By Wakeupnow, on 31st March, 2009 
Life sized statue of the Buddha from the Tang Dynasty period (618-906 AD)
應以何身得度者，即現何身而為說法 does not translate to “Teach the Dharma in the local language”. The Chinese text would translate loosely to “Depending on the need of the audience, (one) shall manifest in whatever form/appearance to teach the (Buddha) Dharma”. This is the crux of the teachings in “妙法蓮花經 觀世音菩薩 普門品” Saddharma-puṇḍarīka sūtra, chapter on Samantamukhaparivarto nāmāvalokiteṡvara-vikurvaṇa-nirdeṡa.
Confused yet? Ya, thought so. For those of us who are do not read sanskrit or Chinese, the above lines might as well have been written in greek or an alien language, which brings me to the earlier statement, that one shall manifest in whatever form/appearance to teach the Dharma, depending on the need of the audience. That should include adopting whatever language is appropriate for conveying the message. The language is but a medium, a tool while style and prose just an expression of that medium. The intended message is what is important. And because of that, language, style and prose should be chosen to encourage communication. . . . → Read More: 應以何身得度者，即現何身而為說法 Teach the Dharma in the local language
By Wakeupnow, on 19th March, 2009 Oh good, now they discovered the fat controller in the body. So it is not your fault that you are 200lbs over weight, it is because the fat controller is faulty. And by the way, here’s a medication while we are at it. Now you can continue to gorge yourself with food while having a slim profile.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1162179/Discovered-The-fat-controller-body-key-staying-slim.html
Fat Guy in Chair
祸从口出，病从口入
There is a Chinese saying “祸从口出，病从口入”. It means, “trouble comes from out of the mouth (speech), sickness comes in through the mouth”. Simple and succinct.
Where I grew up, the fat controller is you. You decide how much you eat, what you eat, when you eat. I’m pretty sure some of the starving africans have faulty fat controllers … … strange thing we don’t see obese africans who happen to be starving huh?
. . . → Read More: They discovered the fat controller in the body or 祸从口出，病从口入
By Wakeupnow, on 17th March, 2009 2) Can the venerable give me some advice on how to cope with laziness and internet addiction?
Hmmm … laziness and internet addiction. Quite an interesting pair … ‘cos laziness is inactivity, while addiction is not.
We can be lazy about many things. For example, I’m “lazy” when it comes to killing mosquitoes. So I’ve not killed one (in my knowledge) for many many years. I’m also “lazy” with making money. So I’ve quit my job and become a monk, and have not made any cash for all these years; the up side is that you cannot be retrenched as a result! :p We are lazy about some things and passionate about others, even to the point of being addicted to them. The difference between the two, lies in interest.
We are lazy about things that do not interest us. Life, unfortunately and frequently, requires us to do things that are less than interesting. Take work for example. Most of us are not interested in our work. Really. We are driven mostly by what it can bring us or others. Sometimes that is monetary gain, sometimes it is a sense of satisfaction derived from identifying ourselves with the profession. Without . . . → Read More: Q&A: Laziness and internet addiction
By Wakeupnow, on 17th March, 2009 Below is part 1 of my reply to an open question posted on Leave a Message
1) My dad says that we must respect books because some divine beings might be living inside it, if we disrespect the book( e.g stepping on them, putting them in an untidy manner etc.), we will not get good results in examinations and will not gaining enough knowledge. Is that true?
So there are two parts to your father’s claim: 1. That there are some divine beings living inside books, and 2. By disrepecting them, there will be some consequences, such as poor exam results and being knowledgeable.
First off, there sure are beings living in books, but divine or not, I know silver fishes lives in books, especially the old ones. There are some legends that some spiritual beings or guardians protects books, and that they may get pretty angry if anyone mistreat the books they protect. Such legends probably evolve or develop from earlier legends about guardians of knowledge or wisdom, which books are the physical representation of. These latter legends may themselves have been derived from the view that knowledge or wisdom is sacred and thus should be respected and held . . . → Read More: Q&A: Respecting books
By Wakeupnow, on 12th March, 2009 Recently I’ve been thinking, that since many people in the city suffers from bouts of insomnia, I could share my thoughts about it and how one could potentially deal with it.
First of, I don’t suffer from insomnia. The one major time I couldn’t sleep was when I downed a whole tin pot of coffee-tea brew that my good friend Ivan (NTU Hall XI, you know who you are! :p ) made for me. He did it with the best intention and in a twisted way, I’m grateful for his intentions, but boy I only managed to catch a wink at 5am only to have to wake up at 7+am to do an exam paper for Japanese.
Then there was the other time … … hmmm … … either my memory is failing, or I really don’t have problem with sleeping.
Seriously, I rarely have problems with sleeping. But I’ve met people who face this difficulty (in some part of the world, they call it a medical condition) and here are some common traits I observe:
Anxiety or worry (about some matter or their lack of sleep itself!) Bad pre-sleep habits No sleeping habits
I’ll deal with 2 and 3 . . . → Read More: Howto: Sleeping well
By Wakeupnow, on 3rd March, 2009 How To: Pureland Practice (100 ~ 200) By Wakeupnow, on 3rd March, 2009
Preface
In this HowTo series, we explore the Pureland Practice. The contents herein is set at level 100 ~ 200, meaning it’s targeted at introductory to beginners’ level.
100 – Introductory 200 – Beginner 300 – Intermediate 400 – Advanced
This article was first drafted in 2007 and intended for publication on this blog. It was later revised and published in the December issue of Vaidurya 2008. It is now published here for public reading.
Introduction
Pureland Buddhism is ubiquitous in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. Throughout most, if not all, Chinese temples and monasteries in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hongkong, China, worldwide, pureland practise is more well known than perhaps meditation practises like anapanasati (breathing meditation) and satipatthana (Four foundations of mindfulness). In certain cases, a Buddhist may even know only to chant “Amituofo” and nothing about the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold path. Sometimes this is due to the literacy level in the audience and other times, due to the level of the sangha community. Try explaining the Four Noble Truth and Eightfold path to an 80 year old granny who can barely understand you or try getting . . . → Read More: How To: Pureland Practice (100 ~ 200)
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