The majority of human beings living in the mundane world are ordinary and are deluded with three main afflictions: greed, hatred and ignorance. In Buddhist terminology, these are the three poisonsur 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 level where they cannot be subdued, our family and friends become the victims, and these afflictions can even harm the whole society.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Illusory World]

  It is stated in the sutras that practitioners have three levels of classification. Top-level practitioners are able to make progress everyday. Those in the middle fare a little worse but are still capable of some breakthrough each month. Even the ones in the low level can better themselves at least by the year.

  Let us ask ourselves: “Which level do I belong? Did I or can I improve over last year?” If the answer is no, then we do not belong to any one of the three levels of practitioners. Since there is no fourth level, it just goes to show that we are practitioners in name only. And even that could be an overstatement.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : The Three Supreme Methods—the ultimate methods of cultivating virtue and training the mind]

Since ancient times, the one thing human beings have always longed for is happiness. Yet, with all the progress in society, what we believe to be happiness has eluded us. The rapid decline in the index on global well-being has compelled all of us to rethink: What is happiness? How do we find it? In recent years, this topic has generated even greater interest.

Tantra has some important opinions on the power of Mantra. For example, ordinary people think that “Om, Vajrasattva hūm” is just Vajrasattva mantra, by its very nature, just a few words or sounds made from one’s throat, it is not Buddha. And Vajrasattva only exists when there is an image or a statue. In fact, for ordinary people, Vajrasattva will not preach them directly as people do not have such karmic reward. Only first-stage Boddhisattva or above, can get escorts by Vajrasattva directly. However, if we have enough confidence on Vajrasattva, the Mantra itself is Vajrasattva. Having realized that the Mantra and the actual Vajrasattva are with no difference, a single “Om, Vajrasattva hūm” will have huge merits.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series: The Blessing of Speech]

Some regard Buddhism as a kind of belief. Belief also means faith. Of course faith is needed in Buddhism, but it would be oversimplified to regard Buddhism as a belief since keeping faith is only one of many Buddhist ideas. The foundation and the priority of Buddhism are not about belief, but wisdom and compassion. Although Buddhism does advocate the importance of faith, it is not unique to Buddhism; science also calls for faith. For example, people today all want to promote faith in science. If one does not trust science, one probably would not even dare to take airplane. People take plane because they believe in the technology that allows airplane to transport people to their destination. It takes faith to accomplish anything in this world, the same kind of faith as in Buddhism. Therefore, it is incorrect to equate Buddhism with belief.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : Buddhism—The Definition]

What is the difference between the Four Noble Truths and the Two Truths (relative and absolute truth)? The Two Truths delineate the doctrinal view on phenomena whereas the Four Noble Truths, though also contain some elements of that view, focus mainly on the practicable ways to attain liberation. Therefore, both are very important Buddhist doctrines that can lend certain help to one’s practice if understood well. Of course, one may choose to learn only the theories necessary for undertaking specific practice rather than the more extensive knowledge of various Buddhist doctrines such as the Two Truths or the Four Noble Truths. But the chances are one may be prone to mistakes more easily this way except for those with the sharpest faculties.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : The Four Noble Truths]

Ordinary people or non-Buddhist practitioners possessing some psychic powers, or even arhats, would not know their intricate workings thoroughly. During the time of the Buddha, there were many non-Buddhist practitioners in India who, with their clairvoyance, saw people who were virtuous all their lives take rebirth in the hell, hungry ghost, or animal realms instead. They asked, “If cause and effect is truly infallible, why would virtuous people not end up well?” Hence, they viewed the idea of cause and effect as pure nonsense.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : On Cause and Effect]

Broadly speaking, the view, the practice and the behavior of non-Buddhist traditions and those of Buddhism are all different, and so are their results. The key difference lies in whether or not they include taking refuge in the Three Jewels—the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. One that does so is Buddhism; otherwise, it is non-Buddhism.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : The Three Differences]

About those past misdeeds that we have performed but cannot recall, we can contemplate like this: “All the misdeeds that I have committed since beginningless time,whether intentionally or unintentionally, are all wrong. As if they are poison I have taken, I feel the greatest fear and regret for my action, and vow never to commit them ever again.” In this way, all negative karma can be changed into mutable karma. The significance of such resolution cannot be overstated. Otherwise, any karmic effect will be possible if this is not done.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : On Cause and Effect]