Bite-sized Dharma on the go!
Below is a work in progress. I’m penning (doesnlt look right somehow) down a
simple commentary on some phrases from the Diamond Sutra 金剛經.
一切有为法
All conditioned phenomena
如梦幻泡影
are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
如露亦如電
dew and lightning
應作如是觀
such is how one should reflect and observe!
Read More …
ok, so my retreat is dwindling to an end, and I’ll be back in Singapore next week, but I thought I’ll just post a note so that the electronic weeds don’t cover up this blog! 😉
Oh and guess what, it’s 2007! Yes I know, January is almost over, but that’s what happens when you go into a retreat (of sorts) … you lose track of time! 🙂
So anyone with audacious New Year’s resolution to share? For those who missed out making a New Year resolution, you have a second chance next month with the Chinese New Year.
The installation files for PocketPC have been found to be compatible with newer Windows Mobile devices.
Post back here with your installation outcome.
Of late, I’ve been thinking about something. “Did the Buddha do charity?”
Of course the mere inclusion of Buddha in such a question would invoke hordes of Buddha-fans who might flame this entry as its preposterous to even conceive such a question, much less ask one, and to post it online at that. Purists would start asking questions like “Define ‘Charity'” or “When we say ‘Did’, are we referring to the Buddha in his final life, as a monastic, as a prince or are we referring to his numerous past life?” … or perhaps my personal
favorite would be “What do you mean by Buddha? Are we referring to the historical Buddha or the very concept of Buddha-Nature” … etc etc.
While it may really seem like they are splitting hairs, those questions are very real and helps define the extent of our question. It can also shed light on the current status of Buddhism and perhaps whether there are alternatives to our current way of applying Buddhism to modern society.
The other day, I received an email informing me of the recurring charges for this site. I was somewhat bemused and thought that this was a mistake. You see, the hosting for this site is charged annually. And these matters were handled by my kappiya (steward) so I thought that this was yet another rip-off by some obscure hosting site. Indignantly, I accepted that if the account was not duely cancelled, then the charges would be honored but to prevent future charges, I sent a request for account cancellation, not forgetting to just rant as a surprise that the account was still active even though I’ve not used it for awhile. I promptly received a cancellation confirmation email with a footnote that as per service policy, accounts not cancelled will be automatically charged with recurring bills. Fine and good. I’m all for policies and was not the least trying to get a waiver or anything. I thought that was the end of this episode, but boy, was I wrong.
When are we allowed to have expectations?
I know, I know. Some of you are probably thinking “But I thought having expectations leads to distraught and suffering?” Well, matter of fact, having expectations is part and parcel of everything. Because we expect to quench our thirst by drinking water, so we drink. And experience has shown that it did in the past not just for individuals but for almost all known cases. So we solve our thirst by this expectation and/or assumption, acquire water, drink it and ultimately quench our thirst. Will a day come when water won’t quench our thirst? Maybe, when the conditions are different, but in the mean time, drink … water, that is.
But that is not the point of this post. The point is this. Just as such simple expectation helps us along our simple basic needs of sustenance of our body, perhaps other forms of expectations are justified as well?