Photography

Photography is an instant action.
Drawing is meditation.

-Henri Cartier-Bresson

The process of drawing is more important than the drawn,
for if the result of a drawing is a life-like portrait of the real thing,
one might as well snap a photograph of it.

-Stonepeace

Faith

Q: How to have unwavering faith or confidence in the Triple Gem?
A: By tasting the truth of the Dharma properly- by realisation of its essence, at least in part, of the 3 Universal Characteristics. This can be done systematically in meditation. The confidence gained is permanently unshakeable- it breaks the fetter of doubt in the Dharma, which is the core of the Triple Gem.

Get Real Feedback about You

Getting feedback is not accurate unless you get it from the wise and constructively critical who knows the values to use to judge. Thus are spiritual friends important.

"I"

I am never free.

Avoid Evil

Z: So, still not going to the gathering with the presence of the obnoxious? Maybe you can transform her?
A: I'm not ready yet- my mind will be more disturbed than skillful enough.
Z: Good reply- "Avoid Evil, Do Good..."- Avoiding evil comes before doing good haha.

Was the Buddha a Buddhist?

Q: He said the Buddha is not Buddhist!
W: It's ok- she used "Budddhist" with quotation marks. But come on haha... the Buddha called himself a Buddha. So the Buddha must be a Buddha-ist at least!

The Value of Labels

Without labels, there will be no words on no guideposts leading us to nowhere. In the long (long long long) run, all roads lead to Buddhahood- but using Buddhist labels for Buddhism skillfully can shine a clear path forth among the countless crossroads. Without labels and sutras, Buddhism could not have survived till today- it would be a lost teaching. What's worse than being lost is not knowing what is the name (label) of that which is lost.

Help-Chanting

Help-Chanting (Zhu1 Nian1) helps ourself before it helps others- when we chant singlemindedly as we can with sincerity and urgency for others, we are chanting with our remainign life as if we are the ones dying too.

Why Born of Lotuses in Pureland?

The 9 grades of birth in lotuses should be more rationally explained or it will seem like a fairy tale. There has to be some form of birth into the Purelands and as there is no parental birth, it is through lotuses which symbolise purity. And the varying periods of time in the lotuses is Pureland's way of ensuring the beings have ill karma ironed out before birth. Only thus can the beings in Pureland be of more equal standing.

Experience

What can't be explained must be experienced.
What can't be experienced must be irrelevant to our experience.

Why was Amitabha Sutra Taught?

2 reasons why the Amitabha Sutra teachings were taught by the Buddha without invitation by anyone-

a) No one knows it to ask about it.
b) It is so important and beneficial that the Buddha had to teach it in spite of a).

Why Market Amitabha Buddha's Pureland?

The Buddhas promise to universally "market" Amitabha Buddha's Pureland to the beings of their worlds not simply because he wants them to- but because it is so excellent that the Buddhas readily agree to do it. Please do not misunderstand that that Amitabha Buddha was demanding or egoistic to the other Buddhas- as a Buddha as no ego or craving.

Insight

Forget foresight and hindsight-
the first is too early and the latter too late.
Instead, discover insight in the moment.

Catch-22 @ Work

Friend's supervisor does only minimal work because he is lowly paid. But maybe if he does a better job and goes the extra mile, he will be better paid? Catch-22 situation. He is looking for a better paid job. But if his attitude does not change, he might soon realise that he is working more than he is paid, and face the same problem. Sometimes, the cycles of Samsara are not just of birth and death, but of "trivial" matters like these- which render us stuck in self-limiting, external blame-pointing situations.

Ego Competition

I don't like competitions because I don't like losing.
Perhaps I should take part compete with myself, not with others-
to let go the ego.

Someone Stole the Toilet

Read an article about a person who goes to a part of Greece which uses squat toilets. The first time he sees the absence of a toilet bowl, he assumed someone stole "the toilet"! It's funny how our perception gets accustomed to things and attaches criteria for what is "politically correct." On the other hand, the people in that part of Greece must be attached to squat toilets being proper and "politically correct." It is interesting to note that a toilet bowl is not the toilet itself. A toilet is a function for toiletting- not a particular thing. Is the bowl really necessary? What other things do you deem essential in your life, which are not?

Proof of the Pudding

The proof of the pudding is in your eating,
not someone else's eating and description of its taste.
Knowing the life of the Buddha inside out will not make you a Buddha.
To know release, be released- others' experiences is only inspiration.

Confucious's Blogs

Reading Confucius' Analects, I realised they are blog-like teachings! They ARE blogs!

Art of Enlightenment

When art becomes
mechanical,
predictable,
unspontaneous,
uncreative,
it becomes a definite science.

If so, the path to Enlightement is definitely an art!

Become Truth

You do not see Truth- you become it.