KHENPO'S BLOG AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

A treasury of abundant information and references can be found in the library of the National University. For a long time, books have been the one thing that brings me the most joy. I remember when I was 15, there were not that many books around to read. There was one copy of Outlaws of the Marsh in Tibetan which I read three times; I could almost recite the whole book from memory. Presently, 90% of my possessions are books. To me, books are no longer just ordinary possessions but fine teachers and helpful friends whom I’ve never gotten tired of my whole life.

I enjoy the world of dreams, because from there I can still attend to my master just as I did in the past.

When you lie on the beach or the grassland, look up into the blue sky and let your mind merge with that blue expanse. As you receive the blue sky into your mind, the pressure, anxiety, sadness and so on, all vanish in the empty space. Not only can you feel extraordinarily relaxed, but perhaps you may also discover your true nature.

While you care for those who are most beloved to you, you must also learn to love still more people, and in fact all living beings. Love is capable of creating infinite beauty. Because we have love, we have bodhisattvas and buddhas, heaven, and the pure land of supreme bliss. I wish everyone a happy Valentine’s Day!

As far as human senses go, the passerby from a few hours ago left nothing behind but footprints. But to a dog’s sense of smell, a scent remains that humans aren’t aware of. In terms of ordinary people’s senses, the good or bad things done a few days ago left no mark except for the memory of them. But in the eyes of sublime beings, virtuous or non-virtuous karma has made its mark. Ordinary people, however, are not aware of it.

We see how bumpy the road is underneath our feet only when we lower our heads. We discover how rough life’s journey can be only when we encounter calamity. Together let us pray for the MH370 victims, treasure life and seek its ultimate meaning!

I feel that Buddhist philosophy could also be called the study of humanity, because Shakyamuni Buddha researched humankind. He investigated the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures; birth, aging, illness, and death; as well as a concrete method for freeing oneself from all these vexations and sufferings. Buddhist philosophy does not attach importance to ghosts and deities, nor does it believe in their efficacy.

The light that we can see accounts only a small portion of the whole spectrum; the sounds we can hear are only those vibrations within the frequencies of our hearing range; and what we know about life is only a fraction of the endless cycle of existence. The rest, which we can neither see nor hear, does still exist.

Have you ever felt the hurt over losing something or somebody? You should know that in this world nobody or nothing is hard to detach from, except only the attachment per se that is the hardest to let go of. Happy International Women’s Day!