Super Short Story (199): Saved By God? He saved her because he believed they are children of the same God, who would wish him to save her. She does not believe there is such a God, who could save her, but she is now a believer that even an illusion might indirectly save. She does believe...

Sam & Sara #379 Sam: I’m not good enough! Sara: Since you know this and are concerned, you’re already good enough to become really good enough! Sam: Huh? How? Sara: By believing you can do better and putting in the effort! If you do your best now, it is already good enough...

Sam & Sara #373 Sam: Even the evil prefer the good. Sara: What do you mean? Sam: Even a wicked gangster chief doesn’t want henchmen or enemies worse than himself! Sara: Why? Sam: Because he would be at their mercy! Sara: Wouldn’t he need wicked henchmen to help him? Sam: Yes,...

When you argue your case, is it because the truth must prevail for the greater good, or is it because your ego must win, only for your own ‘good’? The moment you know you are fighting for your ego and not so much the truth, you have already lost. And you truly lose if you are not...

Speech in cyberspace is always virtual yet often unerasable. What traces do you leave online? Do they lead to truth and goodness, or otherwise, or to nowhere in...

C: How I wish I can be born during the golden days when the Buddha is around, when there are many pure practising Buddhists. S: No worries… That is just one lifetime away. In Pure Land, ‘得与如是诸上善人俱会一处!’ (‘attain being with all such beings of...

To be unapologetic for one’s evil done makes one more evil. To be ungrateful for others’ goodness done makes one less good. - Stonepeace Another instance on the importance of acknowledging one’s misgivings and acknowledging others’ gifts (of...

Carl Jung is supposed to have said, ‘Life is not about being good. It is about being real.’ My take - ‘Life is about being good and real, as what is really good is also truly real.’ Life is about aligning ourselves with goodness via practising compassion, and with...

‘A good car doesn’t makes one a good driver. A good camera doesn’t make one a good photographer , Good staff doesn’t make one a good manager.’ So what will make one a good person? Goodness itself - in terms of compassion and...

To empathise is to civilise. To civilise is to empathise. - Jeremy Rifkin As mentioned in the video, ‘We are soft-wired to experience another’s plight [or joy] as if we are experiencing it for ourselves.’  Interesting. The monkey experiment illustrates the power of empathy...

Y: I need to minimise my contact with him… to save my sanity, preserve myself, to prevent good vibes from being drained away for nothing and save my good energy for more constructive work. V: Hey, don’t be disheartened… What I do is whenever I do good, I dedicate the...

I like to watch cops-and-robbers flicks – not to see the plainly good guys chasing after one-sided bad guys, but to study the moral dilemmas that characters on both sides are scripted to face. In ‘The Stool Pigeon’, another dimension is added to the sometimes convoluted...

A friend asked me how do I have confidence to deliver Dharma talks My reply was that the wonderful Dharma itself, when comprehended well, is what gives me confidence. Interestingly, this is in contrast to small an sometimes ‘gossipy’ talk, which I’m not very good...

Friend: Maybe he’s watching you and thinking you’re raising the bar. Man: Maybe. With God, you never can tell. Friend: Sure you can. Just tell yourself God’s a good guy. Man: Yah. It can be hard to tell what are godly standards of goodness because some are believed to have...

For matters of truth and goodness, the harder it is to do what is right, the harder we must strive. - Stonepeace From ‘Manifest Destiny : Nightcrawler #1′ by Jason Aaron: Nightcrawler: Henrik! Henrik! Stop this! (about to kill an old man in anger, who was out among others to...

Four Reasons for Goodness Firstly, if there is afterlife, and if there’s karma, I’ll have a good rebirth as I do good. Secondly, if there is no afterlife, and if there’s no karma, I’ll live happily now, as I’m free of ill will. Thirdly, if evil befalls the...

While some animal-eaters disparage vegetarians who are less kind to some humans, some vegetarians disparage meat-eaters who are less kind to some animals. Why not be someone who is kind to both animals and humans? When you come across some vegetarians who are unkind to some humans, please...

In ‘Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?’ by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert, the newly deceased Batman says, ‘I don’t… actually… believe in an afterlife. You know that? I don’t believe there’s a place you go if you’re good, when...

In the award-winning ‘The Rabbi’s Cat’ (Le Chat du Rabbin) by Joann Sfar, which ‘The Boston Globe’ calls, ‘An affecting, fraught, and yes – sometimes hilarious tour de force about the complexities of living faithfully in a godless world’, a rabbi’s cat begins to talk after...

From ‘Essex County’ by Jeff Lemire, Annie the nurse says, ‘I lost a patient today… Humph!… I know what you’d say if you could. You’d say, “It’s part of your job, Annie. Won’t be the first, won’t be the last.” But I… well...