A fool, even though he is associated with a wise man all his life,
does not understand the Dhamma,
just as a ladle does not know the taste of soup.
An intelligent man, even though he is associated with a wise man only for a moment,
quickly understands the Dhamma,
just as the tongue knows the taste of soup.
- Dhammapada [...]

A student asked a Zen Master,
‘If I work very hard,
how long will it take for me to realise Zen?’
The Master replied,
‘Ten years.’
The student replied,
‘If I work very very hard,
how long will it take for me to realise Zen?’
The Master replied,
‘Twenty years.’
The student replied,
‘If I work very very very hard,
how long [...]

A Tit for a Tat (145)
Tit: Hey! I could do that!
Tat: Yes – but there’s a difference.
Tit: What’s that?
Tat: You didn’t do it.
Next aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/distorted-buddha-head
Previous aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/06/curry-favour
About aT4aT: http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/02/logo-for-a-tit-for-a-tat-series

Most importantly,
instead of focusing on complaining or fearing
that others pull down our socks (e.g. denigrate Buddhism),
is that we pull up their socks up so high,
that the disagreeable find it hard to pull them down,
or to pull theirs as high as ours.

An extended reply sent to someone
who wishes to attend this course,
but am unable to do it in full:
About whether anything important will be missed,
it struck me that every lesson is important,
which also means it’s better to catch some lessons,
though missing some other lessons,
than to give the whole course a miss.
As life [...]

The notion of Buddhas retiring forever
after manifesting parinirvana once
is ridiculous as they have endless compassion.
They are the most hardworking ones;
not the laziest ones.
Why project our laziness onto the most diligent ones?
Maybe the Buddhas manifest their physical passing,
not just to urge us to treasure their teachings,
but in case we dread the idea that [...]

When friends tell me their various reasons
for being ‘unable’ to be full vegans,
despite ‘knowing’ its rationale,
I reply by saying:
‘As long as you do your best.’
In case they feel ‘pressurised’,
I hesitate to ask,
‘Are you sure you are already doing your best?’
I just smile and encourage on…
‘As long as you do your best.’
Dharma practice is doing the [...]

Since we inadvertently kill some beings in daily life,
such as accidentally stepping on ants,
does it mean it is alright to intentionally buy other beings for food?
Since we already unwittingly kill some beings in daily life,
this makes it even all the more important
to conscientiously minimise our connections to the deaths of more beings.
欲真修行，须真尽力.
未真尽力，非真修行.
True Dharma practice requires [...]

From ‘Essex County’ by Jeff Lemire,
‘You know, there are only two ways
to be completely alone in this world -
lost in a crowd… or in total isolation.’
But there is a better way to be alone, be we in a crowd or isolated.
From the ‘Sutra on the Better Way to Live Alone’:
Do not pursue the past.
Do [...]

In ‘The Waiting Place’ by Sean Kelley McKeever, Scott says, ‘Do you know what new year’s day is? It’s just another day. Everyone thinks, like when the clock strikes midnight, you’ve suddenly entered a new chapter in your life, but it’s nothing like that, you know? You still have the same bills [...]