WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

The Buddha’s approach is always logical rather than dogmatic. The Buddha told us that underneath the skin, there are thirty six kinds of impure elements such as bacteria, microbes and parasites, among others, operating in an environment that’s both chaotic and unclean. Moreover, the notion of being beautiful or ugly is just a matter of meeting the expectations of most people. In the eyes of an extraterrestrial or a person of different race, a woman we consider beautiful may perhaps be deemed ugly. Even a real beauty will lose her appeal from overexposure or with age.

Through these observations, we come to realize that there is neither a thing nor a person that has genuine and absolute beauty. At this point, our minds can relax a little bit, no longer being so obsessed and anxious. Then with further observation and contemplation, we can slowly abandon our old attachment.

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

Sentient beings in general, certainly the beings in hell and even the gods, do not have the opportunity to practice on the path of liberation. To establish a foundation for practice on the path of liberation, one must start in the human realm. Gods can also practice if they laid the basis of the practice in their previous life as a human being; thus, establishing this foundation in a previous life as a human is the only condition that governs whether they can continue to practice or not.

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

Before meditation, we should first get ready, that is, shut the door, go to the bathroom, turn off the cell phone, etc. We should deal with these chores ahead of time so as not to disrupt the actual meditation practice. Thereafter, go to a shrine room if there is one, and prepare a cushion. This cushion is called a meditation cushion; it should be higher in back than in front to allow the body to sit comfortably. As you sit on the meditation cushion, make the following vow: during this sitting, I will remain in meditation no matter what.

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

It happens quite often that people make speedy progress at the initial stage of their practice, but the progress tapers off after some time. Worse, some may even stop practicing altogether. This is mainly due to a lack of systematic approach to Buddhist practice. What should be done about it? First, we must understand what the foundational practices are and duly recognize the importance they command on our spiritual journey.

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

This is to generate aspiration. If at the time there is still enough strength, one should practice the Seven Branches, including visualization and chanting the prayer. If unable to do so, one should contemplate this way: With all the roots of virtue accumulated over past-present-future lives, may I never forget bodhicitta and be able to cultivate bodhicitta in all future lives. Furthermore, may I have the chance to encounter admirable friends of Mahayana life after life. Then, pray to the guru and the Three Jewels for blessings to have these wishes come true. To wish wholeheartedly in such ways signifies the power of aspiration.

~Depicted from THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE'S JOURNEY -On Death And Rebirth-Key Points for Practicing Bodhicitta on Deathbed

People now enjoy a more prosperous material life than at any time in the past, but they are also under greater pressure than ever before. Intense stress and competition have already pushed us toward the brink of collapse. We truly need the Dharma! Only with meditation practice can we help ourselves and others.

~Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS ? -How to Face Suffering and Happiness-Taming the Mind as in Taming the Elephant

Vajrayana Buddhism was developed in two stages: the First and the Second Propagation period. The period of the First Propagation refers to Nyingmapa whose central teaching is Dzogchen, or Great Perfection. The tantras of Great Perfection specify clearly that no meat eating be allowed. The period of the Second Propagation refers to Gelugpa, Kagyupa, Sakyapa and all the other schools of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet except Nyingmapa. Of all the tantras of this period, the most important and pivotal is the Kalachakra Tantra. Both the Tantra and its annotations specify very clearly that meat eating is not allowed. All these point to the fact that Mahayana Buddhism, be it exoteric or esoteric, is against eating meat.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - Why Vegetarian?

In our previous teachings on the preliminaries, we emphasized the three stages an ordinary person must undergo on the path from initial practice to final attainment of buddhahood. The first stage is to give up the pursuit of worldly pleasures and cultivate renunciation; the second stage is to give up selfishness and develop bodhicitta; the third stage is to give up self-attachment and establish the wisdom that realizes no-self. In the first and second stages, there is no difference between sutra and tantra.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO VAJRAYANA PATH - Sutra and Tantra: Similarities and Differences

 For example, if one has only limited knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, e.g., the rarity and preciousness of human birth or the suffering nature of samsara, doubts about the viability of gaining liberation through Dharma practice, the methods to be used for attaining enlightenment, or the soundness of the practice being undertaken, to name a few, may arise during the course of one’s practice. Lacking the wisdom gained from an orderly training in the Dharma and from contemplation, one is incapable of solving these issues alone and thereby easily confused, which ultimately may turn into a kind of hindrance to one’s practice. Whereas gaining the requisite wisdom can be both helpful and encouraging. As practitioners of the Dharma, we should at the least have an adequate understanding of the key doctrines. Such knowledge is more than just needed for a true practitioner; it is indispensable.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara