Q: Can a Buddhist couple who are in love have pre-marital sex if they do not have any plans to commit themselves for marriage in the future? A: What represents ‘commitment’ differs over time in different cultures. Marriage is supposed to signify commitment, but even so, married couples might fall out too. (E.g. divorce rates [...]

A Tit for a Tat (152) Tit: Maybe you keep drinking coffee because you are addicted to caffeine. Tat: I’m not. Tit: Prove it. Tat: I can stop any time. Tit: How about now? Tat: No hurry. Tit: Why? Tat: Since I can stop any time! Tit: Yeah… any time but now! Tat: So? Tit: [...]

In ‘Made of Wood’ by Ed Brubaker, Batman says this – ‘There’s a moment… right before my grapple cable goes taut… when it’s just me and the ground hovering somewhere far below… a moment of freefall… a moment of total calm. I will never tell anyone how much I enjoy that moment. Or how good [...]

A sophisticated yet funny story that Niels Bohr liked to tell: One of our neighbors in Tisvilde once fixed a horseshoe over the door to his house. When a common friend asked him, `But are you really superstitious? Do you honestly believe that this horseshoe will bring you luck?’ he replied, `Of course not; but [...]

When I was asked about what I thought of some text on a series of small pictures, I commented that the words are okay but that the font used is not ideal – because it looks messy and inconsistent, which does not gel well with the meticulously drawn pictures. The defensive reply I got was [...]

Vegetarians and vegans are often accused of being attached to their choice of food. In many cases, this is a serious misunderstanding – as we can see below… Please don’t think that I’m having ‘a lot of attachment’ in actively speaking for vegetarianism. Please do realise that I am only conveying ‘a fraction of attachment’ [...]

It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay awake when I’m asleep, Cause everything is never as it seems When I fall asleep. – Fireflies (Owl City) Reluctant to go to sleep again As if I had not lived enough today… or is it tonight… yet. Is this attachment to life? But death is no [...]

If what you find attractive in someone is the Dharma embodied and expressed, why be attached to the manner and form? – Stonepeace There are a few great regrets I have when it comes to relationships. Ironically, the most troubling ones are those which are somewhat related to the Dharma. Many years ago, I met [...]

A Tit for a Tat (116) Tit: I heard of a monk who had been using a set of prayer beads for a long time. Tat: Ya… What happened next? Tit: A devotee told him he shouldn’t be attached to them, and asked for it. Tat: Ok… What happened next? Tit: The monk gave it [...]

From ‘This is a Bad Time’ by Bruce Eric Kaplan: But why do we choose to be attached to the idea that we are really our poor ‘selves’, since we do change and can change at will? What’s terrifying about negative karma is its compounding effects if left unchecked! But enlightenment is also the end [...]

From ‘The Color of Earth’ by Kim Dong Hwa, a young monk poignantly thinks to himself when he realises he has a crush on a girl. Night after night, I embrace Buddha and sleep. Morning after morning, I embrace Buddha and wake… Hour by minute by second I always believed I’d spend every moment with [...]

A Tit for a Tat (109) Tit: What is True Love? Tat: That which does not become hate. Tit: Huh? Tat: Love that is not true enough easily becomes hate. Tit: How can love become hate? Tat: Because it is based on attachment, when it is unrequited, it can become aversion! Tit: What about True [...]

A Tit for a Tat (93) Tit: Our boss is becoming more of a stickler for punctuality… Tat: What’s wrong with that? Tit: … while he disregards the extended hours we voluntarily work! Tat: What you mean is that he should give and take? Tit: Exactly! Because we do give much more every day, even [...]

Was writing detailed notes for a Dharma@Cinema session for NTU Buddhist Society’s anniversary celebration when I came up with the below (as part of the notes): We too are like wandering spirits in the flesh, with flesh, lingering in Samsara with attachment, which if we do not relinquish in time, will bind us here, or to [...]

A Tit for a Tat (92) Tit: I don’t like him. Tat: How well do you know him? Tit: Not very well. Tat: Then what you don’t like is just your incomplete and possibly wrong perception of him. Tit: So? Tat: Since you don’t like your perception of him, why cling to it? Tit: Huh? Tat: Why not keep [...]