The purpose of human life is to attain enlightenment so that no more suffering will arise in the future. Greater minds have a far nobler aspiration: to become enlightened so that help may be rendered to those who are still caught in the sleep of delusion, unaware that there is one great goal to achieve in life—Freedom from Suffering! Once the meaning of life has been grasped, one will appreciate this precious life even more deeply and will realise that the impermanence of life is a threat to one’s cultivation, ensuring that no more time is wasted on idle living. One then appreciates life more and proceeds towards living a meaningful life filled with great and noble purpose.
7-Apr-1984 (2)

To remove anger from oneself, sincerity and perseverance are necessary before any real results can be felt. Discipline is also required, and time must be allowed for such practices. For the true cultivator who has realised this major fault, he must at once set about removing it from his mind. He must contemplate the evils of anger and the pains that inevitably follow.
However, introducing wholesome thoughts will have a positive effect on one’s mind, strengthening one’s motivation and causing one to become more aware of this fault. It will take time, which requires both patience and perseverance, to achieve positive results.
1-Apr-1984 (2)

Those who come here need to search deeply and practise contemplations on the precious opportunities they currently have to pursue the Path. They must also contemplate the sufferings of the samsaric realms and bring forth the mind of enlightenment, determined to succeed in their daily practice. Unless they seriously commit themselves to daily sitting in deep contemplation, they too will lose the Way.
While in contemplation, do not create the illusion of a dream world—a world that can never exist on this planet. Rather, wake up to the realities of the world and make a firm decision to distance yourself from the masses who prefer to live in a fantasy world.
10-Jan-1984 (3), 22-Mar-1984 (3)

As you pray for the well-being of others, you must be able to feel their plights. Before you pray, always spend a few moments contemplating the sufferings of the world and shift your mind from self to others. Once compassion is felt, the recitations you make will become more meaningful and more purposeful.
Daily contemplate the sufferings of the world and stir your heart so that you are ready to do your bit to make this world a better place and this society a happier one as you walk boldly along the Path of Compassion!
13-Mar-1984 (4), 7-Apr-1984 (3)

Anger is one of the greatest faults in human beings, and it arises out of delusion. For those who are constantly troubled by it, they must practise even more diligently to remove it from their minds.
Anger leads one to greater delusion, causing one to commit all kinds of foolish acts and generate all kinds of false views that eventually give rise to hatred.
A single instance of anger can destroy lifetimes of merits. Anger must be removed through patience and sustained effort.
Each time anger arises, remember the fatal results that will follow. Remember that all the prayers that you have uttered will become useless; remember that you have not understood the meaning of cultivation; and finally, remember that anger will destroy you.
1-Apr-1984 (1)

Prayer will cause you to create good wishes, which in turn open your heart. When you are able to feel for others, your prayers will be effective. When you can bring forth genuine feelings for those who are suffering, your prayers will be more concentrated and more direct, as if such prayers are meant for you.
When you pray, you are already committing yourself to a meritorious deed, so you should pray with the greatest concentration. A swaying mind will rob you of the value of this good act. Make sure that you adopt a single-minded attitude so that all the efforts you put in will bear fruit, thereby bringing benefits to others.
20-Mar-1984 (3)

Bravely walk on no matter how difficult it seems to be. The way to selflessness is always filled with tests because nobility must be brought forth. It is too easy for anyone to declare his intention to pursue this righteous Path, but it is difficult for him to last a single day. All kinds of declarations are of no use unless one is actually putting those words into action.
20-Mar-1984 (1)

The next time you cannot sleep well, do not just feel miserable and become miserable. Let those hours be spent in deep thoughts on how you will live your life and how you can reach out to others to bring them some relief. Do not waste those hours in useless struggles or ignoble thoughts that are dark and materialistic; instead, entertain thoughts that are kind and calm, for they will draw your worries away. Nothing is permanent, and your sleeplessness too cannot last forever! Be wise, and at all times hold your mind with kindly thoughts and prayers directed towards the well-being of others. Each moment is an opportunity to plant a good seed that is latent with energy and will become a living force one day, so that in the future, you will be able to use this energy fully!
27-Feb-1984 (9)

Begin to cultivate the habits that will lead you to peace, helping you to become a truly gentle being, a fearless yet loving being, a Buddhist! All that you do, do it for the sake of bringing happiness to others and to yourself. This is the way to remove friction between yourself and others. You will learn to see the good points in others and overlook their faults; you will learn to recognise your own faults and not focus on the virtues that you believe you have. You learn humility so that you can practise charity. You see in others what you should see in yourself—the entire world is but a mirror! 13-Mar-1986 (3)

When the mind is pure, there is peace and serenity. Purity of mind is what every being wishes for, but only a few will go after attaining it. It is not developed out of an intellectual understanding of purity. It must be felt through the various practices of purification of the heart.
Reading and understanding it is insufficient; anyone with the ability to read and the intelligence to understand can do it, but they have not experienced its true state. Mental purity is attained only by a sustained method of righteous living, in accordance with the Eightfold Path, whereby not only the mind but also one’s body and speech must all be free from acts of selfishness.
31-Mar-1986 (1)

The search for wisdom is slow and should not be hurried. To be able to recognise Suffering is the first step, and then the Causes of Suffering must be realised; otherwise, the root cause of suffering cannot be discovered, and one continues to dwell in Ignorance.
Patience and Endeavour are two of the basic virtues that must also be present. Dharma knowledge cannot be gained by studious studying alone, but rather through meditation and active practice. Experience will be the best of teachers. It requires numberless awakenings before the Awakened State is achieved. Because it takes such intense practice for anyone to succeed, the Path of the Buddha is not so attractive to the multitude. Unless one is ready for change and strict disciplines, Buddhism will not be for him, for unless he practises and improves himself by himself, he is not a Buddhist!
31-Mar-1986 (3)

The Buddha was not a Buddhist while he was striving to attain the enlightened state of mind, but his heart was pure and gentle, all loving and compassionate, and he became the Enlightened One only because he had these necessary pure qualities within his heart. For this reason, anyone can become a Buddha and need not be a Buddhist by religion. But for those who would like to follow the Buddha’s Path, they become a Buddhist for the sake of receiving its teachings, which are the actual methods of mental purification, and they must follow all these guidelines if they are truly serious about their practice. Then, their lives are lived with the sole purpose of developing a peaceful mind, which is done through discipline and meditation.
31-Mar-1986 (2)

The way to open your compassionate nature is not mysterious, nor is it given to a selected few only; it is for all! It is for those who are ever trying to be of help to others, making it their duty to save all beings as long as they have the breath of life to do so! When this is your great aspiration, nothing in the world will unsettle you. You become fearless in the face of change, willing to strive on even when your conditions of life change drastically. So, what is there to cry about when you lose your position in life, when you cannot sleep well at night, when you are afflicted with an incurable disease? You cannot do a single bit to change these external circumstances, for you are here to experience the very situations meant to polish your mind! It is how you hold your mind that matters!
27-Feb-1984 (8)

The Way of the Bodhisattvas is not reserved for the learned, the famous, or the powerful alone; it is for all—for everyone and anyone who sincerely seeks to become part of existence by becoming One with All! Therefore, the Great Teaching of “Serve All, Love All” must be embedded in your mind. Each night before you fall asleep, contemplate how you can truly serve and love your fellow beings!
What is the use of knowing when the practice is not applied? Perfecting virtues cannot be done with the mind alone. Holding noble views is fine, but you cannot build a house with sheer mind power! All the knowledge that you have accumulated through reading and hearing will not be worth much until the day you decide to do your bit to give real help to humanity. When this is done—and ‘doing good to others’ is not only lip service—then you are a true son of the Buddha, a favourite son of the Bodhisattvas, and a great son of man!
27-Feb-1984 (7)

Suffering is real and suffering is painful, even though the enlightened mind understands it to be an illusion. And while you are still at this stage of spiritual development, you must treat the sufferings of others as real so that you can be motivated to develop greater compassion and therefore put forth greater efforts. Even on the day when you can go beyond suffering, you will still need to accept the sufferings of the world as real because the minds of human beings are far from enlightened. As they live in delusion, they suffer more and more from the conditions that their deluded minds are creating. Therefore, do not just accept the teaching that life is unreal, or whatever else has been written by others. From where you stand, suffering is real, and your duty in this lifetime is to bring relief to as many as possible.
10-Mar-1984 (3)

The best of prayers, for those who have no inkling of what cultivation is or the purpose of cultivation, is to put their full faith and trust into the Six Syllables Mantra. Recite it constantly with a calm mind and cleanse yourself with ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’. Recite these sacred words as naturally as you breathe to live, allowing them to become a part of your life in every moment of the day and night.
While reciting, do not hold any feelings of hatred, anger, envy, or greed. Do not allow anyone or anything to upset you while you are in a state of prayers, or the continuation will be quite impossible. You must ask yourself why you are praying and what you are hoping to derive from this practice; your motivation must be clear!
From this day onwards, always be in a state of prayers for the benefit of your own purity and for the well-being of others, and put your full faith into your practice!
2-Mar-1984 (5)

Remember that the way to ultimate perfection is long—very, very long, even incomprehensible! However, patience and endeavour must be exercised, because the goal must be won, or life shall become a meaningless wandering into the distant future. Once you have accepted the method, practise it sincerely and with faith. One cannot reach Freedom by just wishing for it. Efforts must be expended.
To reach my Potala, to reach the Western Land of Bliss, to reach Nirvana—what is the difference once you have reached one of these destinations? But how are you to reach the unseen, the uncharted way to the unconditioned?
Build your own bridge to these realms of hope. Your prayers are the effective means of building this invisible bridge to these invisible realms!
2-Mar-1984 (3)

The good way of living in this lifetime will only bear fruit in the future, most likely in future lifetimes. Seekers are those who encounter obstacles because of their inquiring nature, and thus they experience many inner battles as questions arise within their minds. It is always good to clarify what is not clear to intellectual understanding, but there is danger whenever one seeks solely to satisfy intellectual deductions. The way of life cannot be learned through clever deduction alone; one must study the Teachings of the Buddha, which provide all the directions pointing to the Truths. Because of this, it is better to rely on the cultivation of a pure mind, to put faith in your prayers, and to resort to Prayer Recitation as a vehicle to wisdom. Once you have formed the habit of praying, worship becomes more meaningful and easier to adhere to. Then, in the moments of silence, you can learn to pour forth your true prayer, using words that are your very own and revealing the true motivations of your prayers.
2-Mar-1984 (2)