WORDS OF WISDOM

A wealthy man once told me that he could make a few million bucks from just one deal, but to him it only meant that more numbers were added to his bankbook. One only needs so much to live. He could never use up all his money in this lifetime. I think what he said makes a lot of sense. Such is the reality. Naturally, if he were to use the money for charity or something meaningful, it would be a different matter entirely. If not, just accumulating great wealth should not be deemed the meaning of life.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Way of Living and the Meaning of Life

Unfortunately, some Buddhists as well as others of different faiths tend to condemn Vajrayana openly for its need to keep certain views secret. This is not right. Even non-tantric Mahayana upholds confidentiality in the doctrine of emptiness. Does it mean the doctrine is flawed? Of course not. The Buddha promulgated his teachings in order to deliver sentient beings from all suffering, not to flaunt his own importance or unsurpassed wisdom, irrespective of the suitable time, place, and audience. So an orderly transmission of the Dharma is of particular importance in Buddhism.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO VAJRAYANA PATH - A Compendium of the Vajrayana

There is a very big difference between Buddhism and other religions: the law of cause and effect is a natural law; even the Buddha cannot change cause and effect. The Buddha is not all-powerful; neither are the other buddhas.

How is Cause and Effect Generated?Whatever action we take, whether it is killing, stealing, or freeing animals and giving, we no longer perceive its existence after the action takes place. However, a special energy is stored within the deepest level of our consciousness -- the alaya consciousness. Alaya is a Sanskrit word which means storage. It is like a computer disk which can store a great deal of information.

~Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESSS - Spiritual Equipment for Modern Times

The worldview is firstly a specific knowledge; but more importantly, it is one of formulating this knowledge into ways and methods which can be used in our daily life. One aspect deals with regulating our own mind; the other aspect deals with benefiting sentient beings, bringing happiness, a healthy life, and joy to more people – this is also the basic tenet of Buddhism.

~Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS - The Significance of Buddhist Philosophy Today

Let us consider for a moment where we are exactly in our practice. After an investigation like this, some people may delight in discovering they have perfect bodhicitta; some may regret they have not started to practice bodhicitta; some may know with certainty they are in the process of cultivating bodhicitta. Regardless, we should all work towards this goal. Those of you who are not practicing should start right away; those who, like me, have not yet aroused bodhicitta should exert greater effort; those who already have bodhicitta can start the practice of emptiness.

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - Preparing for the Preliminaries

Continuous Impermanence denotes impermanence that can be examined from a macroscopic standpoint. For example, in Abhidharmakosa, reference is made to the four stages of formation, abiding, disintegration, and void in the one billion world systems; phenomena which people can observe — the changes in the four seasons each year, the transformation of the moon from a full moon to crescent during the first and second half of each month, and the shift from day to night, from sunrise to sunset, over the course of twenty-four hours each day – all belong in the category of continuous impermanence. These principles are easy to apprehend; no one would think of denying this type of impermanence. Nonetheless, because of the absence of practice and contemplation, many people hold on to the view that things are permanent and long lasting. This attachment to permanence is of two types: one is innate and the other imputed.

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - All Composite Phenomena are Impermanent

Nonetheless, Vajrayana was propagated in Tibet and the lineage of Tibetan Vajrayana kept intact and pure. As Vajrayana places great emphasis on pure lineage, requirement for oral transmission is absolute in order to stamp out false teachings. For the same reason, many strange terms are used deliberately in the Vajrayana texts so that only realized vajra masters can explain what they mean. Another feature of Tibetan Buddhism is to clarify questions through debate; any viewpoint, even just a sentence, can be traced back to its origin in these debates until finally it is proven the bona fide words of the Buddha. Thus, the doctrine of Tibetan Vajrayana is totally reliable.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO VAJRAYANA PATH - The Parable of a Black Snake

Some people believe that wearing designer clothes, driving an expensive car and living in a luxurious mansion symbolize their high social standing. However, this is in fact what the Buddha meant by self-indulgence because these objects are not necessities. People can never be fully satisfied with their lives if they do not know how to control their desires, as desires can grow and expand endlessly. No matter who you are, there will always be someone who is better than you. If your aim is to get to the top social stratum, your whole life will be spent in the pursuit of such vanity until the end. The consequence of chasing endless desires is never to be happy. Many such cases can be found in our daily life either from our own experience or that of other people. It is therefore important to be content with fewer desires in life.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - A Buddhist’s Mode of Life

Conversely, belief in karma and rebirth serves to remind us that the ending of this life is only a stop on life’s very long journey as well as the beginning of the next leg. In different time and space, life exists in different forms. All the success and failure of this life will end as life ends, but spiritual attainment and the seeds of both good and bad habitual tendency will not perish but like data be copied to future life. No matter how old one gets, there will always be hope, as there is always another life to look forward to. This is an idea that evokes positive energy; once accepted, it can only be good for us. Although it is a bit guilty of being practical minded—to give in this life in order to have better return in next life, it is not a serious flaw. Naturally, to be able to give unconditionally would be much better.

~Depicted from THE HANDBOOK OF LIFE'S JOURNEY- On Death And Rebirth-What Life Truly Is