What does lineage mean? It means a line of transmission of the dharma that is handed down by lineage masters such as Shakyamuni Buddha, Guru Rinpoche, etc. It’s a pure line of transmission of the dharma like the running river without stop. These lineages contain intangible blessings of lineage masters which can only be experienced in the process of practice; this is vital for our practice, thus it’s best to seek a pure lineage before one engages in tantric practice.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

What does “preliminary practice” of Tibetan Buddhism mean? It means preparatory practice. Despite the fact that ultimately we need to attain the wisdom of emptiness, without laying a solid foundation of cultivating renunciation and bodhicitta, we are not able to realise emptiness.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Once the opportunity to practise in this life is missed, no one can say whether we will have the chance to practise in our future lives. I can assure you that once the uncontrived bodhichitta is developed, this person will not degenerate or at least will never degenerate into one of the three lower realms, namely hell, hungry ghost or animal realm.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Suffering conveys to us intangibly that it’s repaying karmic debt faced with suffering. When crops mature, their seeds dissolve. Likewise, having experienced suffering, a great deal of negative karma will be purified. Thus experiencing suffering is the way of purify obscurations. One needs to think that fortunately one’s own negative karma doesn’t mature in the three lower realms, instead it matures in the realm of human. It’s a positive thing, I should be happy about it.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Practice is to train our mind.Through training and practice the human mind can be transformed. A selfish mind can be transformed into a selfless mind that does everything to benefit all sentient beings. All of this depends on one’s continuous efforts. Without effort, no one can become such a person.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

One can only become a genuine practitioner after succeeding in practicing the foundational teachings such as impermanence, suffering, etc. Only then can we make transformative changes to our views towards the world; regardless of how much hardships and suffering one has to experience, one will be at ease.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

In degenerate times, sentient beings suffer from severe obscurations, and practitioners suffer from weak devotion in the Three Jewels and waning diligence compared to that of the Buddha’s time, thus it’s essential to lay a solid foundation of preliminary practice, which leads to the possibility to realise emptiness.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The reason to practice dharma is to face, to control and to remove the afflictions. This is the mission and goal of Buddhists. To measure whether a Buddhist is good or bad, it is not to see who can recite more mantras or who has accumulated more merits, even it is not to see who is wealthier, healthier or having smooth progress in work. However, it is rather too see how much of afflictions that one has been diminished.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Many people believe that they have finished the ngondro practice, I’d like to ask these people: “Have you let go of your attachments? Letting go has various levels, it’s good to let go to a certain degree.” Before engaging in the ngondro practice, one was focused on benefiting oneself, having done the practice, one’s altruistic intention is increasing, this means one has reaped a positive result from practice. However, having done the ngondro practice, one’s mind is exactly the same as before, then where does the benefit of the practice manifest?

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES