Lisa says an accidental haiku in the film ‘Little Buddha’: I’m just upset with myself being upset. Here is another haiku to reply that: We need to make peace with not being at peace. (I put Nietzsche’s pic because he seemed pretty upset most of his life for being...

In ‘Wolverine: Not Dead Yet’ by Warren Ellis and Leinil Yu, Wolverine barely escapes yet another attempt to kill him. Landing after leaping out of a window, we see him standing to gather himself in pain and rage, while a partially ripped bumper sticker reads ‘IT...

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 (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:...

There is a view that horrible scenes from films which get imprinted onto human minds will be fleshed out accordingly if one goes to hell. Because of this, such films should not be seen. However, here are some alternative views: 1. If one watches horror films to rejoice or relish in suffering...

In one of the stories within the movie ‘New York, I Love You’, we see a very old couple bickering all the way as they made their way towards the beach – just to see it. At first, the audience is likely to have empathy for them. Well, it is more sad to see the elderly couple...

In ‘Highlander: The Search for Vengeance’, Colin the ‘immortal’s’ attachment to his lost lover drives him on a vengeful streak to stalk and kill her ‘immortal’ murderer… over the course of 2000 years. In the process, he fights in various wars of...

A Tit for a Tat (85) Tit: Still don’t see what I want. I hate shopping! Tat: No, you don’t hate shopping. You hate ‘not shopping’! Tit: Huh? Tat: What you hate is not being able to shop what you’re looking for! Next aT4aT:...

People often asked me what i think about the plight of Tibet, I’m sympathetic but have not much to comment. The true is I did not know China and Tibet’s histories well enough to say much. Each seems to have their own side of the story and I lacked the true wisdom to judge. In an indirect...

A Tit for a Tat (56) Tit: Why is it so difficult? Tat: You. Tit: Huh? Tat: Because you refuse to learn properly! Tit: But I’m trying… Tat: … while refusing to accept that it’s not going to be as easy as expected! Next aT4aT:...

A Tit for a Tat (49) Tit: If you meet someone exactly like you, would you like you? Tat: I’m not sure… Tit: Well? Tat: I think I will dislike myself. Tit: You should change yourself now then… for the better. Tat: Wait… I think I will like myself. Tit: You should still...

The film ‘Thirst’ (which won the 2009 Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival) is another story that uses the vampire genre to address interesting issues. The personification of evil in Buddhist cosmology is Mara, who is synonymous with desire and death… which is in turn...

I saw her holding the catalogue like a new found treasure. As she sat down in the train, happily, she started to flip through the catalogue of Death. But Death is cunning, he portrayed death in the nicest way possible, with no blood or gore, but with utmost exquisite beauty. Death (another...

Question: Based on the Alagaddupama Sutta, the snake and the raft represent all Dharma teachings as taught by Buddha. The snake parable teaches that if one understands the Dharma wrongly, it’s like catching the snake by the tail, letting it turn around to bite one. In other words, there...

A Tit for a Tat (35) Tit: Just to let you know, in case you are losing patience with him… Tat: Aha? Tit: He is actually suffering from a mental condition. Tat: That explains so much! Tit: On him appearing to be difficult? Tat: Yes! Tit: I thought letting you know this would help you to...

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...

Whenever I got bumped into by unmindful and unapologetic pedestrians in the past, the natural tendency was to give rise to some resentment. It’s as if the world is totally at fault, while I’m perfectly blameless. Nowadays, I have a different take. I realised that most of these...

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...

In the movie ‘Suspect X’, a brilliant mathematician plans an elaborate scheme that involves murder to help his love interest get away with manslaughter. When one is driven so much by love that it involves killing another, is such love still healthy? Is such love ...

Jen: Your ‘imaginary funeral parlour notice’ [see below] is well written, seemingly depicting dying. Is it due to the way Buddhists view death, that there are no Buddhist obituaries in the papers? Shi’an: Actually, there are Buddhist obituaries in the papers locally (in...