For most people, it is essential to understand these points. Whether to continue chasing material prosperity or to choose a more meaningful way of living is pivotal to where this life will lead us.

As a matter of fact, it is an extremely rare opportunity that we were born human, that we have encountered the teachings of the Buddha, and that we have had some time to practice. Nothing else in this world are is as extraordinary as such an opportunity.

We should know that the purpose of a car is not to burn fuel, but to provide transportation. Burning fuel is just a car’s way of living—it moves things while consuming gasoline. Likewise, the purpose of being human is not just eating, drinking and having fun. Eating and drinking are how people sustain their lives, but this is hardly their ultimate goal.

~ Luminous Wisdom 6: A Buddhist’s Way of Life

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

~ Luminous Wisdom 9: The Tibetan Buddhist View of Happiness

Depending on each of our own conditions and capacity, all of us should at least try to be vegetarian from now on.  Our motivation, though, should be different from that of the non-Buddhists, whose primary concerns are mostly health related rather than for their future lives or compassion for other sentient beings. We should not only stop eating meat but should also vow never to eat meat again. Absent the vow, simply stopping eating meat would not be considered a virtuous deed on its own. The vow should go like this: “By the merit of ceasing to eat meat now, may I never eat meat again in all my future lives.”

~ Luminous Wisdom : 1

Ignorance can also be regarded as fatuousness or imbecility. Due to not knowing the truth of the world and ourselves, many issues cannot be resolved and this leads to the emergence of various afflictions. If the truth, the actual facts, or the true essence were understood, afflictions would not arise. So, all afflictions derive from ignorance.

~ Luminous Wisdom: 10

Generally speaking, it is very difficult to directly prove the existence of causality because our eyes cannot look beyond this present life for causes from previous lives and the effects in future lives. Nonetheless, through indirect means it is possible to prove the link between cause and effect. Not only is samsara conditioned by causality, but also nirvana and liberation. Therefore, if it is liberation that we seek, we must plant the seed of liberation, which will then yield the fruit. Such is the view of Buddhism.

~ Luminous Wisdom 1: On Cause and Effect 

As far as what has been taught regarding the twelve links of dependent arising, the end of these twelve links is aging and death. After one cycle ends with aging and death, another cycle begins again with ignorance. Thus, we go round and round, cycling repeatedly through life and death.

～ Luminous Wisdom 3: The Buddhist Theory of the Origin of Species

How to we let go? There is a difference between “letting go” and “giving up” being pessimistic, cynical, prejudiced, and thinking that life can’t go on, so one feels forced to temporarily give up. But if one day temptation appears, we resume the former habits of our personality.  In Buddhism, this is giving up, not letting go. For instance, if one day we get a better watch, our greed for our old watch disappears. This is not letting go; this is just transferring our attachment to the new watch. In Buddhism, “letting go” means to have no greed for anything. It is impossible to give up all worldly things. People in the world need to survive and feed their families and they should not just throw away their jobs and families, or give up earning money, once they start to study Buddhism.

~ Luminous Wisdom 9: The Principles of Liberation

For us ordinary people, it is very difficult to consider matters like renunciation, bodhicitta and liberation if we must struggle constantly to eke out a living. Harsh living conditions may be helpful for some to generate renunciation, but renunciation developed under such circumstances is not authentic, as genuine renunciation must include the aspiration to seek liberation. Poverty alone may not be enough reason for people to forsake samsara. It is only those who have grasped the essence of the Dharma who might possibly generate true renunciation. Therefore,  Buddhists in general need not and should not deliberately live too poorly.

~ Luminous Wisdom: 6

At the time that Bodhidharma came to China to give Dharma teachings, Emperor Wu of Liang asked him, “I did many good deeds, such as being vegetarian and reciting the name of the Buddha, just like a monk. How much merit have I earned?” Unexpectedly, Bodhidharma exclaimed, “No merit!” Why? Because all the good deeds that Emperor Wu of Liang did may had no connection to liberation, and were irrelevant to its attainment.

~ Luminous Wisdom 9: The Principles of Liberation