Not only does Tibetan Buddhism require the students to take refuge in the guru, the Mahayana and Theravada traditions also have the same requirement. It is clearly stated in the precepts of the Theravada tradition that after receiving precepts, a student must follow a guru for at least ten years before he or she is qualified to live independently. Prior to that, the student is not allowed to act freely. The Mahayana tradition also states that it is impossible to learn anything without a spiritual teacher or guru.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Guru Yoga Practice of the Seven-Line Prayer to Padmasambhava]

Why do we need to talk about the Buddhist view of the world? First of all, we can’t regard Buddhism as an ordinary religion, nor can we regard Buddhism as superstition, and in fact, Buddhism is a culture. To describe in modern language, many of the Buddhist concepts are compatible with modern science. In our actual life, cannot lack these ideas, once without these ideas, we cannot understand the truth of the world. Without these concepts, we will make various mistakes and act incorrectly. Because of a lack of understanding of the truth of the universe, our lives will unfold with all kinds of afflictions and suffering. It is therefore essential to introduce the Buddhist view of the world.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Illusory World]

Ordinary people or non-Buddhist practitioners possessing some psychic powers, or even arhats, would not know their intricate workings thoroughly. During the time of the Buddha, there were many non-Buddhist practitioners in India who, with their clairvoyance, saw people who were virtuous all their lives take rebirth in the hell, hungry ghost, or animal realms instead. They asked, “If cause and effect is truly infallible, why would virtuous people not end up well?” Hence, they viewed the idea of cause and effect as pure nonsense.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : On Cause and Effect]

How do we control and eliminate these emotional afflictions? Buddhism provides many ways to do so, one of which is the Buddhist view. There are Buddhist views which go beyond the understanding of ordinary beings, but the general view can be divided into three categories: the value of our world, life and morality. Without an understanding of the essential relationship between individuals, money or marriage, we will suffer from pain and negative emotions. If an objective, just and scientific view toward this world and life can be established, our worries will be reduced and our life will be more meaningful.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Illusory World]

The majority of human beings living in the mundane world are ordinary and are deluded with three main afflictions: greed, hatred and ignorance. In Buddhist terminology, these are the three poisonsur Once our mind is caught up in the three poisons, we feel uneasy and lose our freedom. If our negative emotions develop to a certain level where they cannot be subdued, our family and friends become the victims, and these afflictions can even harm the whole society.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Illusory World]

  It is stated in the sutras that practitioners have three levels of classification. Top-level practitioners are able to make progress everyday. Those in the middle fare a little worse but are still capable of some breakthrough each month. Even the ones in the low level can better themselves at least by the year.

  Let us ask ourselves: “Which level do I belong? Did I or can I improve over last year?” If the answer is no, then we do not belong to any one of the three levels of practitioners. Since there is no fourth level, it just goes to show that we are practitioners in name only. And even that could be an overstatement.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : The Three Supreme Methods—the ultimate methods of cultivating virtue and training the mind]

The ultimate goal of practicing the Dharma is to eliminate afflictions. To eliminate afflictions, you must attain enlightenment. To attain enlightenment, guru yoga is one such simple and direct way.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Guru Yoga Practice of the Seven-Line Prayer to Padmasambhava]

Tantra has some important opinions on the power of Mantra. For example, ordinary people think that “Om, Vajrasattva hūm” is just Vajrasattva mantra, by its very nature, just a few words or sounds made from one’s throat, it is not Buddha. And Vajrasattva only exists when there is an image or a statue. In fact, for ordinary people, Vajrasattva will not preach them directly as people do not have such karmic reward. Only first-stage Boddhisattva or above, can get escorts by Vajrasattva directly. However, if we have enough confidence on Vajrasattva, the Mantra itself is Vajrasattva. Having realized that the Mantra and the actual Vajrasattva are with no difference, a single “Om, Vajrasattva hūm” will have huge merits.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series: The Blessing of Speech]

Some regard Buddhism as a kind of belief. Belief also means faith. Of course faith is needed in Buddhism, but it would be oversimplified to regard Buddhism as a belief since keeping faith is only one of many Buddhist ideas. The foundation and the priority of Buddhism are not about belief, but wisdom and compassion. Although Buddhism does advocate the importance of faith, it is not unique to Buddhism; science also calls for faith. For example, people today all want to promote faith in science. If one does not trust science, one probably would not even dare to take airplane. People take plane because they believe in the technology that allows airplane to transport people to their destination. It takes faith to accomplish anything in this world, the same kind of faith as in Buddhism. Therefore, it is incorrect to equate Buddhism with belief.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series ~ The Right View : Buddhism—The Definition]