Tag: Applied Buddhism

Take This 2 Pills, Three Times A Day After Meal. Repeat.

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing2 Comments

This is a fictitious story about a boy who fell ill.  To protect the identity of this non-existent fictitious boy, let’s call him Ah Boy.

So this Ah Boy fell ill.  Did I tell you he caught a flu?  I didn’t?  It’s flu alright, but no, not the swiney type, the usual type.  He is not very into porkchop and all you see.  Anyway, he went to the doctor and after consultation, he collected the medicine and went back home.  $20+ dollars and an MC* later, he is back home. He stayed away from school for the few days covered by the MC, but somehow was not getting better.

After a few days, he went back to the doctor and demanded to know why he was not recovering.  The doctor asked him about the medicine and he said “I went back and did it every day.”

The doctor became curious, “You went back and did it every day?  Did what?”

“I repeated the steps.”

“Repeated the steps?”

“Yes, I repeated the steps daily.  I recited ‘Take this 2 pills, three times a day after meal’ everyday.  Matter of fact, I did that every few hours.”

If you are like the doctor, you would be flabbergasted.  In fact, most people would find this ridiculous and shrug it off as a fictional story.  But on some occasions, I find Buddhists doing just that.  They would religiously recite the suttas (or sutras for that matter) without applying what the sutras expound.  Good Buddhist (*wink*) would know that the recitation of the sutras (as in a puja) forms a devotional practice and when done properly, can be a good development of mindfulness and attentiveness (or even concentration).  They (the latter) would also know to reflect on the meaning of the teachings expounded in the sutra and rightly apply them in their daily lives, benefiting from the practice.

Take for example, Mangala Sutta, a sutta frequently recited in Theravadin temples.  It is a sutta about a deva (god, or heavenly being) who visits the Buddha and ask him a very simple questions that many seeks to know: “What is the highest blessing?”.  Perhaps a more conventional phrasing of this question would be, “How can one be blessed?  How can one be blessed in the highest way?”  Make sense now?  Well, hence the name of the sutta, Mangala sutta, Blessings.  Some translate it as “Protection” … but let’s not split hairs for now.  The point is, the Buddha then replies to the deva in verse, declaring the various ways that one may be blessed (or protected).

Rightly speaking, besides chanting it in a puja, one should frequently reflect over the meaning of the verses and live one’s life accordingly if one wishes to truly receive blessings.  Then would one receive and apply the Buddha’s guidance and blessings.

So this Vesak, go visit the temple, bathe the baby prince Siddhartha, take your refuges and renew your precepts, do your offerings, listen to the Dharma talks, and reflect how you fared this past year.  Are you happier than in the past?  Are you happier because you have more things, or because you change your mindset?  Have you progressed in your practice?  Are you more prone to anger or are you calmer?  Still jealous over the raise and fat bonus someone else get?  Have you talked to your father and mother recently?  How about your siblings?  Have you cared for someone else besides yourself?  Do you care more?

You owe it to yourself to reflect over your life.   And do something about it.  Happy Vesak! 🙂

References:

Khuddaka Nikaya: Sutta nipata 2.4 Mangala Sutta

* MC – Medical Certificate.  In Singapore, the acronym MC has taken on a life of its own, to be used as a verb.  eg, he play MC.  or as a noun, eg. he went on MC.  The former usage “he play MC” is usually used to denote that such as person is faking illness and got an MC to justify his absence.  The latter is usually less insinuating, but has similar connotations.

Earth Hour … Why I Kept It Burning

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing1 Comment

Earth Hour … the hour for tree-huggers to switch off the lights and

* Take a photo on the night, upload it to flickr and add it to Earth Hour’s flickr group and tag it with your city and country.
* Make a video of your event, upload it to YouTube and add it to our YouTube group.
* Write a live blog post during the event and tag it with earthhour or voteearth, and your location.
* Update your Twitter on the night and write #earthhour or #voteearth and your #location in your update to tag it.

according to their official Earth Hour website anyway. Read More …

Getting Real

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing1 Comment

https://confusion.tweakblogs.net/blog/1418/why-functional-programming-doesnt-catch-on.html

The above is an interesting article about functional programming and why it fail to catch on.

Every introduction to a programming language shows you the recursive method to calculate Fibonacci numbers. It’s abstract, many people do not relate to it very well, but it’s only a single example. However, the documentation for FP languages seem to consist solely of these kinds of highly mathematically inspired examples. No ‘Address’ class to be found there. Hasn’t anyone written a functional equivalent of the Pet Store application to demonstrate the power of FP for the regular work that most of us do?

This is sometimes the challenge I hear from people, that they find it too theoretical to apply certain religious concepts (be it Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam or the religion you dig!) in their every day life.  While some faith’s tenets and ideals are meant to be other-worldly, Buddhist teachings are meant for daily applications.

When we attend Dharma classes, we need to relate it to our daily experiences
and reflect upon how our life can be further improved.  Is there anything we could have done or said differently?  What can we do in future to be more considerate towards others?  Was there relevance at all?

People that want to improve the world often overlook one fundamental problem: you cannot improve the world just by being right. You need to convince others of that fact if you want to exert influence. If you cannot convince them, find out why you cannot convince them. I think there is a bright future ahead for functional programming, as soon as someone stands up to convince the masses.

We need to be convinced for ourselves that the teachings really do work out.  We need to try it out and see for ourselves.  The Dharma is meant to be explored and experienced, not merely for recitation.

So start now, see if you can pick something about your day that you can change about.  And see if you can apply the Buddhist teachings, then share your findings here.

😀

Shifu Can I Do This or That?

Posted onAuthorShi ZhiXing1 Comment

Shifu, can I do this?  Shifu, can I do that?  Can I kill insects?  Can I drink whisky?  How about beer?
Can I pay for less bus fare than I travelled?  How about overtime pay?  Can I dock in more hours than I worked?

The answers to the above, would be yes, yes, yes … and more Yes!
If you had asked, can I breathe through my lungs underwater unassisted, it would be a no.  It would be a no to “Can I have an unassisted controlled flight?”, and by controlled flight, free-falling is not included.

Before you quote me saying that I allow you to do all the above former, think again.  You may think that I’m forgetting about the Buddhist precepts that advocate non-killing, non-stealing etc, ala the five precepts (Panca-Sila in Pali).  You see, what most people are mistaken about the Buddhist teachings is that it does not stipulate a “The Buddha says you cannot kill” and impose it upon you.  Instead, it says, killing is harmful to others (apparently!), is in turn unwanted by ourselves, results in pain, suffering and/or stress, amongst other things, and is to be avoided, for the sake of one’s welfare and happiness and that of others.

When we observe the Buddhist precepts, we are really declaring to ourselves and others that having considered carefully, we are choosing not to kill, because doing so (killing) is not fruitful and leads to much suffering.  Further, we recognise that all that are
alive and sentient, cherishes their life; so we seek to protect and care for their well being.  It is not that we are unable to or cannot, it is that we actively choose not to kill.

It is also not that we choose not to kill, so that we can placate the Buddha and ask for blessings.  Instead it is because we choose not to kill, that this positive wholesome karma (or energy if you will) “protects” us.

As Buddhists, we should use our intelligence and common sense to learn the precepts so that we can make well-informed choices and do the right thing on a daily basis.  This can and is what blesses us!  It is our actions, through our body, speech and mind, that if pure and wholesome, protects and blesses us. The Buddha blesses us through his teachings.

For that matter, even if you are not a Buddhist, does it not occur to you that having angry feeling is unpleasant?  And if that anger fester, it may lead to ill-will arising in you?  And if this ill-will, which is unpleasant as well, is left to nuture, you may physically harm someone.  Without being a Buddhist or subscribing to its teachings, would it not make sense that the above train of thoughts and course of actions is unpleasant and leads to stress in oneself and others?  Further, after harming others, would we not feel anxiety of being discovered later?  These are applicable facts or truths that one can observe and see for onself without having to believe in a god or deity or declaring oneself to be a Buddhist.  And seeing clearly, one avoids the path that leads to suffering, and takes that which is more conducive to happiness.

That is why the Buddha’s teachings are declared as Truth, open for enquiry and investigation; ready for us to see for ourselves.  The teachings (Dharma in Sanskrit or Dhamma in Pali) can be adopted by all without going into a sectarian dispute.  It is in many ways, common sense.

So, fellow humans, wake up to your common sense, and do something sensible for someone today! 🙂