WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

2. The second method is also the most important. In the midst of highly painful time, calm down and ask yourself, “I feel such unbearable pain, but what is pain anyway?” Of course we will all say, “It’s my heart, my mind, in pain.” What is mind then? At this point, we will discover that mind and pain are inseparable, that mind has become pain. If we look further at the nature of mind itself, we may suddenly realize that it’s like looking at empty space. At that moment, all of mind’s suffering instantly disappears; the so-called mind and suffering do not exist at all.

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

Thus, whether we are corporate executives or workers under great pressure, if we can meditate every evening for twenty minutes or half an hour, and let go of the negative emotions accumulated over the course of a day, we will be able to maintain a happier state of mind going into our sleep. In so doing, we effectively regulate both body and mind. According to psychologists, five minutes of deep meditation is equivalent to an hour of sleep. Hence, the practice of meditation every evening helps not only to regulate both body and mind, but also to maintain a high energy level.

~ Depicted from THE PAPER TIGER - The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness

All branches of Buddhism fall under Mahayana and Hinayana. There is no third vehicle (yana). To be a Hinayana practitioner, the first requisite is having unshakable renunciation—complete distaste for worldly fulfillments and whole-hearted pursuit of liberation from samsara. Do we have such resolution? If not, we would not qualify as Hinayana practitioners.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Three Supreme Methods—the ultimate methods of cultivating virtue and training the mind

To continue analyzing along this line can slowly but surely see some good results, making it easier to let go and allowing a new life to begin.

Psychotherapy can only help us take control of moods and feelings temporarily; it does not solve our problems. It is like taking a pain killer to temporarily chase away a headache. The Buddhist way, however, is to rely on theories that are both logical and convincing to cut to the root of the problems. Once the theories have been thought through and fully understood, the agony will never come back again.

The Theravadins have succeeded in controlling desire by way of this method, which proves the method is right and effective.

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

Whether we discuss meditation from the standpoint of Buddhism or science, the power of meditative concentration is inconceivable.

American scientists once conducted an experiment in which the participants were Tibetan Buddhist practitioners of meditative concentration. The researchers utilized, on one side, brainwave patterns to measure changes in brainwaves, and on the other, magnetic resonance imaging to locate brain activity. In the end, they concluded meditation can not only change brain activity in the short term, it can, with great likelihood, change brain activity permanently. In other words, with meditation, one can completely eliminate anxiety, sadness, and other negative feelings, create a sense of happiness, even restructure the brain.

~ Depicted from THE PAPER TIGER - The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness

Whether in this life or in the entire cycle of rebirth, we have three major problems: Firstly, the mind of greediness. Because of greed for wealth, fame and material goods, one invariably gets tied up with these. This greed has become one of the most crucial facets of the world of samsara.  Secondly, the selfish mind. Selfishness is indeed a real, serious issue in that one pursues one’s own self-interest at the expense of others. Lastly, attachment, which is the most serious— persistently holding onto everything and worrying about personal gain and loss concerning whatever one is attached to.


Owing to these three harmful states, we have been caught in the world of samsara and unable to attain liberation. The door to overcoming these problems is to practice the genuine Dharma.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 7

Some people may think of themselves as practitioners of Mahayana, Pure Land, Zen or Vajrayana, but never Hinayana practitioners. And they feel complacent, what with Mahayana being the supreme vehicle and Vajrayana simply outstanding, whereas Hinayana not being particularly profound. However, please carefully examine each one’s own motivation. Perhaps we will be ashamed to find that we are not even up to the standards of Hinayana practitioners.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Three Supreme Methods—the ultimate methods of cultivating virtue and training the mind

Going through this analysis may not help one gain realization of emptiness, but it does serve to greatly reduce attachment.

Furthermore, contemplate this: ‘What I need to do now is to cool my attachment. Otherwise, I can’t live or work normally; worse, I may even hurt myself. It is ironic to waste my life for someone who doesn’t like or care about me, a useless exercise that only proves how silly I am.’

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