WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

Inferior practitioners have no regrets when they die. Although they are not accomplished in their practice, they have not committed too much evil karma in their lifetime and have done their best to practice virtue. So they have no complaints or regrets, and are full of confidence at the end of their lives.

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

The view that everything ends after a person dies is a very simple, naïve and pessimistic take on life, drawing conclusion carelessly without knowing life at the deeper level. Think about this: We should all agree that it is impossible for the body to come from another place. But if we were to deny the existence of past and future life, we would have to first eliminate the possibility that consciousness or soul comes from another place. Since our sense organs do not see the coming and going of a soul, nor can any instrument make such observation, what evidence is there to prove that soul and consciousness also end when life ends?

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

Even if we can actually see them, ghosts cannot harm us if we are not afraid of them. However, having fear in mind and thinking that they bring bad luck can, through psychological effect, lead to suffering for oneself or one’s family. Therefore, as soon as one suspects one has seen a ghost, stop and look into mind’s nature, then fear and confusion will disappear immediately, and one will not be bothered by it again.

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

This is the current state I am in. What about yours? What are your goals? Only you know the answers. I think, as a Buddhist, especially a Buddhist who has studied a great deal of Mahayana teachings, the goal should never be for money or worldly accomplishments. Perhaps to many of you, and me as well, the Great Perfection is just way too profound for us to grasp at this point. People like us should start with renunciation and bodhicitta, the foundational practice.

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

The drum used by chöd practitioners is made out of human skull, not of wood; human bones are also used to make their wind instrument. The places that they choose to do their practice are often haunted. All these seem impervious to reason for the general public, especially the exoteric Buddhist practitioners. The intent is to infuriate the spirits by deliberately showing contempt and provoke them into retaliating with thunder, lightning, and other such terrifying signs, because practicing emptiness under great stress is more conducive to eradicating self-grasping. Granted, such practice should only be done after attaining realization. If not, there may be more harm than benefit by just imitating others.

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

2. Actual practice with mind free of clinging and concepts

Mind “free of clinging and concepts” means emptiness, the void nature of all phenomena. Most of you may not have realized emptiness, but there is no need to be anxious. Once you have generated renunciation and bodhicitta, realization of emptiness can be rather easy to accomplish after all. Conversely, trying to realize emptiness without cultivating renunciation and bodhicitta first will be like making rice out of sand. To use another analogy, it will be easier to harvest when seeds are sown in springtime. Whereas in wintertime, due to a lack of the requisite conditions, seeds sown in this season may not yield any crop no matter how much effort has been made. That is to say, when all the necessary conditions are in place and ripe for happening, things will naturally take their courses as wished.

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

Thus, Buddhism believes all phenomena which arise and cease due to causes and conditions are like a dream, like magic, like a water bubble, like shadow. They are all unreal and illusory.

However, from the standpoint of relative truth, if we want to survive and live a normal life, we need the illusion. If this illusion is shattered, the basis of our survival and our beliefs will collapse.

~ Depicted from ARE U READY FOR HAPPINESS : The Significance of Buddhist Philosophy Today

What about the discovery of Brownian motion under the microscope — is it real at the absolute level? Actually, there is always some wisdom more profound, an instrument more advanced and more sensitive. With the emergence of quantum mechanics, we find many of the theories in classical physics no longer work. All worldly knowledge is only valid on a relative level, not on an absolute level.

~ Depicted from ARE U READY FOR HAPPINESS : The Significance of Buddhist Philosophy Today

The same method can be applied here. For example, we are usually averse to noise. When that happens, we can also try to see what the nature of aversion is. Or, instead of resisting the noise, focus all the attention on the sound itself. By doing this, we will realize the so-called sound is only a kind of feeling produced in our ears when the external sound waves vibrate the ear drum; it is a mental phenomenon. Once the focus is on the sound itself, its empty and illusory nature will be realized.

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