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 [...]

Some wordplay below on a string of words
that stand for what might arise sequentially
while one practises mindfulness of Buddha:
…念佛念佛念佛念杂念杂念杂念佛念佛念佛念佛念佛…

念佛: Mindfulness of Buddha
念杂: Mindfulness of stray thoughts
杂念: Stray mindfulness
佛念: Buddha mindfulness

Christmas’ Eve with no carols or party to attend.
Immersed in total silence along the pitch dark countryside.
On a five hour bumpy ride to the next destination.
The night was getting a bit too cold.
But he was always on my mind.
Such warm loving-kindness, that he (the Buddha) always radiated, like he never left.
Finally, I am on a [...]

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].

Finally got some of the Buddha’s images from Borobudur ready.
And a few hundreds more to go…
Will keep you folks updated!
Meanwhile, simply enjoy!
http://moonpointer.com/new/album-borobudur

In ‘Superman: Redemption’ (by Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza and Walt Simonson), Superman hears the desperate prayers of an old lady (Barbara Johnson) with his super-hearing and saves her from being hit by a car. She was calling out to God for help and when Superman swoops down from the sky to heed her call [...]

A Tit for a Tat (22)
Tit: Do you believe me or yourself?
Tat: I believe in Buddha.
Tit: But I have Buddha-nature.
Tat: So do I.
Tit: Why not believe yourself then?
Tat: Because I don’t totally believe I’m a Buddha within… yet!
Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/06/procrastination-of-happiness-with-attachment
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/06/give-a-break

A friend asked me a couple of interesting questions. I thought I would share them with their answers here – because I kind of wondered similarly in the past, and am sure some others out there would too!
Q: Have always wondered about the definition of ‘佛陀’. Does it refer to Shakyamuni Buddha or Buddhas in [...]

Pic: 4ocima
Taking refuge in the Buddha, may I be with the awakened
Taking refuge in the Dharma, may I be on the path to awakening
Taking refuge in the Sangha, may I be with those on the path to awakening
- Stonepeace
A Dharma friend was rationalising for her refuge master’s legal allegations, who was put on trial [...]

Thank goodness that we can only have one thought at a time.
Imagine if 84,000 thoughts assault you at the same time!
It would be impossible to cultivate the mind, to train single-mindedness.
Fickle the monkey mind is, jumping rapidly from one stray thought to another.
Even when our mind seems scattered or distracted, there is still only a [...]