Ramblings of a Monk- Learning to listen (Bonus video inside) May 25, 2013Sometimes what people need from us is a listening ear. I know how that feels like, to really just need to share something with someone. Ok, I felt that way like maybe twice in my whole life, but I digress. A long long time ago, I read this interesting book “Men Are from Mars, Women . . . → Read More: Learning to listen (Bonus video inside) […]
- Learning to listen (Bonus video inside) May 25, 2013
Category Archives: Dhamma
Reflections on a Talk at Buddhist Fellowship
I recently attended an interesting talk at Buddhist Fellowship titled “Is There Harmony Among Various Buddhist Traditions”. The theme of the talk was on sectarian harmony among the three Buddhist traditions (which the speaker affectionately called MTV, short for Mahayana, … Continue reading
Posted in Dhamma, Reflections
Tagged Early Buddhism, Gandhara Text, Mahayana & Theravada
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Sutta Discussion 4: The Kalama Sutta
The Kalama sutta is one of the most famous and often quoted suttas from the Theravada Tradition. It is often cited as the Buddha’s “charter of free inquiry”. However, as we shall see below, the sutta actually has many passages … Continue reading
How do we know what we are reading are really the Buddha’s words?
Below is a well written essay by Dr Wong: Faced with a bewildering variety of Buddhist sutras ( Pali: suttas), all claiming to be the original teachings of the Buddha, it is perfectly legitimate for students of Buddhism to ask : … Continue reading
Manila Sutta Group
Recently, a group of Buddhist friends and I got together and formed a sutta discussion group. We called ourselves MSG, short for Manila Sutta Group. The idea was seeded by one Buddhist who lamented that when she was in the … Continue reading
God, Buddhism and the Tsunami
Below is another excellent article by Ven Dhammika written in 2008 on natural disasters and how religions are trying to come to term with it. God, Buddhism and the Tsunami The recent tsunami, the greatest natural disaster in living memory, … Continue reading
A nice sharing on the meaning of Dana
I read this very nice and inspiring sharing on the meaning of Dana. and would like to share with all readers: 1. DANA (Abridged fr Ven Visuddhacara)DANA is a Pali word that can be translated as giving, generosity, charity, and … Continue reading
Posted in Blessing of Life, Dhamma, Generosity & the use of wealth
Tagged dana, Kamma, Nibbana
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What I like about Buddhism
Recently a friend asked me what is it that I like about Buddhism. I think its a good exercise to reflect on this question and put down in writing what is it what attracts us to our faith. Below are … Continue reading
Misunderstanding Buddhism
I believe I must have some affinity with Buddhism because even when I was only 15 or 16 years old, I was already interested in the religion. Even at that young age, I felt that spirituality should be an important … Continue reading
Jhana lite and Jhana like
Below is an interesting personal testimonial from a friend who had a “Jhana-like” experience: The reason why I call it Jhana- like or Jhana- lite experience (I will use the acronym JLE for the rest of the testimony) is because … Continue reading
On Emptiness and “Emptiness-es”
Recently my wife and I participated in a group discussion at Fo Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple in Manila. The session was particularly interesting because the subject of our discussion was on the Buddhist concept of emptiness, a difficult concept even … Continue reading