Category: Buddhism

To My Mom and Dad! … :)

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing5 Comments

Today is not Mother’s day, nor is it Father’s day. It is also not my parent’s birthday. Least of all, it’s also not my birthday. Today, they accompanied me to run an errand to Funan. (Yes, sometimes monks also need stuffs … *grin*)

Here I am back in the monastery, after a meditation class/session with NUSBS in FuHai Monastery, reflecting about the day, thinking about how my parents accompanied me to run an errand to Funan at a short notice. Color me silly, but I found myself teary just reflecting over it.

I just sent them an sms and thought I would share with you all here:

Thanks Mom and Dad! For
accompanying me to Funan today at such a short notice. For giving me your time, incessant care and love since my birth! For giving me this precious human life! For bringing me into Buddhism and giving me away to the Buddha! Thank you! THANK YOU! Thank you! 🙂 🙂

Before this day ends and we rest for the day, do take the time to reflect over the day. Ponder on the kindness, love and care that our parents had showered us. Give thanks. Ponder on the kindness that our friends had given us. Give thanks. Ponder on the assistance that sentient beings have in one way or another assisted us through our day, our life. Give thanks.

Whether you are a Buddhist, a Christian, Hindu, Muslim or Taoist (or believe in any other wonderful faith that I’ve missed out), take the time to give thanks. It does not have to be a special day to give thanks. And yet, on the other hand, everyday is special enough to give thanks!

Give thanks to our parents and fellow sentient beings by

  1. Saying thank you to them
  2. Being considerate to them
  3. Helping them when they need help
  4. Giving way to them
  5. Refrain from harming them (like hunting, killing animals, insects etc)
  6. Respecting their right to their belongings
  7. Respecting their relationships
  8. Being truthful to them
  9. Maintaining clarity of mind by avoiding intoxicants such as drugs & alcohols
  10. And if you are really up to it, be mindful of your body, speech and mind. That way you can truly be helpful to them and not harm them!

Have a nice day … unless you have other plans! 🙂

Heaps of Stuffs …

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing1 Comment

You know, John C. Dvorak might be more Buddhistic than he knows himself …

https://www.foxnews.com/story/dvorak-help-me-deal-with-mounds-of-recently-useful-tech-junk.amp

The stuff belongs in the scrap heap, but we cannot force ourselves to toss it. And it builds and it builds. I have an entire room full of stuff like this. It’s embarrassing.

So how much of ‘scrap’ have we accumulated in the past year? Maybe it’s time to let go of them? Be it your old pc or gadget, your multiple handbags or shoes, your belts or ties, your views or stubbornness, isn’t it time to do some spring cleaning? … or winter cleaning for that matter?

Tell us … share your story about your ‘cleansing’. 🙂 … anonymously of course … 😉

When the Going Gets Good … …

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing1 Comment

Of late I recall what my Instructor Master said during our Upasampada (higher ordination), that in future if we get a lot of (material) support while serving the community and/or practising, do not be quick to think that it is because of our cultivation or merit or that we are doing the right things, for Mara also has his supporters!

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How Much Would You Give?

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing3 Comments

The Buddha said “The Highest Gift of all is the the Gift of Dhamma”.

For most lay people, Dana, the practice of giving, means giving material support. This includes giving Robes, Food, Lodging and Medicine, the four requisites. Some communities provide avenues for lay people to offer food on a daily basis before noon. Others also put up their phone and utilities bill for voluntary offerings. All these requisites support existing sangha members in their monastic life, so that they can focus on their learning and practice of the Buddha’s teachings.

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So Does It Mean That One Have To Be a Vegetarian To Be a Buddhist?

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing4 Comments

Simply put, no. One does not have to be a vegetarian or vegan for that matter, to be a Buddhist.

Vegetarianism as a pre-requisite to being a Buddhist is a misconception that had been advocated directly or indirectly in the Chinese Mahayana tradition.

I’ve received many queries and responses from lay people about vegetarianism. Some wonder if it is a pre-requisite to be a vegetarian to be a Buddhist. Others wonder if it is a precept or by-clause under the No-Killing precept. All these questions plus some exchanges with a fellow Buddhist who is a vegan spur me on to write this post.

Here is a summary:

  1. To be a Buddhist, it is optional to be a vegetarian.
  2. To observe the First of the Five Precepts of “abstaining from Killing”, one does not have to be a vegetarian. It is still optional to be a vegetarian even if one observes the Five Precepts.
  3. To observe the Bodhisattva vows under the Chinese Mahayana tradition, it is *compulsory* to be a vegetarian.

Foot note to #3, it is not compulsory to be a Bodhisattva even if you follow the Chinese Mahayana tradition. It is only at a later stage that the Bodhisattva vow became a somewhat compulsory package for monastics. For lay people, the Bodhisattva vow is still *not* compulsory.

More after the jump.

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