ii. Be grateful

We should ponder this: If I can be forbearing in the face of personal attack or insult, not only other people will see me in a new light but also help train my mind. If everybody is nice to me, how will I have the chance to practice forbearance? Now that this person has given me such a good opportunity and helped me accumulate great merit, how can I feel hostile toward this person and not repay the favor?

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

The Buddha then turned the wheel of Dharma a second time at Vultures' Peak in India, with the emphasis this time on prajna. "Prajna" is a Sanskrit word, also called prajnaparamita, which in Chinese is translated as Zhi hui du. "Zhi hui” means (transcendent) wisdom; du means crossing over to the other shore.

Every sentient being is endowed with wisdom, but our wisdom is limited in depth and scope because we lack proper training of the mind. Zhi hui du refers specifically to the training of the mind, to cultivating the wisdom that allows us to reach the unsurpassed state of attainment — Buddhahood. From the view of an outsider, the process appears to be mysterious and connected in some way with religion; however, a true practitioner knows this training of the mind is very real. The sutras most people are familiar with, such as the Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra, as well as many Ch'an discourses belong to the second turning of the wheel of Dharma. The teachings of the second turning are likened to courses given in secondary school.

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

All our concepts are transmitted to and analysed by our consciousness. What we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel with our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body provides information and evidence for our consciousness to judge and make decisions.

If our senses are reliable and accurate, then the information they transmit to us will not be wrong; if our senses are limited, the information they transfer to us cannot be trusted. Our five senses are not ultimately reliable, though, which can be discerned from the example of the pebble.  We need to be aware that everything in this world is illusory and insubstantial.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 7

As one of the five major treatises, the Ornament of Clear Realization is certainly not one dealing with elementary subjects. It contains an abundance of instructions on practice and skillful means. Often enough, the masters abstracted their “pith instructions” from the five treatises and various other sutras and shastras. The viewpoint above, also inferred from the treatises by Patrul Rinpoche, is an important teaching and should be taken seriously by everyone.

In summary, the first requisite of generating bodhicitta is the aspiration to deliver sentient beings from samsara; the second, the determination to attain Buddhahood in order to free sentient beings from the suffering of samsara.

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

III. Ways to control anger

There are two ways: 1) of relative truth; 2) of ultimate truth.

1) The way of relative truth

i. Be understanding

Oftentimes, resentment, complaint and anger between people are caused by misunderstanding.

To control one’s anger when one is on the receiving end of someone’s abuse or bullying is difficult. It is normal not to handle the situation well right then and there. But afterwards, one should calm down and visualize the other person in the dispute, and say to oneself: I really shouldn’t have let my temper get the better of me just now. This person is not related to me in this life, but he or she must have been my mother before in previous lives and treated me with great kindness like my mother now. As she lost all her memories when she was reborn, the fact that we once had a mother-child relationship is completely lost to her now. Had this person known, he or she would not have treated me this way. But I know the truth and the reason behind it. How can I blame her and return her kindness with animosity? I should learn to be more understanding instead of being vindictive. It’s not her fault, but the fault of negative emotions, that she hurts me today. Due to ignorance, she forgot she was once my mother. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have hurt me or hit me back even if I treated her rudely. She never meant to hurt me if not for the anger that took over her mind, making her unreasonable beyond her own control. I would behave the same way if I were to let negative emotions take over me. It is plainly clear that the chief culprit is defilement itself. Blame it, if anyone is to be blamed.

This is not self-deception. If you know the truth of cyclic existence, you know this is the fact. Those who don’t believe in causality and cyclic existence will find it almost impossible to treat a total stranger with gratitude, especially when that person is not kind. And it may not be all that sincere even if appreciation is expressed. On the other hand, if one accepts the idea of cyclic existence, and recognizes the person as one’s mother in a previous life, it will be much easier to treat that person with kindness.

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

OVERVIEW OF BUDDHISM - Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma

Buddha Sakyamuni turned the wheel of Dharma three times.

The first turning of the wheel of Dharma came shortly after the Buddha attained Buddhahood. The teachings are basic in nature, easy to understand, and deal mainly with cultivating proper conduct in life, eradicating evil deeds, taking up virtuous deeds, and other such actions linked to Theravada Buddhism. The teachings of the first turning are likened to courses given in primary school.

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

The Buddha told us that what we experience is like dreaming at night. Everything we see in the dream appears very real and there seems to be no difference from what we experience in waking life. However, after waking up we realize that it was all false. But our real life is also a dream, and it is one from which we have not awoken even after multiple lifetimes, or even eons of lifetimes. When the day comes that we study the Buddhadharma and understand the truth of Dharma—like the Ch’an saying, “seeing one’s true nature with a clear mind”, a sudden awakening or instant revelation—only then will we wake up from the dream of the ordinary world. Not everybody has this opportunity, but for those who do understand these concepts, they should perceive all phenomena as being like bubbles or dreams, as expounded in the Diamond Sutra.  In this way, we will not have exhausting and tired lives.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

In his explanation of the Ornament of Clear Realization, Patrul Rinpoche raised a crucial point. He said, “The goal of the bodhisattva is not to attain Buddhahood.” If that was not the goal, would the practitioners of Mahayana have any goal at all?

What he really meant is that if the aspiration to attain Buddhahood was simply due to one’s admiration for the Buddha’s greatness, his pure innocence and fulfillment of all virtues, yet no concerns for liberation of other sentient beings, it would not be in accordance with the doctrine of Mahayana. In other words, if liberation of others is out of the consideration, no matter how hard one works to keep the vow of attaining Buddhahood, those efforts will not be counted as Mahayana practice.

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

How to learn Buddhadharma is very important. If Buddhists don’t dedicate efforts to hear, contemplate and meditate the teachings, focusing instead on the rituals such as attending pujas, tsok, fire offering and empowerment ceremonies, burning expensive incense and worshiping the deities, among others, the real meaning of learning the Dharma would still be missing even if these are all done with great sincerity. Although a properly conducted empowerment is needed and useful, absent the practice of hearing, contemplation and meditation, the Buddha’s thought and teachings will not be propagated effectively. Holding concerns for personal health, longevity, money, work, family, etc. as their ultimate goal, Buddhist followers can neither benefit from practicing the Dharma nor actualize the path to liberation. And Buddhadharma ends up losing its real core value.

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