Bitter Haiku

Feb. 8 | Life is already too bitterto be even more bitterabout others’ bitterness.

The Buddha’s Two Authorities Within Four Great References For All

Jan. 30 | For that which I have proclaimedand made known as the Dharma and the Discipline,that shall be your Master when I am gone.– Śākyamuni Buddha(Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta) What if you encounter a so-called famous ‘master’, who claims...

Loving-Kindness & Compassion 慈与悲

Nov. 8 | 佛心者慈与悲：大慈则与乐，大悲则拔苦。 – 空海大师（性灵集） Those with the Buddha’s hearthave loving-kindness and compassion:with great loving-kindness thus giving joy,with great compassion thus uprooting...

[H] What Will Happen After This Dharma-Ending Age? 末法之后将会如何？

Sep. 26 | 恶人转多， 如海中沙。 – 释迦牟尼佛 《佛说法灭尽经》 Evil persons will multiply to be many, like sands’ number within the ocean. – Śākyamuni Buddha (Sūtra In Which The Buddha Speaks Of The Dharma’s Complete End) According...

Do We Chant Just To Show Respect?

Sep. 24 | Question: Is chanting to express respect to Buddha? How does it help us and others? Answer: Chanting should always be practised respectfully, so as to be attentive, to receive the teachings chanted well. But chanting is not done just to express respect...

Is ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ Ours Too?

Sep. 23 | What is the meaning, purpose or point of this life, be it long or short? These existential issues are pondered by a dog, who is able to recall several immediate past lives. Is it just to have fun and games, to play and eat? If only it is that...

The Three Kinds Of Patience

Aug. 21 | There is no evil like hatred, And no fortitude like patience. Thus I should strive in various ways To meditate on patience. – Shantideva (Guide To Bodhisattva’s Way Of Life) [1] Not Becoming Upset with Those Who Do Harm The first type of patience...

Can I Suffer On Behalf Of Others?

Aug. 20 | Question: Is it possible to suffer on the behalf of other sentient beings? Answer: Most parents, being loving, wish to suffer on behalf of their children when they are sick, but who is able to do this? If this can be done, the world would not have any...

Are You Causing Suffering With Speciesism?

Jul. 31 | If you believe plants are also sentient, you should not eat animals’ meat and such, as they eat much plants to grow them, while vegans directly eat the least plants. – Commonsensical [T]he Australian moral philosopher Peter Singer wrote a book...

Control Yourself

Jul. 19 | Irrigators regulate the rivers;fletchers straighten the arrow shaft;carpenters shape the wood;the wise control themselves. Just as a solid rockis not shaken by the storm,even so the wiseare not affected by praise or blame. On hearing the Teachings,the...

Six Matters You Might Wish To Consider Now

Jul. 4 | As not choosing is also choosing, do consider well to choose well. – Shilashanti [1] First, you might not liberate yourself before this life ends, but you can choose where reborn. [2] Second, you might not care where you will be reborn, but such rebirth...

Be Mindful, Brothers & Sisters

Jun. 26 | But little water do the oceans four contain, Compared with all the tears that man hath shed, By sorrow smitten and by suffering distraught. Woman, why heedless dost thou still remain? – The Buddha to Patacara Patacara, a lady from a well-to-do family...

What Horror Stories Teach Us

Jun. 10 | All horror stories, fictitious or true, are tragedies. All tragedies are with suffering. All suffering is from the Three Poisons (of greed, hatred and delusion). To have unhappy endings, there must be no resolution. To have no resolution, there must be...

Wellness Haiku

Jun. 1 | Worldly ‘wellness’ now is but a brief period before sickness or death returns. Spiritual wellness lasts for all time, ending all cyclical suffering.

Who Are You Behind That Mask? (‘Hema Hema’s Dharma Drama On Karma)

May. 23 | What if there is an secret camp of sorts, amidst the mountains, where for a fortnight, all don masks to hide their true identities, and are free to do whatever they wish? There, almost anything goes, though there are some basic rules to ensure there...