Whether in this life or in the entire cycle of rebirth, we have three major problems: The first is the mind of greediness. Because of greed for wealth, fame and material goods, we invariably get tangled up with these. This greed has become one of the most critical facets of the world of samsara. The second is the selfish mind. Selfishness is indeed a real, serious issue in that we pursue our own self-interest at the expense of others. The last is attachment, which is the most serious—persistently holding on to everything and worrying about our own gain and loss as far as whatever we are attached to.


Owing to these three harmful states, we have been caught in the world of samsara and unable to attain liberation. The door to overcoming these problems is to practice the genuine Dharma.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 7

One might ask, “Many accomplished masters have attained extraordinary realization. Why would they still encounter obstacles or become ill?”

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.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

Shakyamuni Buddha explained these concepts more than 2,500 years ago. People do not believe them, though, and even label Buddhism “negative”, “pessimistic”, and so on. In the 21st century, there are many people who do not have problems with food and clothing and even possess great wealth.

We must learn to let go of outrageous selfishness. Otherwise, we will encounter mental problems. If our whole life is driven by vanity, we will never have happiness. Ordinary people cannot immediately put aside all selfishness, but if we are interested in how to let go of selfishness, Mahayana Buddhism provides us with many methods. If we train ourselves in Mahayana Buddhist philosophy and its practical methods, we will gradually become those who are concerned for others and shares their happiness. This is what is called being a bodhisattva.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 8

Why do we have to start with the smallest bit of hatred? Everything is accomplished sequentially—first the easy levels then the difficult ones. When we confront small amounts of hatred successfully, we gain confidence and are really satisfied. As the power we gather from our practices grows stronger, when we have to face more substantial degrees of hatred it will be easier to handle. On the other hand, if we tried to conquer a whole mass of hatred from the beginning, it would be easy to fail, and if we utterly failed the first time, we would then lose confidence and our interest in practicing would dwindle.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 10: How to confront anger

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 we prevented from influencing others toward enlightenment, but we 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.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 10

Buddhism accepts the possibility of relative, temporary happiness existing in samsara, but not absolute happiness. Generally speaking, suffering accounts for the better part of samsara. Although this view may perhaps be accepted now, many people still consider that the poor must suffer more than the rich. However, the data point out that it is wrong to equate material prosperity with happiness. As long as we live the way that the Buddha prescribed for us, our life will be relatively happier and more meaningful.

Of course, there is no possibility for happiness if we cannot even sustain the basic needs of life. But once an average living standard can be maintained, we must learn to keep life simple, and to live contently with fewer desires. If not, happiness will forever be beyond our reach.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 6

It is not enough to just listen. While we are learning theories, it is more important to learn how to put these theories into practice in order to guide the next step, which is practice itself. Unlike other religions, Buddhism does not mandate that you we have to be superstitious and follow blindly; Buddhism requires its followers to  trust in wisdom.

Much of the contents in the Buddhist sutras is the irrefutable truth that withstands analysis through conclusive evidence, all of which you can ponder investigate, and realize by ourselves. Through contemplation and analysis, confidence can be strengthened. After confidence has been firmly developed, not only can we help other people, but it also brings more benefit to our own practice. Therefore, the Buddha required that we learn how to think at our best, the deeper the better. Of course, if we have sufficient confidence that the Buddha’s words are true, we may follow them faithfully without judgment or discrimination. In this case, it is fine if we do not think. But, in general, for most people it is better to establish the right view through contemplation and debate.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 9: The Principles of Liberation

How can we validate the existence of causality? The Buddha once said that it is not so easy for an ordinary person to prove the existence of cause and effect, but it’s not impossible. Buddhism contains the doctrine of the dependent arising of all compounded phenomena. What is dependent arising? It means that cause begets effect. All phenomena are the manifestations of dependent arising, the results of conditioned origination. Suppose a person killed an animal. This caused great harm to that animal. How can there be no consequence for the person who committed such grave karma? Like casually throwing a seed into moist and warm soil, it will germinate on its own with no tending required. By the same token, in the phenomenal world, every cause must bear its own fruit with no exception.

~ Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: On Cause and Effect