Pic: 4ocima Taking refuge in the Buddha, may I be with the awakened Taking refuge in the Dharma, may I be on the path to awakening Taking refuge in the Sangha, may I be with those on the path to awakening – Stonepeace A Dharma friend was rationalising for her refuge master’s legal allegations, who [...]

Thank goodness that we can only have one thought at a time. Imagine if 84,000 thoughts assault you at the same time! It would be impossible to cultivate the mind, to train single-mindedness. Fickle the monkey mind is, jumping rapidly from one stray thought to another. Even when our mind seems scattered or distracted, there [...]

Logo: The golden rays represent Amitabha Buddha’s light of compassion shining via his 48 great vows, which radiate in all directions from his Pureland to dispel the darkness of Samsara. Click to enlarge Join: Subscribe to mailing list for activity updates and teachings on Pureland Buddhism: amituofo-subscribe [at] yahoogroups [dot] com Archive: http://tinyurl.com/namoamituofo

A colleague I sat near apologised for her work desk being messy. I grinned and replied that it doesn’t matter, as long as one’s work output is not messy. She agreed. It doesn’t matter if one’s life seems relatively messy (physically; not mentally), as long as there is a happy ending – the best of [...]

I knew of this video from a friend’s blog. To my utmost surprise, it totally moved me to tears. Later, I read in the papers that it moved many others to tears too! Not because it’s depressing but because it was simply BRILLIANT! It touched me so that genuine appreciative joy just surfaced and overflowed! [...]

Pic: Which is scarier – a grinning Cheshire Cat or a scowling one? I saw two stationary stray cats gazing silently but intently at each other, at about five metres apart. As I wondered what was going on in their minds, it struck me that they might also be wondering what the other was wondering [...]

If only Samsara does not has… Piles of laundry to wash Piles of trash to throw Piles of dishes to clean Piles of dust to vacuum Piles of dirt to mop Piles of bills to settle Piles of to-dos to do A mortgage to pay A shelter to maintain A stomach to fill A body [...]

If there is no car around, would you wait for the light to turn green before crossing? As a pedestrian of course! What if it takes ‘forever’? Do you follow the letter of the precepts blindly or do you live the spirit of the precepts wisely? Not that it’s a precept to always obey traffic [...]

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Yup, Depeche Mode does slow and sentimental songs too. The above is the moving studio version of ‘Come Back’ from their new ‘Sounds of the Universe’ album (which some say is better than the album version). It is angsty yet calming at the same time, with the element of dark majesty that DM is renown [...]

The Million Dollar Question… Q: How do you admit how you cheated if you did not? A: You don’t – or you would really be cheating – yourself and the world! The hero of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is a story of the power of integrity, of how it truly shines despite the desperation of the situation. [...]

In ‘Kin: The Good Neighbours’ by Holly Black, Aubrey the faerie father tests the human Thaddeus on his love for his daughter Nia by asking him to pick her among her three other similar-looking sisters. In truth, Thaddeus only had superficial understanding of Nia, as he was mostly entranced only by her appearance. He should [...]

From ‘The Twilight Zone: The Monsters are Due on Maple Street’ by Rod Serling (adapted by Mark Kneece), a mysterious blackout strikes the suburbs. The townsfolk gather and a boy suggests that it might be the work of invading aliens, who are simply waiting in the dark to grab whoever ventures into it, saying that [...]

In a sense, the movie ’17 Again’ is yet another version of ‘Groundhog Day’. A 37-year-old man gets to relive being 17. His renewed adolescent angst is combined with near mid-blue crisis though, as he realises how dear his family is to him and how urgent it is to reconcile with them. He finally tries [...]

I once had an acquaintance in school. She had long straight flowing hair and big round eyes. The usual attributes that would make one a classic beauty, as many might feel? Within my clique, many would call her Miss Candy (Xiao Tian Tian), and that would please her very much. Little did she know, they [...]