As the saying goes: One takes the behavior of one's company. The impact of one's environment upon oneself is difficult to determine. If you spend a long time with friends that are a bad influence, then not only will you not have the hope of arousing bodhicitta, but the good habits that you previously developed may fade away. A person's buddha nature can mature in this life, but due to encounters with others who are negative influences, the seed of buddha nature would not be able to mature and sprout. There would be no chance of liberation in this life. Isn't that a pity?

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

If having conviction in the law of karma and reincarnation, one would remind oneself: despite the fact that this life is finished, it’s the end of one part of endless life and the continuation to the next part. In various time and space, life manifests in various forms. The prosperity, success and failure of this life cannot be carried over into the next life, but spiritual accomplishment, wholesome and unwholesome habitual patterns will not vanish; rather, like the computer data, they can be copied into the next life. Regardless of being a senior citizen, you still have the next life and hope.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Manjushri is the embodiment of wisdom of buddhas and bodhisattvas. The sword he holds in his right hand doesn’t aim at any sentient beings, rather, it aims at sentient beings’ ignorance, which leads to endless suffering and ruining one’s own happiness.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Suffering conveys to us intangibly that it’s repaying karmic debt faced with suffering. When crops mature, their seeds dissolve. Likewise, having experienced suffering, a great deal of negative karma will be purified. Thus experiencing suffering is the way of purify obscurations. One needs to think that fortunately one’s own negative karma doesn’t mature in the three lower realms, instead it matures in the realm of human. It’s a positive thing, I should be happy about it.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

My teacher, H.H. Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche, once told me, before you attain the enlightenment, your comprehension of the dharma can be likened to reading a road map, thus you must practice vigorously.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The world has its natural law, our subjective mind needs to be in accordance with the objective law. If refusing to accept and face with the natural law, then we’ll suffer. Hence observing the world with the right views and facing the world with the right mindset will enable us to be tougher.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Today cities have great environmental greening, the streets are decorated with colourful flowers. Instead of picking the flowers, we can accumulate great merit by visualising offering flowers to buddhas and chanting mantras. Why don’t you do it? Actually, you can offer anything beautiful you see to Buddhas. Thus, accumulating merit is fairly easy by adopting the skilful means of chanting mantras.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The cessation of suffering means to eradicate all defilements. When the cloudy sky is blown by a wind, the clear, blue sky will appear. Likewise, when defilements and negative karma are eliminted by renunciation, bodhicitta and the view of emptiness, the wisdom of buddhas, aka luminous buddha nature, will appear. This is referred to as the cessation of suffering.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

According to Buddhism, arising and cessation of all phenomena hinges on dependent arising, and are free from the power of any ghosts and gods. Our happiness and suffering are not related to any ghosts and gods, therefore we don’t need to worship them; rather, we need to worship compassion and wisdom.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES