‘Striking Vipers’ In A ‘Black Mirror’

Jul. 1 | With technological advances, there is an ever-thinning fine line between reality and virtuality; real-life versus ‘fun and games’. What if the day comes, when the fantastically and sensually simulated is maximised so much, that it is preferred...

I’m Taking A Ride With My Best Friend

Jun. 6 | It all seems so stupid, it makes me want to give up… – Shame: First half of chorus (Depeche Mode) The classic 1987 Depeche Mode concert anthem, ‘Never Let Me Down Again‘, is about a debatable ‘best friend’, who is taking...

‘The Song Of Patience By Hánshān & Shídé’ As Sung By The Bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra & Maitreya 文殊、普贤与弥勒菩萨所唱的《寒山拾得忍耐歌》

May. 16 | The following is a beloved classic teaching on patience (忍辱), called ‘Hánshān Asks Shídé’《寒山问拾得》or ‘Hánshān’s [And] Shídé’s Patience Song’《寒山拾得忍耐歌》, with notes on its meaning. 稽首文殊，寒山之士。南无普贤，拾得定是。 [I]...

How The Buddha Saved A Suicidal Girl

May. 3 | 诸佛念念念众生… All Buddhas, from thought to thought, [who are] are mindful of all beings… – Shilashanti According to the ‘Rajjumala-vimāna’, there was a servant’s daughter in Gayā, who was scolded and physically...

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...

Can Buddhists Convert To Other Religions?

Jul. 26 | Question: Can a Buddhist, having taken the Threefold Refuge in the Triple Gem formally, convert to another faith? What about one who also committed to the Five Precepts? Answer: Since there is no one forcing any Buddhist to remain a Buddhist, it is not...

Refuge Haiku

May. 15 | Find your refuge. Take your refuge. Be your refuge.

Refuge Haiku

Apr. 25 | Even if everything is renounced, never forsake the Dharma.

What Is There To Hold On?

May. 11 | To think you can ‘have and hold’ the worldly is to ‘have and hold’ delusion. – Stonepeace | Books Once, when the Layman was on his way to sell his bamboo baskets, he stumbled and fell while crossing over a bridge. When Ling-chao...

How To Easier Chant Guanyin Bodhisattva’s Name?

Sep. 30 | Question: I have been chanting Guanyin Bodhisattva’s name with this long format – ‘南无大慈大悲救苦救难广大灵感观世音菩萨摩诃萨‘ (Namo Daci Dabei Jiuku Jiunan Guangda Linggan Guanshiyin Pusa Mohesa: Homage to and...

Verse On Refuge In Sangha

Jul. 20 | 自归于僧， 当愿众生， 统理大众， 一切无碍。 – 文殊菩萨     (华严经: 净行品11: 第22偈) Personally taking refuge in the Sangha,* [reflect that] ‘May sentient beings harmoniously guide [the] great assembly,** all...

Verse On Refuge In Dharma

Jul. 14 |   自归于法， 当愿众生， 深入经藏， 智慧如海。 – 文殊菩萨     (华严经: 净行品11: 第21偈) Personally taking refuge in the Dharma,* [reflect that] ‘May sentient beings deeply enter [the] treasury of the sutras,** [to...

Verse On Refuge In Buddhas

Jul. 7 |   自归于佛， 当愿众生， 绍隆佛种， 发无上意。 – 文殊菩萨    (华严经: 净行品11: 第20偈) Personally taking refuge [in the] Buddha[s], [reflect that] ‘May sentient beings perpetuate magnificence [of their]...

Can Buddhists Pray To Gods?

Mar. 5 | Question: Is it alright for Buddhists to just pray as form of respect to deities (gods), but not to request anything from them? Answer: It is alright for Buddhists to express respect but there should not be a sense of utmost reverence and absolute refuge,...

This Transient World Offers No True Refuge

Jan. 13 | The foam that floats on stagnant pools, now vanishing, now forming, never stays the same for long. So, too, it is with the people and dwellings of the world. – Chomei Yes, take it for all in all, this world is a hard place to live, and both we...