Although a lot of Buddhist practitioners are vegetarian, nine out of ten have all had seafood in the past and have committed substantial negative karma. In just this lifetime, over tens of thousands of lives have been killed to satisfy people’s appetite. Who did these living things die for? Why did we pay to eat seafood in the first place? Why did the restaurant owner ask the chef to kill? And why did the chef consent to kill? It’s all because of this “self.” Because of the “self,” the proprietor of the restaurant, as well as the employees, have committed the same karma; because of the desire of this “self,” they were all accomplices. That being the case, what is “self”?

~ Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA : All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence

To chase away darkness, there needs to be light. To eliminate the darkness of ignorance, we need the light of wisdom. Here, wisdom is not common cleverness. Cleverness in real life may actually be a kind of delusion—knowing how to make and spend money may seem very clever, but it is likely to ruin one’s own and others’ chance for liberation and also future life, hence a delusion. The only one who understands the true nature of ignorance and knows how to resolve it is Buddha Sakyamuni. Many people have come to realize the reality of the world through the Buddha’s teachings and attained ultimate freedom and liberation.

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

We should know it is not unusual or special to be a high official, business tycoon, or social elite. In the six cyclical realms, the celestial beings, azuras, and some of the hungry ghosts have wealth and possessions which are immeasurably greater than that of human beings. Although the rich have substantial wealth, they lack compassion and the wisdom that comes from listening, reflecting, and practicing the Dharma. From the standpoint of Dharma practice, they are deprived and unfortunate.

By comparison, we can see how well off we are; hence we should first exchange our blessings for the Dharma and then exchange the teachings for a deeper and more lasting happiness. In this way, happiness and the practice can become mutually beneficial.

~ Depicted from ARE U READY FOR HAPPINESS : Taming the Mind as in Taming an Elephant - How to Face Happiness?

It is not that easy to be a real Buddhist, but do not let that discourage you either.

Are renunciation and bodhicitta only fit for gods and celestial beings to develop? No, it is totally possible, even now in the so-called period of decline of the Dharma, for ordinary people like us to generate renunciation and bodhicitta. If they were only the privileges of the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas of the first bhumi, and impossible to be achieved by ordinary people, we would not be able to do anything even knowing that we are not yet qualified as Buddhist practitioners. But it is not like that at all.

Renunciation and bodhicitta are something that ordinary people are absolutely capable of generating. We need not be too discouraged nor too arrogant, just honestly evaluate ourselves and spur ourselves on all the time to make constant improvement and not be a practitioner in name only. The fact that we are probably not yet practitioners by any standards ought to keep us under pressure and ultimately push us to make progress. Nothing but serious actions can lead us to success.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW : The Three Supreme Methods - The Ultimate Methods of Cultivating Virtue and Training the Mind

We know that the animal realm is the preferred rebirth among the three lower realms; however, a key point is that animals are extremely ignorant and incapable of any kind of practice. Not only that, they cannot distinguish between good and evil, are just as afflicted by desire, anger, and delusion, and repeatedly commit unwholesome actions. Thus, taking rebirth as an animal will create even more bad karma, the result of which is one may never again return as a human being.

~ Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA : The Importance of Practice

Emptiness defined by the Buddha is not something achieved through a process of transformation. Neither can the notion of energy (an existent phenomenon) becoming emptiness be accepted according to the law of the conservation of energy. Even if it were to be accepted, the derivation of such conclusion would not correspond to Buddhist’s idea of emptiness.

Actually, real emptiness does not mean matter disappears into thin air; rather, matter and emptiness exist simultaneously. This is the definition of emptiness given by the Buddha.

Some students of Buddhism or other religions like to dwell on clairvoyant power and states of realization, but this is not the real purpose of Buddhism. Although Buddhism does not object to transcendent power, it does not chase after it. Buddhism mainly teaches how to cultivate compassion, develop wisdom, and serve others.

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

There are many kinds of desire – money, fame, love, etc. When desire is not under control and allowed to grow freely, it becomes insatiable, making us all slaves to its command. This short lifetime will then be spent in pursuit of illusive targets and wasted in striving to satisfy desires. Looking back when life nears its end, one painfully discovers that happiness is a real scarcity with unhappy moments scattered throughout one’s lifetime. Uncontrolled desire can destroy not only this life but also next life, not only oneself but also other beings. Robbery, for example, is basically caused by desire—desire to take what one lacks and others have; in so doing, one not only destroys this and future life but also disrupts the life of others.

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

This world of illusion is described in the American film The Matrix. The directors Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski, with whom a friend of mine is acquainted, have a substantial interest in Buddhism and have based the film on certain Buddhist concepts. At the end of the movie, we discover what appears to be a normal world of reality is actually controlled by an artificially intelligent computer called “Matrix,” and that all the people and circumstances in it are computer programs.

In the same way, the flowers, buildings, tables, and so forth which we can see all exist in only a moment. When countless moments join together, they form a continuum; when countless specks of dust come together, they form physical objects like buildings and vehicles, even mankind.

By just practicing impermanence, we can reach a state of mind that apprehends the entire world as an illusion.