As an example, if we put a cobblestone on a table and examine it with our eyes, we only see a still object. From the standpoint of our eyes, there is motion in water and the clouds; there is no motion in a physical structure and a cobblestone. However, placed under a microscope, the situation is completely different. This apparent contradiction arises because the eye and microscope perceive things from a different level. The microscope is a sophisticated instrument which can see more clearly than the eye; accordingly we should conclude the finding under the microscope is more accurate. Nonetheless, in everyday life, we consider the stillness of objects we perceive with the eye to be true. In this relative reality, that which is perceived with the eye is relative truth; that which is perceived through the microscope is ultimate truth.

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

There are multiple explanations of death. Some people think that everything ends after a person is dead, that all goes to dust at last; others think that a person becomes a ghost after death; still others believe a person either goes to heaven or to hell after life ends. These are just a few examples but none of them gives a clear explanation of what life truly is, nor any help in solving the question of life and death.

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

Genuine bodhicitta of a bodhisattva refers to the aspiration to give others whatever is needed unselfishly and unconditionally, which in hard times is a particularly difficult thing to do. When times are easy and lives comfortable, it may not be too difficult to make a wish now and then during meditation: “I vow to attain Buddhahood for the liberation of all sentient beings. It is for this purpose that I meditate and undergo spiritual training.” But bodhicitta aroused in this kind of condition is an unstable one. Only with repeated practices can we generate bodhicitta that is genuine and firm.

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

Master Hui-neng condensed all he knew into four verses of which the most crucial is “fundamentally nothing is ever there.” Phenomena have no inherent existence, are neither arising nor ceasing, neither coming nor going. Through anger that is seemingly arising and ceasing on the surface, there is a chance to enter the non-arising, non-ceasing Buddha nature (dharmadhātu), thus meeting dharmakaya. Anger at this point does not produce evil karma; instead, it facilitates the practice. But the premise is having attained realization beforehand and the requisite for attaining realization is to have generated renunciation and bodhicitta. Those who have yet satisfied these requisites should then use practices of the relative truth to stop anger.

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

According to the Buddha, the life that ordinary people live is real to them. Hence, ordinary people can only do what is right; they must not do what is wrong such as stealing, cheating, lying, taking life, etc. However, this reality is just relative reality, not absolute reality.

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

Death is an important issue to everyone as it is a reality that everyone is reluctant but has to face. To ordinary people, death represents a dark unknown filled with despair, mysteries, pain and sorrow. In the face of death, almost all of us are panic-stricken and terrified. It is really due to a misunderstanding of death itself. To know correctly what death is can thus eliminate fear of death and help us better prepared for it.

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

Bodhicitta gives us the chance of ever going on the path of liberation. It is in essence the ultimate, true refuge. No matter who and what we are, everyone should have a refuge. What then should we take as our refuge? We all know that taking refuge in money, fame, or status is unreliable. How about our relatives, friends, or co-workers? Relatives and good friends can help us with some problems of this life, but they are completely powerless when it comes to solving the question of life and death. There is an analogy in the scriptures, “Two people, not knowing how to swim, are drowning at the same time. Neither one can save the other.” Likewise, relatives and friends, being ordinary people like us, are themselves entangled in the endless cycle of death and rebirth. How can they help us when they are helpless themselves? Hence, they are not reliable refuge either. What about taking refuge in some social organizations? Also no. The fact is, on the issue of breaking the cycle of death and rebirth and gaining liberation thence, no one can help us. The only refuge worthy of trust is the path to enlightenment, especially its key element, bodhicitta .

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

In the Diamond Sutra, it is clearly stated, “Seeking to see me in form or hear me in sound is taking the deviant path. The Thatagata cannot be met this way.” The Buddha represented via form or sound is not the real Buddha. Thinking that seeing the Buddha is to see the body of the Buddha and hearing the Buddha is to hear the voice of the Buddha are all wrong views. It is also stated very clearly in The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows that only dharmakaya represents the real Buddha.

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

UNDERSTANDING ILLUSION

Firstly, Buddhism teaches two types of truth — relative truth and ultimate truth. The word "truth" is used in both cases to indicate they are both real.

What is real? As an example, all the appearances in a dream are not real to a person who is awake; however, they are very real to a person in the midst of a dream, just as the experiences in life are very real to a person during the day. Similarly, a practitioner and a non-practitioner see this world differently. However, each thinks the world he or she lives in is real.

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