However, for those seeking enlightenment, this should not be the motivation for virtuous actions. Nowadays many lay practitioners make it a habit to chant Buddha’s name, burn incense, do prostrations and so forth everyday. But please ask yourselves honestly why you do all these. Is it to gain health and longevity for this or next life, and to make sure not going to the hell realm? If so, nothing that you do will ever free you from samsara, not if you practice for one hundred, one thousand, or even ten thousand years. Good karma resulted from this kind of motivation cannot be made the cause of liberation. Neither can it yield the fruit of liberation when matured. To practice with such intentions will not result in much virtuous karma other than some temporal benefits like health and long life, or avoiding rebirth in the hell realm.

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

It is of course not necessary to practice this on our family. After all, we are still living in the secular world and need not give up all our relations in this life. However, if lay people can practice this properly, it will not lead to divorce or disharmony in the family; instead, their desire and tendency for grasping can be kept seemly under control.

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

Fifth, cultivate the mind. The best way to regulate or cultivate our mind is to practice meditation. In Chinese Buddhism, among the several schools that are most influential, including Pure Land and Ch ’an, Ch ’an Buddhism places great emphasis on meditative practice; in Tibetan Buddhism, there is also a rich diversity of methods in meditation. These practices are intended for liberation and Buddhahood; even if we do not aspire to this ultimate goal, they can help cultivate the mind.

~ Depicted from THE PAPER TIGER - The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness

We never believe, however, that this world is arising and ceasing momentarily but assume time runs through the past and future. We consider that getting off work and going home are two different things. We never think that the only time we have is one ten thousandth of a second, and neither do we believe that this world is only one ten thousandth of a second. The reason we are not able to observe this with our naked eyes is because the arising and ceasing of objects is extremely fast.  

We also cannot gather the past, present and future into the same time and the same place. If that happened, our concept of time would be mistaken. So we live in a dream-like world.

Buddhism believes the whole world is a dream-like bubble. This is a very sound, reasonable, and scientific view toward the world and really has nothing to do with religion or faith.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

Some people may wonder why, as mentioned above, a motivation to pursue health and long life is considered unwholesome, but here it turns up in the section of wholesome motivation. The previous one is unwholesome in the sense that it only aims to take care of things for this life; whatever of the next life is not its concern. The inferior disciples, on the other hand, do not seek enlightenment nor rewards for this life. Their goal is to obtain temporal blessings for the next life, which makes it a wholesome motivation.

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

Through these observations, we come to realize that there is neither a thing nor a person that has genuine and absolute beauty. At this point, our minds can relax a little bit, no longer being so obsessed and anxious. Then with further observation and contemplation, we can slowly abandon our old attachment.

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

Meditative absorption or concentration can be practiced with or without religious belief, just as yoga may or may not be associated with any religion. Yoga is simply a practice that leads to good health. Likewise, meditation can, by regulating our mentality, bring happiness and cure depression.

~ Depicted from THE PAPER TIGER - The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness

In our lives and work, greed, hatred, and ignorance are apparent all the time and everywhere. As a beginning Mahayana Buddhism student, we are often unable to control our emotions, just like non-Buddhist people. The result is that not only are you prevented from influencing others toward enlightenment, but you also give Buddhism a bad reputation. Hatred in particular brings about the worst consequences; it destroys your roots of virtue and also gives others a bad impression about Buddhists, and even Buddhism itself.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 10

The motivation of an inferior disciple is the lowest of the three. Those who cultivate virtue with this kind of motivation do not think about liberation from samsara. They are only concerned with not being reborn into the hell, the ghost, or the animal realm but the realm of god or human; and as human, better be born as someone with good health, long life, high position and wealth. Their actions, albeit virtuous, would not bring them any closer to enlightenment. Hence, this type of motivation is relegated to the bottom level.

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