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 also a kind of driving force, they will not bring us suffering. Certain other kinds of desire, though, will just cause us more suffering.

How does desire cause stress and suffering? First of all, 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.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

To overcome greed we have to have a sense of renunciation. With a sense of renunciation, we can get rid of, or at least control, our greed and desire. In order to overcome selfishness, we must give rise to bodhicitta. With bodhicitta, we can reduce or eliminate selfishness. And, to overcome attachment, hawse have to attain the realization of emptiness. Once the realization of emptiness is attained, all our issues, including greed, selfishness and attachment, will eventually be resolved. Therefore, it is crucial that we attain the realization of emptiness.

~ Luminous Wisdoms Book Series 4

All our concepts are transmitted to and analyzed by our consciousness. What we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel with our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body provides information for our consciousness to judge and make decisions.

If our senses are reliable and accurate, then the information they transmit to us will not be wrong; if our senses are limited, the information they transfer to us cannot be trusted. Our five senses are not ultimately reliable, though, which can be discerned from the example of the pebble.

We need to be aware that everything in this world is illusory and insubstantial.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 7

Ignorance gives rise to volitional actions, volitional actions to consciousness, and ultimately to birth, and 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, and so forth, until birth stops, and finally aging and death stop. Dependent origination thus ceases.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1

According to some surveys, given the same living conditions, the level of happiness for those who have faith far exceeds those who do not.

What does the word “renounce” mean? In the first place, to renounce is to forsake all worldly concerns. In other words, to renounce is not to have any attachment to worldly things and, at the same time, to be fully aware of the suffering nature of samsara. Secondly, one must endeavor to seek liberation from all suffering.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1

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 standpoint of illusion, 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!

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 10

The Buddha told us that what we experience is like dreaming at night. Everything we see in the dream appears very real and there seems to be no difference from what we experience in waking life. However, after waking up we realize that it was all false. But our real life is also a dream, and it is one from which we have not awoken even after multiple lifetimes, or even eons of lifetimes. When the day comes that we study the Buddhadharma and understand the truth of Dharma—like the Ch’an saying, “seeing one’s true nature with a clear mind”, a sudden awakening or instant revelation—only then will we wake up from the dream of the ordinary world. Not everybody has this opportunity, but for those who do understand these concepts, they should perceive all phenomena as being like bubbles or dreams, as expounded in the Diamond Sutra. In this way, we will not have exhausting lives.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

We neither came to nor will we leave this world voluntarily. However unwilling, we all have to go when it is time, not by choice and certainly not on our terms.