Naturally, before cultivating great compassion, one should generate renunciation first. Once cannot have great compassion for sentient beings if one is unaware of the suffering of samsara, because for sentient beings if one is unaware of the suffering of samsara, because compassion comes from the suffering of sentient beings. No compassion, no bodhicitta either. The other condition for developing renunciation is the desire for liberation. When seeing the suffering of sentient beings, one aspires to save them from the clutches of samsara forever. But on second thought, how can one help others if one cannot attain liberation for oneself in the first place ? With this in mind, the two requisites for generating renunciation - aversion to samsara and desire for liberation - are complete. 

~Depicted from From Believers to Boddhisattvas

It is common phenomena nowadays to see people keep putting off practicing the Dharam and just idling the days away, as if they are sure of a second chance to be born a human again or to listen to Mahayana teachings and encounter Mahayana teachers once more. But there is no guarantee of that second chance ever coming through. Now in this life, we, the fortune few, have met basically all the necessary conditions required for the journey to enlightenment. We ought to treasure this truly rare opportunity and immediately set about the task of practicing the Dharma. 

~Depicted from FROM BELIEVERS TO BODHISATTVAS

Many people who do not understand the views of Madhayamaka tend to find many contradictions when reading the scriptures of Prajanaparamita, such as the Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra, that expound  the idea of emptiness, i.e the five aggregates, the four elements and in fact all phenomena are without distinct self-nature. This is plainly because they do not know the need to separate the two truths in their analysis. Here are some of the usual questions: " Is Buddhahood a fallacy ? If the Buddha is empty of self-nature, what is the point of practicing the Dharma and how is one supposed to attain Buddhahood ? Are causality and rebirth for real? If karma, samsara, Buddhahood, the practice itself and the act of freeing sentient beings from suffering are all real, how can they be empty of self-nature at the same time? To answer these questions, the two truths must be applied separately. 

~Depicted from FROM BELIEVERS TO BODHISATTVAS

Naturally, before cultivating great compassion, one should generate renunciation first. One cannot have great compassion for sentient beings if one is unaware of the suffering of samsara, because compassion comes from the suffering of sentient beings. No compassion, no bodhicitta either. The other condition for developing renunciation is the desire for liberation. When seeing the suffering of sentient beings, one aspires to save them from the cluthes of samsara forever. But on second thought, how can one help others if one cannot attain liberation for oneself in the first place ? With this in mind, the two requisites for generating renunciation - aversion to samsara and desire for liberation- are complete. 

~Depicted from FROM BELIEVERS TO BODHISATTVAS

Longchenpa said that all virtuous actions, great or small, should be performed within the framework of the Three Supreme Methods. If so, whatever actions being undertaken will be leading to the path of liberation. Otherwise, the good deeds will be far removed from the path to liberation, however great or appealing they apprear to be. This is how important the Three Supreme Methods is. 

~Depicted from FROM BELIEVERS TO BODHISATTVAS

What we should do is to set out on the path by the way of learning and contemplating the teachings of the Buddha. Otherwise, how is one supposed to practice, knowing neither the theories nor the methods ? Merely keeping the mind calm and thoughtless is not what practice is about. We all know that many animals regularly go into hibernation for months on end or even longer. Would anybody call that a form of practice ? Or, would they thus be enlightened ? Certainly no. So, just keeping the mind blank is not so important. What we really need is forming the correct view, which can only come from learning and contemplating the teachings. This is why the process of learning the Dharma has occupied such a critical position on he path to liberation. 

~Depicted from From Believers to Boddhisattvas

Many people are practicing the five extraordinary preliminaries diligently. If you ask them, "Why do you practice the five preliminaries?" "If I don't, I won't be allowed to begin the main practice of the Great Perfection." or, "Without practicing these preliminaries, I cannot listen to the teachings on the Great Perfection." These answers may sound reasonable at first glance. However, if you ask further, " What happens if you are barred from practicing the Great Perfection or listening to its teachings?" "Then it will be very hard from me to attain liberation." Ask again, " What would happen if you were to attain liberation?" "I would have no more suffering, nor any defilements" 

If your motivation is as such, there can be no boddhicitta to speak of in your practice. In other words, where can we find bodhicitta, one of the five extraordinary preliminaries, that you are supposed to be practicing? I'm afraid your so-called bodhicitta practice may just be a matter of completing the required mantra recitations. Bodhicitta itself, on the other hand, has yet been aroused in your mindstream. You may think that your practice is to generate boddhicitta, but your aim is actually selfish. This can hardly be the way of a genuine practice of boddhicitta. And your practice of the five preliminaries also inadvertently becomes a Hinayana practice as you have completely missed the point about bodhicitta. 

~Depicted from FROM BELIEVERS TO BODHISATTVAS

Sometimes patients, after being diagnosed and given only one to three months to live, may continue living healthy life three months later with the help of performing virtuous deeds such as liberating animals or undertaking a long life practice. When the patients go for check-up again, doctors find the symptoms all gone.. This has happened in Tibet, China and other parts of the world. It is not hearsay or a fairytale but a fact, which somewhat validates the existence of causality. 

~Depicted from FROM BELIEVERS TO BODHISATTVAS

Before one comes to this realization, the way to practice with a mind free of clinging and concepts is to conduct all practices earnestly, faithfully and whole-heartedly with the conviction of renunciation and bodhicitta. Though, for the time being, there is still certain difficulty in truly freeing the mind of attachment and concepts, as long as renunciation and bodhicitta are firmly established, the true nature of phenomena will become fully evident over time. This is because the relationship between bodhicitta and realization emptiness; emptiness shall be realized with relative ease once renunciation and bodhicitta have been generated. 

~Depicted from The Right View