‘If it’s true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?’ So says a joke, betraying the greed for reciprocation. Well, helping others helps ourselves too, as thia leads to True Happiness. We are here to help one another by choice. There is no...

It is not enough to merely struggle to live, or we would live merely to struggle. Our struggles should be for higher purposes, which lead to the ultimate goal of True Happiness of one and all. - Stonepeace B: Many years ago, I once asked a Buddhist friend, what is the purpose of life? He...

Woody Allen said this - To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering, one must not love. But then, one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one...

This has been going around in email. But it’s good to share it here too: (The lines in blue are my additions.) 1. No point using limited life to chase unlimited money. 2. No point earning so much money you cannot live to spend it. 3. Money is not yours until you spend it. 4. When you...

I heard this story at the ‘Buddhism and Science Symposium III’. I can’t remember all the details. If anyone knows the actual story, do share! The question of whether a King or the Buddha was happier arose. It is easy to assume that the King, having wealth, power and a...

A participant who completed Project Rebirth (Round 2) asked me what would be three key takeaway tips to sum up the whole course. This is my reply: 1. What we all truly want is True Happiness and that is Buddhahood. 2. The path to True Happiness (Buddhahood) comes from bringing happiness to...

From ‘Batman: Lovers and Madmen’ by Michael Green… Gordon: Damnest thing. Like there’s motive. Batman: There’s always a motive. What makes the Joker particularly dangerous is his unpredictability. Even though Batman is very unpredictable too, Batman is more...

She says, ‘I think I can’t handle lies or betrayal well. It’s hard for me to trust anyone now.’ ‘Trust in the Dharma then’, I said, ‘for it will never let you down. And the Dharma also says spiritual friendship is the dearest. ‘Yet, this does...

He is a Buddhist, who wants the best of both worlds, as he struggles to be a worldly success, while wanting to live by Buddhist principles too. But he isn’t trying hard enough to be a better Buddhist. as he craves more for worldly success, though he definitely doesn’t want to give...

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...

Part 1: True Happiness as an attained goal (of Buddhahood) is not conditioned by anyone (including one’self’),* or it would not be unconditional. But the path to True Happiness is conditioned by guiding others to attain True Happiness (as the Bodhisattva path). Part 2: Even after...

If you don’t like yourself, why don’t you change yourself? If you can change yourself, who is really your ‘self’? - Stonepeace Reflections from watching ‘A Ton Image’: If your clone vies for attention of your beloved, would you be jealous – of your...

A poignant song from Sarah Blasko, with some comments to share… All I Want Lyrics: I don’t want another lover So don’t keep holding out your hands There’s no room beside me I’m not looking for romance Say I’ll be here, I’ll be here But there’s...

From His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, ‘Compassion is not a luxury, it is a necessity for human beings to survive.’* Compassion in all its expressions surely, for spiritual survival too! From ‘Ceriph’ of 17th September 2010 (issue one),** ‘Poetry is a luxury we...

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...

I never really watched ‘Survivor’ until I came across the recent episodes on the tube. I think I finally found out what’s so intriguing about the series. The rules of the game are paradoxical – one is expected to be a team-player for group challenges – but...

Q: I was not aware that the purpose of life is to realise True Happiness (via enlightenment). I thought all along that our purpose here is to work out our karma and to aspire to go to Pure Land. A: Actually, karma doesn’t really need working out in terms of living it out totally...

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...

Release from being bound by what you wrongly assume to be true happiness brings even greater happiness. - Stonepeace This is a wonderful short film on the joys of mindful appreciation of everyday things in the moment. However, from a Dharma point of view, the ideas portrayed are imperfect...

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...