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 Buddha, but…
Why does Ehwa appear bigger than Buddha?
If I [...]

‘The Blind Side’ tells the touching true story of how the once underprivileged and racially discriminated Michael Oher became a successful football player by proving his worth in various aspects of life – beyond just the sport. What is the blind side? It refers to that side opposite of the direction a player is facing. As an example [...]

Question: Sorry, I’ve done my best to help her. I’ve no more energy. I give up!
Answer: No worries. Take a break. It’s important to not leave the friendship bitter – or there would be negative karmic affinity formed, that creates more problems in time to come. When conditions are ripe, we can still help in [...]

This life, this suffering, this Samsara, is nothing
but a springboard
to Pureland.
Pureland is nothing
but a springboard
to Bodhisattvahood.
Bodhisattvahood is nothing
but a springboard
to Buddhahood.
Buddhahood is nothing
but a springboard
to [re-manifestation of] Bodhisattvahood [out of endless compassion].

< click to enlarge
Bodhicitta (Productions) has just released a compilation of their ‘greatest hits’ for free distribution, and will be giving a free anniversary performance (as above) soon. One of the group members passed me a copy of the CD recently, reminding me that I contributed lyrics to a couple of their songs years [...]

In the book ‘The Meaning of Life’ by Terry Eagleton is this passage – “… we are in something like the situation of the narrator of Henry James’ story ‘The Figure in the Carpet’, who is told by a celebrated author he admires that there is a concealed design in his work, one implicit in [...]

Jon: As an artist, I wonder is artists are necessarily self-cherishing by nature? Is there a difference between being selfish and being driven in the creation of art?
Me: Artists need not be self-cherishing (as in being self-centred). In fact, the true artist lets go of ego, which allows him or her to create the best [...]

Now, Life is Living You? 
When you walk by Higashi Honganji, you will see a huge billboard with these words on it – “Now, Life is living you.” When you enter the temple’s reception centre and bookshop, you can get a flyer which explains these words. The slogan is the theme for the 750th memorial of [...]