WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

All branches of Buddhism fall under Mahayana and Theravada. There is no third vehicle. To be a Theravada practitioner, the first requisite is having unshakable renunciation—complete distaste for worldly fulfillments and whole-hearted pursuit of liberation from samsara. Do we have such resolution? If not, we would not qualify as Theravada practitioners.

Mahayana practitioners, on the other hand, must have undaunted bodhicitta and be willing to serve the needs of others unselfishly and unconditionally. Can we do that? If not, we would not be deemed Mahayana practitioners either.

If we are neither Mahayana nor Theravada practitioners, strictly speaking, we are not Buddhist practitioners at all. What are we after all? At best, we are believers of Buddhism or of Shakyamuni Buddha, who may intermittently chant some mantras and do some good deeds here and there. Really, just be a little better than non-believers. Though we may have had many teachings and empowerments, met more than a few respectable teachers and practitioners, we still cannot get any closer to even the edge of liberation. Worse, it must have been horrifying to discover that we possibly may not even be Buddhist practitioners when going through the aforementioned self-examination.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Three Supreme Methods"

As you all know, the achievement of a trained athlete far exceeds that of an untrained person. Through training, however, the untrained can achieve the same result. Having bodhicitta or not is a matter of constant practice, not an unchangeable condition. If we do not start practicing now to generate bodhicitta, we will forever remain selfish and never become Mahayana practitioners. However, as we continue practicing for a period of time, say, three months, half a year, or a year, bodhicitta will certainly be developed to some extent.

When suffering or happiness arises, changes in brain wave activity in certain parts of the brain are detected. Thus some people believe suffering and happiness are produced by the brain. Actually, the brain is only a tool. Consciousness is dependent on the brain to discern and experience external phenomena, but suffering and happiness are not produced by the brain.

The sutras have often discussed and demonstrated that suffering comes from self-attachment, that is, attachment to the existence of a self. Here, the conclusion is set forth from a different standpoint. Suffering and happiness are not produced by external circumstances, but are closely related to our views and habitual tendencies. All suffering is created by our own attachment to things.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Suffering"

If everything were destined and immutable as some non-Buddhists believe, what would be the point of undertaking spiritual practice? Since everything has already been set, there is no point trying to change anything in life—if having a good life, rejoice in one’s good fortune; a miserable one, just bear it. By the same token, if everything were predetermined, it would be useless giving food to the needed since going hungry would have been their destiny anyway. Hence, fatalism has failed to stand.

According to some highly respected Tibetan masters, when practicing diligently, superior practitioners can progress every day, average practitioners every month and the least capable every year. It is understandable if lay people do not make substantial progress because their attention must still be directed to the various daily chores. But monastic practitioners like us whose main concern is solely Dharma- related ought to feel ashamed if we fail to accomplish much more in spiritual practice.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Three Differences"

For example, a patient can be perfectly nursed back to health. But can we prevent that person from getting sick again? No. We can only help this time. There is nothing we can do for the sicknesses that person will suffer in countless future lives. In fact, any form of material help, be it food, clothing, or money, can only temporarily relieve those in need, never for long. The only way to completely and permanently release sentient beings from all suffering is to teach them the facts of samsara and guide them to practice the Dharma so as to bring them onto the path of liberation. Ultimately, this is the real benefit to sentient beings, indeed the true meaning of salvation.

- Quote from The Right View, "Buddhism—the Definition"

Genuine bodhicitta of a bodhisattva refers to the aspiration to give others whatever is needed unselfishly and unconditionally, which in hard times is a particularly difficult thing to do.

If our realization is not stable, our mind will return to mundane concerns and experience anxiety and suffering again. Until we have subdued the mind, it will traverse back and forth between illusion and reality, between relative truth and ultimate truth.

If we wish to eradicate our suffering immediately, we must practice the preliminaries. We cannot bypass the preliminaries and think we can take up a different practice to achieve the same result.

- Quote from Are You Ready For Happiness? Don't Let the Paper Tiger Scare You Off, "How to Face Suffering"

The Buddha once said, “I do not argue with worldly people, but they argue with me.” It means that the Buddha understands where people’s desire and attachment come from. But when people hear the Buddha speak of impermanence, emptiness and not-self, they refuse to accept and constantly raise objections. Actually, it is no surprise that people object since the Buddha’s viewpoints are something they have never heard of or thought about before and are entirely contrary to their usual way of thinking. So object they must. Still, truth is truth. Worldly people can object all they want at first, but eventually they will have to accept it. By worldly people, I do not mean the atheists or the materialists, but people like us who either have not yet learned Buddhadharma or attained realization of emptiness. It is in fact our very own established ideas that are opposing the new perspective.

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