The purpose for practicing the Dharma is not to gain health and wealth or be trouble-free in life but to attain liberation. In order to reach that final goal, all defilements must be eradicated first. Although it is somewhat impractical aiming to accomplish that in three to five years, one can still check if defilements have been reduced or at least have tended downward over time. This is what we should be concerned with, not what it would be like in the realm of the Buddha or the great bodhisattvas. There is simply not enough time for us to explore and argue all the points presented in, say, Ornament of Clear Realization or Madhyamaka. In other words, we cannot hope to reach the same height as Nagarjuna or Chandrakirti by way of discussion only.

From the perspective of ordinary reality, desire is the driving force of development. From the Buddhist perspective, “I want to study Buddhism”, “I want to become a Buddha”, “I want to practice Dharma”, and “I want to meditate” are also kinds of desire.  Nevertheless, while these desires are also a kind of driving force, they will not bring us suffering. Certain other kinds of desire, though, will just cause us more suffering.

How does desire cause stress and suffering? First of all, desire itself can be unlimited, but the satisfaction and excitement brought about by material gain is limited. Both science and Buddhism offer proof of this, and it can also be verified in our life experience.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

To overcome greed we have to have a sense of renunciation. With a sense of renunciation, we can get rid of, or at least control, our greed and desire. In order to overcome selfishness, we must give rise to bodhicitta. With bodhicitta, we can reduce or eliminate selfishness. And, to overcome attachment, hawse have to attain the realization of emptiness. Once the realization of emptiness is attained, all our issues, including greed, selfishness and attachment, will eventually be resolved. Therefore, it is crucial that we attain the realization of emptiness.

~ Luminous Wisdoms Book Series 4

The majority of human beings living in the mundane world are ordinary and deluded by the three main afflictions: greed, hatred and ignorance. In Buddhist terminology, these are the “three poisons”.

Once our mind is caught up in the three poisons, we feel uneasy and lose our freedom. If our negative emotions develop to a certain point where they cannot be subdued, our family and friends become the victims, and these afflictions can even harm the whole society.

How do we overcome and eliminate these emotional afflictions? Buddhism provides many ways to do so, one of which is cultivating the Buddhist view. There are Buddhist views that go beyond the understanding of ordinary beings, but the general view can be divided into three categories: the value of our world, life and morality.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 3: The Illusory World

Ignorance gives rise to volitional actions, volitional actions to consciousness, and ultimately to birth, and to old age and death. Each preceding cause gives rise to the subsequent effect, which in turn gives rise to the next cause, and so on. This is dependent origination. The same also applies in reverse. That is, when ignorance stops, volitional actions stop as well, then consciousness, name and form, and so forth, until birth stops, and finally aging and death stop. Dependent origination thus ceases.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1

According to some surveys, given the same living conditions, the level of happiness for those who have faith far exceeds those who do not.

While modern people are enjoying Western scientific achievements, it’s apparent that they have also accepted Western junk culture. In our current situation, we have become more and more fickle, such that we cannot even sit for an hour to calm down. We do not like to study texts or even to meditate. Considering the results of such a vicious circle, how can we acquire happiness?

I suggest that when pursuing material comforts, we need to simultaneously combine modern civilization and traditional culture, and integrate them both into our life and work. On the one hand, it would be helpful to the people around us; on the other, we ourselves can live happily.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

We must reflect carefully and not make the assumption, “The cause and the effect co-exist. A father and his son serve as a good example of this, don’t they?” Such thinking is rather childish. From the standpoint of illusion, the law of cause and effect is certainly tenable. If we wish to lie to ourselves and others, to accept the existence of such illusions, and to refuse other views about our world, then there is no need to study further. In order to have a better future in our next lives, we may try to do more good deeds and avoid non-virtuous behavior, believing in karma and the cycle of birth and death. However, such "good futures"| also appear and disappear as quickly as a glance. If you are dissatisfied with your current state and wish to be liberated from such an illusory world, then an answer must be found. Whether to pursue a different path or not—the choice is yours!

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 10

The Buddha told us that what we experience is like dreaming at night. Everything we see in the dream appears very real and there seems to be no difference from what we experience in waking life. However, after waking up we realize that it was all false. But our real life is also a dream, and it is one from which we have not awoken even after multiple lifetimes, or even eons of lifetimes. When the day comes that we study the Buddhadharma and understand the truth of Dharma—like the Ch’an saying, “seeing one’s true nature with a clear mind”, a sudden awakening or instant revelation—only then will we wake up from the dream of the ordinary world. Not everybody has this opportunity, but for those who do understand these concepts, they should perceive all phenomena as being like bubbles or dreams, as expounded in the Diamond Sutra. In this way, we will not have exhausting lives.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8