Some people think that the Buddhist scriptures are wrong in its description of the world, as what’s given in Abhidharmakosa runs against the observations made by modern cosmology. Actually, Abhidharmakosa is not a teaching orally transmitted by the Buddha himself but was composed by many arhats. One cannot find the description of the world in Abhidharmakosa in any of the sutras that were personally taught by the Buddha. Why is there such a big difference between the worldview described in the exoteric Buddhist texts and that of Kalachakra which was taught by the Buddha in later days? The reason, explained many times before in the book series of Luminous Wisdom, is in the differences in cultural background, lifestyle and way of thinking that existed 2500 years ago and now. Given the circumstances at the time, the Buddha had to accommodate the common view then in order to bring certain people onto the path.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : The suffering of the paper tiger

Bardo Tödröl elucidates the whole process of death, the state of after-death and the process of taking rebirth. The book has received rather strong support in the West mainly because its contents have been validated by many near-death experiences of people who came back to life after a sudden death. The fact that the ancient text of Bardo Tödröl happens to match the clinical findings of modern medicine accounts for its great stature and influence. You should read the book if you are interested in knowing more about it.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : On Death And Rebirth - What Life Truly Is

Diligence means having joy in practicing the Dharma. Liberating living beings should be a joyful event for every participant. To perform virtuous deeds with joy is deemed the perfection of diligence.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series: The Right View - Liberating Living Beings

Before receiving the Buddha’s teachings, we did not understand samsara correctly, and we coveted and greedily pursued wealth and fame without any regard for the consequences. If one were to show no interest in such pursuits, one would most likely be considered abnormal. As a result, most people just follow others blindly and become slaves to money and fame. But the teachings of the Buddha destroy many of our deep-seated ideas about the world and life, and give us a brand new perspective which is above and beyond that of the uninitiated. No doubt others will try to refute the new standpoints, but they will not succeed as no other theories or philosophy can better the teachings of the Buddha.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : The Right View - The Four Noble Truths

How did the concept of the Three Dharma Seals originate? According to the sutras, when Sakyamuni Buddha was about to enter parinirvana, a disciple asked the Buddha, “If a non- Buddhist or some other person comes along after you are gone to give teachings and proclaims that to be the Dharma, how should we discern if it is the true Dharma?” The Buddha replied, “After I am gone, any belief or teaching which incorporates the Three Dharma Seals is the true Dharma; any belief or teaching which not only excludes but also refutes the Three Dharma Seals is not the true Dharma.”

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : The Four Seals of Dharma - Summation

We have all been through the cycle of the Twelve Nidanas innumerable times. It is still continuing today because we have not prepared to confront it so far. In fact, not knowing how to deal with it is the real reason. Unless we begin to tackle it now, the cycle of death and rebirth will never end on its own. This is obviously quite an important matter.

~ Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series: The Right View - The Twelve Nidanas - The Sequence of Cyclic

By knowing what death really is, we will surely gain a new understanding toward life, and death in particular. At the least we know that death is neither mysterious nor terrifying as we tend to imagine. It is never the end of life but the beginning of life, only in a new body, not unlike copying from one hard disk to another. However, unwholesome actions done in this life will cause bad karma in next life; and if too much evil has been committed, even to be reborn as human again may be questionable. On this, we ought to be concerned about death, but death itself is not so frightening. Death, after all, is just a cycle of life. This is not only a Buddhist idea but also the personal experience of many people.

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : On Death And Rebirth-What Life Truly Is

Although Vajrayana requires its practitioners to accept five meats and five nectars as part of the practice, beginners must stay away from them and use instead visualization or some herbal medicine as substitutes. If not, plainly eating meat and drinking alcohol will create huge demonic obstacles to one’s practice. What does it mean by demonic obstacle? On hearing this term, many people instantly picture a human or non-human being with eyes, ears, multiple heads and hands. These actually are just petty demons. The king of demons that would obstruct our practice is none other than the habit of eating meat. Such is the view of Vajrayana. So who says that eating meat is permissible with Vajrayana?

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series: The Right View ~ Why Vegetarian?