Undertaking dharma doesn’t mean that one needs to be a monastic, or become a strange person. A genuine Buddhist is a kind person who can tame one’s mind and remedy one’s defilement such as pride and aggression with dharma, and who will become the best person in society. When doing your best at work and setting examples for others, bear sentient being in your mind, then you’re official bodhisattvas, businessman bodhisattva, worker bodhisattvas or farmer bodhisattva.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

If one regularly engages in killing in this life, then one tends to like killing when one’s old enough to discern right from wrong in the next life. If one likes drinking alcohol in this life, then one will like it as well in the next life; this habit will persist in every life. One’s behavior in this life is similar to that of in the next life, this is referred to as causally concordant behavioural result. The buddha taught this; today, of the people who can recollect their pervious lives, many of them have such inclination, such as liking smoking both in previous life and this life.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Through the practice of Nadi, prana, and bindu, having dispelled discursive thoughts, the nature of mind will surface. Based on this, one needs to proceed to practice with the pith instructions of one’s lama. Without such instructions, even the manifestation of the nature of mind will not be stabilised.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Practicing impermanence will eradicate our clinging to permanence, which is rather useful. For instance, even we cannot perceive the inner instantaneous impermanence of an object, if we realise that something is unreliable and impermanent, then we’ll overly cling to it, and reminding ourself over and over again: “since it’s unreliable, why bother to care and cling to it?” In this manner, our attachment will gradually decline.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

When I was a child, my mum told me: sunset is the sunlight of the dead. Upon seeing sunset, one needs to chant mani mantra. Now I come to realise that we need to chant mani mantra not because sunset is the sunlight of the dead; rather, we need to practice virtue because our life has lost one day.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

The Vajrayana not only expounds many practices which have swift and useful effects, but also imparts various elaborate and concise practices, some of which are rather simple. This doesn’t mean their content is incomplete, rather, its method is quite simple. Through practicing with such simple methods, one can obtain ideal effects, this is referred to as pith instruction in the Vajrayana.

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Genuine penance requires patience, diligence, trying best to overcome various difficulties, practicing vigorously despite hardships, this is the meaning of penance. If one misconceives that penance is about not eating, not wearing clothes, or not being hygiene, and that this will lead to liberation, then won’t beggars attain liberation first?

~Depicted from LUMINOUS WISDOM BOOK SERIES

Each time we die, the nature of mind will be revealed, but we never can perceive it. Every night when entering a deep sleep, for a split second we are in touch with the nature of mind, but we never can perceive it. Thus we need our lama’s pith instruction, with which we can attain enlightenment instantly. This is the swift method of the Vajrayana to attain enlightenment.

~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