Before engaging in main practice, we need to cultivate renunciation, which entails four practices of outer preliminary practices: preciousness of human body, the impermanence of human life, the infallibility of the law of karma, and the defects of samsara. Once having cultivated renunciation, we should not hurry to engage in practice of calm abiding and meditative concentration; rather, we need to cultivate bodhicitta. Without bodhicitta, there is no aim in our practice. Without aim, what’s the point of engaging in meditative concentration and dzogchen practice?

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Countless buddhas in the past, including Shakyamuni Buddha, vowed to liberate all sentient beings when giving rise to bodhicitta, vowing to attain buddhahood after all sentient beings attain buddhahood. We haven’t attained buddhahood yet, but they have. Why? Buddhas make such aspirations out of vast compassion. Due to the greatest and sublimity of their aspirations, they attained buddhahood swiftly. Whereas we are preoccupied with our own interest, thus we are still struggling in the samsara.

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 Despite the fact that buddhas and bodhisattvas have transcended relative truth, not having a body of flesh and body, in order to liberate us, still they manifest a body of flesh and blood. BuddhaAmitabha of the Pure Land can’t liberate us, neither does Buddha Samantabhadra; although the sambhogakaya and the nirmanakaya of buddha are sublime, they are not able to liberate us, because they can’t communicate with us. Thus a teacher in a relative sense is vital.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Many who have not heard formal teaching of Mahamudra, are envious and eager for Mahamudra. But if we one day really have the chance to hear about Mahamudra, the essential sadhana of Mahamudra is described in a couple of sentences. Just like the principle script of “The Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra” is only a few sentences. How can such simple words lead us to enlightenment? The most important help is the practice.

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In degenerate times, sentient beings suffer from severe obscurations, and practitioners suffer from weak devotion in the Three Jewels and waning diligence compared to that of the Buddha’s time, thus it’s essential to lay a solid foundation of preliminary practice, which leads to the possibility to realise emptiness.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The more socially competitive one is, the less happiness one attains. For instance, someone has a fancy car, but this person likes comparing. When others surpass him, he cannot maintain calm, exerting oneself to be competitive. Such pursuits are rather tiring. Being competitive is not a necessity of the life. Lots of suffering stems from being as such.

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The Buddha told his disciples: it’s clinging to any objects that will become obstacles to liberation, not the value of the clung objects. At the time of death, if a rich person can distribute his assets properly, which leaves him with no attachment to his assets, the assets will not become obstacles to his liberation. To the contrary, even if one’s assets are not abundant, if one clings to them, then the assets will become obstacles to one’s liberation.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

When making the mandala offering, one needs to refrain from overly focusing on the number; rather, the quality needs to be emphasised. If one hastily finishes the number of mandala offerings without proper visualisation, then even though one has finished the outer mandala offering for 100,000 times, due to not having made inner mandala offering, then just as if one doesn’t have a message to pass on, only attaching a thread on one’s finger, it’s useless. Therefore, making inner mandala offering is vital.

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Regardless of any virtuous acts we engage in, first we need to generate bodhicitta. Even a seemingly insignificant act, such as making a lamp offering to buddhas, or making offering of incense or making one prostration, we need to first think that all sentient beings have been my parents, I’m making this lamp offering for the benefit of all sentient beings. Like this, we need to give rise to this motivation first.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES