Question: I’ve heard of how Lao Tze and Confucious tasting vinegar with the Buddha together, and how the Buddha declared the vinegar as bitter, as the material world needs to be shed for liberation. What do you think? Answer: Hmmm… historically, the Buddha didn’t meet the...

If this is 100% true, this is another good reason to migrate to Pure Land, the land of no greed and currency, where all thrive on self and shared spiritual merits, where material well-being is already abundant for all without the concept of...

Meritocracy sounds fair at first – the idea that may the ones who work the hardest shine, but the truth is, everyone starts on unequal grounds – the more well-to-do ones tend to shine more easily as they have better living conditions, education and connections, while the poorer...

A friend thinks he might have encountered a ghost, indirectly, having snapped a picture which includes a strange ghostly figure. I advised that he should share merits with the ghost to aid a good rebirth, in case the photographed is really a ghost, since he has affinity with the ghost. He...

What happens when a guru blesses you? Does he or she passes over some special force of goodness or merits, that is so special, so subtle, that it can’t be seen, or even felt? Maybe, sometimes? But the truest blessing is one that is heartfelt, that you are mindful of, that transforms...

From Itivuttaka 4.8:  This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, brahmans & householders are very helpful to you, as they provide you with the requisites of robes, alms food, lodgings, & medical requisites for the sick. And you, monks,...

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...

Question: I was having a practical test and there was a candidate who did very badly. Immediately, I chanted silently, dedicating it to him, hoping it will help him calm down and do better. But no matter how hard I tried, I just could not focus. My thoughts strayed, and out of the blue,...

The Buddha is also called ‘The Blessed One’. But who blesses the Blessed One, who blesses us with the Dharma? The Blessed One blesses himself perfectly with perfect realisation and practice of the Dharma. The Blessed One is thus infinitely blessed with boundless merits 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...

About once or twice a year, I get calls from strangers, directed from people who don’t know the answer, who ask me how to become a Buddhist monk. This is quite strange, as I am not a monk. Anyway, I kind of go through the same routine of advising, and the results are kind of the same....

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...

Q: Is the rearing of child spirits (such as aborted babies or those who died prematurely) a Buddhist practice? A: It is not Buddhism. Proper Buddhist practice would be to guide the deceased swiftly to a good rebirth – including deceased infants. Q: Some say raising them is meritorious...

The most urgent matter, upon attaining this precious but brief human rebirth, is to safeguard one’s future rebirth. - Stonepeace From (1) Wikipedia and (2) The Phrase Finder: (1) ‘The Vulcan salute is a hand gesture consisting of a raised hand, palm forward with the fingers parted...

Q: What are your thoughts on the relation of pop psychology and Buddhism, and how the concept of karma is interpreted in popular culture, or how Buddhism is co-opted to support a materialistic philosophy for self-gratification? A: Pop psychology and Buddhism are sometimes...

In ‘Timbuktu’ by Paul Auster (illustrated by Julia Goschke for an abridged graphic novel), the author explores human homelessness via the vision of a vagrant dog. Ostracised by society, as Mr. Bones the dog put it, ’He would have to keep on moving, even if he had nowhere to go.’...

The Million Dollar Question… Q: How do you admit how you cheated if you did not? A: You don’t – or you would really be cheating – yourself and the world! The hero of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is a story of the power of integrity, of how it truly shines despite...

Sadhu to those all over the world who participated in Earth Hour. May all be mindful of the importance of caring for the Earth from hour to hour! During Earth Hour last night, I was teaching a class on the Amitabha Sutra at Kong Meng San. When the lesson began at 7pm, I flashed a Powerpoint...

Gee: You’re too skinny! Let me transfer some fat to you! (Reverse liposuction!!?) Cee: Nooo! Thank goodness only merits can be transferred (shared)! Mee: That’s why good is more powerful than evil! Actually, there are other things that can be transferred too – like money and...

Burning Our Environmental Blessings Away? In many of the temples I visited in Japan, there is a custom of writing your name on a chopstick-length (but broader) stick of wood with calligraphic ink. But nowadays, a black marker pen will do! This stick is then left with the temple, while you...