From ‘The Avengers’ movie:

Steve Rogers: Doc… I think now is the perfect time for you to get angry. 
Bruce Banner: That’s my secret, Cap[tain America], I’m always angry.

Cap was suggesting Banner to transform into the Hulk there and then to help save the day. Right after Banner says the above, he immediately morphs into the Hulk. It is as if he has been constantly suppressing his rage all along, which also means he can let it loose at any time. Now, the tricky thing is, Banner looked incredibly calm most of the time. How then, could he be angry all the time? He must be in great control! Suppression incidentally does not dissolve rage, which is what Banner should do if he really wishes to uproot his anger problem. The cultivation of the opposite quality of loving-kindness is the cure.

But if he keeps his angry in control, it is no longer anger, because we can only have one thought in each moment. Where there is calm, there is no rage; where there is rage, there is no calm. Alas! This is a logical error in the script! Something else interesting to note is that rage is useful only when it is transformed to energy with mindfulness, and for there to be mindfulness, there must be calmness. In this sense, the assumed unbridled rage of Hulk cannot actually be skilful. This I have to say, much of a Hulk fan as I am!

Related Articles:
http://moonpointer.com/new/index.php?s=hulk

A surprise email arrived on a mediation case between two people I helped some time ago. Here is my abridged reply:

My apologies for any perceived and actual misgivings from my side. Reflecting on this, I sincerely believe I did the best I could back then to help, foolish and inadequate as I surely was. I remember the discussion was in good spirit from your side too. There was ample opportunity for raising any matters of concern.

Unfortunately, it turns out that there is resentment nursed all along on your side, that was not expressed. I wish you were more forthright instead back then, with open communication, to save yourself from needless suffering. This is part of proper and deep communication.

I sincerely hope you remember her kindness, over her misgivings. People are always more kind to us than we tend to remember or even know. Please see this article: http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/12/do-you-see-the-invisible-bodhisattvas-in-your-life on what I mean. Please read this it with deep mindfulness and loving-kindness.

There are many invisible ‘Bodhisattvas’ in our lives doing their best for us, and the ones most misunderstood are the ones we assume to simply be inadequate people around us, even if they are indeed still inadequate. May we be better Bodhisattvas to one another. May all be well and happy always. Amituofo

Advice to a Dharma student:

If you don’t stick to a proper practice group with continual learning and guidance, these problems (which you just faced) of encountering deviated teachings via your random exploration are likely to recur. This is a reason why the Buddha clearly taught that spiritual friendship is the WHOLE of the path.

There is no soul, as in an unchanging mental entity.
If it is there, why did we change to be the way we are?
If it is there, how can we change to be better?

There is however, Buddha-nature -
the potential to become enlightened,
perfect in compassion and wisdom.

At a Buddhist temple, there were prayers… that ended with the wish for all beings to be well and happy. This is followed by the emcee announcing that they are organising a charity dinner, that it includes two special tables, catered for vegetarians.

Wow! Amazing stuff… when, with the mouthing of wishing all beings to be well and happy, there is immediate unmindfulness that the animals to be killed and consumed are some of these ‘all beings’ too.

Amazing indeed, that the minority of the food catered is vegetarian, and that this is seen as special, and not the encouraged norm. The kinder diet is but a secondary thought, an afterthought? What incredible lack of sensitivity. Is it serious negligence of compassion or attachment to meat at play amongst the management and devotees? How true can charity be in the name of feasting on animals?

“Hundreds of thousands of baby male chicks are either ground up alive or discarded like trash to die more slowly, piled by the hundreds, even thousands, on top of one another in bins every single day in order to satiate the egg and chicken-meat industry. The majority of male chicks are basically useless to both industries, so they are considered to be “trash”. I can not tell you how hard I’ve cried watching documentary video of countless live baby chicks, freezing to death in garbage bins out in the winter cold. So, which is the more brutal scenario? Is there a more brutal scenario?”

~ Anthony Damiano,
on the realities caused by the consumption of chicken-based products

This is more or less standard practice. We have the power to lessen this – by reducing consumption and thus demand for animal produce. Becoming vegetarian is just half of the picture. Veganism is to go the full mile! Let’s stretch ourselves ethically as far as we can for the welfare of all sentient beings.

Related Video: http://mercyforanimals.org/hatchery
Related Article: http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2009/10/is-ignorance-really-bliss

C: A young lady came looking for a job in a Buddhist organisation. Do you happen to know of any?

S: Hmmm…. nothing on my list at the moment, but she might like to subscribe to www.TheDailyEnlightenment.com to look out at the Notices section. Also, she might want to try an unconventional method, which is what I did in 1997 – write in to major Buddhist organisations uninvited to express eagerness to do Dharma work. :-] Amituofo

Those we encounter,
are seldom
totally good or evil.

If so, we choose
to have gratitude for their goodness
or to bear grudges against their evil.

The first rewards oneself.
The latter punishes oneself.
Do choose wisely!

A Tit for a Tat (358)

Tit: Can you decide what to have for dinner?
Tat: You decide!
Tit: Can’t you be more assertive?!
Tat: I am being assertive. I insist that you decide!

Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2012/05/heavy-rain
About aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/02/logo-for-a-tit-for-a-tat-series

The aT4aT series will be featured in the first volume of 
‘The Amazing & Amusing Adventures of Sam & Sara’ soon,
as a comic book with previously unseen commentary!
(Tit & Tat are renamed as Sam & Sara in the book – think SamSara!)
To keep tabs of its launch, do email moonpointer <at> gmail.com to be informed.

A Tit for a Tat (357)

Tat: If you can hear the rain, it’s heavy rain.
Tit: I can hear it, but it doesn’t look very heavy!
Tat: Okay… only if you hear it raining loudly, is it heavy rain!
Tit: I can hear it loudly, but it doesn’t look very heavy!
Tat: Okay… if it already looks heavy, it already is!

Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2012/05/being-assertive
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2012/04/mindful-eating
About aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/02/logo-for-a-tit-for-a-tat-series

The aT4aT series will be featured in the first volume of 
‘The Amazing & Amusing Adventures of Sam & Sara’ soon,
as a comic book with previously unseen commentary!
(Tit & Tat are renamed as Sam & Sara in the book – think SamSara!)
To keep tabs of its launch, do email moonpointer <at> gmail.com to be informed.

He believes his meat-eating teacher
can ‘deliver’ the beings eaten to Pure Land.

If this is true, shouldn’t he eat as much meat as possible,
out of compassion and wisdom?

If this is true, why not eat a bite of him,
out of compassion and wisdom?

A:I find 老实人 (honest; forthright persons) irresistible.

S: A very 老实 comment! We all prefer 老实人. Ironically, even the 不老实的人 prefer them! Actually, 不老实的人 are very tired of other 不老实的人, that’s why they prefer 老实人. Sadly, they forget that they are their own immediate 不老实的人. They should simply become 老实人 – to become who they really prefer to be. That’s being true to their Buddha-nature :-]

颠倒众生因视善知识为恶知识，
自己则退转成其他众生恶知识！

As inverted beings see good-knowing advisors as evil-knowing advisors,
they thus backslide to become other beings’ evil-knowing advisors (too).

A name I came up with some years ago.
Happy to see it still being in use…

MaitriPals – Pals for friendship, with universal love and compassion.

‘Maitri’ is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘friendship of universal love and compassion’
(Think ‘Maitreya Buddha’ – The friendly enlightened one)

‘Tri’ can also be short for ‘triple’.
‘MaitriPals’ sounds like ‘My Three Pals’.
These three best friends are the ‘Tri’ple Gems of the Buddha, Dharma & Sangha,
who offer their friendship of universal love and compassion.

More about MaitriPals: http://maitripals.wordpress.com

Yes, I should stagger my classes once in a while to reach out to different people with different day and time constraints. The problem is many different people tell me conflicting preferred dates and venues.  I can’t ignore the majority, but I can’t ignore the minority too… hmmm…

Looks like the only solution is to keep staggering dates and venues till all are covered eventually!