Q: Is there a need to find an enlightened teacher? A: No, but it makes sense to find teachers who are more enlightened than us. Q: Why not just find an enlightened teacher? A: It’s not easy to discern who is enlightened as we are not enlightened ourselves. Q: How do we find teachers who [...]

Question: Someone claims to be a student of a certain teacher. This student claims to have some great attainment. What do you think? Answer: If you are doubtful, you can ask that student to verify with that teacher his attainment. Question: That person refuses to do so. Answer: If the teacher is a good one, [...]

While the humans try to nip the problem in the bud by preventing Skynet from forming, why doesn’t the robots just nip the problem in the bud by time-travelling to the past to terminate John Connor at birth? They can try endlessly. Then again, the humans can time-travel back to defend Connor endlessly too. The Terminator series is essentially endless, a fight against [...]

Question: How was the Buddha-to-be able to just let go of his worldly attachments to search for the path to True Happiness, which may not even exist? Answer: He was so overwhelmed by great compassion for all that it gave him the courage to search for what might or might not be there, and was [...]

Supposed to know something – but forgot what? Do you let it trouble you, or let it slide? Truth is, we all are supposed to know something – enlightenment. Existential ‘troubling-ness’ is alright, if it drives us to the light. Related Article: Dukkha Inspires http://moonpointer.com/new/2010/11/dukkha-inspires

A semi-fictitious conversation with a friend going on a three-week retreat of sorts… S: Come back enlightened! T: Huh? Er…. S: Okay, okay… come back ‘more enlightened’!

In a taxi at Dharamshala, we told a cabbie that he was going the wrong way. If I heard him correctly, he kind of admitted, but kind of denied this. While reversing his way out, he thought I heard him say, ‘There is no wrong way; only long way!’ Remind me of the idea that [...]

Truth be told, with all due respect to all great Tulkus, many Tulkus (recognised reborn Buddhist masters or students) still need Dharma re-education to re-align themselves to the path… in case… It is not true that all Tulkus are firmly on the path to enlightenment, or already enlightened, for there are cases of Tukus who [...]

Q: Sometimes, suffering may not be a bad thing. A: Suffering is ‘useful’ only if it spurs one to advance to enlightenment. If not, suffering will return again and again – and one repeats suffering pointlessly – life after life. Q: I don’t think I am ‘suffering’ too much although I have some problems. I [...]

The above is a fan video, while here’s a different interpretation of the lyrics of ‘Morning Star’ by Flunk: … You are my morning star It’s just the way you are When the orange sky Kiss the night goodbye… It’s not the way you move It’s not the way you walk It’s just the way [...]

If enlightenment is impossible, the strife towards it is still meaningful because it is the path to greater happiness, as we can tell when we practise the Dharma. If enlightenment is possible and we can backslide from it, the strife towards it is still meaningful because it is the path to greater happiness, as we [...]

Even the most fun app(lication) in my iPhone gets deleted eventually, to make room for another app. Life is seeking one app after another, for one kick after another – till you lose the kick of seeking kicks? What is life thereafter? Seek the ultimate ‘kick’ of transcending kicks – by striving for enlightenment!

From ‘The Power and the Pain: Transforming Spiritual Hardship Into Joy’ by Andrew Holecek – There are teachers who proclaim that the only thing necessary to wake up is to ‘just do it.’ They tell us that we are already enlightened, we just do not recognize it. I have studied with such teachers, and their [...]

I finished reading ”Becoming Enlightened’ by His Holiness the Dalai Lama (translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, PhD) a few weeks ago, but had been procrastinating on writing a review. Not because I don’t want but how do you review a master’s work? It probably won’t do it any justice. So, instead of reviewing it, [...]

From ‘This is a Bad Time’ by Bruce Eric Kaplan: But why do we choose to be attached to the idea that we are really our poor ‘selves’, since we do change and can change at will? What’s terrifying about negative karma is its compounding effects if left unchecked! But enlightenment is also the end [...]