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 from the Inter-Religious Organisation…’ (Photo: Raj Nadarajan) Comments: If the idea was just to [...]

What happens when a guru blesses you? Does he or she passes over some special force of goodness or merits, that is so special, so subtle, that it can’t be seen, or even felt? Maybe, sometimes? But the truest blessing is one that is heartfelt, that you are mindful of, that transforms your life forever, [...]

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote… “What if a demon were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest loneliness, and say, ‘This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the same sequence. [...]

A Chinese new year text greeting I received and forwarded: 愿佛法的人生伴随你， 观音菩萨的慈悲充满你， 文殊菩萨的智慧带领你， 地藏菩萨的愿力加持你， 普贤菩萨的行愿成就你 ！ 愿您在十方佛菩萨的加持下一切如意，法喜充满。 合十敬祝您在新的一年里万事吉祥，如意安康，一切圆满。 阿弥陀佛! It reminded me of how we all wish to have the blessings of the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, while we often forget that the ultimate way to do so, is to embody their qualities, to emulate them, [...]

Amulets might offer some protection – but they cannot protect anyone from eventual death. Amulets might offer some blessings – but they cannot give anyone eternal deathlessness (liberation). The true Amulet to don on oneself is Dharma practice, which creates boundless merits, which leads to boundless wisdom. With the perfection of merits and wisdom, there [...]

The worst gift can be the best gift. The quality of a gift does not depend on it(self), but on how you see and accept it, on how you let it transform you. Whether it is a blessing or curse, is entirely up to your attitude. You create fresh karma by how you experience your [...]

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 [...]