Although he expects respect, he expects it so much that the moment someone expresses what he perceives to be disrespect, he expresses disrespect in rebuttal. What about respect for others, and their right to disagree on what is...

From the movie ‘Peepli (Live)’, which is social tragedy of about how a poor farmer was tempted to kill himself to secure government funds for his family. Natha: If I will not be alive then, what is the use for respect? Budhia: If you don’t do anything for your family, then...

If one is constantly apologetic, one has never been truly apologetic. If one keeps saying sorry, one is simply not sorry enough. If one wishes to be respected, one should first be...

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,...

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...

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While chatting with friends on the ‘Agree to Disagree: Conversations on Conversion’ project (http://conversion.buddhists.sg) much earlier, I suggested doing something more handy and easy to use, for more swift dissuasion against the ways of manic street preachers. Below is the...

Below is an interesting excerpt, followed by personal comments on them: From ‘“Muscular” versus “Liberal” Secularism and the Religious Fundamentalist Challenge in Singapore’ by Kumar Ramakrishna (S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore) 10 June 2010...

I heard of a Mother who had a kid who was frightened about ghosts. She dismissed them, telling him that there are no such things as ghosts. I don’t know when would be the right time, but I do think it’s good to educate kids on the supernatural as soon as possible, in an objective...

In ‘Ip Man 2’, Ip Man (pronounced as Ye Wen in Chinese) shares some counter-intuitive wisdom on the arts of fighting (and not fighting): 1. When facing many enemies out for blood, it is best to run. But if running is not possible, fight. 2. Winning an opponent is not as important as...

It is not that I disrespect your offering that I refuse to take your meat, but that I respect animals such, to not wish to eat them, even after they are killed, lest you think it doesn’t matter. It is not that I disrespect you that I refuse to take your meat, but that I wish you can respect...

A Dharma friend recounted the first time she stepped into a Chinese Buddhist temple out of interest to learn chanting. The chanting session was probably about to start, and there were rows of prayer cushions for kneeling. While navigating around, she straddled over a cushion with a Sutra...

The Unseen ‘Ip Man’ Behind Bruce Lee? http://buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=12,7663,0,0,1,0 The mild-mannered ‘Ip Man’ (pronounced ‘eep-mun’: Bruce Lee’s martial arts master) is a refreshing break from the typical genre of screen Kung Fu heroes. Come...