WORDS OF WISDOM

Why the negative karma of having the wrong view is so severe? According to Chittamatra school, various virtuous and unvirtuous seeds are stored in the alaya consciousness of sentient beings. Once we engender wrong views, which will vanquish all the power of virtuous seeds, from then on, the virtuous seeds or the root of virtue in our mind stream will discontinue.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Strictly speaking, without entering retreat, with a distracting mind one cannot practice dharma. Hence, during practice, one at least has to be solitary for one or two hours a day. Practicing dharma cannot be replaced by money. Doing life release or giving offering can help us accumulate merit, but mind training is not related to money.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The sequence to follow a teacher is, first, to analyse the teacher, then to follow the teacher; in the end to practice and emulate the teacher’s intention, which is our goal in following a teacher.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Today the way we treat animals has reached to a rather cruel state, but everyone accepts it and sees it as natural. Such acts will come back to humans themselves. Eventually, humans will be divided into different three, six, nine or more castes. The underprivileged will be treated the similar way as animals are treated.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The concept of non-self and emptiness are not easy to comprehend. From the beginningless time up to now, ordinary beings have an ingrained view of the existence of self, of other sentient beings, and of the external, phenomenal world. The view as such is so rooted that it’s rather difficult to change. One can gain some experiential understanding by listening to the teaching on emptiness and practicing on non-self repeatedly.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Practitioners need to go with the flow in society, do whatever others do, be it fashion or trends, but abstaining from emulating the un-virtuous acts of others. The Mahayana Buddhism is rather humanistic and open. Modern buddhists need to appear as a fashionable and trendy person, but with an inner self liken to practitioners of 2500 years ago; this is a perfect combination! Buddhists need to have a mundane body and supra-mundane mind.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES 

Today some people have habituated to lying, they would lie without any reason. Everyone needs to be heedful, refraining from being careless of lying. Even telling a lie unintentionally, one needs to purify it by confessing.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

We are on the way to our tombs, but we’re bickering with each other on the way. We met in this life, yet not being able to stay for long, therefore we need to be understanding and caring. A compassionate and broad mind is our unchanging faith.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

When first joining Larung Gar, due to immaturity, we tended to be prideful when making progress in our study, H.H. Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche would regularly dismantle our ego by various means. Therefore, we dared not be conceited regardless how much progress we made. Our teachers were ruthless to a student with potential, seemingly scolding us daily. Because they were confident that the disciples would not get irritated and take off, thus he subdued us without holding back.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES