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Verses On Looks
Apr. 19 | 见端正人，当愿众生， 于佛菩萨，常生净信。 见丑陋人，当愿众生， 于不善事，不生乐著。 – 文殊菩萨 (华严经: 净行品: 第86-87偈) Seeing proper-looking persons, [reflect that] ‘May sentient beings, in...
Existential Chats In ‘Café Society’
Apr. 19 | In ‘Café Society’ is discussion of some interesting existential issues. Bobby exclaims, ‘[W]hen the end’s near, you need something… I have to know that all this just doesn’t end… I need to believe...
Verses On Sickness
Apr. 13 | 见无病人，当愿众生， 入真实慧，永无病恼。 见疾病人，当愿众生， 知身空寂，离乖诤法。 – 文殊菩萨 (华严经: 净行品: 第84-85偈) Seeing persons without sickness, [reflect that] ‘May sentient beings, enter...
Craving To Have King Midas’ Golden Touch?
Apr. 13 | All that glisters is not gold— Often have you heard that told. Many a man his life hath sold But my outside to behold. Gilded tombs do worms enfold. – The Merchant of Venice (William Shakespeare) In the Greek myth of King Midas’ golden touch,...
Can One Be Addicted To Buddhism?
Apr. 13 | Question: Some say religion, including Buddhism, can lead to indulgence or addiction. Or if put in a condescending way, lead to fanaticism. How should I respond? Answer: (As we cannot speak for all who respond in various ways to various religions,...
A Buddhist Retells The Myth Of Sisyphus
Apr. 7 | If it is meaningless to be trapped in birth and death, what meaningful would be to seek liberation from birth and death. [to be continued…] – Stonepeace | Books In the Greek myth of Sisyphus, he was supposedly the ‘wisest’ of humans,...
Does Aversion At Buddha Images Create Negative Karma?
Apr. 7 | Question: When I visited a temple, the Buddha statue there seemed to stir up some aversion in me, as its face did not look peaceful or compassionate to me. Does this feeling create negative karma? The fierce statues of Dharma Protectors do not give...
What To Chant Before Buddha & Bodhisattva Images?
Mar. 28 | Question: What should I chant if I wish to pay respects before images of different Buddhas (e.g. Medicine Buddha) and Bodhisattvas (e.g. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva)? I only know how to chant ‘Amituofo’ (Amitabha Buddha; 阿弥陀佛). Answer: If...
It’s A Very Very ‘Mad World’
Mar. 28 | ‘Mad World’ (一念无明) accurately depicts of how the mentally ill, who deserve more empathy by society get more demonisation instead. Much more dangerous than the extremely rare ‘raving lunatics’, are the masses’...
Did The Buddha Die Of Food-Poisoning In Old Age?
Mar. 19 | Question: How is it that the Buddha could have died at 80 years old due to eating spoiled pork? Answer: Since the Buddha already announced the date of his passing at least 3 months in advance, he did not die of ageing or sickness, as he was in total...
An Outsider’s Review Of ‘The Outsider’
Mar. 19 | ‘The Outsider’ tells a fictitious tale of how a foreigner (gaijin) joined a yakuza gang, rising in its ranks to be its most ‘honourable’ leader. Often the case, such stories depict the fierce sense of ‘honour’ among,...
A Buddhist Retells The Myth Of Orpheus & Eurydice
Mar. 8 | 爱不重， 不生娑婆。 念不一， 不生极乐。 – 杨次公 (宋) (If greedy) attachment is not heavy, there will not be birth in this Saha World. If mindfulness (of Amituofo) is not wholehearted, there will not be birth in (his Pure Land...
What Would Push You To Make ‘The Push’?
Mar. 8 | ‘The Push’ is a reality TV documentary by the mentalist Derren Brown. For choosing its ‘participants’, he shortlists, through an experiment, those who are especially socially compliant, without question. They are then put through...
