Tag: wisdom

29
Nov
2010

Beyond ‘Pure’ Imagination

In ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’, Johnny Depp plays a character who says this to a lady in her imaginary…

22
Nov
2010

Who Blesses The Blessed One?

The Buddha is also called ‘The Blessed One’. But who blesses the Blessed One, who blesses us with the Dharma?…

08
Nov
2010

An Ugly Truth?

From ‘Grimmer Tales: A Wicked Collection of Happily Never After Stories’ by Erik Bergstrom, is ‘The Ugly Truth’, which I think…

08
Nov
2010

Nirvana is No Shutdown

To my aghast, I once heard a monk say that the path of attaining Nirvana is like pushing a button…

08
Nov
2010

Inputting Vs Outputting

There is a tension between learning and expressing, between internalising and ‘externalising’. There is so much to learn, while there…

03
Nov
2010

The Unsurpassable Top

The ushnisha refers to the protuberance on the crown of the Buddha. It is one of the 32 special physical…

01
Nov
2010

He Will Only Be Reborn

In the movie ‘(Avatar): The Last Airbender’, one of the baddies shouts to his henchmen who capture him, ‘Do not…

27
Oct
2010

Just Do What’s To Be Done

A friend visited a monastery in China, and came across a monk who told her that a couplet at a…

25
Oct
2010

Middle Path Between Being Left & Right Brained

Someone asked if I was more left-brained or right brained. Not that I’m no-brained, but I couldn’t really say. Are…

19
Oct
2010

India Adventure (25): Some Animals

A donkey’s strength renders him trapped, to be a beast of burden, fed and used. (Two of his hooves bound…

18
Oct
2010

Systematic Way to Cultivate Wisdom

Question: Does the Buddha teach a systematic way of cultivating wisdom? Answer: The Buddha’s teachings are valuable precisely because they…

11
Oct
2010

The Forgotten Virtues of Poetry

From His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, ‘Compassion is not a luxury, it is a necessity for human beings to…

04
Oct
2010

To Help or Not Help?

Q: Is helping my enemies the right thing to do? A: It is right, provided that it doesn’t harm anyone, and…

04
Oct
2010

Significance of Offerings

If the lotus symbolises spiritual purity, as it blossoms despite roots in mud (which represents defilements), does the offering of…

29
Sep
2010

How to Be a Monk?

About once or twice a year, I get calls from strangers, directed from people who don’t know the answer, who…

10
Aug
2010

‘Lots’ of Advice

Q: Some Buddhists like to cast lots, e.g. at Guanyin temples. Are these lots’ words from Guanyin Bodhisattva? A: There…

23
Jul
2010

Dharma@Cinema: ‘Aftershock’ of the Human Heart

(Thank you, Scorpio East, for the premiere tickets!) Though ‘Aftershock’ retells the terrible tragedy of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which…

21
Jul
2010

Working Out Karma?

Q: I was not aware that the purpose of life is to realise True Happiness (via enlightenment). I thought all along…

21
Jul
2010

Buddhist Leadership Based on the Six Perfections

These ideas came to mind on which leadership model to use for Buddhist organisations… 1. We should use the Dharma…

06
Jul
2010

Taiwan Adventure (11): Art(efact)

These thoughts came to mind while visiting the Taipei Palace Museum: That exhibited is more that the stuff itself. What…