Clarity Haiku

Jul. 18 | Be calm to be clear, or you will be fearful and more confused. Share This:

How To Better Interest Others In The Dharma

Jul. 18 | Four Bases Of Sympathy:  [1] Generously giving gifts  [2] Speaking kind words [3] Doing kind deeds [4] Being equal in treatment Hatthaka [the lay Buddhist] was famous… for his ability to attract people to the Dharma. Once he brought five hundred...

Is It Alright To Have A Buddha Image In A Fish Tank?

Jul. 18 | Question: Is there any wrong with keeping a Buddha statue in an aquarium in my room? Answer: While a statue being in a room is alright as long as nothing disrespectful is done in there, as the aquarium is with fish waste, it is not considered respectful...

Note Haiku

Jul. 11 | Note the noteworthy. Note not the rest. Share the noteworthy. Share This:

Doubt The Doubtful To Realise The Truthful

Jul. 11 | Be it with skepticism or faith in the Buddha’s teachings, the Buddha welcomes all to question them, all to question him. – Shilashanti Near the beginning of Śākyamuni Buddha’s life of extensive teaching, as recorded in the Kālāma Sutta,...

The Buddha’s Leading Lay Disciple’s Dialogue With Mahavira

Jul. 11 | In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial, unendearing and disagreeable to others, he does not say them. – Sakyamuni Buddha (Abhaya Sutta) [Citta was the model Buddhist layman whose learning and behaviour the...

Must Mantras Be Chanted Accurately?

Jul. 11 | Question: Is it such that when chanting a mantra like the Great Compassion Mantra, it must be chanted accurately?  Answer: Although sincerity matters more than accuracy, especially for longer mantras with many words, they should be chanted as accurately...

Busting The ‘Ghostbusters’?

Jul. 11 | Despite the ‘good, clean (or rather slimy) fun’ portrayed in the comical ‘Ghostbusters’ (1984) movie, there are some subtle moral issues raised. When the pseudo-scientific team became famous for their exploits, they appeared in...

Curb Haiku

Jul. 4 | They who curb not their deluded greed and hate are already curbed by them. Share This:

Why We Should Ask & Answer Dharma Queries Well

Jul. 4 | Ask well to be answered well. Ask better to be answered better. – Shilashanti In the last line of ‘[The] Twenty-Third [Light] Precept [Against] Arrogant [And] Biased Speaking [Of The Dharma]’ (第二十三憍慢僻说[轻]戒) in the ‘Brahmā...

The Hitter And The Hit

Jul. 4 | Practise to be as deliberate as you can now, so that you can be as free as you can later. – Shilashanti In the case of archery, the hitter and the hit are no longer two opposing objects, but one reality… Zen is the ‘everyday mind’;...

What Is The Simplest Way To Offer Food?

Jul. 4 | Question: As there are many long traditional chants for offering food, is there a simple version, that is easy to remember and recite, that can be used by children too? Answer: Here is a common version – 代一切众生，  供养佛， 供养法，供养僧，  ...

Without ‘Doubt’, The Best Anti-Gossip Sermon?

Jul. 4 | In the movie ‘Doubt’, Father Brendan Flynn masterfully delivered this unnerving sermon… ‘A woman was gossiping with her friend about a man whom they hardly knew… [Note: Such is the nature of gossip, which is spread of the...

Moment Haiku

Jun. 27 | As this moment could be your last – think, speak and act accordingly. Share This:

The Power Of Even One Word

Jun. 27 | Words are empowered as much by their speakers as by their listeners. – Shilashanti Once a monk was called to heal a sick child with a few words of paritta [protection] chanting. A skeptic in the crowd observed it all and expressed doubts about such...