KHENPO'S BLOG

The most important and the key difference between Buddhism and non-Buddhism lies in taking refuge in the Three Jewels. Accordingly, taking refuge is deemed a prerequisite for anyone who wants to learn Buddhism. However, it has never been forced upon anyone. Only those who want to learn the Buddha’s teachings or take up Buddhist practice must comply. Not taking refuge is to remain an outsider, is off the path to liberation and cannot be deemed a Buddhist.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1

Brownian movement also completely corroborates the Buddhist doctrine of seeing the world from the standpoint of relative truth and absolute truth. When seeing the object with the eyes and through a microscope, two different conclusions can be drawn - the wrong conclusion is to be deemed the relative truth, the right conclusion the absolute truth.

~ Depicted from "The Four Seasonal Quotes from Khenpo"

The face life with a different mindset is to embrace life with tolerance and compassion. To use another way to search for the goal is to learn from Buddha’s wisdom. Persisting in these direction in  life will undoubtedly gain a different kind of happiness, the ultimate liberation.

~ Depicted from "The Four Seasonal Quotes from Khenpo"

Sit by the sea, feeling the wind and greeting the waves. Each wave is inseparable from the sea. The waves are the sea; the sea comes to be the waves. Each thought is inseparable from inner radiance. Thoughts are inner radiance; inner radiance comes to be thoughts.

~ Depicted from "The Four Seasonal Quotes from Khenpo"

Very often in our lives, suffering, contrary to normal expectation, motivates people to progress, to feel empathy, to control desires and persevere. But all along we have only  tried not to think about it, not dared to face it and more often than not simple evaded reality. As a result , our minds become weaker and weaker. This is why  the Buddha encouraged us to contemplate what he taught in the Four Seals of Dharma: All contemplated phenomena are of the nature of suffering.

~ Depicted from "The Four Seasonal Quotes from Khenpo"

The Buddha was a human, not a god or a deity. However, his supreme wisdom had surpassed all known human knowledge. The Buddha based his judgement not an conscious perception but transcendent wisdom. As a matter of fact, we can all transform our own consciousness into such wisdom.

~ Depicted from "The Four Seasonal Quotes from Khenpo"

When people are all geared up for some killing actions, whoever kills a person would be called a hero, i.e., one who has rendered outstanding service. When all the people are against killing, whoever kills a person would be deemed as a savage, i.e., one who has committed a brutal crime. It seems that the criterion determining such behaviour as being right or wrong, meritorious or criminal, is only the majority’s collective preference at the time instead of a clear principle based on causality. As a result, the human history has been riddled with brutalities and violence.

~ Depicted from "The Four Seasonal Quotes from Khenpo"

Buddhism holds that all physical phenomena, such as cobblestones, are arising and ceasing  every instant. Our senses perceive differently. But the truth of the physical world seen through a microscope corresponds to the Buddhist view point. Thus, we must acknowledge that physical senses are mistaken.

~ Depicted from "The Four Seasonal Quotes from Khenpo"

Do not fight the reality with weak mind, because the more you do, the more you suffer. Instead, one should first cultivate a strong mind before taking on all suffering in life. Only then suffering be transcended and possibly transformed into happiness as well.

~ Depicted from "The Four Seasonal Quotes from Khenpo"