If we don’t fear for ghosts, even seeing a ghost, it cannot harm us. If seeing something which seem like a ghost, even if it’s not a ghost, due to great fear and psychological factors of believing it’s inauspicious to see a ghost, one or one’s family members will fall ill and encounter unfavourable conditions. Therefore, upon suspecting to see a ghost, one needs to stop right there and start to look at the nature of the mind, then fear and disturbance will vanish immediately, without causing any negative effect.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Being poverty-stricken is part of poverty, being well-off is part of being wealthy. However, being well-off doesn’t represent one’s total wealth; being poverty-stricken doesn’t represent one’s total poverty. Although being wealthy, some people feel empty, bored, having no spiritual dependence, and end up going on shopping sprees to make up for their inner hollowness, this is not an effective means to address their inner hollowness, rather, it’s a temporary satiating of their mind. If one has altruistic mind, then this problem might be addressed quickly.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Before attaining buddhahood, Vajrasattva made an aspiration: I vow not to attain buddhahood if I cannot enable anyone to chant my name, and supplicate to me for confessing to purify their obscurations. Given Vajrasattva had attained buddhahood, if supplicating to Vajrasattva by chanting the Vajrasattva Mantra or the Hundred-Syllable Mantra of Vajrasattva, one is bound to purify all obscurations.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

When making the mandala offering, one needs to refrain from overly focusing on the number; rather, the quality needs to be emphasised. If one hastily finishes the number of mandala offerings without proper visualisation, then even though one has finished the outer mandala offering for 100,000 times, due to not having made inner mandala offering, then just as if one doesn’t have a message to pass on, only attaching a thread on one’s finger, it’s useless. Therefore, making inner mandala offering is vital.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Shakyamuni Buddha taught us: birth, old age, illness and death are the natural law and nobody can escape from it. Attachment is the culprit to confront these suffering. Having attachment is bound to lead to suffering. How to face up with suffering is the most important task of life. Buddhism teaches us that the best way to confront this suffering is to let go of it.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The Buddha told his disciples: it’s clinging to any objects that will become obstacles to liberation, not the value of the clung objects. At the time of death, if a rich person can distribute his assets properly, which leaves him with no attachment to his assets, the assets will not become obstacles to his liberation. To the contrary, even if one’s assets are not abundant, if one clings to them, then the assets will become obstacles to one’s liberation.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

One needs to make a strenuous effort in the Ngöndro Practices, it may take three or five years, or even longer. One should not hasten to seek results. The process is vital, one needs to engage in solid practice methodically. Some of Patrul Rinpoche’s students had practiced Ngöndro over ten or twenty times, eventually all of them attained enlightenment. We need to meet all criteria of attaining enlightenment through practicing Ngöndro. Our mind is so turbulent and our defilements are so severe, without the power of Ngöndro, it’s impossible for us to attain enlightenment.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

We should refrain from thinking that all suffering and unfavourable conditions will be eliminated once we undertake dharma study. Even from the perspective of the Shravakayana, although having realised the selflessness of self, arhats still encounter undesirable conditions and experience karmic consequences.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Before engaging in main practice, we need to cultivate renunciation, which entails four practices of outer preliminary practices: preciousness of human body, the impermanence of human life, the infallibility of the law of karma, and the defects of samsara. Once having cultivated renunciation, we should not hurry to engage in practice of calm abiding and meditative concentration; rather, we need to cultivate bodhicitta. Without bodhicitta, there is no aim in our practice. Without aim, what’s the point of engaging in meditative concentration and dzogchen practice?

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES