Did you know that ‘Padme’ means ‘lotus’, as in ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’? Did you know that the Jedi Order was inspired by the Buddhist monastic order? Did you know that George Lucas who created Star Wars is a ‘Methodist Buddhist’? I seldom post excerpts, especially lengthy ones, but below is a good one – [...]

I was chatting with a monk when he made a funny remark. He said, as roughly translated from Chinese, ‘One can have all the wealth and fame in the world… but so what? One can’t even bring one’s underwear into the next life!’ I grinned in agreement and uttered the popular Chinese saying that sums [...]

The Terminator saga, as most would know, is about the anthropomorphism and demonisation of high technology. It is a series of extreme cautionary tales on the potential danger of humans going overboard with unchecked technologisation. Technology is meant to be a means for relieving human suffering, for bringing ease into our lives. However, technology for [...]

We asked for a table for 2 and were directed to a square table designed for 2. Shortly after, a family left a series of 4 similar tables, which were joined together to be a rectangular stretch. Their tables were cleared and reconfigured to be 2 sets of 2 tables together. We asked if we [...]

A friend said, “I think I might have found the reason why Buddhism can’t spread as far and wide & as fast as it could. A ‘Buddhist’ told me one must wait for the right (karmic) conditions (to happen) to do something. But if everyone waits for everything, nothing would really happen (unless conditions fall [...]

Wyn: What do you do on Friday? Yah: I attend Pureland practice and study sessions (Pureland Practice Fellowship) every Friday. Wanna join? Wyn: Oh no, it’s too far and inconvenient. Yah: Us Singaporeans living on this tiny island sometimes exaggerate distance. Talking about inconvenience, do you know many Johorians (from Malaysia) have to travel to [...]

A Tit for a Tat (13) Tit: Hey Tot! What are you eating? Tot: Duck rice. (Bought by his aunt.) Tit: Orh! You’re eating Donald Duck! Tot: (Shocked and sheepishly) No la… Donald Duck is blue. (Tot is four years old, who likes Donald Duck!) Tit: No! Donald Duck is the same colour as the [...]

A Tit for a Tat (12) Tit: You’re not very gracious – never apologising for your mistakes! Tat: You’re not very gracious – always demanding for my apologies! Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/06/would-you-eat-donald-duck Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/06/not-my-fault

‘The Daily Enlightenment 3: Reflections for Practising Buddhists’ is now available free at Singapore’s Awareness Place at Bras Basah Complex (at the counter). Get it while very limited stocks last! Here is more about the book and how you get it mailed to you: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/05/how-about-tde-book-4 You can also read the whole book online at: http://issuu.com/tdebook/docs/tde3

A Tit for a Tat (11) Tit: Hey! You misspelled ‘mispelled’! Tat: Hey! Not me! I saw you erase an ‘s’ while editing my article! Tit: Did I? Tat: You did! Tit: Must be an accident. Not my fault! Tat: Why? Tit: As ‘I’ was unmindful, ‘I’ wasn’t really there. Since ‘I’ didn’t really do [...]

We try to make efforts to buy as much eco-friendly products as possible, even though the costs of some are steep (due to being lower on demand and the higher cost in mindful production). Recently, we came across ‘Seventh Generations’ products in our neighbourhood supermart (Fairprice). We were pleasantly surprised that Fairprice would bring in [...]

A Tit for a Tat (10) Tit: Are you too full for this great snack? Tat: For now. Tit: Too bad! Tat: Only ‘for now’! Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/06/not-my-fault Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/06/depends-on-how-you-read-reality

From the chorus of ‘Only When I Lose Myself’ by Depeche Mode: ‘It’s only when I lose myself in someone else That I find myself I find myself’… … in the depths of Samsara or that of true Nirvana? Lose your self-delusion to realise the ‘true-self’ of ‘non-self’ – one’s Buddha-nature! For those who have [...]

Inspired by the existentialist novel, The Outsider (L’Étranger) by Albert Camus: Sometimes we remark that someone is strange, as if it’s a fault of theirs. But it’s often our fault too, for not seeking to understand why they seem strange to us. Not trying to understand those who seem strange makes us strange too.

Despite the reflection, I snapped this picture of a Buddha image through the display window of an antique and furniture shop at Tudor House (in Singapore). I thought it’s a remarkable image of good-humoured kindliness and understanding – a nicely balanced embodiment of both compassion and wisdom. It would be wonderful if I can learn [...]