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Young people are not above this either. They may look like they can afford to play and have fun all the time. But once they begin to contemplate the purpose of this life and the question of the beginning and the ending of life, they cannot help but realize that the two ends of this life are really a blur. What their minds and eyes can grasp are only the present, fleeting moments. Most of them, unable to face this frightening conclusion directly, just cast these issues aside and ignore them.

Material comforts are like anesthetics that can only numb the senses temporarily while the reality of birth, old age, sickness and death never goes away. If we avoid facing these issues now, whether we get another chance to do anything about it in the future would be anybody’s guess. This is by no means an exaggerated threat, but an inevitable outcome.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara"

All branches of Buddhism fall under Mahayana and Theravada. There is no third vehicle. To be a Theravada practitioner, the first requisite is having unshakable renunciation—complete distaste for worldly fulfillments and whole-hearted pursuit of liberation from samsara. Do we have such resolution? If not, we would not qualify as Theravada practitioners.

Mahayana practitioners, on the other hand, must have undaunted bodhicitta and be willing to serve the needs of others unselfishly and unconditionally. Can we do that? If not, we would not be deemed Mahayana practitioners either.

If we are neither Mahayana nor Theravada practitioners, strictly speaking, we are not Buddhist practitioners at all. What are we after all? At best, we are believers of Buddhism or of Shakyamuni Buddha, who may intermittently chant some mantras and do some good deeds here and there. Really, just be a little better than non-believers. Though we may have had many teachings and empowerments, met more than a few respectable teachers and practitioners, we still cannot get any closer to even the edge of liberation. Worse, it must have been horrifying to discover that we possibly may not even be Buddhist practitioners when going through the aforementioned self-examination.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Three Supreme Methods"