WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

Practicing impermanence will eradicate our clinging to permanence, which is rather useful. For instance, even we cannot perceive the inner instantaneous impermanence of an object, if we realise that something is unreliable and impermanent, then we’ll overly cling to it, and reminding ourself over and over again: “since it’s unreliable, why bother to care and cling to it?” In this manner, our attachment will gradually decline.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Ignorance leads to attachment, such as clinging to external world, one’s own body, fame and gain. Without satisfying one’s desire, one will suffer. In order to satisfy one’s desire, one will engage in negative acts, such as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying, etc. All negative acts stem from attachment and ignorance.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

In Buddhist scriptures, sometimes the ocean is used to represent people’s psychological state. At times, the blue sky and clouds are used to describe people’s nature or psychological movement.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Other than our teacher, Vajra friends have no responsibilities to observe other’s good or bad points, which has nothing to do with us. When giving rise to a thought of other’s flaws, one needs to remind oneself: “Thinking he has flaws is due to my mind being impure. If my mind were pure, then I wouldn’t find faults in others; it must be my own mistake and illusion. In the vision of a realised being, all phenomena is the mandala of the buddhas, and pure.”

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

For many practices, transmission is empathised, especially of the Vajrayana. What do we mean by transmission? It means since the first turning of wheel of dharma of the Buddha, the stream of dharma handed down from one generation to another is called lineage, or transmission, which is non-stop, if it’s broken, then the great blessing of the dharma will not continue. Thus, notwithstanding the existence of scriptures,without oral transmission and transmission of pith instruction, the dharma would be extinct.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The direction is very important in studying Buddhism. If the direction is wrong, then one gets farther and farther from liberation. If the direction is correct, then with each step, one gets closer to liberation.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The most amazing and outstanding of the Nyingma tradition is terma. Although other traditions have terma as well, and many masters of those tradition are tertons, the source of terma is Guru Rinpoche. Guru Rinpoche’s time was in the Old Translation period, when only Nyingma tradition was existent, thus most of terma texts are in the sphere of the Nyingma tradition.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

There are two ways to realise Dzogchen: one is to listen to dharma extensively, then to accumulate immense merits by engaging in the practice of cultivating renunciation and bodhicitta, the practice of mandala offering and embarking on the path of bodhisattvas. When accumulation of merit rises to a certain level, one can realise emptiness; another way is to rely on the qualified master’s blessing. The premise to receive such blessing is to have devotion. The stronger the devotion, the more blessing one can receive.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Stress makes our life painful; desires evolve the pressures of life; hallucinations lead to various desires in space and time; and the wisdom of enlightenment can eliminate all illusions.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES