and lighter. This is all just psychological.

Once there is an external cause and condition, all kinds of defilement may arise.

~ Depicted from "THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE"S JOURNEY : On The Three Poisons - How to Handle Desire"

The key for a doctor to be effective in treating a patient lies in whether the doctor knows the cause of the illness so that he or she can prescribe the right treatment. By the same token, the root of our samsaric existence and not being free is not a coincidence or without cause and condition. It is certainly not ruled by the Omnipotent but by attachment.

For example, when we feel strong attachment to a person, his or her every move can make us either happy or sad. During this time, the chances of getting hurt far exceeds that of gaining happiness because once there is attachment, expectation will ensue. If the other party cannot do as wished, it simply adds more unhappy moments to one’s life. This will continue until the relationship is broken and the attachment gone. Conversely, the less we care about certain things, the more likely they can give us a sense of happiness. This is life’s unbreakable natural law.

~ Depicted from "THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE"S JOURNEY : On The Three Poisons - How to Refute Ignorance

During the Vietnam War, an admiral in the US navy, James Stockdale, was captured. His observations in prison led him to conclude: "The optimists were the first to die. They were the ones who blindly believed everything would work out. They always said, 'We will be freed by Christmas!' When it was Christmas and they were not freed yet, they would say, `We will definitely be out of here by Easter.' When it was Easter and they were still in prison, they would say, 'We will be freed by Thanksgiving.' However, when Thanksgiving came and went, they were still around. Because of overly high expectations and harsh conditions in prison, they finally died broken-hearted."

Actually, this is the case in all situations. We should neither be too pessimistic nor too optimistic in life. We should abide in the middle way, go with the flow, and understand all things are impermanent, like a dream or illusion. With the right view and attitude, we can be free from the grip or hold that wealth has on us. With money, we can be happy; without money, we can be equally carefree.

This is how the Buddhist teachings can be applied to life.

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

Practice to Attain Liberation

In our present society, everyone is under stress. How we resolve our stress is a pressing and serious question for study.

Although there are many methods in Buddhism, we will only discuss those methods that relate to concepts we have touched on.

Ordinarily, when we talk or go for a walk, our mind is filled with a whole range of distractions. When we cannot concentrate or stay focused, it is difficult for wisdom to arise. It is only after subduing the mind, when it becomes clearer and sharper, that our thinking is more focused and more effective in problem solving. This includes problems connected with running a business and earning money.

Actually, many of the exciting discoveries made by scientists and philosophers in the past came during meditation and in their dreams. In no case did it happen when the mind was agitated or in states of discursiveness.

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

It has been said in many scriptures that although the comparable version is not genuine nonpoisonous dedication, it can be used as a substitute. For example, how do we dedicate the merit accrued from liberating animals? We should sincerely make a vow, “However the Buddhas of the past, present and future dedicate their merit, I will do the same as well.” This would be nonpoisonous dedication. Naturally, we can also recite the Practices and Vows of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra as it contains many auspicious dedications. If not knowing how or not having the time to recite the whole text, we can just recite the eight lines in the two stanzas from “In whatever way valiant Manjusri and Samantabhadra know how to transfer merit” to “I dedicate all of these roots of virtue to accomplishing the deeds of Samantabhadra.” Nagarjuna once said, “These two stanzas embody the essence of the Practices and Vowsof the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.” Therefore, to recite just these two stanzas would be the same as having read the whole text. It is easy to do and, at the same time, is unadulterated with defilement and deemed to resemble genuine nonpoisonous dedication.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Three Supreme Methods—the ultimate methods of cultivating virtue and training the mind

Je Tsongkhapa also pointed out in The Three Principal Aspects of the Path that as important as the generation of renunciation and bodhicitta is, ignorance cannot be rejected with just renunciation and bodhicitta. Ultimately, we still need to establish the view of emptiness to refute ignorance.

~ Depicted from "THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE"S JOURNEY : On The Three Poisons - How to Refute Ignorance