On the other hand, does it make sense to swear never to kill dinosaurs from now on? You may think that it is meaningless, since there is no dinosaur to be killed even if you want to. But it does make sense still. Dinosaurs once existed, which means we surely had the opportunity to kill some in those lifetimes. As explained above, when such vow is made, one’s karma of ever having killed dinosaurs will be purified, but not those that involved killing of other beings. If we vow not to kill any sentient beings, our karma of killing all kinds of beings can be purified. If the vow is made for the sake of particular beings, our karma of killing those particular beings can be purified.

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

Liberating living beings can also prevent some evil karma. Take the example of freeing one fish. First, if the fish vendor sells the fish to a restaurant, he will have committed karma of killing that fish. By buying the fish from the vendor, we stop that from happening. Second, if we do not buy the fish, the cook at the restaurant will kill it. We prevent the cook from committing that karma with our purchase of the fish. Third, the customers eating the fish are also guilty of killing. By buying the fish, we prevent karma of killing for the third time. As the fisherman would not know at the time of catching the fish if it was to be liberated or killed, his evil karma, if any, may not be prevented by our purchase. But the other three can all be avoided. When liberating beings, to make every endeavor not to hurt them as well as the feelings of other people is in fact benefiting sentient beings already.

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

We may also encounter difficulties when liberating beings, e.g., extreme weather conditions, fatigue, insect bites, interferences from others, etc. When these happen, we should contemplate that they are there to purify our negative karma. Or, we can practice the teachings of The Way of the Bodhisattvas to exchange our own well-being for other’s suffering. That is, we willingly endure all the hardship and inconveniences on behalf of other beings. It may seem just a small sacrifice on our part, but great merit can be accumulated this way as well. Therefore, we should practice patience with all physical discomfort and hardship. By the same token, when others make unreasonable demands on us or cause outright trouble, we should neither argue nor be angry with them, just accept their behavior with equanimity. This is the perfection of patience.

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

All the Buddhas in the past including Shakyamuni Buddha, after having aroused bodhicitta, had vowed to deliver all sentient beings to liberation before attaining Buddhahood themselves. Yet they have already attained Buddhahood while we still remain in samsara. Did all the Buddhas break their vows? No. The Buddhas’ vows were made out of their deep compassion for the sentient beings. By the supreme power of the grand vows, they were able to swiftly attain Buddhahood. Whereas the thought that is constantly being turned over in our minds is usually just our own welfare, which explains why we are still struggling in samsara as yet. This clearly demonstrates that the key to attaining Buddhahood rests squarely on nothing but one’s altruistic aspiration.

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

About longevity, the following story makes a point. A disciple of the Venerable Atisha violated the precept and died after getting involved in a village dispute. Upon hearing the news, the Venerable Atisha noted with sorrow, “If he died three years earlier, he would have died a bhikkhu adept in the Tripitaka.” This means that if he died three years earlier, he would have died a bhikkhu with pure vows and of great knowledge in the Tripitaka. But he died a different person with a tainted reputation three years later. Therefore, having longevity is not necessarily a good fortune. Some beings may end up committing more negative karma with extended life span.

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

Still others may wonder why the Buddha could not liberate all sentient beings with the same skillful means. The sutras said that for beings to encounter ‘liberation upon wearing’ or Bardo Thotrol (Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo), they must have had certain causes and conditions occurred in their prior lives. What does it mean by past causes and conditions? For example, one can learn Vajrayana, the Great Perfection, or listen to profound teachings such as the Tantra, Single Heir of the Doctrine in this life, but may still take rebirth in the lower realms due to improper practice or broken vows. In that case, after being in the lower realms for a very long time, one may ultimately be saved not by the exoteric practices but that of the supreme Vajrayana rather effortlessly. This is because one has previously planted the good seeds of being exposed to the Vajrayana teachings and thus accumulated the merit that eventually allows one to be liberated by the inexplicable power of liberation through hearing or upon wearing. So, it is not a given that all sentient beings would have the same merit or same encounter.

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

The use of nectar pills is not emphasized in exoteric Buddhism, but very much so in Vajrayana. Most of the nectar pills were originally handed down by Guru Rinpoche and later discovered by real tertons, finders of terma (hidden treasures). It should be noted that not all nectar pills have beneficial effect. Some of the so-called nectar pills are not only devoid of any merit but can also bring harm if taken, such as preventing one from attaining liberation in future life and creating hindrances to liberation.

Where do these harmful pills come from? Some are from tertons who are actually impostors and some are concocted by demons to hurt sentient beings. At times, genuine nectar pills, after being handled or made by persons who have broken samaya vows, can also be tainted. As Guru Rinpoche did not leave behind many nectar pills, accomplished masters, after retrieving them, will mix them with other nectar and medicinal herbs, then bless the pills through meditation and mantra recitations. If during this process there is one samaya violator among the attending practitioners, the pills will get tainted.

Therefore, close attention is needed when administering nectar pills. As ordinary beings, we cannot tell the real from the fake ones with the naked eye. The only way is by examining whether the pills came from a pure source. This is a very important step.

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

In general, people all long for wealth, longevity or certain magical power. But, in the long run, it is very difficult to say whether these are really good for a practitioner or an ordinary individual. You are all familiar with the story of Devadatta. If he had not had supernatural power, he would not have committed two of the Five Great Offenses leading to the avici hell. He subjugated the king with his supernatural power, convincing the king of his might and to obey his words. Together, they committed a great deal of the offenses that led to the avici hell. 

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

It is also very important to place the texts of ‘liberation upon wearing’, such as the Tantra, Single Heir of the Doctrine, on the head of the beings to bless them. Beings touched by this will soon be able to attain liberation. One may question, “These beings have neither practiced nor received transmissions of the Dharma. Why should they be able to attain liberation simply by attaching such texts to their body or being touched by it?” The only plausible explanation would be the inconceivable power of the Buddha’s skillful means to deliver sentient beings from suffering. 

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"