Category: Buddhism

“Talks on Peace Very Often Are Just Talk, with No Action”

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Just came back from a Religions For Peace conference @ Furama City Centre (@Furama Hotel).  One of the message that struck a chord in me was about how talks on peace very often are just talk, with no action.  After all these years of talks on peace, and yet, we still have strife and conflict.  It seem the ones who attend conferences on peace are already advocates of peace, while those who really need a dose of it are not attending it.

While it feels that way, I think if even just one of the religious leaders were to internalise the message and bring back it back to his or her community, it would be worth it.  We got to keep it up!

Interestingly, one of the theme in today’s session was about how the individual must be at peace before the group or the nation can be at peace.  This resounded strongly with the Buddha’s words, that the mind is the forerunner of all, and only when we defeat our defilements can there be peace.

So, my dear friend, how was your day?  Is it peaceful?  Or did you get upset over the same thing again?

May you be well … … may you be happy … … ^_^

南無觀世音菩薩 (Hokkien)

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This is a short prayer commonly said by lay Chinese Buddhists in Singapore from 60s till perhaps early 90s.

南無觀世音菩薩 佛祖保佑 x 3
Namo Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Buddha Bless x 3

一家大小
The whole family from the eldest to the youngest

平安順順
to be safe and sound, have little obstacles (in their day and life)

爸爸大賺！
and may my dad earn big bucks!

^o^

While some may find it bordering on being materialistic, I think it reflects on the very simple needs that people had — Safety and physical Well being and not have difficulty time (be Happy) whether in school, at work, at home or away from home.

Singaporeans in the 60s and 70s had it tough.  Most families were very closely knitted and had to chip in to make ends meet.  The last line reflects this.  Perhaps it is place last because it was very crucial or perhaps it was not as important as safety and the likes.  Or maybe this was just how our parents were taught.

 

Today, I see this as a precursor to Metta Bhavana, the Cultivation of Loving Kindness.  While Metta extends to all sentient beings, this prayer starts with the family, wishing for the family members to be Well and Happy.

Even simply wishing for this, I believe, is a good start.  For, I have counselled many families where the parents and children do not even speak to each other or they hate each others’ gut, and I think for them, it would be difficult to even say the above prayers wholeheartedly.  So if a family can even start with this simple prayer, each encompassing their heart with love-kindness and compassion for each other, it would be really wonderful.

Further if someone reflects on the Matta sutta http://bit.ly/gWhRrt then the “whole family 一家大小” expands and extends to include all sentient beings.

This would then pave the way towards higher bhavana (cultivation), towards Final Liberation, Nirvana!

 

Suki hontu! ^_^

PS: This prayer is usually said in the heart and not chanted or recited out loud.  The video is a chant sang in the tune of “This is the Buddha’s Light of Mine”.

 

Image of Guan Yin Bodhisattva courtesy of Rebecca Arnett from Castleton, Vermont, USA via wikimedia Commons.

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

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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

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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.)