WORDS OF WISDOM

What does oneness refer to? Normally, the sutric system maintains that sentient beings are not buddhas but ordinary beings encumbered with defilement, who can transform their minds into the wisdom of the buddha only through Dharma practice over numerous lives. But the view set forth in the third turning of the wheel of Dharma, in particular that of tantra, is that ground and fruition are in fact one, that ground is fruition and fruition is ground. In other words, sentient beings are buddhas and buddhas are sentient beings; the two are one and the same.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO VAJRAYANA PATH - The Completion Stage —the skillful means to realize emptiness

What does true peace mean? After liberation, there is genuine freedom from the three types of suffering mentioned before; the seeds of the three types of suffering and their designations also cease to be. This pure and everlasting happiness is true peace. It is not the happiness ordinary people refer to; rather, happiness is just freedom from suffering that arises from contaminated actions. Because it is pure, it is deemed “true peace.”

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - Nirvana Is True Peace

We should not think that anything that is not discovered by science or proven with logic does not exist, as not everything can be measured by hard data. Things like rebirth or soul cannot be checked by scientific instruments, at least not for the time being. However, as science continues to break new grounds, it is entirely possible that one day we might be able to do that. For now, logic, as we know it, is rendered helpless in the field of parapsychology because our sense organs are not equipped to provide us with useful data to do this kind of analysis.

~Depicted from THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE JOURNEY - On Death And Rebirth-What Life Truly Is

Buddhism has a number of very special methods for overcoming suffering. With practice, the methods help us purify our mind and reach a higher state of attainment. In the short run, we can alleviate our stress; ultimately we can be free of the suffering of birth, aging, illness, and death.

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

What do we mean by attachment and object of attachment? As an example, when the eye consciousness perceives an object, attachment is formed. The object of attachment is that which is perceived by the eye consciousness. The eye consciousness and the object, that is, the attachment and the object of attachment, are separately known as the grasper and the grasped.

A pure or uncontaminated state is one in which grasper and the grasped all disappear; it is also the meditative state of bodhisattvas of the first and higher stages. Apart from the state of the buddhas and that of the realized bodhisattvas, all other states that contain grasper and the grasped are deemed impure or contaminated.

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - All Contaminated Things are Unsatisfactory

Buddhist culture dates back more than two thousand five hundred years ago and is a universal and profound culture. Corporate culture has its origin in the research undertaken by several Harvard professors in the 1980’s and is a young culture with a history of around thirty years. Although they appear more than two thousand years apart, the two cultures can be very closely connected. If we are able to integrate both, the impact on the operations of a business as well as on the direction in our life can be surprisingly positive. This is because the wisdom of the Buddha brings light; the compassion of the Buddha warms the heart.

~Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS -Buddhism and the Business World – Six Standards in a Corporate Culture

What is the wrong kind of non-attachment? If we do not practice this contemplation or experience a feeling of emptiness, just casually proclaim to let go of things at random or arbitrarily, that is the wrong kind of non-attachment.

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - The Practice of No-Self

How to learn Buddhadharma is very important. If Buddhists don’t dedicate efforts to hear, contemplate and meditate the teachings, focusing instead on the rituals such as attending pujas, tsok, fire offering and empowerment ceremonies, burning expensive incense and worshiping the deities, among others, the real meaning of learning the Dharma would still be missing even if these are all done with great sincerity. Although a properly conducted empowerment is needed and useful, absent the practice of hearing, contemplation and meditation, the Buddha’s thought and teachings will not be propagated effectively. Holding concerns for personal health, longevity, money, work, family, etc. as their ultimate goal, Buddhist followers can neither benefit from practicing the Dharma nor actualize the path to liberation. And Buddhadharma ends up losing its real core value.

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

In the case of ordinary people, an impoverished life means to deliberately live in a poverty-stricken condition. But to some practitioners like Milarepa, poverty is not an obstacle but assistance to their practice. Obviously, not everyone can attain the same state in practice as those masters. For us ordinary people, it would be very difficult to consider matters like renunciation, bodhicitta and liberation if we must struggle constantly to eke out a living. A harsh living condition may be helpful for some to generate renunciation, but renunciation developed under this circumstance is not real, as genuine renunciation must include aspiration to seek liberation. Poverty alone may not be enough reason for people to forsake samsara. Only those who have grasped the essence of the Dharma may possibly generate true renunciation. Therefore, Buddhists in general need not and should not deliberately live too poorly.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - A Buddhist’s Mode of Life