When fundamental ignorance arises, our mind has already moved away from clarity to its second level. What is fundamental ignorance? At this level or state, the mind, prior to entering clarity, is very calm and relaxed and totally free of thought – correct, incorrect, good, bad, painful, happy ….

To be more specific, the origin of mind is clarity; subsequently, within clarity, slight undulations begin to form; when these undulations appear, the first moment of fundamental ignorance is produced. Although the innate clarity of the mind remains unchanged at this time, fundamental ignorance has already separated from clear light to form our consciousness. Here fundamental ignorance is likened to a ripple in the ocean. Although the ripple is not yet a wave, the calm ocean surface is not quite the same and is showing signs of undercurrent.

~ Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS : Suffering is just a Paper Tiger

Vajrayana is also known as Secret Mantra or Esoteric Buddhism. To understand the supposed secret nature of Vajrayana, several explanations can be found in the Guhyagarbha Tantra. That is to say, the secrecy attached to this particular vehicle can be understood from two, three, or four different aspects. They are all correct explanations, just a matter of being broad or brief.

One of the simpler explanations is given from two aspects. One, something is hidden from the public eye. Two, something is kept secret. What is the difference between the two? In the latter, a deliberate action is taken to hide something from others; in the former, no action is required. It is naturally hidden, like the mineral deposits buried under the ground or the sea.

What is hidden? It is tathāgatagarbha. The Buddha did not hide it from us, nor did anyone else. Instead, it is our innate ignorance and defilements that prevent us from knowing its existence. Although tathāgatagarbha has always been with us since our eight consciousnesses were formed, we do not see it. In fact, sentient beings in this boundless universe are basically not aware of this naturally hidden state.

~ Depicted from GATEWAY TO THE VAJRAYANA PATH : A Compendium of the Vajrayana

In everyday life, when we see in the market or some other places the animals who are about to be killed, we should try to chant the name of Buddha Ratnasikhi to their ears, and make the animals lie on their right side, face to the west, head to the north. This will bring unexpected benefit to the animals. Although non-Buddhists may not understand such actions, they at least would not deem these actions harmful and put a stop to them.

Neither should we think of all these as nonsense, as these were practiced by masters in the past, so there must be reasons for doing so.

We should know that traditional custom of offering flower, bathing and putting on new clothes for the dead only shows our emotional attachment to the deceased. It is not meaningful at all in a real sense because at this point the body of the dead, like a stone or mud, can no longer feel anything. If we want to give the deceased one last meaningful gift for his or her final journey, it is the chanting which is simple and easy to do and of great benefit. If the deceased received some form of training in life and has the help of dharma friends at this critical juncture, he or she will surely be able to take an auspicious rebirth. Do keep this in mind. 

~ Depicted from HANDBOOK FOR LIFE'S JOURNEY : On Death And Rebirth-How to Face Death

The Great Perfection itself is deemed supramundane, but our motivation for practising it or listening to its teachings could turn it into a mundane practice instead. If our motivation were to gain benefits in this or next life, the teaching of the Great Perfection would cease to be supramundane upon entering our mindstream; it would not even be a Mahayana practice. What would it be then? It would just be a mundane practice, or, a practice of mundane Great Perfection.

What kind of practice is animal liberation? That also depends on your motivation. Even if the motivation is for a rebirth in the god or human realm or to avoid rebirth in the three lower realms, rather than for health or longevity in this life, liberating animal is still just a mundane activity. To liberate animals for one’s own freedom from samsara is viewed as a supramundane Theravada practice. To do it out of bodhicitta, the wish to attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings, is a supramundane Mahayana practice. To couple the Mahayana practice with some Vajrayana views essentially makes animal liberation a Vajrayana practice.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW : The Three Differences

When our practice reaches a certain level, the external environment will not have much of an effect on us; at that point, there is no difference where we practice. However, to a beginner, the environment is very important.

Firstly, if the surroundings are too noisy, it will be difficult to practice. The sutras say the biggest impediment to meditative concentration is noise.

In general, this is a problem in the cities, but some homes can be very quiet if they have sound-proof installations, and the windows and doors are shut tight.

Secondly, in places where many practitioners in the past have aggregated, blessings are plentiful; this kind of place is particularly conducive to practice.

Whatever the circumstances, the environment is a very important factor. At the least, one should look for a quiet place to practice.

~ Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA : Preparing for the Preliminaries

The happy life we are having now is not permanent. There is bound to be suffering in the future. Some people do not see the point of preparing for future lives because they are not feeling any obvious distress right now. Yet worrying about the well-being in their old age, they will do all they can to make money even without concerns for karma and retributions sometimes. This is very foolish. It has never occurred to them that they have already been born human and that no matter how hard this life is, it is nowhere close to the severe suffering born by those in the three lower realms. Where will we be reborn next time? Will we have another human birth like this one? No one knows. So, to be well prepared for the next life should be the rational thing to do. What does it take to be well prepared? It certainly is not wealth or fame we need but spiritual practice. Although Theravada practice can solve our own problems, it does not help others. Consequently, we must strive to arouse bodhicitta as it is the only means to help both ourselves and other beings to liberation.

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

One may question, “Many accomplished masters have attained extraordinary realization. Why do they still encounter obstacles or become ill?”

There are two possibilities. One of them can be explained by way of the Twelve Nidanas. Accomplished practitioners may have eradicated all defilements in this life, but they were once ordinary beings in the past. Even Shakyamuni Buddha was an ordinary being before attaining Buddhahood, not to mention the lesser known practitioners. As an ordinary being, one cannot but commit karma and karma is infallible. Consequently, even accomplished masters must still go through suffering in this life due to some distant causes not yet resolved. Nonetheless, this will be the last time they have to experience suffering again in their cyclic existence sinceprimordial time.

We all know the story of Nagarjuna. The prince of King Lexin went to him demanding his head. Nagarjuna said, “You cut it off yourself.” The prince, no matter how expertly he used his sword, could not cut the head off; it was almost like cutting through air. Nagarjuna then said, “I purified all the heterogeneous effects resulting from cutting others with weapons five hundred lifetimes ago, except the one of killing insects while cutting kusha grass. So, you may use kusha grass to cut off my head.” The prince then cut his head off with one kusha grass. This story tells us that even someone as accomplished as Nagarjuna cannot avoid any karmic effect when it ripens. Therefore, it is a possibility that some of these respectable practitioners still have residual karmic effects left to be resolved.

Another possibility can be inferred from the following example. Having attained Buddhahood, Shakyamuni Buddha was forever free from the influence of causality. However, he manifested illness to show sentient beings the infallibility of karma. For instance, the evil king of Sravasti attacked the hometown of the Buddha and killed seventy-seven thousand of the Shakya clan. The streets were all blood red because the king had ordered that only when all the streets were covered with blood could the killing stop. Finally, to satisfy the king, his people had to mix red dye with water and poured on the streets to make it look like blood was running everywhere. At that point, the Buddha started getting a headache. The reason is that in his past life, the Buddha and the slaughtered clansmen had done something bad together. The Buddha himself also said, “Because of that negative karma, I have to endure a headache even though I have attained supreme enlightenment. If it were not for the perfect merit I have thus gathered, I too would have been killed today.” The fact is that the negative effect could never have happened to the Buddha. He manifested a headache only to help beings believe the truth of causality.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW : The Twelve Nidanas—the sequence of cyclic existence

Human beings do not have methods for facing suffering, thus they hope for happiness and are afraid of suffering. Animals are the same way – they hope bad things go away and that good things come quickly. A whole life is hence wasted in this expectation.

Practitioners also encounter suffering and happiness. How we transform happiness and, in particular, suffering into favorable conditions in our practice is very important. Without the right method, suffering and happiness become obstacles to the path. This not only impedes our practice, it also affects the normal course of our life.

In facing suffering, if we have the right view and understanding, suffering may not be harmful; otherwise, suffering will cause anxiety, mental disturbance, even self-destruction.

~ Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS : How to Face Suffering and Happiness-How to Face Suffering

To every practitioner, actual methods are extremely important. One must truly practice in order to achieve liberation. By reciting the name of the Buddha one-pointedly, we can go to Western Pure Land; by practicing renunciation, bodhicitta, and emptiness, we can gradually eradicate our afflictions and attain liberation in the end.

We should all recite the Buddha’s name on a regular basis, but to be fully prepared, we should also undertake a concurrent practice. That is to say, we should choose one of the Middle Way practices in either Vajrayana or exoteric Buddhism to ensure all grounds are covered. If we can realize emptiness, that certainly is best; if not, we can still go to Western Pure Land if we are sincere in chanting the Buddha’s name. The two should be practiced together, this is also His Holiness Jigme Phunstok Rinpoche’s advice. At the same time, listening and contemplating the Dharma are both helpful to the practice and to chanting the Buddha’s name, so these activities are complementary. An integrated practice like this is definitely beyond error.

~ Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA : The Importance of Practice