Essential Points of the Body — Meditation Posture

The seven essential points are:

1. The legs in a cross-legged position.

2. The hands in the gesture of meditation (dhyana mudra) palms facing up, the right hand placed on top of the left, thumbs touching each other — rest hands four fingers below the navel.

3. The upper arms away from the body.

4. The body straight, the posture proper — without leaning left, right, front, or back.

5. The head bent slightly forward.

6. The eyes slightly closed with the gaze directed toward the tip of the nose.

7. The tip of the tongue touching the palate — breathe normally, neither too quickly nor slowly. This allows every part of the body to relax; it also calms the mind very quickly.

Some people think that the Buddhist scriptures are wrong in its description of the world, as what’s given in Abhidharmakosa runs against the observations made by modern cosmology. Actually, Abhidharmakosa is not a teaching orally transmitted by the Buddha himself but was composed by many arhats. One cannot find the description of the world in Abhidharmakosa in any of the sutras that were personally taught by the Buddha. Why is there such a big difference between the worldview described in the exoteric Buddhist texts and that of Kalachakra which was taught by the Buddha in later days? The reason, explained many times before in the book series of Luminous Wisdom, is in the differences in cultural background, lifestyle and way of thinking that existed 2500 years ago and now. Given the circumstances at the time, the Buddha had to accommodate the common view then in order to bring certain people onto the path.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : The suffering of the paper tiger

The specifics on how to meditate on impermanence according to Mipham Rinpoche’s teaching can be found in the discourse on the Four Dharma Seals in the book series Wisdom Light. There is also a clear explanation in the Theravada teachings on how to meditate on the impurity of the body. At the beginning, you may be unwilling and tend to resist these practices. But you must convince yourself to undertake these practices in order to take control of your own mind.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : On The Three Poisons-How to Handle Desire

Diligence means having joy in practicing the Dharma. Liberating living beings should be a joyful event for every participant. To perform virtuous deeds with joy is deemed the perfection of diligence.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series: The Right View - Liberating Living Beings

Before receiving the Buddha’s teachings, we did not understand samsara correctly, and we coveted and greedily pursued wealth and fame without any regard for the consequences. If one were to show no interest in such pursuits, one would most likely be considered abnormal. As a result, most people just follow others blindly and become slaves to money and fame. But the teachings of the Buddha destroy many of our deep-seated ideas about the world and life, and give us a brand new perspective which is above and beyond that of the uninitiated. No doubt others will try to refute the new standpoints, but they will not succeed as no other theories or philosophy can better the teachings of the Buddha.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : The Right View - The Four Noble Truths

Meditative absorption or concentration can be practiced with or without religious belief, just as yoga may or may not be associated with any religion. Yoga is simply a practice that leads to good health. Likewise, meditation can, by regulating our mentality, bring happiness and cure depression.

The Buddha gave us many methods for cultivating the mind. Whether we believe in the Buddha or not, the mind practices are important to all of us. They can also be practiced by anyone.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : The Paper Tiger - The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness

We have all been through the cycle of the Twelve Nidanas innumerable times. It is still continuing today because we have not prepared to confront it so far. In fact, not knowing how to deal with it is the real reason. Unless we begin to tackle it now, the cycle of death and rebirth will never end on its own. This is obviously quite an important matter.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series: The Right View - The Twelve Nidanas - The Sequence of Cyclic

By knowing what death really is, we will surely gain a new understanding toward life, and death in particular. At the least we know that death is neither mysterious nor terrifying as we tend to imagine. It is never the end of life but the beginning of life, only in a new body, not unlike copying from one hard disk to another. However, unwholesome actions done in this life will cause bad karma in next life; and if too much evil has been committed, even to be reborn as human again may be questionable. On this, we ought to be concerned about death, but death itself is not so frightening. Death, after all, is just a cycle of life. This is not only a Buddhist idea but also the personal experience of many people.

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : On Death And Rebirth-What Life Truly Is