Before meditation, we should first get ready, that is, shut the door, go to the bathroom, turn off the cell phone, etc. We should deal with these chores ahead of time so as not to disrupt the actual meditation practice. Thereafter, go to a shrine room if there is one, and prepare a cushion. This cushion is called a meditation cushion; it should be higher in back than in front to allow the body to sit comfortably.

As you sit on the meditation cushion, make the following vow: during this sitting, I will remain in meditation no matter what.

~ Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA : Preparing for the Preliminaries

People think that desire motivates growth and development of mankind, a point that is not rejected by Buddhism either. It is said in the Mahayana scriptures that there must be self-grasping as great as Mount Sumeru in order to attain Buddhahood. Normally, self-grasping is condemned in Buddhism because it can cause greed, anger and delusion to arise. But here, it becomes the impetus to seek liberation; to certain extent, this is also a kind of desire. When desire to attain Buddhahood is absent, aspiration to learn Buddhadharma, to achieve enlightenment and to benefit sentient beings will not happen either.

Genuine Dharma practice is a big, demanding and time consuming project that needs sufficient courage and drive to achieve its goal, and the source of this courage is the desire to attain Buddhahood. Arhats, lacking such desire, do not have the motivation to reach Buddhahood and hence seek only liberation for themselves.

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

The illusionist David Copperfield performed the walk through the Great Wall of China, but he didn’t actually walk through. In ancient India, there were many magicians even more powerful who could turn a pebble into an elephant simply by reciting a mantra, and an elephant into a pebble instantly with another mantra recitation. The elephant produced by magic could also walk and eat like a real elephant. So, even if it is something we can see, it is still an illusion. Apparently, that which our eyes can see is not necessarily true.

Our consciousness is often fooled by the sense organs. Consciousness is categorized as rationality while sense organs are about sensibility. In philosophy, rationality is considered superior to sensibility, but Buddhist logic deems just the opposite.

~ Depicted from THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE’S JOURNEY : On The Three Poisons – How to Refute Ignorance

The nearest symptoms indicate a person will die in a couple of hours or less than 20 hours after such signs appear. For example, when eyes can still see but the vision is blurring; ears can hear but the sound is faint, as if it comes from very far away. When these happen, one should know that death is already very near.

But when a distant symptom is recognized, one cannot just use Phowa practice to reach death directly as it would amount to killing a life. What should be done is to engage in Amitayus long life practice to turn away death temporarily.

~ Depicted from THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE'S JOURNEY : On Death and Rebirth - How to Face Death

Actually, it is a big mistake not knowing the importance for all sentient beings of learning and practicing the Dharma. Sentient beings all possess Buddha nature. Through the incessant effort of all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, surely everyone will eventually come to realize this. Just the process may take longer to come to fruition; until then, we should also strive to gain that realization on our own.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW : The Four Noble Truths - The Path Out of Samsara

Although a lot of Buddhist practitioners are vegetarian, nine out of ten have all had seafood in the past and have committed substantial negative karma. In just this lifetime, over tens of thousands of lives have been killed to satisfy people’s appetite. Who did these living things die for? Why did we pay to eat seafood in the first place? Why did the restaurant owner ask the chef to kill? And why did the chef consent to kill? It’s all because of this “self.” Because of the “self,” the proprietor of the restaurant, as well as the employees, have committed the same karma; because of the desire of this “self,” they were all accomplices. That being the case, what is “self”?

~ Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA : All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence

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.

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

In our lifetime, we have never experienced our innate clarity, even though all our suffering, happiness, and emotions come from deep within the mind. Buddhism often uses the term "clarity" to describe the most fundamental level of the mind (luminosity and clear light are other terms also used). This kind of "clarity" is neither visible light, nor non-visible light; it cannot be found in any electromagnetic spectrum in physics. It is a state of purity totally free of defilements. There is no happiness or joy, suffering or anxiety in this state of great equanimity.

Buddha Sakyamuni realized this clarity when he became enlightened. All Buddhist practitioners aspire to achieve the same realization. In the sutras, it is also called Buddha nature. Buddha nature or the innate clarity of mind can be directly realized and experienced. There is a saying in Ch' an Buddhism: One who drinks the water knows if it is cold or warm. The emphasis in Ch' an on knowing the nature of mind is none other than realization of this innate clarity.

~ Depicted from THE PAPER TIGER : Suffering is just a Paper Tiger

It is not that easy to be a real Buddhist, but do not let that discourage you either.

Are renunciation and bodhicitta only fit for gods and celestial beings to develop? No, it is totally possible, even now in the so-called period of decline of the Dharma, for ordinary people like us to generate renunciation and bodhicitta. If they were only the privileges of the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas of the first bhumi, and impossible to be achieved by ordinary people, we would not be able to do anything even knowing that we are not yet qualified as Buddhist practitioners. But it is not like that at all.

Renunciation and bodhicitta are something that ordinary people are absolutely capable of generating. We need not be too discouraged nor too arrogant, just honestly evaluate ourselves and spur ourselves on all the time to make constant improvement and not be a practitioner in name only. The fact that we are probably not yet practitioners by any standards ought to keep us under pressure and ultimately push us to make progress. Nothing but serious actions can lead us to success.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW : The Three Supreme Methods - The Ultimate Methods of Cultivating Virtue and Training the Mind