Wisdom Light

根據自己的經濟條件，盡量去幫助那些窮困潦倒、一貧如洗的人。這也是六波羅蜜多當中的布施度。金錢的價值是解決貧窮的痛苦。而捨不得用，捨不得給的錢等於不存在。有機會幫助窮人是很榮幸的，得到幫助的人也會很高興的。菩薩需要的就是讓眾生高興，這就夠了。

——《慧燈之光》第八冊《饒益有情戒》

The Buddha’s saying “like illusions, like dreams” does not connote voidness or nothingness; rather, it alludes to a kind of spellbinding power that makes us ready to be seduced and get trapped in, without even noticing it.

Before engaging in main practice, we need to cultivate renunciation, which entails four practices of outer preliminary practices:

1. Previousness of human body,
2. The impermanence of human life,
3. The infallibility of the law of karma, and
4. 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?

~ Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche

四依法與聞思修有著密切的關係：聽聞佛法的時候，要“依法不依人”；思維佛法的時候，要“依義不依語”和“依了義經典，不依不了義經典”；修行的時候，則應當“依智不依識”。也即是說，修行的時候，不能修分別念，而應當修智慧。按理說，在沒有證悟的時候，一切都是我們的分別念，都沒有超出八識的範圍，全都是有漏的世俗諦，其中沒有證悟空性等真理。雖然就世俗諦而言，可以修出離心與世俗菩提心，但從勝義諦的角度來說，沒有什麼可以修的東西，光明空性必須在證悟之後才可以修，這就是“依智不依識”。

這四個標準所涉及、延伸的內容非常豐富。比如依法不依人中的“法”，就包含了八萬四千法門，而其中的“人”，又含攝了五蘊、十二處、十八界等整個《俱舍論》的內容，

——《慧燈之光》第八冊《四依法》

We are all ordinary beings, after death we must be reborn, there is no way to avoid it, not even the Buddha can stop it. If the Buddha could stop it, then we wouldn't be in the cycle of rebirth today, as the Buddha would have already liberated us all.

However, the reality is not like that. As ordinary beings, none of us can choose where we will be reborn - we must be humans, or gods, or other beings. Why must we be reborn repeatedly and involuntarily?

This is definitely not our original intention. If it were voluntary, then no sentient being would willingly be reborn as an animal, let alone in the realms of hungry ghosts or hell, yet countless sentient beings exist in these places.

Why is this so? Because we have greed for the cycle of rebirth, which is a simple truth. For those who do not understand the Dharma well, how to tread the path of liberation is a very complicated question.

Where is liberation? How do we tread the path of liberation? Any place on Earth can be located using a globe or a map, but the path of liberation seems to be very difficult to find.

However, relying on the teachings of the Buddha is not very difficult. It is like everyone on a street is moving forward, but one person suddenly turns back. On the path of the cycle of rebirth, all sentient beings are moving forward.

Where are we going by moving forward? We can go to places like hell, the realm of hungry ghosts, and other realms, but practitioners choose to go back and return to nature. Nowadays, many people talk about returning to nature, but what they mean by "nature" is not the true nature. To truly return to nature, one must follow the path of liberation and give up the desire for reincarnation.

What we need now is a sense of detachment. From now on, we should not regard money as the meaning of life, nor should we see traditional values such as having children and a happy family as the purpose of life.

For an ordinary person, the cycle of reincarnation is very painful, although some people may not admit it as they have not experienced too much suffering. They may think that their current temporary happiness is the highest level of happiness in the world, and they do not need the blissful realm or liberation. However, they are mistaken. Their current happiness is not eternal, and this is because they do not fully understand the cycle of reincarnation. I will not go into the specific reasons here, but in the rare opportunity of being born as a human and the unpredictability of death.

Especially in the teachings about the suffering of the cycle of reincarnation, it is very clear that if we continue to move forward in this way, the future is very frightening, so we must turn back!

~ Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Luminous Wisdom : Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche

📘*Topic:*
*HOW TO FACE HAPPINESS *
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WE ALSO NEED THE DHARMA IN TIMES OF HAPPINESS

When ordinary people are faced with suffering and cannot bear it, suffering becomes an obstacle in their practice; their lives are also affected in many different ways. In the same way, when people are blessed with “happiness” – wealth, position, status – and cannot moderate their attitude, they become arrogant; they discriminate against others and even bully or oppress those less fortunate.

With the wisdom and the force of the teachings to face happiness, to share our good fortune with others, then happiness will not obstruct our practice.

The specific method is meditation retreat. By meditation retreat, we are not referring to a retreat lasting two to three years or several months but to a consistent practice of one to two hours every day.

~ Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche

*📙Topic: *
*HOW TO FACE SUFFERING*
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The practice of facing suffering can be divided into four stages:
1. Understand what suffering is.
2. Know the origin of suffering.
3. Defeat suffering.
4. METHODS FOR OVERCOMING SUFFERING:

We should be serious about practicing the methods on a regular basis; otherwise, they cannot be of use to us when we come upon suffering.

(We can choose to practice one method or several methods. However, it is best to practice just one method in one session of meditation.)

*The Buddhist methods for overcoming suffering are essentially of two kinds: one is from the viewpoint of RELATIVE truth; the other is that of ULTIMATE truth.*

~ Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche

*📙Topic: *
*HOW TO FACE SUFFERING*
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The practice of facing suffering can be divided into four stages:
1. Understand what suffering is.
2.KNOW THE ORIGIN OF SUFFERING:

When suffering or happiness arises, changes in brain wave activity in certain parts of the brain are detected. Actually, the brain is only a tool. Consciousness is dependent on the brain to discern and experience external phenomena.

The sutras have often discussed and demonstrated that suffering comes from self-attachment, that is, attachment to the existence of a self..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.

Although the suffering of non-discriminating thought is generally not connected with our consciousness, it can be transformed when our practice reaches a certain stage. However, our goal now is to transform suffering of the sixth consciousness, i.e., the suffering of discriminating thought.

For instance, when we are driving a luxury car, there is a sense of pride and giddy excitement. This happy feeling comes from the sixth consciousness. From the standpoint of non-discriminating consciousness, there is very little difference between driving an expensive car and a nice ordinary car; but from the standpoint of the sixth consciousness, it is very different.

Thus, we have to be strong mentally; we must not let suffering take root in our mind easily. To conclude, the origin of suffering is primarily our own attachment.

~ Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche

*📙Topic: *
*The Practice of Suffering *
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In the midst of happiness, know that even though we are in possession of worldly goods today, we may not possess them tomorrow; *thus arrogance will not arise. *

In the midst of misfortune, know also that even though we are suffering now, this is but a means of existence; *we will be able to bear it. *

*Because our hearts are filled with energy, power, and courage.*

~ Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche

The Buddha’s teachings are universally applicable. No matter if one is a Buddhist or not, and no matter if one observes the discipline or not, anyone who takes unwholesome actions will sow negative karmic seeds in his mind. On the contrary, anyone who practices the ten virtues will naturally receive large benefits in his life. Therefore, it is vital for us to observe pure precepts, and the practice of ten virtues is the foundation of it.

📕*topic*
*The Principles of Liberation*
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*There are three reasons why we cannot attain liberation:*

First is the greed for external possessions, to the world and to the samsara; second is the attachment to ourselves, namely the self-grasping, self-cherishing or selfish mind; third is the attachment to the belief that everything in the material world truly exists.

~ Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche