WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

The use of nectar pills is not emphasized in exoteric Buddhism, but very much so in Vajrayana. Most of the nectar pills were originally handed down by Guru Rinpoche and later discovered by real tertons, finders of terma (hidden treasures). It should be noted that not all nectar pills have beneficial effect. Some of the so-called nectar pills are not only devoid of any merit but can also bring harm if taken, such as preventing one from attaining liberation in future life and creating hindrances to liberation.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW : Liberating Living Beings

Everything in the world is fleeting and impermanent. In samsara, all living beings are suffering. We have to see everything as non-self and understand that everything in the world is intrinsically empty in nature. There is nothing that can be depended upon and nothing is worth pursuing. This is the worldview of a Buddhist. Having deeply felt the suffering of all living beings in samsara brings two benefits to oneself and others, which are:

(1) a mind that focuses one-pointedly on pursuing liberation, and
(2) the generation of unconditional love towards all sentient beings in samsara.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series

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 THE RIGHT VIEW : The Three Differences

The principle elements of enlightenment are renunciation, bodhicitta and other preliminary practices.  Without these, we could never even imagine attaining enlightenment. After engaging in these fundamentals, however, we will become totally unobstructed and attain enlightenment naturally.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series

Je Tsongkhapa mentioned in The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment that bodhicitta and the mind of renunciation are very important, but that depending on these alone would not overcome ignorance. In the end, we still need the view of emptiness. This is like going to the doctor for treatment of an illness—the key to curing the illness depends on whether or not its root cause is understood. If not, it is not possible to give the right prescription. Similarly, the reason why we are not liberated (from samsara), not at ease and not free, is not mere coincidence or something that has happened without any cause. It is also not due to the will of an omnipotent God. The root cause indeed originates from attachment.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series

To eliminate innate attachment to permanence, we should contemplate continuous impermanence. This is because a lot of undesirable thoughts, afflictive emotions, and karmic formation come entirely from our ongoing adherence to things being permanent. For instance, if we think a car can last a long time and is useful until such time it breaks down, the desire to own a car will arise; we may take any number of measures, even theft, robbery, and fraud, to realize this goal, thereby creating bad karma from killing, lying, etc.

The source of afflictions, karmic formation, and all such problems is the attachment to the car, while the cause of this attachment is our adherence to permanence. If the latter is not eradicated, we cannot resolve the problems mentioned above.

~ Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA : All Composite Phenomena are Impermanent

Nowadays, many Western psychologists and meditators are fond of Buddhist breathing meditation. Breathing meditation is still a kind of thought, however applying this technique can help achieve the goal of meditation. In this case, we are using thoughts to help reduce thoughts, which is like fighting fire with fire.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series

It is extremely fortunate that we have encountered Mahayana Buddhism in this lifetime. Although we still possess greed, hatred, ignorance, other mental afflictions and many other unfavorable bad habits, nevertheless, we have come upon Mahayana Buddhism. We should zealously yearn towards the cultivation of bodhicitta, generating the altruistic aspiration to attain enlightenment. This kind of hard-won opportunity will make our life perfect, complete and meaningful.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW : The Four Noble Truths

The power to sowing virtue is to sow the seeds of virtue before the moment of death. To be specific, one must first cut attachment to all possessions and then offer them to the Three Jewels. In doing so, one can also choose to give more to certain virtuous deeds which one considers capable of gathering the most merit.

For instance, if one believes liberating living beings to be the most excellent act of virtue, one may offer one-third or a quarter of all properties to the Three Jewels and the rest to freeing lives; or, if one believes offering to the Sangha to be the most meritorious, one can offer most of one’s assets to the Sangha, leaving a small portion for other purposes. As exact allocations of assets are not provided in the sutras, the examples here are for reference only.

~ Depicted from THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE’S JOURNEY : On Death and Rebirth – Key Points for Practicing Bodhicitta on Deathbed