I encountered someone who seem perfectly normal, who turned out to be suicidal. I had a chat with him, to discuss his woes, with sprinkles of advice. I’m glad I didn’t pay less attention, that I didn’t turn away in his time of need, that I was able to offer a listening ear. Since we [...]

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 [...]

In ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’, Johnny Depp plays a character who says this to a lady in her imaginary world: Prepare to be reborn. And remember: Nothing is permanent. Not even death. Sounds like the stuff of the Heart Sutra, which goes a step further and says that there is no birth and death [...]

If forced bedside conversion to another religion is okay according to some, is it okay if someone else does the same to them? Why create hell for someone when all one wants when dying is peace of mind? Would not the giving of hell lead the dying to hell with anger and anguish? Would not [...]

From His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, ‘Compassion is not a luxury, it is a necessity for human beings to survive.’* Compassion in all its expressions surely, for spiritual survival too! From ‘Ceriph’ of 17th September 2010 (issue one),** ‘Poetry is a luxury we cannot afford.’ Lee Kuan Yew famously declared in 1969, explaining Singapore’s [...]

In ‘Valley of Flowers’, which might appear to be a Tibetan Buddhist movie at first, there is a scene of classic misinterpretation of death as release with the wrong use of a quote from Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life: May I be a guard for those without one, A guide for all [...]

I make a long list of stuff to bring to India, before I departed. Don’t forget the toothbrush, the torch in case there are blackouts, extra socks cos’ it’s the monsoon season…. Some of the stuff I never use, such as many extra batteries, and handkerchiefs… So much excess while there is not a single [...]

Death as release from suffering, as being for the better, is not always true. Death as entry into hell, as being for the worse, is not always true. Death is change, and what it will be for you depends on how you live too. (Moonpointer folks will be away in India learning from HHDL from [...]

The ingenious film that is ‘Inception’ begins with the assumption that it is possible for multiple persons to enter someone’s dream, that can even be designed without that person knowing, thus digging out deep secrets from his sub-consciousness, or even implanting ideas which eventually shape one’s decisions. Thank goodness this doesn’t seem technologically viable at [...]

(Thank you, Scorpio East, for the premiere tickets!) Though ‘Aftershock’ retells the terrible tragedy of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which killed 240,000, it is not a typical disaster movie. Its focus is on its tear-jerking aftermath – of the subtle yet sure spiritual aftershocks, of how it tore one family apart, before reuniting them. Bereaved [...]

When the fire alarm went off, right after the film ended, the folks within took their time to saunter out of the theatre. Why do we not rush to get out? Isn’t the alarm already cause for alarm? Or do we need to know the cause for the alarm? Of what use is the alarm [...]

Would you rather sleep longer and live longer, due to having improved health, or sleep less and have more waking hours, and in effect live and do more? Am not sure myself, though I’m inclining towards the latter. What do you think? The enlightened sleep little, if at all, probably because they have better control [...]

I lost a good idea… It just slipped my mind, as suddenly as it arrived. The very next thought… that it may never return terrifies me absolutely. The thoughts after this… are even more terrifying that the previous… What if… I pine ‘endlessly’ for a thought that isn’t there anymore… What if… this happens on [...]

One of the most memorable films ever is a film in a film – in the movie ‘American Beauty’ called by fans as ‘the plastic bag scene’. As commented by the young filmmaker in the story, who shot it… Ricky Fitts: You want to see the most beautiful thing I’ve ever filmed? It was one [...]

Another wonderful short dialogue from ‘Flash Forward’: Mark: We’re running out of time! Dyson: The whole world is! With or without a flash forward or backward, we are all running out of time, due to impending death, whether you are old or not, sick or not. Related Articles: Fate and Free Will http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/03/fate-free-will The Most [...]