Recording my location history for future references

 Since going forth as a novice monk in Brahmavihara in Oct 2020, the following is my travel journey. 

Oct2021-Feb 2021: Brahmavihara (4 months)

Feb 2021: went to SBS. (8 months)

Oct 2021: Higher ordination. 

Nov 2021-May 2022: Brahmavihara (6 months)

May 2022-Nov 2022: SBS (6 months)

Nov 2022-March 2023: Brahmavihara (4 months)

March2023-July 2023: SBS (4 months)

July 2023-May 2024: Na Uyana, Sri Lanka. (10 months)

May2024- Now: Brahmavihara. 

Total so far: Brahmavihara: 1y 6m, SBS: 1y 8m, Na Uyana: 10 m

Content page for Quantum Interpretations by Ng Xin Zhao

 Introduction and History.

Content page for Reading order series by Ng Xin Zhao

Dune saga by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Ender series by Orson Scott Card

Xeelee Sequence by Stephen Baxter

Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore

The Expanse by James S. A. Corey

Why Buddhism encourages veganism

I just realized that for all my postings on facebook, there was no solid website which I had pen down my thoughts on Buddhism and veganism issue. It'll be easier to track and search for if I just write it all down here. So here goes. I am a Buddhist and a vegan.

I think it's clearly wrong to try to twist the Dhamma into saying that all Buddhists must be vegans as the Buddha didn't make it compulsory. However I shall be taking the stance that all Buddhists who has compassion and wisdom should be vegans, highly encouraged to be vegans, and it's ok for social pressure to push every humans to be vegans, just short of making it compulsory.

For those who hide behind the excuse that Buddha was not a vegan, why should I be? Do these vegans think that they are morally superior to the most moral being (Buddha)? I say that those excuse are cowardly in this day and age. In the time of the Buddha, there was no issue of global warming caused by human activities, in particular, the meat industry plays a huge role. It's also clear that while the Buddha didn't ban meat althoughter, he does make an effort to not encourage meat eating as well.

My suspicions of why the Buddha didn't outright say veganism is compulsory is for the consideration of the beginners to Buddhism. Clearly the Dhamma food is more valuable compared to physical food. So to set the bar high that all who converts to Buddhism must be vegans would turn people away from the Dhamma rather than towards it. Also, he might have foreseen that for some parts of human history and location where Buddhism goes, it might be impractical for those people to become vegan, and thus Buddhism would not take root there with the vegan requirement.

Now, however, the world has a lot of strong secular reason to go vegan: environment, to avoid cruelty to animals and for their own personal health. It's possible one day to have everyone on earth to be vegan, and thus Buddhism shouldn't be a bastion for the last meat eaters to justify continuing eating meat. And now, it's very practical for most humans in all locations of the world to turn to veganism, as long as there exist a supermarket nearby. For as long as the whole world is not vegan yet, I would agree that it's too high a bar to set to beginners to ask them to be vegans in order to be Buddhists.

But for those of you Buddhists who had been in the Dhamma for years. Maybe say 5 years is a lot already, those of you who are serious in the practise of generating metta, boundless loving kindness towards all beings. Do direct your loving-kindness towards the animals now trapped in factory farming, due to being slaughtered, those male chicks in egg industry due to being killed immediately because they are deemed worthless. Those cows who gets raped repeatedly just to produce milk and their baby who gets killed soon after birth. Use that as a motivation to go vegan and align your actions with what you profess to believe.

Here are some reasons why Buddhism strongly encourages veganism:

1. The first precept: It's to avoid killing. To reconcile the ability to eat meat while practising the first precept, the precept means no direct killing. So don't eat live food, like insects, seafood, osters, octopus etc. Also, don't order for a fish to be killed just to be served for you. But that's only the basic step.
If we go beyond the first precept, it's logical to try to develop avoiding indirect killing as much as possible too. That means going vegan. Even if there is some blood in the harvesting process for plants, it's much less compared to the meat industry, as the animals eat much more plants and then get killed too. That's also a natural result of practising loving-kindness. We want to be able to reduce other's suffering as much as possible.

2. Right livelihood: avoid trading in meat, living beings, weapons, poison, alcohol, also avoid livelihood which breaks the 5 precepts. How is one able to still eat meat then? It's to eat meat prepared by butchers of other religions. It's to have cognitive dissonance that buying has nothing to do with the trade.
So a Buddhist majority country like Thailand, Myanmar who are not also majority vegans do have to deal with uncomfortable truths. The meat they enjoy is due to the presence of some butchers of other religions, regardless of whether the meat comes from outside or inside their borders. So is that not a bit hypocrite? To have others bear the kamma of killing just so that one can enjoy meat?
To link up the act of buying with trade, it's obvious that if we buy meat, we are the paymasters of the butchers, even if it goes through several layers of middle man, the intention is still clear. Meat buyers send a message to those involved in the trade of meat, living beings that their livelihood is ok, is supported by them. It's like buying guns from weapons dealers, you give money for them to continue operate to cause a lot of harm in the world. Is that really ok with your conscience?

3.  Jivaka Sutta:  In three cases I say that meat may not be eaten: it’s seen, heard, or suspected. These are three cases in which meat may not be eaten.

In three cases I say that meat may be eaten: it’s not seen, heard, or suspected. These are three cases in which meat may be eaten.

Keep in mind that the Buddha was referring to the monks and nuns when applying this sutta. So it's not the case that all meat are allowed to be eaten by them. Many lay Buddhists do try to apply the same sort of standard to them and it's pretty good too, at least it means one will not participate in eating live food. How people can continue eating meat is when eating meat, one does not give rise to unwholesome intentions, not harm others, not wishing for any sort of particular food, eg. meat. In the sutta too, the Buddha said those who deliberately kills to prepare meat for him and his disciples have great unwholesome kamma. 

 “Jīvaka, anyone who slaughters a living creature specially for the Realized One or the Realized One’s disciple makes much bad karma for five reasons.

When they say: ‘Go, fetch that living creature,’ this is the first reason.When that living creature experiences pain and sadness as it’s led along by a collar, this is the second reason.When they say: ‘Go, slaughter that living creature,’ this is the third reason.When that living creature experiences pain and sadness as it’s being slaughtered, this is the fourth reason.When they provide the Realized One or the Realized One’s disciple with unallowable food, this is the fifth reason.

So the usual logic for lay people to continue offering meat to the monks and nuns is that they didn't personally do the slaughtering.
Now, let's extend this principle further. Not seen, heard or suspected. Does it have to be seen and heard the exact animal being killed, so I cannot eat that particular animal if I go visit a slaughterhouse? But then I can eat another animal, prepared from different slaughterhouse? Does seeing and hearing needs to be live, in person? Or is a recording of it is sufficient? If a recording of it is sufficient, then those who watched youtube videos of animal slaughters should know better than to continue eating meat. And on suspect, does that imply knowledge? So anyone who's not a kid, who knew that meat comes from killing animals should suspect that this meat had been killed.
Yet, the usual come back is that it's not killed specifically for you. But who are the animals killed for then? The consumers, the customers, those who buy. We can clearly say that monks who don't have the power to buy food is not what the meat is killed for. But the layperson who has the power to buy food would clearly suspect that this meat is killed for them. That happens the moment one exercises the power to buy and choses the cruel option. So one way of practising this is that monks and nuns can eat meat, but it should be only been offered by those who had not specifically buy meat for them, but by those who had already gotten meat, didn't have anything else to offer, then they have generosity to offer to the monks and nuns. That's a pretty rare occasion. Especially if the lay persons who wishes to follow the Jivaka sutta should themselves refrain from buying meat. Basically the only meat available are maybe roadkill, or their friends offer to them. 

4. Metta: loving-kindness. And applied to beings who suffer, it's compassion. Compassion crucially is not only wishing that other's suffering is gone, but to act to help reduce suffering. One way to continue eating meat despite having practise these is to have cognitive dissonance, one does not have these feelings outside of meditation or that it's not universally applied. More applied to humans than the animals due to be slaughtered. Those not yet to be born, but due to be slaughtered in the future as well.
As highlighted above, it's a pretty powerful tool to help set the motivation for going vegan by applying metta towards the animals to be slaughtered, and those to be born to be killed. The reason why so many animals can be killed in the first place is because humans force breed them to meet the demands of meat. So going vegans is having compassion for those to be born. Also, when it comes right down to it, all three reasons for going vegans are compassion. Environment is compassion for the humans and animals of this planet, to avoid them from facing worse global warming. Health is compassion for oneself to have the best interest of one's health at heart when choosing to go vegan. And of course the animals themselves. 

5. The Buddha didn't ban monks from being vegans. When meat eater Buddhists respond to vegan promoters, they usually bring up the story of Devadatta trying to convert the monks and nuns to be vegetarians. 
Looking closely at the story, it's clear that the Buddha also didn't say that lay Buddhist cannot be vegans. The Buddha allowed for pure meat (not seen, heard or suspected), but he didn't outright say that monks and nuns themselves cannot choose to be vegans. He just didn't make it compulsory for them to be one. Granted it's super hard for monks and nuns to be vegans at the time. However, in many places now the Theravada meal offerings are in buffet style, so the monks can choose what food to eat by themselves. The choice of food may be interpreted by the lay people who are offering it as oh this monk likes that meat, next time we should always prepare that meat for them. So it can cause indirect harm in this way. One way for monks and nuns to help is to declare themselves as vegans and have Dhamma talks encouraging veganism, and only choosing the vegan dishes at meal offerings which are buffet styles. This way of living by example can encourage a lot of the disciples to offer only vegan food and maybe even turn vegan themselves, helping with reducing suffering in the world. 

6. Dependent Origination: buying creates demand which drives future killing, present killing is due to future demands. Some people use this time lag and distance from the killing from the mass of economic process of transferring meat to lay aside the responsibility of meat eating to killing of the animal. While it's true that in the story of the serial killer who was demanded by the people to be caught and then sentences the serial killer to death, the kamma of killing is due to the executioner and the judge rather than the public who demanded safety. So it is with the meat. However, it's also possible to imagine a world without capital punishment. Thus no killing is done. It's possible to imagine a world of vegans, thus minimizing killing. As a world of vegans involves the work of everyone, is it not better to choose to go vegan in pursuit of that hope rather than base our actions only on kamma? Don't say that it's impossible to have a world of vegans. Slavery used to be common place. Women used to be inferior to men. LGBT used to be known as unacceptable behavior. Social change is coming, and it's the vegan time. 

7. Rebirth in the animal realms. As we had undergo beginningless rebirth, it's hard to find anyone who had not been our relatives in the past. Thus most if not all of the meat eaten had at one point in the past been our father, mother, spouse, children, relatives. It's disgusting to think about it and can be a good motivation to abandon meat due to this reason. One way of continuing eating meat is to don't think too much. 

8. The banning of certain animals to the monks and nuns.  The meat of these animals are not to be consumed by monks or nuns. Human beings, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, leopards, bears, and hyenas. Ignorance is not an excuse as the Buddha did scold the monk who eat human flesh without inquiring about it. For the dog's case it's that society find it unacceptable for monks and nuns to eat dogs. You can clearly see that cats is missing from the list. Yet it's also easy to imagine such an uproar from people if cat's flesh is served to the monks and is consumed. One way to continue eating meat is to stick to the rules. Meat not of these animals can be eaten. However, an easier way around to go would be just to go vegan. 

In conclusion, many of the articles which discourages the link between Buddhism and vegetarianism does end with that the most effective way to end suffering is to practise the Dhamma rather than to go vegan. I agree with it. But since most people are not going to become instant arahants, or even in this life, on the journey towards enlightenment, one has to eat on the way to enlightenment, with each meal comes a choice. Why not choose a compassionate diet too? Further reading: https://sujato.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/why-buddhists-should-be-vegetarian-with-extra-cute/

Noble eightfold path and the worldly knowledges

I had just gotten an idea that people who bashed philosophy as useless often didn't study or learn philosophy before. This is after watching some wisecrack youtube videos on the philosophy of ... many stuffs.

After watching some of those videos, you too would be amazed at how much of the actions of the people in the movies, shows, celebrities, etc is influenced by their underlying philosophical ideas and when we consume these stories, their philosophy comes to rub off in us and influence us. Most of the time it is done without explicit awareness, ending up that we inherent certain philosophy which would determine our behaviour just from the media we are exposed to. Often there is a feeling accompanying the philosophy and we end up either unconsciously adopting the philosophy because we like it or rejecting it because of the way it presented made us disgusted with it. Learning philosophy made us aware of the views we have within and the views of those around us. This can in turn raise awareness of what we actually believe and if it is useful to believe in these.

So it comes to no surprise that the right in the other seven factors of the noble eightfold path comes from having right view. Or in other words, adopting the philosophy of Buddhism as one's own philosophy. With this in place, our thoughts, speech, actions, even jobs, effort, mindfulness and meditation follows.

Right thoughts or motivation is essentially part of psychology to avoid ill-will and cruelty and to develop renunciation. If applied to many if not all psychological problems, it can help tremendously.
Based on the reinventing your life book by jeffrey e young, and janet s klosko, here are how 3 right thoughts can help in their 11 life traps: (Note that there is more in the book, here is just a very quick fit. Sometimes not so well fitted in.)

Abandonment: apply letting go of people close to you, because of clinging too much, there is the fear of them abandoning you. It is not to abandon them prematurely, but to recognize that there is separation and coming together and that over clinging causes the emotional isolation.

Mistrust and Abuse: apply loving kindness and compassion to yourself to get out of abusive relationship, apply to others to not abuse them.

Dependence: renunciation of depending on others too much have more love and compassion for others to develop one's own independence. For counterdependence, learn to renounce having to depend on oneself all the time even when asking for help is reasonable, have more self love and compassion to have a little healthy dependence.

Vulnerabilities: renunciation of overclinging to life (reflection on death) which caused the excessive fear of dangers from the outside world. Apply non-ill will towards the things you fear. See how unlikely it is to happen.

Emotional deprivation: apply loving kindness to self.

Social exclusion: apply letting go of having to be perfect to belong. Accept yourself with loving kindness, be yourself.

Defectiveness: apply loving kindness to self. Accept loving kindness from people close to you.

Failure: apply loving kindness to self.

Subjugation: love yourself, not only others.

Unrelenting standards: able to renounce the perfection standards.

Entitlement: let go of feeling entitled to everything, that feeling of specialness to accept limits.

Right speech is a good reflection on literature, art, body language, public policy, public relations, media etc. Of how best to convey messages and what to convey: true, harmonious, kind, beneficial and timely.

Right action is sort of like politics and sociology and law. How people come together and agree not to kill, steal or commit sexual misconduct on each other to form a stable nice society!

Right livelihood goes into economics and sociology. What sort of jobs are worth doing and what is not, how this can make society better off. Is living the full time practitioner the best use of your time if everyone gets universal basic income?

Right effort goes into politics, psychology, philosophy of ethics, policy planning, financial planning etc. On how to guide oneself away from unwholsome towards wholesome. Or putting the right policy to guide outcomes, or investing in the right qualities.

Right mindfulness feels to me like science as in data gathering. We just observe and let wisdom do the letting go when enough data has been collected to see things as they truly are.

Right stillness/meditation feels like technology. It is the ultimate tool of the mind, ultimate upgrade to be able to use the calmness and that sharp, strong mind to advance the science of uncovering reality as applied by right mindfulness. Done right, the side effects may even include supernatural powers just like technological powered superheroes.

6 Types of Freedoms, which ones do you want?

1. Western style freedom
We hear the notion that USA is the land of the free, of people defending free speech, even unto the stage when they might not agree with what I say, but they will defend to the death my right to say it. Even if that message is promoting rape culture.

Coming from a Buddhist perspective, I have a different notion of freedom. (No. 3-6)

First, let's look at the way Americans usually talk about freedom. They generally mean freedom from the government​ to do whatever they wish to, as long as they do not break the laws. Part of their definition of freedom is the freedom to do evil onto themselves, laws are just to protect evil done onto others. Yet a lot of times, there are firm resistance​ towards new laws which would help to protect others.

Most obviously is the laws to outlaw guns or even lesser, just to make guns harder to obtain. They got trapped in a false debate on the causes of unintended deaths due to the massive gun ownership situation in USA. The debate for those who wishes to have the freedom to own a gun (which they claim to be the freedom from fear of criminals having guns) focuses on the reason that it is crazy people or people with careless keeping of the guns who are the causes of gun deaths, ignoring suicide by gun cases.

Those who wishes to have the freedom from fear of being gunned down, are focusing on the fact that guns are massively owned and too easily obtained. The truth is of course, both are right. You need guns and crazy people both to produce the gun dangers in USA. Australia outlawing guns had shown that taking guns out of the equation is an effective measure to reduce the deaths. Of course a healthy mental education is required to produce less extreme personalities so that they do not become the local terrorists, and less suicidal cases. And better economic distribution of wealth to reduce the numbers of criminals in the world.

Secondly, there is the freedom of speech. By the terrorists attacks on the French cartoonist who drew the Islamic prophet, people are realising that free speech does not mean freedom from responsibility from your speech. This is a step towards the right direction.

Free speech also should not be used to justify evil speech. Eg. Speeches by predators who teaches men how to get laid and then dump the girl for another one. Or songs which promotes treating women as objects. These are unhealthy developments which is against gender equality. As we know, the pen is mightier than the sword, it is perfectly good for Universities and countries to block assess to those evil people wishing to spread messages which causes harm to others.

From the Buddhist perspective, right speech is the way to go. Speech which is true, harmonious, kind and fruitful spoken at the right time is right speech. So there is a self restriction in speech to promote freedom from fear of: being cheated or lied to, freedom from being slandered or having tension in relationships due to speech, freedom from fear of being blamed or scolded unreasonably, freedom from being bombarded with useless information which clouds the mind.

My take on free speech, is that free speech which adhere to right speech is best spoken to all who have open mind and the wisdom to judge the contents. Not to all, especially ignorant youths and foolish, closed minded people.

As for the gun issue, practising right action, we get avoid killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. If everyone does that, there would be no criminals to need to defend yourself from. But even if there is criminals, having a gun is to hurt or more likely, kill others, so it is still not compatible with right action. People in most parts of the world do not live in fear of being robbed due to not having guns. So USA is actually not free if they are being manipulated by this fear.

Yet, no matter the political situation, there is no real freedom to be found via any system of politics or economy. More on that later. Obviously, people in USA would think that Singaporeans have less freedom in that they cannot buy chewing gums, simply indulge in drugs, no guns etc. But Singaporeans enjoy freedom from fear of being victim to crime, freedom from gun violence, freedom from social harm caused by drugs.

2. Catwoman Freedom
This is inspired by the movie Catwoman. In it, Catwoman says she is free to be good or bad as she likes. There is a disregard for the law and of good and bad as well. Yet this is not real freedom. There is no freedom for Catwoman to unmask herself when she steals things. Or if she does, then there is no freedom to live like a normal citizen under the law as she regularly breaks the law. There is also no freedom to just walk around unhindered while in Catwoman costume as law enforcements would want to catch her.

And from Buddhist perspective, there is no freedom from kamma for her when doing both good and bad things. There will be good and bad results for her.

3. Freedom from blame/ Moral Freedom
This is not freedom from being morally upright. It is being morally upright so that you are free from blame and regret. It is to avoid killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants (alcohol, drugs, tobacco) which clouds the mind to be heedless. The last one is so that one does not become heedless enough to violate the previous ones.

Also it is doing the right thing when no one is watching. It is to have integrity, to develop generosity, loving kindness, respect for self and others, contentment, honesty, right speech. To be generally speaking, a good person, at least on the level of speech and actions. This is the foundation to have freedom from regret, to be a pure hearted person and the start of the Buddhist journey towards even greater freedom. Observing morality, you also give the gift of freedom from fear for others around you. They no longer fear that you might do something bad to them.

You can also add in the various social justice to here. Feminism, LGBT rights, Veganism etc. So overall, humanity is getting more and more morally whole. But also in some other respect, humanity is less moral, for the lost of respect for elders, higher divorce rates, increase in porn consumption which drives sexual slavery etc...

Morality is a spectrum, the basics is avoid evil, higher than that is to do good, and even higher is sense restraint, to develop the 10 perfections of virtue, etc.

4. Freedom from unwholesome thoughts/ Freedom from the world of sensual pleasures.
So the next step is mental training, or commonly called meditation. There are also stages of freedom depending on the level of mastery. With meditation, we can be free from not just unwholesome speech and action, but also unwholesome thoughts, at least temporarily. It happens when the 5 hindrances of greed for sensual pleasures, ill will, restlessness, sloth and torpor, and doubt are temporarily overcome and reduced.

Keeping on the training, one can eventually attain to Jhana, which is the form world, free from the world of sensual pleasures. It is bliss and happiness so beautiful, it surpasses all sensual pleasures and is identified by the Abrahamic religions as experiencing God.
5. Freedom from Greed and Hatred/ Freedom from Self view
This is the freedom from development of wisdom. Here I split wisdom attainments into no. 5 and 6. It encompasses from the first insight all the way to the 3rd stage of sainthood.

So having freedom from regrets from morality practise, one can practise meditation well until freedom from sensual pleasures is attained (Jhana). Then one can see things as they truly are: empty of self. There is no inherent enduring soul which does not change and independent of things. The body and mind we identify as self gives us a lot of trouble. We tend towards a self centred view of the world, if it does not concern me, then I don't care as much as when it does concern me.

With the story of a self to describe essentially just automated biological and psychological series of events we call the body and the mind, we develop likes or dislikes in response to pleasant or unpleasant feelings when our senses are in contact with things. These likes and dislikes develops into greed and hatred at the extreme.

So the wisdom to realize that there is no self can eventually lead to even the letting go of likes and dislikes, much less greed and hatred. This was what the Buddha realized by practise and helped to spread out. He also realised even more. Onto the next freedom.

6. Freedom from death, freedom from suffering/delusion/pervasive conditioning
This is what I mean earlier on no matter what political and economical solutions are in the world, they cannot lead to freedom from death and suffering (dissatisfaction).

This dissatisfaction is deeply meant by pervasive conditioning. That all conditioned things are subject to change and thus once attached to will cause suffering. Yet, everything worldly we do inside the conditioned world still leads to conditioned world. (The laws of nature applies) There seems no escaping this suffering world. Yet, the Buddha had shown the way out of all this. The noble 8fold path, the middle way of morality, meditation and wisdom.

In wisdom attainments, this is the arahant (4th and final stage of sainthood/enlightenment) level, to the level of parinibbana, the death after attaining to arahant.

Having attained to enlightenment (freedom from delusion that the world is self, happy and permanent, when in actual fact, all conditioned things are not self, suffering and impermanent), one realises the unconditioned Nibbana (which is not self, the highest happiness and permanent). The mind is freed from suffering. An arahant can still have bodily suffering as the body is still conditioned upon this world. So when the body dies, it is the ultimate freedom from all suffering.
Also as there are evidence for rebirth, (google it), the arahant is also freedom from death, as there would be no more rebirth for them as they had abandoned all cravings (which leads to rebirth). That is the ultimate freedom worth suffering for.

So which freedom are you devoting your life for to attain?

Death's End Review and the whole Trilogy

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25451264-death-s-end

If you don't know the series yet, do yourself a favour and read from the Three Body Problem, to The Dark Forest, followed by Death's End by Liu Ci Xin. Originally written in Chinese, it had been translated to English. I am glad to have brought the first two books. After reading so many science fiction novels and series, this one just became my best series so far. Better than Dune series, Foundation series, Robots series (by Issac Asimov), the Ender and Shadow series by Orson Scott Card.

It contains so many of the main characteristics of why we read science fiction: to have problems which we solve by science and technology. The problems presented in the books were so logically primed, it was amazing to see how the author did not back down from the challenge and is willing to let the characters in his book to pay the price for choosing something which is less than ideal or without foresight.

Although much of this book looks down upon love and compassion, the main character embodies it very well. It didn't gave the moral of the story as you should be as dark as the universe, but rather to always choose human nature over the beast nature, and be willing to bear the consequences if it didn't turned out well.

Spoilers ahead.

I am just sad at one thing, Cheng Xin never got to meet Yu Tianming again. Just a few minutes apart, they were suddenly separated by a few million years. It was the cruel application of basic physics and what happens when you manipulate the laws of nature. I thought somehow a clever Yu Tianming and AA would meet up with Cheng Xin and Guan Yilun again. Too bad no such thing happened. Haiz....

To be sure, it was hard to read the process whereby the Solar System gets turned into 2D.

The most amazing part was actually the fairy tale. I would have loved to stop and kept on thinking about what it meant if I wasn't so eager to let the book do the job for me. It's so brilliant that the message was well hidden. So sad the humanity didn't pay more effort into thinking more about it and linking it to manipulation of the laws of physics before going full speed on the bunker project.

It seems that the Trisolarians were afraid that humanity would be able to use these advance tech to destroy both Trisolarian fleet before they were safely out of range of the solar system, so they didn't share these tech. At least they allowed humans to keep on having a little bit more time and some chance to escape.

Incident at Low Yat- a Buddhist response

Hi,

I was asked to write about what would a Buddhist do in the aftermath of the Low Yat Incident a few days ago.

So here's the background for those who don't know the incident. Basically, a man stole a handphone, got caught and in that weekend, gangs of people came and smash the shop, fights broke out and also a riot, caused in no small part by someone from the gang using misunderstanding and racial slur to mobilize the mob to do such uncivilized behavior. Lucky for Malaysia, the incident has been resolved very fast and efficiently by the police, using CCTV cameras to show that the case is a theft case and the thieve called for revenge. That's it, don't bring in racial hatred and spoil the harmony in Malaysia.

And I am inclined to agree with that. Case closed, no comments. I don't need to continue anymore, don't share the ugly stuffs.

Yet, I think the real impact of the incident is online and that means in the minds of those who shared, commented, or even just read about the incident. Many are very level-headed, condemning the incident as not racial thing, but just an ugly thing. I agree. Don't need to get angry. So let's drop the Low Yat thnig and pretend you came for a Dhamma lesson.

Where's the Buddhist stuffs? Hmmm... well, back in Buddha's days there was a sort of racial separation as well. That's the caste system, separated into four caste based on birth that has no chance whatsoever to change caste (unless they join the ascetics). When there is also the untouchables, the outcaste. The Buddha had spoken out against such discrimination, using various methods and logic to show the people at that time that it does not make sense to discriminate by birth, only by deeds is one an outcaste.

There is the biological reasoning, that we are all humans with the same eyes, ears, nose, heart, brain, liver, so what is the basis for discrimination amongst humans? Biologically we are of the same capabilities. Another reasoning is that there exist virtuous and evil people in all castes, can we really discriminate and say one caste is morally inferior to another? Is it justified to use a biased preconceived notion to judge others? In any caste system, a person who had committed a crime still pays for the crime committed.

In Digha Nikaya 4, The Buddha once asked a Brahmin (a person from the highest caste): What makes a Brahmin?
The answer he got was:

1. Racial caste purity documented to seven generations;
2. Knowledge of the mantras (of the Vedic religion);
3. Appearance;
4. Virtue;
5. Wisdom.

Then the Buddha skillfully asked him that if one quality is to be dropped, and still the person could be considered a Brahmin, which would it be?
The Brahmin, Sonadanda then dropped off appearance. As it is relatively unimportant. 
Then the Buddha continued, if one more quality is to be dropped, and still the person could be considered a Brahmin, which would it be?
The Brahmin, Sonadanda then dropped off knowledge of the mantras. (Note this is like dropping religion off a race association.)
The Buddha continued even more, if one more quality is to be dropped, and still the person could be considered a Brahmin, which would it be?
The Brahmin Sonadanda now said birth can be left out, for virtue is more important. Wisdom and virtue are the two mutually irreducible qualities of a Brahman. Thus, Sonadanda says, “wisdom is purified by morality, and morality by wisdom.” This combination he identifies with the highest good, and the Buddha concurs. 

This was how the Buddha gradually lead the person to be trained into the right view taught by him, by self discovery and question.

This is also how you should be asking yourself. Are you affected by racial comments? Are you able to let go and be calm in all situations? Are you able to see logically and calmly what makes a good human? It's not by birth (Chinese or Malay) nor by religion, nor by appearances. Merely virtue and wisdom. In this regard, the Malaysians humans can be proud of themselves for displaying wisdom in condemning the incident and not raise it to racial riot, and the virtue to forgive and be non-violent, and letting go of anger.

Of course, even nationality boundaries are also a sort of discrimination based on birth, so I would use, as a good member of the human race, let's be continue to be wise and virtuous.

Dhamma and Buddhism

I am currently taking the Bachelor of Arts in Buddhist Studies in Buddhist and Pali College of Singapore at Mangala Vihara. I am also a Buddhist practitioner with knowledge of the Dhamma since 11 years ago. This article is to clarify what is the difference between Dhamma and Buddhism as I see it currently. This article would reflect what is being taught in Majjhima Nikaya no. 22. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.022.than.html Clarification, I didn't read it fully.

I would define Buddhism as the container of Dhamma. The Buddhist Societies, the humans who practices it, the culture, history, geographical spread, the social context, Buddhist arts, etc... all these are Buddhism, you can also include the Dhamma in here as well.

Dhamma there might be many deep meanings. First and most commonly that I would use is the words of the Buddha. Technically that is also Buddhism as the words are signpost to the thing pointed to. So the second and truer meaning is the realization of the truth of the world as it really is. Yet, the Buddha has also mentioned this before: the Dhamma is like a raft to cross the river of suffering. Let it go after crossing. So the third meaning of Dhamma is the way to the end of suffering.

To learn Dhamma properly, one only needs to understand properly the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.

The Four Noble Truths in brief are:

1. This is suffering (or dissatisfaction) to be understood.
2. This is the cause of suffering (craving and ignorance) to be abandoned.
3. This is the end of suffering to be attained/realized. 
4. This is the way to the end of Suffering to be developed.

Right View, Thoughts, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort, Mindfulness and Meditation are the Noble Eightfold Path. 

There is a repeat there that the Right View of the Noble Eightfold Path includes Four Noble Truths. And the Fourth of the Four Noble Truths is the Noble Eightfold Path itself. Thus saying the Dhamma is the way to the end of suffering (Noble Eightfold Path) is technically correct as well.

Properly taught so that the learner can know how to attain to Nibbana (the end of suffering), that is the purpose of learning Dhamma. In this sense, learning Dhamma is a lot about strengthening one's Right View. Thus, don't criticize a person who keeps on learning Dhamma. They are starting on the path. If they somehow is not able to apply it to develop Right Thoughts, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort, Mindfulness and Meditation yet, then encourage them to continue on the path and develop them.

To learn the Dhamma, one can go to various Dhamma talks, Basic Buddhism Courses, Dhamma Class, online, Dhamma books, etc... that's the business of Buddhism.

The danger is when the Dhamma is not properly taught and the grasping on the Dhamma becomes wrong grasping as stated in the sutta.

In brief, the way is to establish Right View properly, so that one thoughts becomes gentle, kind and able to let go. One develops Right Thoughts. With this, one's speech and action is also Right when one observes the 5 precepts. One's Livelihood would be Right when it does not harm oneself and others. Right Effort and Right Mindfulness are involved together with Right View in developing the rest of the Right Factors. You have to know clearly, remember and put in effort to develop these factors. Finally, Right Meditation is to have stillness of mind together with the seven Right factors, to let go all the way into the Jhana states (of mental absorption, and shutting off of the five physical senses).

Right knowledge will appear as one uses the mind with strong mindfulness from the Jhana states to examine body, feeling, mind and phenomena (dhamma). One would find that all conditioned things are impermanent, suffering, not self (a thing that is impermanent and suffering is not worth to call a self or identify as me, mine, I.) Right liberation comes as a result of disenchantment and letting go of all cravings to all conditioned things as the result of seeing things as they are. This is wisdom from realization, not from intellectual knowing and understanding. The whole process of meditation to attain to insight and to prepare for meditation, one has to be virtuous, and to start the path correctly, one has to have Right View.

Buddhism is what you learn if you dabble in the Buddhist world for quite long and also if you take up the Diploma in Buddhism course here: http://www.mangalavihara.org.sg/Buddhist%20and%20Pali%20College/Diploma.html which opens registration in July and August!

In the course, you will learn some Dhamma as well as many other things not needed for the practice to enlightenment. The benefits would be to be able to see objectively how Dhamma has affected the world and to read the Buddha's words. We base it mainly on the Pali suttas, and we have to read up quite a number of them, even learning the Pali language so that we can read the originals without depending on translators!

This path can be called scholastic Buddhism. To be objective in the learning of the Dhamma itself. It is easier to let go of the raft like this in the end. It is also easier to be able to come to terms with the existence of so many different schools and traditions of Buddhism that some would have contradictions in Dhamma. To practice the Dhamma however, does require one to choose a path. Whether one chooses Varjayana, Mahayana, or Theravada or Early Buddhism (the common suttas amongst the traditions, basically Theravada without relying on commentaries and Abhidhamma which may contradict with the Sutta and Vinaya), one can totally practice it well. The worst thing might be to learn Buddhism and not practise the Dhamma. Like mentioned in the sutta above, it is to the long-term harm and suffering to those who wrongly grasp the Dhamma.

To learn Buddhism also enables one to teach more effectively. However it is also possible to just learn the Dhamma, practise, realize, and then teach. That would perhaps be a more direct and effective way.

Anyway, just keep on practising! And if you are serious in knowing the Dhamma objectively, take up Buddhism!

Earth Hour Metta Meditation

28th March 2015, Saturday night was Earth Hour, from 8:30pm-9:30pm. Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery Gratitude Corner organized a special observance of the Earth Hour: Metta Meditation. Instead of the usual celebratory festival mood, it is suitable for Buddhists to have a more serious approach to a reminder event.

24 participants sat in the open, behind the Hall of Great Compassion. It's a great way to be in touch with the outside air again and to remind us.

The reminder is to have us remember to live a lifestyle that is consistent with a sustainable planet. To have lifestyle change, first our actions has to change, our actions is also influenced by our speech, which is influenced by our thoughts and it all sprang from our views. Inline with that, the Green education part was from 7pm onwards until 8:30pm. There was a 21 minute video of glacier melting, the interdependence of climate change, hope for a green future, evidences of rebirth into humans and the call for working together to have a solution. Together these videos achieved the goal of having the green view of the participants.

There are also poster stands, presenting a story in the Vinaya, Culla Vagga about how the order of the Sangha had been environmentally conscious. In the story, Ananda described how they reuse their old robes by turning them into cover sheets. With the old cover sheets becoming floor sheets, then covers for pillows and mattress, foot towels, then dusters, and finally, the old dusters are shredded up knead into mud and spread out on the flooring.

This shows the level of commitment that Buddha has for environmental protection.

We also had a time to show the official Earth Hour 2015 video! The point of Earth Hour is not to be green only during this hour, but to go beyond the hour, to commit to a greener lifestyle for the coming year and recommit every year!

Then Venerable Chuan Guan gave us a Dhamma talk about how practicing the Dhamma and turning off air-conditioner is one of the best ways to be green. In practicing non-greed, non-attachment, one is not bothered if the air-conditioning is turned on or not. An air-conditioner takes up to thousands of watts of electricity, and most of the other appliances in our home takes up to a few to a hundred watts of electricity. Or compare it with a standing fan of only 75 watts!

We are also introduced to the concept of Metta Meditation and how by realizing that we are all living in a small fishbowl, whatever we throw at the earth, is actually throwing at our small fishbowl. We are all interdependent, thus having love for us and other sentient beings means having to include loving the small fishbowl that we live in.

Metta Meditation is the training in loving-kindness, having the sincere wish for all beings to be well and happy without any expectations. During the one hour, actual Earth Hour, we had a guided Metta meditation sitting in the dark. Metta Round the World had been our supporter, spreading the idea for this event to all of it's participating organisations all around the world!

The photograph is adjusted for longer exposure so the sky seems brighter than what the naked eye sees. There is an unexpected glow from the dragon as well.

Our photographer had taken the rare opportunity of total darkness in the monastery to capture breathtaking pictures. And our participants and volunteers feedback that the event was meaningful and wishes to have it next year again!

 "The selected venue which was in an open space instead of an enclosed area is very helpful. Though it was just for a short session, it was a fruitful one; especially during the lights off when the area was in total darkness and in mute silence. I feel very closely connected to the nature. It was like I am in an empty space, the universe; calm and peaceful. Hah! I may sounds exaggerating but this is truly what I felt"
                                                                                                                       -ChengYee, Volunteer



 "Earth Hour Metta Meditation was an excellent opportunity for me to reflect upon the scarcity of Earth resources and develop mindfulness of how our way of life can have irreversible consequences on the Earth and future generations to come. I am also more grateful to Earth for providing an environment for Buddhism to flourish. 感恩!"  
                                                                                                                        -Yi Hao, Participant

At the end, we dedicated merits to the late Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Prime Minister of Singapore, all beings, and for the successful climate conference in Paris 2015 for it is the first time that all nations in the world, including USA and China, agree to have a legally binding climate agreement.

As the issue of climate change is urgent, it is hoped that in the spirit of loving-kindness, this event will spread to more and more temples and monasteries around the world and we can help use the power of love to sustain the planet!