Although we are under a great deal of pressure, we are blessed with precious human birth endowed with leisure and freedom to practice. If we do not practice, no one can say for sure what will happen in the future. Even if everyone says “tomorrow will be better,” who can give us that guarantee? Natural disasters, famine, war, and violence can descend on us at any time. Let us seize this opportunity now! 

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

Mahayana Buddhism holds that the worst among all defilement is great anger because it is the direct opposite of loving-kindness and compassion, the foundation and the aspiration of Mahayana. The bodhisattva vows rule that when loving-kindness and compassion for anyone are totally abandoned and replaced with strong anger, the root precept will be broken and no bodhicitta can ever be developed. We should not under estimate the negative effect of anger.

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

In integrating Buddhist culture into corporate culture, it is not necessary for corporate executives to study the Buddhist teachings or become Buddhists. Having faith or not is unimportant. The objective is to apply the wisdom of the Buddha to managing and developing a business and to promoting the mental health of the employees. Actually, most of the Buddhist thoughts transcend the centuries in their greatness. Even after two thousand five hundred years, the teachings are still alive and indispensable to the spiritual well-being of people in the modern age.

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

Actually, concept and practice are essential aspects of any method; the two are inseparable. Of these, concept is likened to our eyes when we take a walk, while practice is our footsteps. We can proceed to walk only after seeing the road ahead; however, if we only see the road but fail to take steps, we will never arrive at our destination. In the same way, we should fully comprehend the underlying concept in the practice before we begin. But concepts are no more than knowledge found in the books. Except when one is truly enlightened, whatever is gained through listening or thinking — be it listening to the Dharma, reading, or contemplating — is considered conceptual knowledge. If this knowledge is not put into practice, it will not be very helpful in eliminating our afflictions. Having established the right understanding, we must then begin to practice. The purpose of listening to the Dharma and applying the teachings is to eliminate afflictions and attain liberation, not only for ourselves but also for all sentient beings.

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - SUMMATION

Among all the books in the world, the one that offers the best explanation of death and method to face death is Bardo Tödröl. The book has since received recognition from scholars in the West. Having obtained the relevant empowerment, one can proceed to study the text, but not before then, as the proper order for learning the Secret Mantra still needs to be observed. Nonetheless, a part of the section on the method of facing death does not require prior empowerment so that it is available for everyone to read or learn more seriously.

~Depicted from THE HANDBOOK'S FOR LIFE JOURNEY - On Death And Rebirth-Understanding Death

As we all prefer to think of ourselves as dharma practitioners, perhaps we should just check how we have done so far with our own practice. Mahayana Buddhism has named five paths and ten bhumis (grounds). Where do we stand now?

Among the five paths, the paths of joining and of accumulation are practices for ordinary people. Even so, the two paths can gather significant merit already. The path of accumulation has three levels: superior, average and inferior. Not to mention the average and the inferior levels, even those practicing at the superior level may descend to the animal realm. It is because at this stage they are still susceptible to breaking the bodhisattva vows and the root precepts of Vajrayana. And when they do, they will definitely reincarnate in the three lower realms as karma never fails. If meat eaters were to end up in the hungry ghost or animal realm, they would most certainly be carnivores.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - Why Vegetarian?

Some students of Buddhism or other religions like to dwell on clairvoyant power and states of realization, but this is not the real purpose of Buddhism. Although Buddhism does not object to transcendent power, it does not chase after it. Buddhism mainly teaches how to cultivate compassion, develop wisdom, and serve others.

~Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS - The Significance of Buddhist Philosophy Today

For example, at the time when the Buddha was learning the path, he did not hesitate to offer his body to a starving lion. Or, if someone were to force a person in this room to jump off from the tenth floor, the behavior in the true sense of Mahayana would be that everyone in this room volunteers to jump. It is not just paying lip service. One should wish with all sincerity like this: It must be very painful to jump to death like that. Just let me take the pain for them.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - Buddhism—the Definition

The purpose of practicing the Second Dharma Seal is to develop renunciation. This renunciation is the genuine intention to be free from suffering in the six realms of rebirth in samsara, not in pure land. Hence, whether there is suffering or not in Amitabha pure land is irrelevant to the actual practice. We only need to understand this point.

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