"Ringggg......." Wakie, Wakie ......

"Ringggg......." Wakie, Wakie ......



The 'end' of the Earth lies not in the hands of God/s, or due to the forces of Nature, but through the foolishness and foolish acts/deeds of humans.


Our Mother Earth is not polluted or sick. It's the Delusioned minds of Humans that are polluted and sick.

( When Human minds are selfish, we waste, we deforest, we pollute the environment through our foolish acts / deeds etc ... Result? Earth becomes polluted / sick )




We complain about other countries polluting us with haze yearly.

Yet, it's 'funny' we Never 'see' that we pollute ourselves with 'haze' everyday : by smoking; and, depending on which Lunar month or day - our constant burning of incense paper etc ...



We are born not to make money; or to make babies; or to eat; or to make friends or enemies.


We are born To Serve, To Help, To Benefit others and all sentient beings, and to make ourselves, and this impermanent and uncertain life of ours a more meaningful one for ourselves and all beings.

How Will We Know?

How will we know? How can we appreciate?


Without Darkness, how will we know Light

Without Disasters, how will we know Humanity and Family.



Without War, how will we know Peace and Harmony

Without Adversity, how will we know Strength and Courage.



Without Obstacles, how will we know Hard work and Perseverance

Without people Hurting us, how will we know Forgiveness, or how to forgive.



Without Hate, how will we know Love / Loving-Kindness

Without Anger, how will we know Patience and Understanding.



Without Cruelty, how will we know Compassion and Kindness.

Without Loss, how will we know to Treasure & Cherish and Impermanence.



Without people who are Arrogant / Egoistic, how will we know Humility.

Without people who are Rude, how will we know Courtesy.



Without people who are Dishonest, how will we know Honesty

Without Sadness, how will we know Joy.



Without Poverty, how will we know Generosity, or what it is to have

Without Hunger and Thirst, how will we know Food and Water.



Without Greed and Stinginess, how will we know Generosity.

Without Taking, how will we know Giving, or what it means to Give.



Without Selfishness, how will we know Kindness and the importance of Sharing.

Without Extremism, how will we know Moderation.



Without False Knowledge and/or Wrong views, how will we know Truth.

And, Without Ignorance, how will we know Wisdom.

Happiness Is

Happiness Is ...

Contentment : When you are so content you have no want for anything.

1) Everywhere - You just have to 'see' it - it doesn't mean everything is perfect -

It means you have decided to see / look beyond the imperfections of life, and see how perfect Life actually is :

"A Beautiful world can only be seen through the eyes of a happy heart."

.

2) Here and Now : Being present every moment.

3) Being at peace with who you are, how you are, what you are despite how little you have

4) Be One with Universe / Nature

5) Meditation

Truths of Life

Truths of Life :



When we have 'A', we want 'B'.

When we have 'B', we want 'C',

Or maybe 'A' again....etc etc ...

So, round and round we go in a vicious Endless cycle -

Like a dog chasing its tail.



We are unhappy because we are not content ( with who we are with, what we have, how much or how little we have etc )

We are not content because we keep craving and wanting for more, and our attachment ( for fame, fortune, status, power, etc )

In the process, we suffer ...

Because we want and crave, therefore we suffer.

We keep wanting and craving because we lack wisdom.

In essence, wisdom will lead us out of suffering.

Wisdom Ends Suffering .....



We can be FREE only if we LET GO

We can LET GO only if we ACCEPT & FORGIVE

We can ACCEPT & FORGIVE only if we know IT DOES NOT MATTER



Actually, a lot of things in life ( eg. fame, fortune, wealth, status, power, possessions, appearance etc ) REALLY DON'T MATTER.



If only we have the wisdom to see this, to know this, to understand this and to realise this ...

In essence, Wisdom will lead us to Freedom.

Wisdom frees Us .....



How do we get Wisdom?

"The Buddha taught the Noble Eightfold path as the WAY to freedom. It has helped me, and I hope it'll help you, too."

By realising that craving, the cause of our suffering is due to lack of wisdom ( Right View / Understanding )

By having Right View, we change our thoughts, speech and actions to one of contentment, unconditional and universal love, kindness and compassion; with no more discontentment, no more craving / attachment, no more anger, no more hate, no more selfishness, no more jealousy ... ( Right Thoughts, Right Speech, Right Action )

We will be transformed to a better, kinder person, and will not want to harm any beings because we are filled with love, kindness and compassion.

By not wanting to harm any being, we'll move towards helping, serving and benefiting all beings ( Right Livelihood )

As a result, we'll constantly make an effort to do good, and to abstain / refrain from evil deeds ( Right Effort )

By consciously making the Effort to do good, it makes us more mindful of our thoughts, speech and action every moment ( Right Mindfulness )

By being Mindful moment to moment, every moment; we start to concentrate ( Right Concentration )

With Right Concentration ( Meditation ), we'll come to have the Right View / Understanding and more Awareness of life and things around us (i.e. Wisdom )

Thus, the cycle of Purification begins, and the cycle of samsara comes to an end.

With Wisdom, we end our suffering and we free ourselves from the cycle of samsara, the wheel of Life.

The Four Noble Truths ( The Wheel of Life ) - THE BUDDHA

The Four Noble Truths ( The Wheel of Life ) - THE BUDDHA

1) Suffering is caused by ...

2) Craving, Desires, Lust, Attachments etc

3) To reach Nibbana we must practice

4) The Noble Eightfold Path



Simply Put :

1) There is Suffering.

2) The cause of suffering is craving / attachment.

3) There is a way out of suffering.

4) The way out of suffering is The Noble Eightfold Path.




THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH - THE BUDDHA

1) RIGHT View / Understanding

2) RIGHT Thoughts

3) RIGHT Speech

4) RIGHT Action

5) RIGHT Livelihood

6) RIGHT Effort

7) RIGHT Mindfulness

8) RIGHT Concentration

Food for Thought - Chew On it :

Food for Thought - Chew On it :



1) If there's a god/goddess, and if he/she is all merciful, kind and peace-loving, would he/she want any being to suffer, or to be sacrificed in his /her name, for him/her?


2) When we die, we rot in the soil.

When animals die, they rot in our stomachs.


3) Would you sacrifice your life so that others can eat/live?

Please learn to appreciate, be grateful and thankful to all beings who sacrifice their lives so that we can eat/live.


4) Regardless of who you are, what you are, how you are and where you are (i.e your name, reputation, social status and position) when you are alive,

Please know that when you die, you'll be NOTHING but fertilizer for the soil.

Kalama Sutta / What is Right, What is Wrong

Kalama Sutta


As they were sitting to one side, the Kalamas of Kesaputta said to the Blessed One, 'Lord, there are some priests & contemplatives who come to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify their own doctrines, but as for the doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them, show contempt for them, & disparage them. And then other priests & contemplatives come to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify their own doctrines, but as for the doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them, show contempt for them, & disparage them. They leave us simply uncertain & doubtful: Which of these venerable priests & contemplatives are speaking the truth, and which ones are lying?'

'Of course you are uncertain, Kalamas. Of course you are doubtful. When there are reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. So in this case, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, "This contemplative is our teacher." When you know for yourselves that, "These qualities are unskillful; these qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to harm & to suffering" — then you should abandon them...

'What do you think, Kalamas? When greed arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?'

'For harm, lord.'

'And this greedy person, overcome by greed, his mind possessed by greed: Doesn't he kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person's wife, tell lies, and induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm & suffering?'

'Yes, lord.'

(Similarly for aversion & delusion.)

So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?'

'Unskillful, lord.'

'Blameworthy or blameless?'

'Blameworthy, lord.'

'Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?'

'Criticized by the wise, lord.'

'When adopted & carried out, do they lead to harm & to suffering, or not?'

'When adopted & carried out, they lead to harm & to suffering...'

'...Now, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, "This contemplative is our teacher." When you know for yourselves that, "These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness" — then you should enter & remain in them.

'What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of greed arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?'

'For welfare, lord.'

'And this ungreedy person, not overcome by greed, his mind not possessed by greed: He doesn't kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person's wife, tell lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare & happiness — right?'

'Yes, lord.'

(Similarly for lack of aversion & lack of delusion.)

So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?'

'Skillful, lord.'

'Blameworthy or blameless?'

'Blameless, lord.'

'Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?'

'Praised by the wise, lord.'

'When adopted & carried out, do they lead to welfare & to happiness, or not?'

'When adopted & carried out, they lead to welfare & to happiness...'

— AN 3.65

The Kalama Sutta

Do not simply believe what you hear just because you have heard it for a long time, or it has been spoken by the sages, teachers and authorities.

Do not follow tradition blindly merely because it has been practised in that way for many generations.

Do not be quick to listen to rumours.

Do not confirm or accept anything just because it agrees with your scriptures.

Do not foolishly make assumptions.

Do not abruptly draw conclusions by what you see and hear.

Do not be fooled by outward appearances.

Do not hold on tightly to any view or idea just because you are comfortable with it, or that it has been spoken by many, by the teachers, sages or authorities; or that it has been passed down for a long time.

Do not accept as fact anything that you yourself find to be logical.

Do not be convinced of anything out of respect and deference to your spiritual teachers. You should go beyond opinion and belief. You can rightly reject anything which when accepted, practised and perfected leads to more aversion, more craving and more delusion.

They are NOT beneficial and are to be avoided.

Conversely, you can rightly accept anything which when accepted and practised leads to unconditional love, contentment and wisdom.

These things allow you time and space to develop a happy and peaceful mind. This should be your criteria on what is and what is not the truth; on what should be and what should not be the spiritual practice.

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What is right & What is wrong

What is right (good kamma) and what is wrong (bad kamma)

"Rahula, whatever action of body, speech and mind, done deliberately, which creates happiness for yourself, for other people and for other beings, that is called good kamma (right), which helps, which serves, which creates greater peace, happiness, and harmony in this world, This is called good kamma (right).

Whichever that creates more suffering, more pain, more disharmony, and more violence in this world; Whatever that is, that is bad kamma (wrong)."

- The Buddha

What is the right thing to do?

The right thing is the most compassionate thing.

What is the most compassionate thing?

The most compassionate thing is the wisest thing.

What is the wisest thing?

The wisest thing is that which brings or cause no harm to all beings.

The wisest thing is that which when done, creates more love, more kindness, more forgiveness, more peace, more happiness and more harmony to all beings, and the world.

The wrong thing is that which when done, creates and brings about more pain, more suffering, more jealousy, more hurt, more anger, more hate, more unhappiness, more disharmony and cause harm to all beings, and the world.