From the perspective of ordinary reality, desire is the driving force of development.  From the Buddhist perspective, “I want to study Buddhism”, “I want to become a Buddha”, “I want to practice Dharma”, and “I want to meditate” are also kinds of desire.  Nevertheless, while these desires are a kind of the driving force, they will not bring us suffering. Certain other kinds of desire, though, will still cause us more suffering.

How does desire cause stress and suffering? Firstly, desire itself can be unlimited, but the satisfaction and excitement brought about by material gain is limited. Both science and Buddhism offer proof of this, and it can also be verified in our life experience.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

In ancient times, cities were built with protective walls. If there was only one gate, then everyone would have to go through that gate to go to any household in the city. Similarly, if we cannot break through the barrier of renunciation and bodhicitta, we will not have access to any genuine, profound practices like the Great Perfection, Mahamudra, Kalachakra and others. Once we pass, the doors to the various systems of practice will all open and we can choose at will to practice Pure Land, Zen, Madhyamaka, Mahamudra, or the Great Perfection.

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

What is the rationale to work on the mildest anger first? In order to do anything well, it is important to execute the task in proper sequence. Generally, that is to do the easy part first followed by the more difficult. When the mildest anger is overcome, one naturally gains the confidence to go on. As one becomes more stable and stronger in one’s practice over time, it will be much easier to deal with more violent afflictions. Conversely, if one tries to work with rage and fury at the start, one may fail miserably, be utterly disheartened and never want to practice again.

~ Depicted from "THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE"S JOURNEY : On The Three Poisons - How to Confront Anger

The third type of sastra is called the Middle Way. Simply speaking, it refers to the view in the middle, in neither extreme. The core concept in the Middle Way is emptiness; the extreme views are existence and non-existence, eternalism and nihilism, etc. The Middle Way is one of Mahayana Buddhism's most important sastras.

~ Depicted from ARE U READY FOR HAPPINESS : The Significance of Buddhist Philosophy Today

Ignorance gives rise to volitional actions, volitional actions to consciousness and ultimately birth to old age and death. Each preceding cause gives rise to the subsequent effect which in turn gives rise to the next cause and so on. This is dependent origination. The same also applies in reverse. That is, when ignorance stops, volitional actions stop as well, then consciousness, name and form....until birth stops, finally aging and death stop. Dependent origination thus ceases.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1

As you all know, the achievement of a trained athlete far exceeds that of an untrained person. Through training, however, the untrained can achieve the same result. Having bodhicitta or not is a matter of constant practice, not an unchangeable condition. If we do not start practicing now to generate bodhicitta, we will forever remain selfish and never become Mahayana practitioners. However, as we continue practicing for a period of time, say, three months, half a year, or a year, bodhicitta will certainly be developed to some extent. But it takes more than just practice to arouse bodhicitta. Other supportive measures are also needed, such as learning the merit of bodhicitta, studying and contemplating the relevant Mahayana texts, accumulating the most possible merit, etc. Without doubt, the most important is to cultivate the Four Immeasurables—loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity. If we can practice in this manner, arousing bodhicitta would not be a difficult task after all. For people who do not practice, it is indeed very difficult. Comparatively, those who are diligent will not find it quite so hard. In any case, all we Dharma practitioners must get pass this one hurdle before going further down the path to liberation.

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

2) The way of ultimate truth

◎ Anger toward sentient beings

The first step is to be aware of anger.

When anger just arises, the first thing is to be aware of the anger. Very often, we don’t realize we are angry and are unable to monitor our emotions, thinking only that other people have mistreated us. When awareness is lacking, the chance to counter this is also missing. Unfortunately, when we are angry, we are hardly willing to calm down and examine ourselves; we won’t be satisfied until we give vent to our anger. Even if we try to make amends later on, the damage is already done.

~ Depicted from "THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE"S JOURNEY : On The Three Poisons - How to Confront Anger

The second type of sastra is called Abhidharma which focuses on many subjects: among the subjects are creation, destruction and change within the universe, the condition of the microcosm, human physiology, mental phenomena, karmic cause and effect, reincarnation, meditative practice, and the nature and type of liberation.

In the area of mental phenomena, Buddhism provides a very detailed analysis of the human mind. Included are classifications of emotional states, the number of which are negative or positive, the relationship between different types of emotions, the circumstances under which the emotions arise or disappear, how they can be controlled, etc. Also included are the meditation practices of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.

~ Depicted from ARE U READY FOR HAPPINESS : The Significance of Buddhist Philosophy Today

We must reflect carefully and not make the assumption, “The cause and the effect co-exist. A father and his son serve as a good example of this, don’t they?” Such thinking is rather childish. From the illusory standpoint, the law of cause and effect is certainly tenable. If we wish to lie to ourselves and others, to accept the existence of such illusions, and to refuse other views about our world, then there is no need to study further. In order to have a better future in our next lives, we may try to do more good deeds and avoid non-virtuous behavior, believing in karma and the cycle of birth and death. However, such ‘good futures’ also appear and disappear as quickly as a glance. If you are dissatisfied with your current state and wish to be liberated from such an illusory world, then an answer must be found. Whether to pursue a different path or not—the choice is yours!

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 10