The Buddha did say that samsara is suffering, but it doesn’t mean that hr denied the existence of joy and happiness in life, he just wanted to point out the temporary and relative nature of worldly happiness. One should not be so blinded by such happiness as to forget the future.
~Depicted from the Seasonal Quotations of Khenpo
Laypeople very rarely have the means nor the will to drop all their worldly attachments to pursue a contemplative life. Nevertheless, if one could incorporate bodhicitta into one’s everyday activities, then Mahayana practice would not seem so incompatible with the trivial and sometimes inconsequential affairs one has to deal with on a daily basis.
~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1
Life in essence is a book of truth. It tells of many truths through the events happening around us - the varying tastes of life associated with cyclic existence, the illusive and dream-like nature of all nature phenomena. But we never pay much attention to the actual state of things, hence remain ignorant to this day.
~Depicted from the Seasonal Quotations of Khenpo
The cardinal doctrine of Buddhism is dependent arising of all phenomena, which encompasses a broad range of subjects. From the perspective of Relative Truth, it means that when there is cause, there is effect. Life’s sorrows and joys, separations and reunions, in fact, all phenomena come with their own respective causes. Some we can see, some cannot. Only very special kind of persons can grasp the whole picture. But cause and effect always go hand in hand, never alone. No cause, no effect, and vice versa. If one is in pursuit of happiness, one must sow happiness to reap happiness. The seed of happiness is virtuous action. To avoid suffering and misfortune, one must not give rise to their causes. The cause of suffering is doing evil.
Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1
What we should repudiate are not view of the non-Buddhists or the atheists but our own attachment. Once attachment is eliminated, no amount of heterodox ideas can affect us anymore. To someone who has attained realization, those ideas, no matter how extravagantly they may sound, make no difference at all. And the way to completely eradicate attachment is by developing renunciation, bodhicitta and, most importantly, the view of emptiness.
~Depicted from the Seasonal Quotations of Khenpo
Don’t waste this life in neglect and ignorance, and miss the one chance for seeking freedom from samsara. In order to succeed, we must first begin by cultivating renunciation. Failing that, neither meditation nor mantra chanting can ever be deemed supramundane phenomena through which ultimate liberation can be attained. This is extremely important! Renunciation is the prerequisite to bodhicitta. Without complete renunciation, genuine bodhicitta can never be aroused.
~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1
Some say that Buddhism seeks happiness only for next life and none for this life. This is not true. Buddha just asked that we should not ruin our next lives for the pursuit of pleasure of this life, nor should we destroy our future path for the easy comfort of today.
~Depicted from the Seasonal Quotations of Khenpo
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.
~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 6
For most of us, our belief in science is simply based on a few prominent scientists' words, not our own experiments. Similarly, with his supreme wisdom, the Buddha realized the truth of causality and revealed to us. Why do we doubt him ? Shouldn’t we use the same reasoning for both ?
~Depicted from the Seasonal Quotations of Khenpo
