WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

For instance, a person has properly liberated animals but regrets after some time, thinking, “That was a waste of money. I shouldn’t have done it.” This regret will immediately ruin the virtuous karma resulted from all previous acts of liberating animals.

It would be reasonable to think that celestial and human beings, and even animals, can also feel certain happiness in this world. Unfortunately, this is not the case. No matter how colorful and fascinating the world appears to be, in the end all phenomena are inseparable from suffering. As the Buddha saw the whole picture, not just a part, of samsara, he came to the final conclusion after having observed the gross and subtle aspects of suffering that samsara is all suffering.

Man’s suffering is minuscule compared with that of the animals, not to mention that of the hell beings or the hungry ghosts. Yet given a choice, how many of us would want to repeat this life again? Not too many! Most people feel that this life is too hard, too tiring and has too much pressure.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

However, the bodhisattvas primarily do not use worldly means to save sentient beings, but show them instead how to choose the correct path by way of the Dharma. Man is an intelligent creature. Once they know the most reliable path, they will choose wisely and willingly take the path of enlightenment with enthusiasm. The practice of virtuous actions should never be a passive one. In fact, any good action, if forced, will not be good any more as it comes not from the heart and is done merely as a formality. Therefore, it is extremely important to make everyone understand the essence, the view and the conduct of Mahayana Buddhism.

In ancient times, cities were built with protective walls. If there was only one gate, everyone would have to go through that gate to go to any household in the city. Similarly, if we cannot break through the barrier of renunciation and bodhicitta, we will not haveaccess to any genuine, profound practices like the Great Perfection, Mahamudra, Kalachakra and others. Once we pass, the doors to the various systems of practice will all open and we can choose at will to practice Pure Land, Zen, Madhyamaka, Mahamudra, or the Great Perfection.

when a karmic seed is planted in the alaya consciousness, it will yield fruit when all the right conditions come together. This fruit is also called karmic effect.

The minimum goal we should set for ourselves of this life is to enter the bodhisattva’s path of accumulation, which is the first step, a must, to start the journey of dharma practice. What then is the primary factor leading to the path of accumulation? It is genuine bodhicitta.

How to differentiate between something contrived and uncontrived? For example, when you are very thirsty, you want to drink water. Drinking, in this case, is uncontrived. When you do not feel like drinking water, but drink it anyhow for reasons other than your own wish. This drinking is contrived.

The practice of virtuous actions should never be a passive one. In fact, any good action, if forced, will not be good any more as it comes not from the heart and is done merely as a formality. Therefore, it is extremely important to make everyone understand the essence, the view and the conduct of Mahayana Buddhism.

Also stated in the Abhidharma-kosha-shastra is that some children may suffer the effect of seriously negative karma that their parents accumulated. If children can suffer the consequences of their parents’ negative karma, is it not contradictory to the Buddhist teaching that one reaps what one sows and that no one can assume other’s karma? The Abhidharma-kosha-shastra explains that these children themselves already have certain negative karma. Due to the close relationship between the parents and their children, the ripening of the children’s negative karma may be expedited when the parents committed extremely evil karma.