By Wakeupnow, on 12th February, 2012 Below is a letter from George, his thoughts on refuge taking. Reformatted for easy reading.
Exercise: Why have I not taken the refuge? From 5th July 2011
I am attending the Dhamma course to explore and understand Buddhism. At this stage, my understanding is still limited and I gather that taking the refuge is not like taking a holiday tour.
I am not into religion nor am I seeking God or god. From what I learned so far in Buddhism, understanding is the most important thing and understanding takes time. There are a lot of questions that need to be clarified. I am quite certain The Buddha was not interested in having a large number of disciples. He was concerned that people should follow his teachings as a result of a careful investigation and consideration of the facts. There are problems and challenges for me but taking refuge in Buddhism to avoid problems in this very life seem contrite.
I think taking the refuge is to avoid problems in future lives or to avoid future uncontrolled rebirths (is there a Pill for this?). At this point in time, I am not concern about being a Buddhist formally if that . . . → Read More: Taking Refuge: Letter from a student ~ George
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 26th February, 2011 I am here at The Buddhist Library.
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 8th February, 2011 So I am using wordbooker to sync the blog posts and comments with facebook.
The latest version of wordbooker seem to sync the comments, including spam, onto facebook.
Thanks to Stephen, after some back and forth on their support forum over the Chinese New Year, we've got a patch below which may end up in the wordbooker's next update or release.
Get it here wordbooker.php.tar As always, backup your wordbooker.php file. Untar it. Test it with spams and normal comments. Let me know how it works.
Continue reading if you want to know why the spam was synced to facebook and what this patch does. You can also read the original forum thread over here
. . . → Read More: Patch file for wpbooker to fix spam comments syncing with facebook
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 2nd February, 2011 Happy Chinese New Year to all!
Here's some programmes coming up at the Buddhist Library for this Chinese New Year:
Wednesday 2 Feb Chinese New Year's Eve 年除夕
8:30pm ~ 9:30pm Special Chinese New Year Puja & Chanting led by Ven. B. Dhammaratana
Thursday 3 Feb (1st Day of Chinese New Year 年初一)
8:30am ~ 9:00am Blessings by Ven. B. Dhammaratana
11am ~ 11:30am Puja in Pali & English
11:30am ~ 11:45am Dhamma talk by Ven. Chuan Guan
11:45am Dana for monks
6:30pm Evening Puja in Pali & English by Ven. B. Dhammaratana
8:00pm Chanting in Chinese by Ven. Yuan Qing
Friday 4 Feb (2nd Day of Chinese New Year 年初二)
6:30am ~ 8:30am Library opens for blessings
Saturday 12 Feb (10th Day of Chinese New Year 年初十)
1:30pm Visit to . . . → Read More: Happy Chinese New Year to all!
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 31st January, 2011 I like science, esp physics, partly because it can be proven and partly because it is this understanding that allowed many modern inventions. I also like physics because it meant that when I studied kinematics (way back in secondary school and JC), I only had to study once and can apply the same stuffs in three different exams!
The one thing I love was the mathematical proving1 in JC. Not that I was particularly good at it, 'cos I frequently prove that 0 = 0 or 1 = 1 and not prove or disprove the intended question!
While I have this passion for maths, physics and science, I also wonder how many of us take it as fact or truth as long as scientists say so. How many of us have proven all the mathematical, physical and chemical laws, and how many of us assume it should be right?
Granted, I have confidence in those in labcoats, and I do not propose that we learn years of aerospace engineering before taking a plane or civil & structural engineering to stay in a highrise without becoming paranoid.
Physicists are using Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as the instrument to find . . . → Read More: I like science, esp physics … …
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 29th January, 2011 Back from SBF meeting earlier this afternoon. Some of you may remember about the idea to have funding for youth projects and programmes. Well, SBF has set aside a certain amount of funds for this very cause! Thanks to a preliminary proposal by Soon Han, a working panel comprising Ven. Sumana, Ven. Xiang Yang and Soon Han will be developing this proposal into a working programme for youths groups to apply for funding.
In particular, we will be working closely with the tertiary institutions' buddhist societies (TIBS) to make good use of the funds in their activities and projects so as to further the sharing and propagation of Buddha Dharma. More information will be made available in the days to come.
For a start, we should be having a simple meetup with the TIBS to share with them this programme. All buddhist youth groups in Singapore are encouraged to take full advantage of this programme, so contact us today! The Buddha has already done the R&D, it is up to us to learn, apply and share the Dharma!
Suki hontu! ^_^
EDIT:
The above working panel is responsible for formalising a working programme for Buddhist groups to make use of . . . → Read More: SBF funding for youth projects and programmes approved in principle
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 8th January, 2011 There's been recent reports of animals dying off world wide. Some people are panicking and declaring that the world is finally coming to an end with an "Aflockalypse".
Scientists however, are not so quick to draw such a conclusion. According to US government agencies, mass die offs are common but merely unreported. Others note that the advent of camera phones and internet has made it easier to highlight and report such occurrences; it does not mean that it is only happening now or is happening more frequently or intensely.
This reminds me of the earthquake reports that went online quite frequently last year. While a few of the major earthquakes were really catastrophic and their reports was certainly helpful to bring awareness and aids to those who needed, the ease of capturing and reporting information online has meant that the general public may start to think that there is an increase in natural disaster when in fact the perceived increase is also due to an increase in reports of major and minor earthquakes made possible by advancement in technology.
Is the world coming to an end? I think not. But if this spur us to appreciate our daily life, our . . . → Read More: Mass animal die offs … is the world coming to an end? Or the Sound the Hare Heard!
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 6th January, 2011 We all have our favourite something. If it is a cup, we drink from it. Not that drinks taste exceptional with it, but we kinda get used to it over time. We drink from it everyday. It is our favourite cup after all.
One day, maybe our favourite cup is broken. At first it is a small crack and we still use it. If it is repairable, we should repair it so that we don't hurt ourselves using it. But if it becomes so broken that it cannot be repaired and we are hurting just by drinking from it, we have to ask ourselves if we should still hurt ourselves this way.
This is when we should reflect on how this cup has served us well but that it is no longer suitable for us to use the cup anymore. We don't have to smash it up or start getting angry with the cup. It does not make it any better. Put it aside (or recycle it?) and move on.
If we cling onto the cup, identify with the cup and grasp onto it strongly, then we end up hurting ourselves.
When we are thirsty, find a cup, drink, . . . → Read More: Our Favourite Cup, Dress, Shirt or Otherwise
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 29th December, 2010
By Shi ChuanGuan, on 25th December, 2010 講道理，作人要講道理，但道理是給兩個懂道理的人來講的。教育小孩更是如此。
To reason, we should be reasonable and to reason with people, but reason is to be reasoned by two person who knows reason. Educating children is even more so.
I've seen many parents try to explain and reason to their little kids. Some even try to do so to their toddlers who can barely speak, much less reason. It is funny or sad for me to see how parents seem to be expected to explain and account for their every actions and decisions while kids seem to be given a blank cheque to do as they please.
The Family Ground Rules 家規
Being born in a Chinese family, I was brought up in quite a different environment. While my parents were relatively open-minded to begin with and in many cases, entertained my "WHYs" when I was in my mid to late teens, there were many moments where they put their foot down and basically let me know that I've crossed the line. What line? The family ground rules (家規).
In my family, there are certain Dos and Don'ts that everyone have to observe. It is not a democracy. It is the family ground rules (家規). It . . . → Read More: To reason or not to reason – 講不講道理
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@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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