From ‘Young Blood’, as covered by Birdy… Lyrics: We’re only young and naive still We require certain skills The mood it changes like the wind Hard to control when it begins Comments: Most of us are still spiritually naive, despite our age, still lacking much skilful...

Watched ‘The Lady’ movie, which is the respectful ‘codename’ the oppressed Burmese have for the incredibly courageous Aung San Suu Kyi, just one day before the by-elections which she mostly won with flying colours. The last title card in the movie reads, ‘Please...

The movie ‘The Fox and the Child’ is an amazing unconventionally scenic story on how a young girl encounters a wild fox and became obsessed with befriending her. They go on intriguing journeys together and when the fox became tamed enough, she even brought her to visit her...

This sums it up perfectly, as to how, if there is a creator God (which there isn’t), he is surely not perfect in compassion and wisdom. to give free will to his imperfect creation, who also lacks perfect compassion and wisdom, who thus make a mess of so many things. And that things...

In the movie ‘Tokyo Sonata’, there is dissonance, hidden tension in a family, between every member of the family… that drives them apart. Everyone wanders off for a while, going through extremes to seek freedom, which are misadventures that awaken them on the value of their...

S: ‎Depeche Mode in ‘Lilian’ sung, ‘Pain and misery always hit the spot. Knowing you can’t lose what you haven’t got.’ The truth is, nothing can be grasped on to. Not even enlightenment, for it is a state of non-grasping freedom. J: *Gasp!* S: When...

Some choose to believe they are stuck, in existential dilemmas, unable to move in any direction. Some choose to believe they can be free, from existential dilemmas, able to move in some direction. Truth is, you will never know if you are really stuck if you do not do your best to be free. The...

In ‘Pride of Baghdad’ by Brian K. Vaughan and Nikko Henrichon, this posed question is central to the story - ‘True meaning of freedom - can it be given, or earned only through determination and sacrifice?’ The Buddhist take on this is unique… True freedom must...

To Be Truly All-Embracing He presented himself to be free, free even to eat anything, open in an all-embracing way. But doesn’t he see the animals to be not free, to not be killed and eaten, such that they all struggle to embrace life? To be truly free, to be truly all-embracing, is to...

A dialogue below, set in the medieval times, from the latest ‘Robin Hood’ movie, that reminds me of more than one present situation. We must not mistaken that any leader in any context is there by right of his or her virtues alone. (Some clearly lack crucial virtues to rule!)...

A donkey’s strength renders him trapped, to be a beast of burden, fed and used. (Two of his hooves bound together, semi-parking him like a vehicle) A dog with no particular strengths keeps him free, as a wandering stray who needs to fend for survival though. (He is napping in a cosy...

During the animal liberation, he seemed particularly angry in the box of many crabs. Using a pair of tongs to hold him while snipping off the strings on his claws, I managed to free one of them. With the free claw, he waved it around dangerously, making it hard to free the other claw. I put...

It’s quite scary, when I find myself ordering the same old dishes, as I did the last time I was here, even after scrutinising the menu thoroughly. I thought I’m here to make new decisions, to choose new food, but I’m still not beyond the power of habit. Made me wonder how...

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...

(Pic: Kites flying by Buangkok train station) A kite without a guiding string is a dangerous kite, that endangers itself (when it crashes), that endangers others too. A car without working brakes is a useless car, that cannot be slowed down, that cannot be stopped either. The moral...

In the whimsical tale of  ‘The Eternal Smile’ by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, a mercenary frog craves to have a swimming pool that is so deep that it can hold all the gold coins he has, such that when he hops into it for a swim, he wouldn’t hit his nose at the bottom....

A dialogue built upon a texting dialogue: D: (Looking for room to rent again) I realise I have to keep letting go of the idea that I can find a more permanent place to stay. S: Even Pureland is not for staying forever; it’s just for training. D: Yeah… unless I attain...

On Monday this week, though it was a working day, we made sure we left home hands-free of any baggage, free even of work stuff and personal effects – because we were going to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida concert, and anticipated swinging a little haha. It amazed me a little that it...

Jen: Your ‘imaginary funeral parlour notice’ [see below] is well written, seemingly depicting dying. Is it due to the way Buddhists view death, that there are no Buddhist obituaries in the papers? Shi’an: Actually, there are Buddhist obituaries in the papers locally (in...

Understanding ‘Underworld’ Underdogs http://buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=12,7765,0,0,1,0 ‘Underworld: Rise of the Lycans’ is the instalment of the trilogy that explains how the lycans (werewolves) were enslaved by the vampires in the first place, and how the the...