WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

Are all actions undertaken for others in accord with the genuine Dharma? Not necessarily. There are indeed many good-hearted people in our society. Every time I hear about their endeavors, I feel ashamed of my own inadequacy. They are not Buddhists, nor do they proclaim their intention to attain buddhahood for the sake of liberating other beings. Yet, we can all see the good that they do. As for us Buddhists, we may try to renew our aspiration everyday by reciting over and over again: “I must arouse bodhicitta in order to deliver others from suffering.” But are we just paying lip service? Do our minds and actions correspond to our aspiration?

The sutras have often discussed and demonstrated that suffering comes from self-attachment, that is, attachment to the existence of a self. Here, the conclusion is set forth from a different standpoint. Suffering and happiness are not produced by external circumstances, but are closely related to our views and habitual tendencies. All suffering is created by our own attachment to things.

~ Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS ? - How to Face Suffering and Happiness-How to Face Suffering

People look at the same problem differently largely because of the state of their mind. Generally speaking, the mind of ordinary people is more fragile while that of the sages is strong. For instance, when the Buddha was about to enter parinirvana, he was surrounded by many arhats and practitioners. Although everyone knew the Buddha was dying and that they would lose not just a great but extraordinary teacher, all the arhats there were very calm. The exception was Ananda, who, having yet attained realization, was still an ordinary person. He stood crying by the side of the Buddha’s bed and could not contain his sorrow. The arhats were not disrespectful. Because they had already realized emptiness, they could pass beyond suffering.

~ Depicted from HOW TO FACE SUFFERING AND HAPPINESS - How to Face Suffering and Happiness-How to Face Suffering

In Vajrayana, especially stated in the stanzas of the Kalachakra Tantra, it is very wrong to eat meat. Karma of many people sharing the meat of one animal is grave enough. Karma of one person consuming many small animals is much, much worse. For example, processed meats like sausage, hot dogs, luncheon meat, etc. are very often made from the meat and organs of various animals. Eating these kinds of meat will produce tremendous negative karma, tantamount to the one committed by eating many lives. It is Vajrayana’s view that all Mahayana practitioners must refrain from eating any kind of meat.

~ Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - Why Vegetarian?

We have all seen the weapon-like objects such as a sword held by Manjusri and many other bodhisattvas. These weapons are not meant for subduing any beings but destroying desire, anger and delusion. The purpose for learning and practicing Buddhadharma is to enable us to face, control and eliminate all defilement, which are also the mission and the goal of Buddhists. The criterion for measuring the quality of any practice is not the amount of mantra recited, the extent of merit accumulated, or how one fares in money terms, job, health, etc., but whether negative emotions have been reduced. For example, we can check if we feel as angry as before when others insult or bully us now. If anger remains the same, our endeavor to learn the Dharma basically loses its real purpose. Naturally, it is impossible to completely eliminate negative emotions before realization of emptiness is attained. We can only somewhat keep them under proper control.

Depicted from THE HANDBOOK FOR LIFE'S JOURNEY - On The Three Poisons-How to Confront Anger

The first attachment can be eliminated with the practice of the generation stage. However, if we know only the method but not the view, confusion may arise during the practice—for instance, one might ask whether this practice is the same as the white skeleton visualization in Theravada, wherein an illusion is produced after the visualization. Such confusion can cause great obstacles to our practice, hence it is important to establish the view—to resolutely believe that all phenomena are the mandala of the buddhas. On the other hand, having the view but not actually applying it to the practice, the knowledge remains always just theoretical. Even if we can accept the view that all phenomena are the mandala of the buddhas, there is no way we can really experience how that is so. This is why we need the practice.

~ Depicted from GATEWAY TO THE VAJRAYANA PATH - The Generation Stage

Our final goal is to produce a very strong and precise feeling of emptiness or impermanence each time we meditate. When not meditating, our temporary objective is to be able to experience emptiness and impermanence naturally without having to think specifically about these concepts in everyday life.

~Depicted from THE FOUR SEALS OF DHARMA - The Practice of No-Self

Only a small percentage of people are truly concerned with the welfare of others, not their own. One analogy in the sutras is as follows: Sow grains to reap grains, but straws need not be sown as it can be reaped without volition. (Sowing grains is likened to the bodhisattvas’ practice of the six perfections; grains, the welfare of sentient beings; and straws, the welfare of one’s own). Another analogy is: Make a fire to cook rice and have rice to eat, but smoke need not be attended to as it will arise naturally from the fire. (Making a fire to cook rice has the same connotation as sowing grains; rice, the same as grains; and smoke, the same as straws). What these analogies tell us is that although our capability is limited, if we can truly let go or set aside our own concerns—not just those in this life but also liberation in the future—and focus wholeheartedly and unconditionally on benefiting others, our own welfare will take care of itself.

~ Depicted from GATEWAY TO THE VAJRAYANA PATH - Vajra Master and Empowerment

Most Buddhists accept that presently we are just ordinary sentient beings, not yet awakened; the world is, exactly as we see it, defiled and impure; afflictions are bad and always the opposite of enlightenment. Nevertheless, through long-term practice of the Buddhadharma, the impure can be transformed into the pure, the mundane world into pure land, afflictions into the wisdom of the buddha, an ordinary person into a bodhisattva of the first bhumi, then the second bhumi, the third ...., and finally a buddha.

~ Depicted from GATEWAY TO THE VAJRAYANA PATH : A Compendium of the Vajrayana