A surprise email arrived on a mediation case between two people I helped some time ago. Here is my abridged reply: My apologies for any perceived and actual misgivings from my side. Reflecting on this, I sincerely believe I did the best I could back then to help, foolish and inadequate as I surely was. [...]

The best teachers must eventually teach ultimate Compassion and Wisdom. To encourage perfect Compassion, they must eventually advocate veganism, which is not just a way of consumption, but a way of life, of being helpful and harmless. To encourage perfect Wisdom, they must eventually advocate the Pure Land teachings, as the most efficient path towards [...]

我不敢轻于汝等， 汝等皆当作佛。 – 常不轻菩萨 (法华经) ‘I do not dare to belittle you all, for you all will become Buddhas.’ – The Bodhisattva ‘Never Underestimate’ (Lotus Sutra) Who Became Shakyamuni Buddha Related Articles: The Bodhisattva Who ‘Cried’ Truth http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thedailyenlightenment-realisation/message/157 The Story in Comics http://mahaati.blog.163.com/blog/static/1763504562010111211133702

Question: Would you say that reciting Om Mani Padme Hung is similar to the practice of metta meditation in that it develops loving-kindness and compassion? Answer: A friend’s wife, at the end of an Om Mani Padme Hum retreat, turned vegetarian upon hearing the heartfelt advice of Drubwang Rinpoche: http://moonpointer.com/new/2011/07/teachings-by-his-eminence-drubwang-konchok-norbu-rinpoche For her, it would seem, the mantra effectively invoked [...]

Here is the original Hippocratic Oath taken by ancient Greek doctors, from which modern versions of doctors’ moral conduct is derived: I swear by Apollo, the healer, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath and agreement: To consider dear to [...]

I’ve no intentions of being a killjoy when it comes to others’ gastronomical pleasures. But I do find it as jaw-dropping as it is bizarre, when Buddhist friends post photos of their ‘catch of the day’, the meaty dishes they are about to tuck into, in their Facebook feeds. Of course, they are non-vegetarians and [...]

A friend is compiling teachings by Rinpoche for publication, and asked me to check the below, which I sent years ago. I thought it is good to share the improved version here… Teachings given on 8 Dec 2003 at Than Hsiang Temple, Penang, Malaysia during 100 Million Six-Syllable Mantra Recitation Retreat (on Meat-Eating) 1. As [...]

A short review of the movie ‘DMC (Detroit Metal City)’: Acting as a demon from hell, and singing the dark and profane, he unexpectedly draws legions of fans. Yet, what he wanted to do was to sing sweet songs of hope, and gives up his unworldly fame. Upon realising the power of his reach, of how [...]

In the first ‘Gantz’ movie (see trailer below at around 46 seconds), a Vajrakumara (Dharma Protector guardian diety), a thousand arm Guanyin Bodhisattva and a Buddha statue in a museum were revealed to be aliens in disguise, who were disturbed by the Gantz corps, leading to a bloody battle to the death. Now this might [...]

A review of Radiohead’s ‘Give Up the Ghost’: Lyrics: Don’t haunt me don’t haunt me… Gather up the lost and sold In your arms In your arms Gather up the pitiful In your arms In your arms What seems impossible In your arms In your arms I think I have had my fill In your [...]

Part 1: True Happiness as an attained goal (of Buddhahood) is not conditioned by anyone (including one’self’),* or it would not be unconditional. But the path to True Happiness is conditioned by guiding others to attain True Happiness (as the Bodhisattva path). Part 2: Even after attaining True Happiness, one continues to unconditionally guides others [...]

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, [...]

Different from the run-of-the-mill concept of there being a supreme and extreme good guy versus a supreme and extreme bad guy, who keep the forces of good and evil in balance, the ‘Night Watch’ and ‘Day Watch’ movies suggest that there is a powerful leader of generally good guys with supernormal powers versus a powerful [...]

To my aghast, I once heard a monk say that the path of attaining Nirvana is like pushing a button on a box which opens and extends a mechanical arm which shuts the box. This is surely one of the most unproductive, useless and erroneous ‘definitions’ of (Pari)Nirvana ever, as if Nirvana is just a process of [...]

‘When two paths open up before you, always choose the hardest one.’ As uttered by a monk in the film ‘Himalaya’. If it is always harder to do what is more right, this would always be right. It is always harder to help all beings, than to help oneself only. Unless we are already firm [...]