All yidam practices, whether the deity is peaceful or wrathful, involve the generation stage. One cannot do deity practice without knowing how to practice the generation stage. To properly practice the generation stage in a retreat, one should first complete all the preliminaries, also pay particular attention to the process—there are many complicated requirements regarding the time, place, format of the retreat, and the time and format of ending the retreat, and so on. We don’t need to know the details for the time being, as many people have not yet undertaken the preliminary practice; even if some people have completed the preliminaries once, the quality of the practice is still less than satisfactory. However, the method of visualization is very important. If one is unable to visualize clearly, the entire result of practice will be adversely affected. The preliminary practices, such as the ones for taking refuge, Vajrasattva, and Guru Yoga, also entail the practice of the generation stage. Therefore, it is necessary to briefly explain this practice.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO VAJRAYANA PATH -The Generation Stage

Why is emptiness the essence of Buddhadharma? Because all buddhas and bodhisattvas have but one goal in mind, that is, to help sentient beings attain liberation. How can this be achieved? We cannot resolve the question of birth, aging, illness, and death, or obtain liberation by way of clairvoyant powers, etc. There is only one root cause of cyclic existence and only one method that can eliminate it. The root cause of cyclic existence is ignorance. All afflictions such as greed, anger, and delusion stem from ignorance or from self- attachment which arises from ignorance.

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - All Phenomena Lack Self-Existence

During visualization, if some parts come up clear, some parts not so clear, we need to look at those that are not so clear again and again. If the image to be visualized and that which appears are different --for example, we visualize a sitting buddha but a standing buddha appears instead when we close our eyes; we visualize a tiny image but a huge one appears; we visualize a colorful image but a black and white version appears, and so on—we still need to look at the deity image repeatedly and steadily. With practice, this problem can be solved.

~Depicted from GATEWAY TO VAJRAYANA PATH - The Generation Stage

In today’s world, one is basically unable to survive without money and the Buddha also deemed reasonable means for living justified. What he requested is that under normal circumstances one should live a simpler and modest life. There is really no need for fancy stuff as long as one stays in a livable condition. But that is not to say that one must eat lousy food, wear old clothes, or live in a run-down place. The Buddha also said that it is not necessary to live too modestly if one can afford a comfortable life with relative ease, thanks to good karma from the past life. To live a simple life, as opposed to a luxurious one, means less energy need be spent on acquiring material wealth and hence more time and attention for really meaningful matters. This is the way the Buddha told us to live.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Way of Living and the Meaning of Life

Some regard Buddhism as a kind of belief. Belief also means faith. Of course faith is needed in Buddhism, but it would be oversimplified to regard Buddhism as a belief since keeping faith is only one of the aspects of Buddhism.  The foundation and the priority of Buddhism are not about belief, but wisdom and compassion.  Although Buddhism does advocate the importance of faith, it is not unique to Buddhism; science also calls for faith.  For example, people today all want to promote faith in science.  If one does not trust science, one probably would not even dare to take airplane.  People take planes because they believe in the technology that allows airplane to transport people to their destinations.  It takes faith to accomplish anything in this world, the same kind of faith as in Buddhism. Therefore, it is incorrect to equate Buddhism with belief.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - Buddhism—the Definition

It happens quite often that people make speedy progress at the initial stage of their practice, but the progress tapers off after some time. Worse, some may even stop practicing altogether. This is mainly due to a lack of systematic approach to Buddhist practice. What should be done about it? First, we must understand what the foundational practices are and duly recognize the importance they command on our spiritual journey.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Three Supreme Methods—the ultimate methods of cultivating virtue and training the mind

True Buddhist practitioners are not pessimists even though they look upon money and fame as things of little value. This is because they are fully aware their spiritual development is not impaired by the body’s physical decline; wisdom and compassion will always follow them like a shadow in old age and even in death. Awaiting them from afar is a state of clarity and bliss; thus, far from being defeatist, they are optimistic and full of confidence. Because they have this aspiration, they can practice tirelessly and without regret. We need not fear suffering nor lose hope; with effort, we can free ourselves from the shackles of samsara and attain absolute happiness.

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - All Contaminated Things are Unsatisfactory

The Buddha’s approach is always logical rather than dogmatic. The Buddha told us that underneath the skin, there are thirty six kinds of impure elements such as bacteria, microbes and parasites, among others, operating in an environment that’s both chaotic and unclean. Moreover, the notion of being beautiful or ugly is just a matter of meeting the expectations of most people. In the eyes of an extraterrestrial or a person of different race, a woman we consider beautiful may perhaps be deemed ugly. Even a real beauty will lose her appeal from overexposure or with age.

Through these observations, we come to realize that there is neither a thing nor a person that has genuine and absolute beauty. At this point, our minds can relax a little bit, no longer being so obsessed and anxious. Then with further observation and contemplation, we can slowly abandon our old attachment.

~Depicted from THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE'S JOURNEY - On The Three Poisons-How to Handle Desire

Buddhism, certainly Tibetan Buddhism, places great importance on happiness. The emphasis in Mahayana Buddhism is not on one’s own happiness but rather that of all sentient beings. When we strive for the welfare of all beings, we can at the same time attain even greater happiness for ourselves. This well-being ultimately surpasses any that material enjoyment can bring. Such is the Tibetan Buddhist view on happiness.

~Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS - The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness