WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

Relatively speaking, the generation stage is already a great practice, but it is still an indirect path. We know that one cannot enter directly into the enlightened realm of the buddha by way of the generation stage alone; instead, one must first practice visualization with thangkas which, however, are painted by people and hence not quite the ultimate way. Whereas Dzogchen, by skipping these diversions and keeping only the essential point, enables the practitioners to attain the enlightened pure state directly and much faster through the practice of tögal. This is a very important point to note. However, tantric practitioners who do not have the capacity to practice Dzogchen must take the indirect path before reaching the final goal.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO VAJRAYANA PATH - Sutra and Tantra: Similarities and Differences--based on the view of Rongzom Pandita

The other extreme is to believe everything ends when one is dead. At the time of birth, one is born with the body; there is no past life to speak of. When the body stops functioning, life ends, leaving no sense of joy or pain any more. As such, those holding this view have little inhibition to do unwholesome things when alive. Although not knowing what death is about, they pretend not to care nor to fear death, making no preparation at all for the imminent end of life. This is simply ignorance.

~Depicted from THE HANDBOOK'S FOR LIFE JOURNEY - On Death And Rebirth-Understanding Death

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 YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS - The Significance of Buddhist Philosophy Today

There is an analogy for this. When ink is poured on the snow, the snow will be turned into ink color. After it melts, the color can still be seen on the ground. Similarly, if karma is born of defilements, the karmic mark will be left in the alaya consciousness after defilements are gone. Karma (or cause) is kind of a unique ability. Although our eyes cannot see how rice seeds germinate, they do have within themselves the capacity to do so. Likewise, when a karmic seed is planted in the alaya consciousness, it will yield fruit when all the right conditions come together. This fruit is also called karmic effect. And this particular capacity of the alaya consciousness to yield karmic fruit is the inherent nature of cause.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - On Cause and Effect

Assuming mankind truly believed in cause and effect, there would be no killing, lying, and stealing; no contamination of oil, meat, milk powder, and other food products; no violence and war. People would interact with complete sincerity.

Therefore, the Buddhist teachings on cause and effect are of immeasurable benefit to modern society.

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

Is burning fuel the purpose of a car’s existence? No. Its purpose is to transport. Burning fuel is just a way to sustain itself. Only with fuel can it have enough power to fulfill its purpose. Likewise, food, clothing and housing are what we need to maintain our existence. As for the meaning of life, there is a big difference in understanding between those who have learned the Dharma and those who have not.

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

Our revered master H. H. Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche chose to go to Amitabha's pure land. Naturally, as followers, we should do likewise. If Pure Land practice has been undertaken on a regular basis, we will know what direction to take when facing death; without any preparation in advance when alive, we are likely to panic and not know what course to follow at the moment of death. Therefore, we should never underestimate the importance of both the practice and the pith instruction in end-of-life teachings. 

~Depicted from THE HANDBOOK'S FOR LIFE JOURNEY - On Death And Rebirth-Key Points for Practicing Bodhicitta on Deathbed

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

What qualifies as renunciation? In Three Principal Aspects of the Path, the great master Tsongkhapa said: “The thought of attaining liberation, day and night without interruption, is renunciation.” This is a relatively high standard that is difficult to comply with right away. We will thus propose a lower standard of renunciation for now.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO VAJRAYANA PATH - Entering the Vajrayana Path