Month: March 2011

Debaptism in UK or Is It Ok for A Buddhist to Attend Church Service

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing3 Comments

When I was a teenager, I’ve heard of how Buddhist parents were afraid when their children get drawn to attend church services because if their child should get baptised, then it is a one
way path, and their children in future, could not or would not pay respects to them, or remember and honour them with an ancestral tablet either in the temple or at home.

I myself went to, let me see, three or four services when I was a student in JC and in NTU.  The first1 when I was in NTU was through the invitation of my then girlfriend who was a Christian Catholic (I was a lay person back then!).  Actually, she was not quite my girlfriend yet but we were more or less headed in that direction.  I was not about to jeopardise my prospects with her.  My mom had a very different idea.

When she saw me wake up early (7+8am or so) on a Sunday morning, her mommy-spidey senses alarms went off faster than you can finish reading this line!  She grilled me on where I was going and basically charged me with LIM (Clan of the Forest) Family Penal Offence #348 Section 28A Clause 132, “… wherein a member of the family shall make an attempt to enter the premise of a church for the purpose of attending a service, either intentionally, unintentionally, wilfully, knowingly, or otherwise, with premeditation, in person or proxy, alone or with groups of two or more, such a member shall be … “, you get the idea. Read More …

Before Trying to Attain Enlightenment, Try to Have Some Basic Manners

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing3 Comments

Would you turn up half an hour* late for a job interview and expect to get the job?  How about an examination or a date with a potential special other?

Should you expect the interviewer, examiner or date to bear with you because you had something more important?
How about if you do it repeated several times over a few years?  What does that say about either your attitude towards the other party’s time, or your own decency and basic manners?

Before trying to attain Enlightenment, try to have some basic manners.
Suki hontu! ^_^

* At times, it can extend to more than one or two hours actually, but let’s not get picky here. 😉

Does Animal Liberation Affect or Harm the Ecosystem Significantly?

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If animal liberation affect or harm the ecosystem significantly, then surely commercial fishing does more harm.

National Geographic agrees to this.

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110225-little-fish-oceans-environment-fishing/

….

Fish Crashes Due to Overharvesting

Christensen and his colleagues analyzed more than 200 models of marine ecosystems from around the world to estimate fish numbers between 1880 and 2007. They found that 54 percent of the decline in predatory fish populations had occurred in the past 40 years.

“Cod in the North Atlantic is a classic case of a crash,” he said. “You had hundreds of years of sustainable fishing of cod—on the order of 200,000 to 300,000 tons caught a season—and then we saw an increase up to 700,000 tons, beyond sustainable levels.

“Now it’s been 20 years and we still haven’t seen a recovery.”

….

Those who want to protect the natural ecosystem should stop commercial fisheries and fishing companies from upsetting the natural marine ecosystem.  A direct way is to stop eating marine life, and start campaigns to raise awareness about it.  As they say it, “When the buying stop, the killing stops”.

And when the commercial fishing stop, animal liberation of respective marine life do not and cannot even take place.

It is laughable when I read articles about how animal liberation can significantly upset the marine ecosystem when commercial fishing companies easily destroy the balance by wiping out tons of marine life every season.

So jog my memory again, how many tons of marine life have we liberated last year?

(Hint: Not enough tons.)

Basic Buddhism Course: Discovering Buddhism

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Basic Buddhism Course: Discovering Buddhism
Guide to Buddha’s Teachings

A 10-part course designed to provide guidance to participants on how key aspects of the Buddha’s teachings apply in our daily lives. Suitable for those who wish to know more about the basics of Buddhism.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=191349894222977&ref=mf

 

4 March 2011 (Friday) at 7.30pm
@The Buddhist Library, Tel: +65 6746-8435
No. 2, Lorong 24A Geylang Road, Singapore 398526

Course Content

  • 4 March 2011: Buddhism As We See It Today
  • 11 March 2011: The Founder – Life of Gautama Buddha
  • 18 March 2011: The Core Teachings
  • 25 March 2011: The Doctrine – the Tipitaka, Evidence of Authenticity – historical
  • 1 April 2011: The Doctrine – 3 Characteristics of Existence, Concept of 5 Aggregates & Theory of Kamma and Rebirth
  • 8 April 2011: The 3 Facets of Buddhism
  • 15 April 2011: The Path – the middle path
  • 22 April 2011: The Middle Doctrine
  • 29 April 2011: Moral Development
  • 6 May 2011: Facing the World

Lecturers

  • Ven. B Dhammaratana, Ven. Shi Chuan Guan, Ven. Bodhi
  • Mr Wee Sin Tho, Prof Chandima, Dr Aruna, Dr Tham Weng Yew, Dr Wong Weng Fai, Dr Jeffrey Po

Fee: None, but registration is required.
Tel: +65 6746 8435 Fax: 6741 7689
buddhlib@singnet.com.sg