It struck me that the occasional ant that crawls by my office desk is not a bother… Because I don’t really regard this space as my place. Then again, nowhere is really my place – not even the place I live in, as everywhere is shared space with other beings seen and unseen. I am [...]

The truth is the truth. What does it matter… that someone said it?* The truth is the truth. What does it matter… that someone else said it?* The truth is the truth. What does it matter… that someone didn’t say it?** * Unless it is to harm ** Unless it is to protect ~~ Truth [...]

Read this in a mailing list: ‘Speaking for myself, I’ve always thought that the impossible task of the Bodhisattva to save all sentient beings is perfectly portrayed in Camus’ ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’. The famous last sentence of that book article reads – “The struggle itself is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must [...]

Q: If my boss asks me to comment on a colleague’s work, should I tell the truth, when I know stuff that may not paint a good picture, which may create bias in his mind? Should I suggest reasons why the colleague made work decisions which may seem bad at first? A: Tough as it might [...]

A friend had cultivated such powerful sensitivity to the slightest relatively unhealthy foods, that we often take for granted, that a mere bite or two, is enough to create side-effects like a mouth ulcer. For some time, I had wondered about the value of such sensitivity. Isn’t it too self-punishing? His reply was that what [...]

An ex-celebrity’s online testimonial of how she gave up Buddhism says, ‘… The six levels of the wheel of reincarnation are: hell, all the lost souls, the animals, human, deity and the Buddha. You have to work hard for millions of years. For instance, if you are a pig, then in the next life you become [...]

To know if a masked vigilante is really who he is supposed to be, he needs to unmask regularly, for others to check the consistency of the identity beneath the mask. But if the identity of a masked vigilante has to be checked regularly, there is no point of him wearing a mask. Anyway, the [...]

The girl standing, chatting with her friend at the bus-stop stamps her feet once a while, because ants crawl up them. She does this again and again, interrupting her conversation. Bizarre! Why not move out of the ants’ way? Why intrude into their space? Why punish them and the ants needlessly? Do we do the [...]

From Wikipedia is a description of the video of Owl City’s ‘Vanilla Twilight’ – ‘Various people and a dog witness and revere swirling mammatus cloud formation associated with a squall line. It has a well-defined vortex which is lit by a veiled Sun on an overcast day after a snowfall has blanketed the area, hence vanilla twilight…’ [...]

It’s quite scary, when I find myself ordering the same old dishes, as I did the last time I was here, even after scrutinising the menu thoroughly. I thought I’m here to make new decisions, to choose new food, but I’m still not beyond the power of habit. Made me wonder how much of my [...]

I’m reminded that it is good to leave my email address when I comment online… so that I can receive replies to my comments. I mustn’t imagine that I have the last word, as I might not. Humility is good, for it keeps me learning, for it keeps things real. And if someone posts an [...]

Q: I have tried to avoid the killing of insects but realise that this is impossible. I therefore consider that the results of such killings could give minor results such as the little sufferings we get from insect bites. A: Have you tried the path of Metta (Loving-kindness) to avoid killing? This the Buddha did [...]