Some people believe Buddhism opposes all forms of material enjoyment, enforces complete control over desire, and promotes ascetic practice. Actually, this is a misunderstanding. The Buddha said followers have the right to enjoy, not reject, what they are entitled to — wealth which is properly acquired or blessings accumulated during a past life from virtuous activity. The Buddha did not deny, to a certain extent, material goods can bring happiness. However, he made it clear not all happiness comes from material goods. He also said the happiness derived from material things is very short-lived and unreliable.

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : The Paper Tiger ~  The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness

Buddhism occasionally uses the ocean to describe our state of mind, and sometimes the sky and clouds to explain the essence or activities of the mind. Here we draw a parallel between the ocean and our mind.

The clarity of the mind is likened to an ocean surface which is completely still -- without sound, waves or ripples, it is calm and peaceful and seemingly empty of time and space.

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : THE PAPER TIGER ~ Suffering is just a paper tiger

In Abhidharmakosa, all composite phenomena are summed up as the five aggregates – form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. The so-called “aggregate” means the coming together of a lot of things.

The aggregate of form denotes not only phenomena perceived by the eye, but also sounds heard by the ear and all kinds of appearances like weight, light, darkness, etc. In other words, the aggregate of form is an overall name for all of the things above.

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA ~ The Practice of Realizing Emptiness

Although most of the concepts the Buddha taught can be deduced logically, some are difficult to discover without profound insight like the Buddha’s. When Buddha Sakyamuni was propagating the Dharma, he also said it is difficult for an ordinary person to observe and understand cause and effect. Thus, before we reach a certain level of wisdom, it is best not to inspect the workings of cause and effect. Even if we try, we will not be able to come to any conclusion; we might even raise doubt over its validity.

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : THE PAPER TIGER : Spiritual Equipment for Modern Times

In the exoteric scripture The Sutra of Conception and the Dzogchen tantras, Buddha Sakyamuni elucidated the process of human conception. After taking rebirth, consciousness enters the zygote and a life is formed, but not yet with a physical body. First, the cleavage of the zygote begins about one week after the conception and then combine again. A few days after combining, the cell division begins again, and the process repeats itself. The shape of the embryo after each division is clearly described in the scriptures, which completely matches that of modern medicine.

It is said in the scripture that, in the intermediate state, beings don’t really know they are going to take rebirth, nor do they know what lies in store for them or how to take rebirth. It goes on to elaborate further: In general, if the intermediate being is going to be reborn in the hell realm, it will feel like going into a dark tunnel or on a dark road; if it is to be reborn in the human realm, it will feel like entering a park or a beautiful palace, so on and so forth.

Depicted from THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE'S JOURNEY

In the Samyuktagama Sutra, it is said: When desire is exhausted, anger is exhausted, delusion is ex- hausted, and all afflictions are exhausted — this is called nirvana.

Buddhist culture dates back more than two thousand five hundred years ago and is a universal and profound culture. Corporate culture has its origin in the research undertaken by several Harvard professors in the 1980’s and is a young culture with a history of around thirty years. Although they appear more than two thousand years apart, the two cultures can be very closely connected. If we are able to integrate both, the impact on the operations of a business as well as on the direction in our life can be surprisingly positive. This is because the wisdom of the Buddha brings light; the compassion of the Buddha warms the heart.

Depicted from Luminous Book Series : THE PAPER TIGER : Buddhism and the Business World – Six Standards in a Corporate Culture

When Bodhidharma arrived in China, he met Emperor Wu, the founder of Liang Dynasty (502-557). The Emperor reported to Bodhidharma the virtuous deeds he had done, such as not eating meat, reciting scriptures, offering to the monastics, etc., and asked Bodhidharma proudly, “How much merit are these good deeds worth?” With his short reply “no merit at all”, Emperor Wu was instantly made speechless.

Many people cannot understand why Bodhidharma said so. Of course Bodhidharma would not deny, from the viewpoint of karma, that virtuous actions can generate some merit, which no Buddhist would refute either. But in this case, Bodhidharma commented from the point of view of the ultimate truth that, absent realization of emptiness, no amount of merit alone can lead to liberation. This is why Bodhidharma put a damper on Emperor Wu’s eager expectation.

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series : THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE'S JOURNEY

We have all watched on Animal World (film series) how many lives some carnivores need to eat within a 24-hour period. For example, the blue whale, the largest known animal species in the world, can eat up to four tons of krill each day during the feeding season. And these are just one day’s provisions. A life eaten is a life taken and a negative karma fully committed. Over its entire life, the blue whale never once would chant the Buddha’s name or practice virtue. If it lives to be a hundred, it will have committed such negative karma for one hundred years. Can you imagine what will happen to it in its next life?