We all know Steve Jobs made many major decisions which were critical to the success of Apple products worldwide. In reading his biography, we understand these decisions were connected with and inseparable from his meditation practice. Through meditative concentration, the mind can be trained to reach a state of crisp clarity. When decisions are made with this state of mind, they can have a greater and better impact on the operation and the development of a product.

Meditative concentration is not only important to the management and strategic direction of a company, but also invaluable in promoting the mental well-being of corporate leaders and the employees. Without mental concentration or focus, how do business executives cope with all their social obligations? How do they dissolve the stress they are under? What about suffering from feeling empty and restless, trouble with insomnia and depression, and inefficiency? One can imagine how difficult it is to make accurate decisions under these circumstances. Meditation practice can help ameliorate, even eliminate, these problems. Money, which we normally place such importance on, is of no use to us at this time.

~Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS - Buddhism and the Business World – Six Standards in a Corporate Culture

Buddhism is like a supermarket with plenty to offer. The Guhyagarbha Tantra of the Nyingma tradition states that Buddhism can be divided into five vehicles (yanas): Human and Celestial Beings (vehicle of seekers of fortune and bliss in the human and god realm respectively), Sravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana, Bodhisattvayana, and Vajrayana. Whatever and however one seeks to practice the Dharma, various modes of practice can be found in Buddhism to suit each one’s aspiration. As in a supermarket where one can pick and choose freely, there are different levels of practice in Buddhism, from the worldly to the sublime, up to the incomparable Great Perfection, available for selection at one’s own discretion. Although the wish of the buddhas and bodhisattvas is for everyone to practice for the attainment of liberation instead of worldly benefit, it is only a wish on their part. They will not force everyone to practice Vajrayana, nor Mahayana or Theravada for that matter, because sentient beings differ in their capacity. Is one method sufficient to bring all out of samsara? Apparently not. It is precisely for this reason that the Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma three times, and transmitted eighty-four thousand teachings. There would be no need for all of these if one method alone could work its magic.

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

Three years ago, I asked everyone in the class to write me a note telling me how and what each one would arrange for daily practice. Now I would like to know what, if any, progress you have made in these three years. In other words, have you learned anything concrete from your practice? The Buddhist logic holds that regardless of what phenomenon, if it does not move in as short a time as one-ten-thousandth of a second, it will not move in the subsequent one-ten-thousandth of a second either even until the final one-ten-thousandth. If no progress has been made in all these time, I am afraid that none ever will, even in another six, nine or twelve years!

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Way of Living and the Meaning of Life

It is said in the scripture that ten persons cannot move a heavy log on the ground, but one person can easily pull the log if it’s thrown in the water. Similarly, it is very difficult for sentient beings to go to Sukhāvatī when alive, but much easier while in the intermediate state. It is because beings in the intermediate state, the bardo beings, have no actual body, only mental body—body created by consciousness. Just like in the outer space where there is zero gravity, a little push can point a body to a different direction; mental body can be led to Sukhāvatī with just a little guidance. Of course, one can also choose to be reborn in the pure realms of Maitreya or Padmasambhava, but Sukhāvatī is the most ideal and the easiest to go to, and one will never go back to samsara again from Sukhāvatī. At the same time, we must also take note that if there is any negative condition at this point such as the arising of an evil thought, it will be equally easy to fall into the lower realms.

~Depicted from THE LIFE FOR HANDBOOKS'S JOURNEY - On Death And Rebirth-How to Take Rebirth

However, when people do become wealthier, their level of happiness has not grown with the improvement of their living conditions. For instance, many well-developed countries in the West, such as those in Scandinavia, have instituted very extensive social welfare systems for their citizens. Almost everything they need in life is provided, but the suicide rates in those countries were surprisingly high at one point. According to the data from the World Health Organization in 1994, the suicide rates of the Scandinavian countries all ranked in the top 10 on their list. Apparently, to the Scandinavians, material wealth was not as important as we thought. Although the standard of living in general is much higher in the West, many people there are not happy. This is but one indication of material wealth not being in direct proportion to happiness.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - A Buddhist’s Mode of Life

Please don’t always blame others for your suffering. There is no suffering in the world that is purely caused by other people and that has nothing to do with our own doing. We are also responsible to a certain extent. Even if it is not due to the mistakes made in this life, those committed in previous lives may also be the culprit. So learn to accept one’s own responsibility, practice Dharma diligently, transform suffering and help sentient beings to liberation from samsara. This should be the best route for us.

~Depicted from THE HANDBOOK'S FOR LIFE JOURNEY - On The Three Poisons-How to Handle Desire

At the same time, we should also find out what samsara means, what the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, death and, in fact, the world as a whole signify. But all these questions can simply be summed up in the first Noble Truth—the nature of suffering. Once understanding the nature of suffering, we will have a better grasp on how to deal with the cycle of birth, aging, sickness and death, of which the root cause is the origin of suffering. How then can this cause be uprooted? As physical illness needs the right medication to be cured, cyclic existence can only be stopped with practice of the Dharma. To counteract defilements and attachment, one must exert a sharply opposing force in order to be effective. The process of exerting this counteracting force is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. In other words, the purpose of undertaking Dharma practice is to cease the endless cycle of rebirth and death, not unlike what the right medicine is to a patient.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Four Noble Truths—the Path Out of Samsara

First of all, we should know that to encounter the teaching on emptiness is not something to be taken for granted. Hearing it plants the seed for realization of emptiness that is not only indestructible but will also come to fruition in the near future. It is stated in the Four Hundred Verse Treatise by Aryadeva: Most sentient beings do not have the chance to hear the profound teaching on emptiness due to insufficient merit. Even if they do, most are unable to generate faith in or have reasonable doubt about the empty nature of phenomena, having little merit and inferior capacity or being negatively influenced by the surrounding environment and their social background. Anyone who can muster even the slightest doubt about the plausibility of all phenomena being empty of self-nature will hence have the means to cease samsara in the end.

~Depicted from THE RIGHT VIEW - The Two Truths—the Key to Unlocking Madhyamaka

Fourth, establish the right view on life. Do not idealize life, or see it as perfect. If we are not alert to impending crises, we will be greatly disappointed when confronted with birth, aging, sickness, and death and various kinds of suffering. We may take extreme steps if we cannot handle the suffering. Hence, the right amount of precaution is necessary to surmount life’s difficulties. When accidents happen, we should always remind ourselves: birth, aging, sickness, and death; sadness, joy, parting, and reunion are all part of life. None of us are spared or can escape, so we must not be overly weak. In life, there are many complications and misfortunes which cannot be avoided; some happen for objective reasons, some are caused by our past karma. Whatever the reason, we cannot run away from them. As long as we have a body, we will experience birth, aging, sickness, and death. If we are not strong enough to deal with this, we will incur a great deal of suffering.

Buddha Sakyamuni handed down many methods to face birth, aging, sickness, and death, and always taught us to confront, not run away from our suffering

~Depicted from ARE YOU READY FOR HAPPINESS - The Tibetan Buddhist View on Happiness