We need to come to a clear understanding of what do we need? Is it money or happiness? Desiring both is difficult to achieve. Even endowed with some merit, one can make some profit through exertion, yet one might not be able to live an easeful life. Other than attaining a high level of spiritual achievement, how can one maintain a calm mind while being preoccupied with various engagements? Thus as an ordinary being, we have to choose one between these two.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Each time we die, the nature of mind will be revealed, but we never can perceive it. Every night when entering a deep sleep, for a split second we are in touch with the nature of mind, but we never can perceive it. Thus we need our lama’s pith instruction, with which we can attain enlightenment instantly. This is the swift method of the Vajrayana to attain enlightenment.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

An accurate understanding of death enables us to be free from fear, dismayed and evasiveness when death is mentioned. This is because we have acknowledged that death is a mere cyclical process of life, it does not signify that everything ends. We need not be negative and pessimistic when facing death. If we can seize the opportunity, we can improve the level of our lives in the process of death.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The more socially competitive one is, the less happiness one attains. For instance, someone has a fancy car, but this person likes comparing. When others surpass him, he cannot maintain calm, exerting oneself to be competitive. Such pursuits are rather tiring. Being competitive is not a necessity of the life. Lots of suffering stems from being as such.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Countless buddhas in the past, including Shakyamuni Buddha, vowed to liberate all sentient beings when giving rise to bodhicitta, vowing to attain buddhahood after all sentient beings attain buddhahood. We haven’t attained buddhahood yet, but they have. Why? Buddhas make such aspirations out of vast compassion. Due to the greatest and sublimity of their aspirations, they attained buddhahood swiftly. Whereas we are preoccupied with our own interest, thus we are still struggling in the samsara.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

With strenuous effort, an iron bar can be ground into a needle. Likewise, with persistent meditation, we can suppress negative and destructive emotions such as greed, aggression, pride, and jealousy, etc, and our mind will reach a state of freedom to some extent. Freedom here means being free from anxiety, and maintaining joy for extended periods if you want.

~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

It’s stressed in shastras that we need to rely on the dharma, rather than the person. Which means in the course of dharma study and research, we need to have conviction and rely on the authentic dharma or truth, rather than rely on the person’s fame, status, or power. We need to analyze if this person’s words are in accordance with the dharma and the truth, if the answer is yes, then we can trust this person’s words. Otherwise, regardless how famed a person is, we should not follow this person’s words blindly.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

For a practitioner, having contemplated on the mind of rejoice and the immeasurable thought of joy, one can habituate oneself to be joyful and rejoice in other’s better attributes, instead of being jealous. This is the decency of a practitioner.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES