Its music time!

Here, for anyone interested in musical instruments.




Reso-Nation has been going on well and I am very pleased to see the efforts everyones been putting in to make the upcoming event a successful one.
Do note that it is never too late to join us now!

Let all work towards our goal (:

Tiger Woods apologises and returns to Buddhism

PONTE VEDRA BEACH (Florida) - TIGER Woods believes the Buddhist precepts he learned from his Thai mother, Kultida, will help him right a life derailed by his now infamous infidelities.

'I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it,' Woods said on Friday in his first public remarks since sordid revelations of his extramarital affairs surfaced in November.

'Part of following this path for me is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age.

'People probably don't realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist and actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years.'

'Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught,' Woods said.

His mother was in the small audience at the TPC Sawgrass as Woods delivered his remarks, which were televised to a global audience of millions. She got a long hug from her son after he spoke, and later said she believed Buddhist tenets could help the superstar golfer put his life back together. -- AFP

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_492645.html

Hello People!

Please note that we will be organising a Dharma talk by Venerable Mahinda on 27 March 2010 at 1930 hours. Please keep the afternoon and evening free to help us with the set up and ushering.

And feel free to invite your parents and friends over for this talk!!


Thank you!
Eugene & Mabel

Clarifications

Local Buddhist blog, Moonpointer carries a very good clarifications on the misrepresentations and misquotes from the Pastor Rony saga. Read it here.

Happy Chinese New Year

My dear brothers and sisters in the Dhamma, through the years, you guys have been the gem, the shining light in my life. I thank you all for making that impact in my mediocre life. This Lunar New Year, we celebrate the Year of the Tiger with optimism for roaring success. May the coming year be a blessed one where all our endeavours be fruitful. Study hard, work hard, and lead a peaceful life.

A bouncing Tigger, ike our youth group, full of exuberance and optimism. May the group grow even stronger in 2020!

Cup Cakes Mania!

Thank you Mabel, Yuanyi and Captain Ananda - Pearson, for the wonderful snacks!

Beautiful Moments

Just to share something beautiful (:

Northern Lights are spotted over Yellow Knife, Yukon, Canada.

The picture below is a Fire Rainbow. It is the rarest of all natural occurring phenomena. This picture was captured on the Idaho/Washington border. The phenomena lasted for 1 hour.

For a Fire Rainbow to form, clouds have to be cirrus, at least 20,000 feet in the air, with just the right amount of ice crystals and the sun has to hit the clouds at precisely 58 degrees.

Treasure the beautiful moments you've had with people that matters a lot to you in life.

May all be well and happy.

Buddha's Last Words

Recently, there may be some misguided information on the last words of Buddha posted online. Unlike the misguided information, the Buddha has found the way to enlightenment at the age of 35. He has showed us the way for 45 years of his life by being a role-model, a teacher and a spiritual friend.

As recorded in the Tipitaka, the set of holy Buddhist literature first put into writing about 2,000 years ago, the last words of the Buddha are as follows:

"Behold, O monks, this is my last advice to you. All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work hard to gain your own salvation. "

Brahmajala Sutta

‘If anyone were to speak ill of me, my teaching and my disciples, do not be upset or perturbed, for this kind of reaction will only cause you harm. On the other hand, if anyone were to speak well of me, my teaching and my disciples, do not be overjoyed, thrilled or elated, for this kind of reaction will only be an obstacle in forming a correct judgement. If you are elated, you cannot judge whether the qualities praised are real and actually found in us.’ - The Buddha, Brahmajala Sutta.

It is blowing out of proportion already. This would be the right way to respond.

Something to share with everyone!A heartwarming truth story.

THE heart-tugging video diary of Christian the lion, a big cat who lived in a London antiques shop, has become an internet sensation - 38 years after he was returned to life in the African bush. The home movie has been watched 6m times on YouTube and other sites, rekindling celebrity for two Australians who bought a lion cub from Harrods in 1969 to impress their friends.

The trio became stars in Chelsea, playing football in a park, but Christian grew too big and at 18 months he was moved to the Kenyan wildlife sanctuary featured in the film Born Free.
A year later his former owners, John Rendall and Anthony Bourke, visited the sanctuary, but its founder, George Adamson, warned them to stay away from Christian, who was now in the wild and had his own pride. He said the lion would tear them to pieces.
Instead, as the film shows, Christian rushed towards them, putting his paws on Rendall’s shoulders and licking his face in joy. It is a moment of touching friendship that has reduced millions to tears, say critics, who believe Christian, along with other “positive” video hits such as the dancing man, where a chunky American dances badly across the world, show how the net is becoming more family-friendly.

After the meeting, Christian was never seen again.

What intrigued me about these videos was the caring and love between human and animal, and the memories each had despite the years apart.(:

with metta,
yuanyi

in light of the recent hoohaa

Teachings from Venerables

According to Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda in “Buddhist Attitude Towards Other Religions” (Pages 2-6):

“Different religions may have different beliefs and views regarding the beginning and the end of life, as well as different interpretations regarding the ultimate salvation. But we should not bring forward such discordant issues to create conflict, confrontation, clashes, hatred and misunderstanding. There are more than enough common virtues for religionists to introduce in theory and practice in the name of religion, so that people may lead a righteous, peaceful and cultured way of life.”

“The deep underlying meaning of religion is to be able to uphold and respect one's own religion without in anyway being disrespectful or discourteous towards other religions. To this end, we must establish mutual understanding, mutual co-operation and tolerance amongst all co-religionists in order to achieve religious harmony.”

http://www..ksridhammananda.com/pdf/BUDDHIST%20ATTITUDE%20TOWARDS%20OTHER%20RELIGIONS.pdf

According to Venerable Sheng Yen in the “Concluding Address for the International Conference on Religious Cooperation 2001”:

“In an open society, one may find several different faiths even within a family. We must respect, even support, each other’s choices with an attitude of appreciation, and should never criticize other faiths based on our own subjective standpoint. We should cooperate to create a harmonious, peaceful, happy and warm community in which to live.”

http://www.chan1.org/newscap/b092001a.html

According to Venerable Thubten Chodron in “Q&A: Working with Anger”:

“That’s their opinion. They’re entitled to have it. Of course, we don’t agree with it. Sometimes we may succeed in correcting another’s misconceptions, but sometimes people are very closed-minded and don’t want to change their views. That’s their business. Just leave it.

We don’t need others’ approval to practise the Dharma. But we do need to be convinced in our hearts that what we do is right. If we are, then others’ opinions aren’t important.

Others’ criticisms don’t hurt the Dharma or the Buddha. The path to enlightenment exists whether others recognise it as such or not. We don’t need to be defensive. In fact, if we become agitated when others criticise Buddhism, it indicates we’re attached to our beliefs – that our ego is involved and so we feel compelled to prove our beliefs are right.

When we’re secure in what we believe, others’ criticisms don’t disturb our peace of mind. Why should it? Criticism doesn’t mean we are stupid or bad. It’s simply another’s opinion, that’s all.”

http://www.thubtenchodron.org/DealingWithEmotions/q_and_a_working_with_anger.html

Cool stuff!

Look at this cool bird my lecturer showed me!

The lyre bird. It can 'sing' to the sounds of not only other birds, but camera shutters and chainsaws.




Parrots are now so last year.

Best Photo / Digital Art 2009

The best photo / digital art of 2009 is none other than Kor Kor Love is Korzilla by Alvin 'Birdie' Yeo.

Title: Kor Kor Love is Korzilla.
Artist: Alvin 'Bird' Yeo

Even PKL holds him in awe, while Yinghui opens her mouth in disbelief.

Youth Sharing Session

This Saturday's sharing topic is, How well do you know your faith as a Young Buddhist?

Speaker: Kwek Zeming (Kor Kor Love)
Facilitator: Venerable Bodhi
Time: 3pm

Please be punctual!

This is what I found!

A year ago on Facebook.

Month of February

Turning Over the Bowl

by Venerable S. Dhammika

The Buddha conceived the monastic Sangha and the lay community as ‘living together in mutual dependence’ (annamannam nissaya, It.111). Monks and nuns usually took the role of teachers of the laity but sometimes this situation was reversed. The lay man Citta for example, was learned enough and skilled enough in Dhamma to teach monks (S.IV,282-8).

The Buddha also understood that there might be times when a monk’s or nun’s behavior might warrant reproof from lay people or visa versa. He said that lay people could express their disapproval of monks or nuns by refusing to give them food when they came alms gathering. According to the commentaries, when the monks of Kosambi were locked in an unseemly squabble, the lay people decided to ‘neither give them salutation nor gestures of respect or offer them alms when they come to us’ (Ja.III,409), which very soon brought the monks to their senses Likewise, monks and nuns may express their disapproval of a lay person by ‘turning over the bowl’ (pattam nikkujjeyya), i.e. refusing to accept their alms. The Buddha gave the conditions whereby monks could consider doing this, all of them concern disadvantaging the Sangha (Vin.II,125).

However, a monk may also decline to accept a lay person’s alms if he knows that it has been obtained by immoral means. I know of a gentle, meditative, forest-living monk in Sri Lanka who turned over his bowl when the a local man tried to give him some food which included venison. He knew that the man was a poacher illegally hunting deer in the nearby forest reserve. The man’s wife was so angry at her husband for causing the family such humiliation, and scolded him so severely, that he stopped pouching.

During the 2007 protests in Burma, many of the more aware monks refused to accept alms from the families of government officials, soldiers and even senior members of the military junta. One particular general was so incensed by this (in most Buddhist countries it would be considered the ultimate insult) that the had the offending monks’ monastery surrounded by police who refused to let the monks out and prevented anyone bringing food in. After two days of this the monks had to give in and the general and his pudgy, bejeweled wife turned up with a retinue of flunkies, all looking very self-conscious, and offered food to the monks, who accepted it with unsmiling faces. Less well-known or revered monks bravely did the same thing and were beaten up for it.