We are all ordinary people; all must be reborn. No one can stop this, not even the Buddha. If the Buddha were able to end death and rebirth, we would all be out of samsara by now. Unfortunately, that is not the case! No ordinary people can choose what to be in the next life or not to be reborn. If we were to come back to samsara willingly, no one would choose to be animal, let alone hungry ghost or go to the hell realm. Yet, there are innumerable sentient beings in the hell realm, all because of the stubborn desire for samsara.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Way of Living and the Meaning of Life"

Many people also mix up the two. Among them, there are non- Buddhists and some lay practitioners of Buddhism. Although increasingly more people are becoming interested in learning Buddhism, some of them seek only the benefit of the celestial beings or the human realm in this life. What will happen in the next life or the question of liberation from samsara are not at all their concerns. They burn incense and read sutras only to get a better treatment from this life. On the surface, it may appear that they are practicing Buddhism, but in fact they view Dharma practice only as a way of living. To non-Buddhists, working is their way of living; for some Buddhists, the way of living means going to the temple to render worship to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The so-called Dharma practice does not touch upon the meaning of life whatsoever. To make clear distinction between the way of living and the meaning of life is the most basic step to entering the path of Dharma.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Way of Living and the Meaning of Life"

However, real austerity means undertaking to practice with diligence and great patience as well as overcoming all kinds of difficulties without fear. Otherwise, paupers among all people would be the first to reach enlightenment.

- Quote from The Right View, "A Buddhist’s Mode of Life"

A wealthy man once told me that he could make a few million bucks from just one deal, but to him it only meant that more numbers were added to his bankbook. One only needs so much to live. He could never use up all his money in this lifetime. I think what he said makes a lot of sense. Such is the reality. Naturally, if he were to use the money for charity or something meaningful, it would be a different matter entirely. If not, just accumulating great wealth should not be deemed the meaning of life.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Way of Living and the Meaning of Life"

The way of living means how one goes about sustaining oneself, essentially how one manages to live. What is the proper way of living for a Dharma practitioner? What did the Buddha say about this?

Should all practitioners give up everything and retreat to the caves to meditate like Milarepa did? It would be great if one can do that, but most laypeople cannot and so the Buddha did not rule this way. In a nutshell, the Buddha only asked all Buddhists to be content with fewer desires, which means differently to the monastics and lay practitioners.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Way of Living and the Meaning of Life"

To make every effort not to let the beings hurt during the process is one way. Take fish as an example. Fish might get hurt when they jump out from the containers and land either on top of the containers or on the ground. To roughly grab and quickly throw it into the water, as normally done by some, may cause harm too. Other than birds perhaps, throwing usually gives animals a great sense of fear, which in turn can be detrimental to their mental condition. 

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"

The Buddha also said that it is not necessary to live too modestly if one can afford a comfortable life with relative ease, thanks to good karma from the past life. To live a simple life, as opposed to a luxurious one, means less energy need be spent on acquiring material wealth and hence more time and attention for really meaningful matters. This is the way the Buddha told us to live.

- Quote from The Right View, "The Way of Living and the Meaning of Life"

According to some surveys, given the same living condition, the level of happiness for those who have faith far exceeds those who have not.

Liberating living beings is the best antidote to karma of killing lives. However, if we liberate beings simply for the purification of our karma, though karma can be purified, it is not the way to practice Mahayana. Whether to liberate beings to purify our own negative karma or, out of bodhicitta, to do it for the sake of all sentient beings is ultimately a personal choice.

- Quote from The Right View, "Liberating Living Beings"