Home » Posts tagged with "liberation"
Posts tagged with "liberation"
How To Not Be Reborn As Animals
Nov. 27 | The very shortsighted must learn to see much further. – Shilashanti The Kukkuravatika Sutta records how Puṇṇa (of the Koliyans), an ox-duty ascetic, and Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic learnt the error of their ways through the Buddha. Prior...
Which Of These Four Actions Do You Create?
Nov. 8 | There are four kinds of [karmic] actions proclaimed by me, after realising them for myself with direct knowledge. – Śākyamuni Buddha (Kukkuravatika Sutta) (As paraphrased and extended from the second half of the Kukkuravatika Sutta) [1] There are dark...
The Secret Life Of ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’?
Nov. 1 | This imaginative telling of Lincoln’s life as a part-time vampire hunter is an elaborate allegory perhaps, of how capitalistic slave-owners were like exploitative and unrelenting ‘bloodsuckers’, who would not stop till they took over...
Lost & Found In ‘The Sea Of Trees’
Oct. 17 | ‘The Sea Of Trees’ is an alternative name of Japan’s ‘Suicide Forest’. Believed by many to be very easy to get lost in, it is reminiscent of this Sahā World as a bitter ‘sea of suffering’, that is easy to drown...
Verse On Departure
Sep. 27 | 从舍出时， 当愿众生， 深入佛智， 永出三界。 – 文殊菩萨 (华严经: 净行品: 第124偈) [When] from a dwelling coming out, [reflect that] ‘May sentient beings, deeply enter the Buddha’s [sea of] wisdom, to forever...
Nobler Brotherhood For ‘A Better Tomorrow 2018’
Sep. 20 | ‘A Better Tomorrow 2018’ (英雄本色 2018) almost seems like exploration on what brotherhood (or sisterhood) means, in both the actual brotherly sense, and the non-sibling, sometimes gangster brotherly sense. Surely, it means loyalty, to...
How To Have The Ultimately Blissful Reunion
Sep. 5 | 若有众生， 闻是说者， 应当发愿， 生彼国土。 – 释迦牟尼佛 (佛说阿弥陀经) If there are beings who hear this, they should vow to be born in that [Pure] Land. – Śākyamuni Buddha (Sūtra [In Which The] Buddha Speaks [Of]...
The Rise & Fall Of ‘Icarus’
Aug. 29 | In his acceptance speech at the 90th Oscars ceremony for best documentary feature ‘Icarus’, the director Bryan Fogel said, ‘We dedicate this award to Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, our fearless whistleblower who now lives in great danger....
The ‘Historically’ Fantastic ‘Legend Of The Demon Cat’
Aug. 15 | ‘Legend Of The Demon Cat’ (妖猫传) is what can be called ‘fantastical history’ or ‘historical fantasy’ – a highly dramatised and romanticised retelling of how events might had been, that led to the demise of Yang...
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...
How To Sleep Well Like The Buddha
Jun. 20 | To always rest well, always live well when awake, without greed, hatred and delusion. – Shilashanti According to the Hatthaka Sutta, the Buddha was staying in a forest near Alavi, on a spread of leaves. Hatthaka, while walking around for exercise,...
Five Good Qualities Of Suffering
Jun. 20 | Furthermore, the good qualities of suffering are that you Dispel arrogance with disenchantment, Develop compassion for the beings of cyclic existence, Carefully avoid sin [or misgivings], and delight in virtue. – Shantideva Bodhisattva (Engaging In...
‘Meet Joe Black’, Life & Death
May. 15 | Bill chats with Joe as they watch ephemeral fireworks burst into the night sky at a great party: Bill: It’s hard to let go, isn’t it? Joe: Yes, it is, Bill. Bill: Well, that’s life. Death personified had taken on Joe’s human form...
