By Shi ChuanGuan, on 17th May, 2012 Eight Schools of Thought ~ A Dharma Teaching Series by Venerable Fa Guang @ Poh Ming Tse
6 June ~ 27 June Every Wednesday.
A brief overview of the 8 schools of thought based on the reading of “The Essentials Of The Eight Traditions" by Gyonen
The Essentials of the Eight Schools gives a concise account of the history and doctrines of the eight principal Buddhist schools in existence in Japan at the time of the author, i.e. the six schools which were introduced to Japan during the Nara Period and the two schools introduced by Saicho and Kukai during the Heian Period. This work may thus be described as an introduction to Japanese Buddhism.
The eight traditions / schools
Kusha Jojitsu Ritsu Hosso Sanron Tendai Kegon Singon (Main study of the class) Zen Jodo
You will bring back with you some Japanese languages and terms at the end of the class.
About Venerable Shi Fa Guang
Venerable Fa Guang was born in Malacca. He is ordained under Master Miao Hua and trained under him in the Chinese Mahayana tradition for many years. Presently, he is residing . . . → Read More: Eight Schools of Thought ~ A Dharma Teaching Series by Venerable Fa Guang @ pmt
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 16th May, 2012 In Buddhism, we see that all sentient beings are capable of thought and emotions. In some faiths and religion, they believe that only human beings have a soul. Buddhists do not share such a belief in a soul that is persisting, unchanging and has an independent existence, whether in human beings or in animals.
In Buddhism, we use the word "有情" for sentient beings, literally "with feelings / emotions". All sentient beings have feelings, fear pain and want happiness. In this life, we may be born as a human being with greater intellect, in other lives, we may be born in other states or realms. Amidst the facade, we all have Buddha Nature, the potential to become totally free, free of defilements, free of worries, stress, anxieties and suffering. Free of limitations and boundaries to truly love, care and help others.
Recognising this potential in every sentient beings, it drives our outlook and mindset in life. It shapes our attitude towards fellow sentient beings.
Time and again, animals have proven to have emotions and exhibited loyalty and devotion to each other, and in the following case, to a human being.
http://delightmakers.com/news-bleat/wild-elephants-gather-inexplicably-mourn-death-of-elephant-whisperer/
For 12 . . . → Read More: Wild Elephants gather to mourn death of Elephant Whisperer
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 15th May, 2012 Below is an interesting article by a Swedish writer, an author on creativity, about how Singapore is the best place in the world to be creative.
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120514-0000008/The-best-place-in-the-world-to-be-creative
But the main reason I live in Singapore is because this city-state, to me, is the one place on earth where it is the easiest to have a globally-creative mindset.
Some people say Singapore is "Asia for beginners". I do not agree. I think Singapore is "globalisation for beginners", or rather, "globalisation for early adopters".
With a diverse mix of races, religions and nationalities, Singapore not only represents the cross-section of the world, it is also a time capsule of what the world will look like in the future.
And I love that.
Personally, I agree with most of the points he has made. I've met many friends and seen many Singaporeans who are very creative. Singaporeans are very creative when it comes to circumventing the rules. ^.^
In this respect, I find that in many cases, Singaporean's creativity is borne more out of need than simply a desire to create, to build, to explore.
The downside . . . → Read More: Creativity … in Singapore!
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 13th May, 2012 Happy Mothers Day dear friend!
Today, people all over the world shower their mother with love, cards and flowers to express their love and affection for them. Tomorrow, please remember the cards, the flowers and affection you expressed. Remember to love your mother by being considerate to her, being appreciative of her, be loving to her.
The Buddha described our mother and father as "Brahma", as "early teachers" and "those worthy of veneration" [1].
"Living with Brahma are those families where, within the home, mother and father are respected by their children. Living with the early devas are those families where, within the home, mother and father are respected by their children. Living with the early teachers are those families where, within the home, mother and father are respected by their children. Living with those worthy of adoration are those families where, within the home, mother and father are respected by their children. 'Brahma,' bhikkhus, is a term for mother and father. 'Early devas' and 'early teachers' and 'those worthy of veneration' are terms for mother and father. For what reason? Because mother and father are very helpful to their children, they take care of them . . . → Read More: Happy Mothers Day!
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 11th May, 2012
"You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit.
If it eats the rabbit and plays with the rabbit* apple,
I'll buy you a new car."
~ Harvey Diamond ~
Interestingly, I thought of a similar comparison earlier on and wrote a blog entry on http://buddhavacana.net/2012/01/21/which-would-you-eat-carrots-or-rabbit/
* How many of you spotted this? Thanks to a nice friend who pointed this out! 
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 8th May, 2012 
Maybe if we take a page from this gamer, then folks of different faiths need not be so eager to attack other religions?
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 4th May, 2012  Tomorrow is Vesak Day 2556! Yes, you didn't read it wrong. It is 2556 years since the Buddha's final passing into Mahaparinibbana (Sanskrit: Mahaparinirvana) and 2601 years since his Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree.
Buddhists around the world celebrate the Birth, Enlightenment and Mahaparinibbana of the Buddha around this period. Some countries such as Japan has evolved into a flower festival, said to have developed over time with the offering of flowers to Buddha in Buddhist monasteries and later developed into the former.
While commonly seen as a Buddhist celebration, it is significant to all people, all sentient beings. The celebration marks the conquering of our common human state of unknowing, of delusion, of ignorance, of worry, of anxiety, of stress, of suffering. Of transcending the extremes of sensual pleasure and extreme ascetism. Of going beyond words and petty differences, and seeing how things truly are. Of fulfilling the maxim of human potential, Nirvana, Arahanthood, Buddhahood!
This potential is in each and everyone of us, whether we believe or subscribe to it or not. That despite our faults and flaws, we can cultivate wholesome mental habits and attain to Perfection. That while we . . . → Read More: Happy Vesak Day 2556!
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 3rd May, 2012 The Daily Readings was recently updated with the Dhammapada verses and I received a comment suggesting for the previous verses from "Buddha Vacana" to be available.
After writing a php script to order the Dhammapada verses uniformly according to the sutta count in each book, I wrote an option to choose the book to read from.
From the screenshot above, you can find the dropdown list option with "Buddha Vacana" and "Dhammapada". The new code will remember your choice and display verses from the same book you chose.
For your convenience, you can change your options any time you want. There is nothing to register or login to.
To keep it simple, the cookie just store ONE value, a bookid with value "1" or "2" (defaulting to "2"). No personal information of yours is captured or stored, only this bookid.
If you do not have cookies enabled, it will default to "Dhammapada" and require you to choose the other available books manually.
If this new code breaks or crashes your browser, let me know. I'll fix it. If it gives your cat sleepless nights and make your dog growl incessantly, let me know. We may . . . → Read More: Daily Readings updated with selectable books
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 3rd May, 2012 A 30,000 feet view of Singapore with Buddhist centres and monasteries listed!
This map was created under Singapore Buddhist Federation by the Web team in KMSPKS
The inSync project will link up our friends and family with Dharma activities nearest to them, keeping them inSync with the Dharma! 
Keep a look out for it!
View BUDDHIST CENTRES, SINGAPORE in a larger map
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 2nd May, 2012
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@ PMT *NEW*
Heart Sutra Workshop
More info
@ BL
Tue Morn Translation
Tue Nite Meditation
Sun Puja-talk-Bodhikids
Wed, Fri - Consultation
Thu SIMBB Dharma classes @ PMT
Sun Monthly talks @ SBM
@ Metta
Sun Nite 佛法概論
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