Was wondering why many sinkholes seem to be round. My simple theorised answer… A circular shape is a shortest distance from point A of weakness back to point A itself, that leads to collapse of the enclosed area. Nature always takes the path of least resistance. Think lightning striking...

By Royston Sim [The Straits Times]: ‘For 40 minutes on Saturday morning, representatives from eight religions took turns to recite prayers at Bedok Reservoir. They were blessing the area after the recent spate of deaths [6 suicides] there. The prayer event by religious representatives...

I figured that it is alright to no longer subscribe to any local papers, since they are all government controlled. I figured that the important stuff the government wants me to know will be notified to me somehow, even if I don’t buy their stuff. I figured that significant and...

A friend posted this on Facebook on 9/11: ‘Remembering those who were lost in 911, and many others who were lost in the many other untold wars and events of hatred and ignorance. May all beings be free from ill will and suffering.’ Couldn’t help adding this...

Amazingly and appropriately, in body language, such a handshake, as you can see at http://youtube.com/watch?v=3M07B1Gr6jc is called a ‘cold fish handshake’ – as if putting an unfeeling dead fish in another’s hand. But the irony is that monger in the video already has...

I know very little about politics but I know a good government should work for the people and not for self-benefit. A party’s power is not a privilege like that of antiquated kings. A party in power is here empowered by the people to serve the people and not the other way round. It...

There is much discussion accounting for the drop of 9.2% of Buddhists here, according the latest census. Wanted to write a lengthy piece on it but decided to just write this - ‘Let’s step up work in Buddhist education and urge one another to do the same.’ All other...

In the movie ‘(Avatar): The Last Airbender’, one of the baddies shouts to his henchmen who capture him, ‘Do not kill the avatar! He will only be reborn!’ ‘Avatar’ is originally a Hindu term, which refers to a god who re-manifests to help mankind. Nowadays,...

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...

In Singapore, those eager to slam other faiths publicly and unfairly, regardless of inter-religious harmony, in order to proselytise their own religion can no longer readily do so due recent repeated government-alerted incidents (e.g. Rony Tan and Mark Ng) – unless they are out of their...

Below is an interesting excerpt, followed by personal comments on them: From ‘“Muscular” versus “Liberal” Secularism and the Religious Fundamentalist Challenge in Singapore’ by Kumar Ramakrishna (S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore) 10 June 2010...

A letter sent to the press: I refer to the 2 June 2010 article in The Straits Times, ‘Pray, let’s live and let live’ by Lee Wei Ling, which defined Vesak Day as the celebration of ‘the birth, enlightenment and death (or passing on to Nirvana) of Buddha’. ...

If a handful of people dislike those of another race and rant against their ways, this doesn’t mean that the quiet majority perceives similar ‘problems’ as them, as they are far from being equally racist. In the same light, it is the speciesist few who cannot make peace...

Something I helped to answer for the press: Q: Is current interfaith work too skewed towards looking for commonalities? Is it disrespectful to religions which are different, and might lead to deeper ignorance? Should the focus only be on common ground? Where does Singapore’s efforts stand...

Something written for the press that went unpublished: I refer to the letter ‘Town council right in culling pigeons‘ (Mar 14), which stated that it was right to poison pigeons which dirtied HDB blocks. However, since pigeons naturally flock to where humans leave food, it is...

Please feel free to… 1. Send this link http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/02/operation-bogus-bust-part-2 to share this article with your friends. 2. Download the above A3 poster at http://moonpointer.com/downloads/bustbw.pdf (Colour version at...

From http://buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=22,8959,0,0,1,0 & http://kmspks.org/download/clear_misconceptions.pdf (slightly different version) [This is a concise version of the article at http://tinyurl.com/ronytan] With regards to the article at...

[A concise version of this article is available at http://tinyurl.com/ronytan2] Though Pastor Rony Tan has already apologised for his gross misrepresentations of Buddhism in his video interviews, many of these misrepresentations remain unclarified in a point by point manner. As the videos...

From http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DharmaNews/message/5373 : This mail is to inform Buddhists of two serious cases of Buddhism being misrepresented in the context of Singapore, and what you can do about it. Please be assured that the featured  persons and their confused views in the...

From http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DharmaNews/message/5321 : Controversy Over Display of Buddhist Relics Yen Feng, The Straits Times, 2 January 2010 Five prominent Buddhist groups yesterday distanced themselves from an exhibition on Buddhist relics and artefacts, currently drawing thousands...