PRAJNA 2013 by NTU Buddhist Society

Editor’s

Publication Team

Note

Chief Editor

Dear readers,

Editors

Hiroto Mulia

believe some of you might be wondering about the meaning of our theme, “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”. Thanks to Ilysa for her idea. Simply put, this theme comes from a metaphor interpreted as “one who discovers by building on previous discoveries”. Nanyang Technological University Buddhist Society (NTUBS) acknowledges with immense gratefulness that without the 29 committees’ existence, celebrating our 30th anniversary this would have been impossible. We would like to thank every committee for their dedication in providing us a strong foundation for us to grow stronger and wiser. We believe that the compilation of thoughtful ideas for activities that has been passed down through each year has helped us a lot. That aside, it is wonderful to know and be able to turn towards the NTUBS Alumni for help when we need it. To sum up, this chosen theme serves as a purpose to demonstrate our gratitude to all the previous committees. We hope that as acting 30th committee, we too can pave the way for the next committee. Last but not least, I would like to thank all my subcommittees, Ilysa, Alison, Sutrisno and Uyen. They have helped me tirelessly from writing and editing articles to designing the magazine. Furthermore, I would like to thank Caresse Yeo and Chun Wah whom have aided me much in editing English articles, Tan Qun Feng and Poh Shi Hui whom have helped me in editing Chinese articles and Jin Yin (Vice President – Event) by giving me his guidance and feedbacks as my coordinator. Although I know that there are still more people that have helped me in making this Prajna possible which I have not specified, I sincerely want to thank them for their effort for contributing to Prajna 2013.

Ilysa Sim Alison Lai Pei Yen Uyen Nguyen

Layout Designers

Sutrisno Suryajaya Dwi Putra

Special thanks to Lim Jin Yin Chin Chun Wah Caresse Yeo Tan Qun Feng Poh Shi Hui

Drop us your questions, comments and suggestions.

Email:

ntubs@yahoo.com.sg

NTUBS Website:

http://clubs.ntu.edu.sg/buddhist

Mailing Address:

Nanyang Technological University Buddhist Society c/o Student Affairs Office, Nanyang Avenue 639798

buddhist@ntu.edu.sg

With Metta, Hiroto Mulia

About the cover:

This cover is made up of a modified NTUBS logo. Unlike the usual logo, this is formed through the use of names of NTUBS Presidents from 1st committee to 30th committee and NTUBS Protem at AY 1982/1983. The meaning behind this is that the strength of NTUBS is not only formed by this year committee but from the hard work from 1st committee till now which is in line with our theme of “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”. Credits http://www.tagxedo.com/app.html http://psdlearning.com/2008/07/cd-cover-design/

Contents Patron’s Message

Spiritual Advisor’s Message 07 Staff Advisor’s Message

President’s Message

Alumni’s Message

History of NTUBS

30th Committee Message

17-21

Subcommittee List 22

Events & Activities Dharma Camp 24 Buddhism Awareness Week 25 NTUBS Anniversary

Dharma Talk 28 1-Day Meditation Retreat

Dharma Class 29

17-21

Meditation Class 29 Exam Supper 30 Vesak Day Celebration and Senior Appreciation Party

English Articles

Buddhism Quiz 50

Buddhist Debate 31 Interview with Venenerable Chuan Guan

Basic Buddha’s Teachings in Illustration 51

Buddhist Misconceptions

Thought After Attending 8th Global Conference on Buddhism 52

Little Things Buddhist Can Do

The Power of Gratitude

Gratitude Cherished in the Pearl of My Palms 41

Chinese Articles

50 Ways to Show Gratitude for the People in Your Life 44

NOW|此刻 54

Easy Vegetarian Recipe

A Trip to Borobudur, Indonesia

Buddhism and Technology in Hand

孝顺 55 菩提一曲 57 拼图 60

48 3

Patron’s Message 时值南洋大学佛学会的年刊般若即将面世顾问的我和同学们一起做回顾与前瞻的沉思今作说如是。南大佛学会的成立历史悠久。在新加坡的佛教界也曾光彩过。其中悟之营的活动深得教界团体乐道与模仿。南大佛学会也为教界培养了不少正信佛子,投身于教界各团体寺院中挑当重要的职位发挥才华添增佛教的光彩。这些精英大都荣任过南大佛学会的理事会员。身为理事会员实在是不易之事。一方面必须承受课业的沉重压力另一方面又须为学会与会员们精心策划精彩有趣的活动而丧失与友相聚共乐的机会。但我认为这是行菩萨道的际遇千万不可错过。因为它正符合激发菩提心的因由。印顺导师曾说引发菩提心是由不令众生苦不忍圣教衰。南大佛学会除了校内为会员们精细详尽地策划精彩活动外还参与翻译导师的妙云集的工作。妙云选译第五集正是南大佛学会的杰作。之外曾举办多次的公开佛学讲座。还创办了小小菩提提供幼儿的学习惜乎毕业後的你们面对现实的生活事业与家庭的负担使得大家不得不把佛法搁置一边不能再像学生时代的精进。在这儿我提供一些信息让大家参考绘画出一个可行的方案既可开怀工作又不必放弃学习佛法把生活与学佛打成一片。一。马国滨洲有一读书会精研导师著作。每星期抽出二个小时大家共同研究学习讨论导师的精妙佛法的见地。二。毕业後组成一个学佛的会所提供毕业后的会员有一个学佛场所与联系的地方如同在马国吉隆坡的正信学佛会每星期举办学生课业的辅导外並为家长提供研讨听闻佛法的机会。这二者都是行之有年而且成效可观仅借此机会和同学们共勉希望常有佛法滋润启发智慧引导我们沐浴于安乐的现实生活中。並常受三宝之光菩提不退。

Ven. Tsang Hui 4

Patron’s Message 三十之际一个佛学会能持续生存三十年是不简单的一件事；尤其是学生团体。由于种种条件的不足，运作起来更是困难重重。我们搞过学生团体，故深知其中的辛酸。因此，它们需要许多外援和外缘。一来佛学会如何获得已毕业校友的支持与协助。校友最能感同身受，必能贡献其力。佛学会应与校友作联系。而南洋理工大学佛学会是第一间有学会校友会的组织。在籍学生可经常与校友沟通和讨论。现今科技发达，可通过网络作频繁的接触，获取需要的支助。二来如何获得校外佛教寺院团体的协助。通过现代网络的联络，可建立互信的关系；方便以后主办活动时可获得财力物力及人力上的支持。在此，恭贺南洋理工大学佛学会的三十年创会庆祝；同时，祝愿佛学会过此三十，继续往前迈入四十，五十年直到永远！谨此，吁请大家给予学生佛学会各方面的支持与协助，让其能茁壮成长，功德无限！

Ven. Seck Kwang Phing 5

Patron’s Message Gratitude has an important place in the Buddha’s ethical and spiritual teaching. After his Enlightenment, the Buddha stood in front of the Bodhi tree, gazing at it for a week. He did it because he was grateful to the tree for having sheltered him while he was processing towards the enlightenment. To me, this is the first teaching of the Buddha on ‘gratitude’ by his own behaviour. The Buddha also showed gratitude towards his parents by going to the Toshiva heaven to share the Dharma with his late mother who passed away on the 7th day after giving birth to him. He went back to his palace to share the Dharma with his father and family members. When his father passed away, he carried the coffin for him. He also shared the Dharma with the five ascetics who rendered great help to him when he was practising the penances. He did his utmost to protect his country by sitting under a leafless tree at the route of a troop which was going to attack his tribe, trying to dissuade them from the assault. In fact, the Buddha taught us to be grateful to four groups, i.e. our parents, our teachers, our nation and all beings. Our parents brought us to this world, shelter us from hunger and danger, and shower us with unreserved love. Without them, we will be unlikely to grow up and develop normally. Our teachers equip us with knowledge and skills. Without them, we will not be able to earn a living. Our nation maintains a secured and conducive environment for us to live in. Without it, we will not be able to enjoy a peaceful and stable life. All beings include not only human beings, but also other living things. They all contribute to our well being in one way or another. For examples, farmers provide food; workers build homes, make clothes; doctors and nurses attend to patients; policemen and soldiers protect people and the nation; cows produce milk; bees supply honey, even earthworms help in soil tilling. We should be grateful to all for their effort. We always take things for granted. We ignore our parents’ love, our teachers’ care , our nation’s protection and all beings’ contributions. If we were always to bear gratitude in mind and be grateful to them, we will feel that we are surrounded by many good people. When we repay them at every opportunity, we will often feel contented and happy rather than regretful and uneasy. The theme of the souvenir magazine, Prajna, commemorating the 30th anniversary of NTUBS is “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”. Every success is based on the hard work and contributions of predecessors. I am glad that the NTUBS committee is practising gratitude towards their seniors. With gratitude, you will have a bright future. May you all be well, happy and peaceful.

Dr. Ang Beng Choo

Spiritual Advisor’s Message Dear Friends in the Dharma, A year has passed once again, how have you been? This year, NTUBS commemorates the 30th year of Dharma sharing among NTU students, teachers, and beyond. While we were not the very first founding members, my peers and I in the mid 90s had the privilege of building on the strengths and tradition of Dharma learning, practising and sharing that preceded us. Watching the presentation during the 30th anniversary celebration brought back for everyone many many memories from the past. As they say, it is like yesterday when it just happened! Without the founding and subsequent members, none of these would be possible. Without the participants, there would be no talks, retreats, or camps to speak of. Without the spiritual guidance of the monastic sangha, the society would be incomplete of the four-fold community. Indeed, reflecting on how every single Dharma programme is made possible, we start to see how many other conditions were required for it to take place. Inevitably, we go back to hard work of past committees. Going deeper, we may start to appreciate that even the Dharma that we share, comes from various teachers, monastic and lay alike, from within NTUBS and without. And this traces all the way back to the Buddha himself! This unbroken lineage of Noble Teachings of Truth, the Dharma that leads to end of stress, end of Suffering! Future committees and members may look back and wonder how they can ever top what has already been accomplished, and become stressed or disheartened. They should not have to worry in this way, for instead of trying to compare and best others, we can and should build ontop of past experiences and learnings! A senior monk, Venerable Zhi-Dao 智道法師, once shared with me the “dependent-arising emptiness-of-nature” 緣起性空of Dharma learning-teaching. We were on our way returning to our monastery, driving up the mountain trail, deep into the forest, when he shared, “When we teach and the students understand the Dharma, we may feel accomplished and proud that we are good Dharma teachers. We should realise that the learning of Dharma depends on many conditions, we are just part of it. The students and their past learnings, and other external factors are also critical. We cannot claim all credit! When we teach and the students do not understand the Dharma, we may feel disheartened and sad that we are not good Dharma teachers. We should realise that likewise, we are just one part of it! It is not all our fault too!” If we conduct Dharma programmes in this way, we may realise the importance of doing our very best, but at the same time not feel (soooo) stressed over the possible “success” or “failure” of it. When it turned out well, we do not become proud or haughty, when it did not meet expectations, we can take it in our stride and reflect on the conditions that were perhaps inadequate and try again in future. For that matter, what is “success” or “failure” of an activity? A visitor once asked me about the number of monks in our monastery in United States. When he heard my reply of ten or so, he exclaimed that he was expecting a few hundred monks in this huge monastery (several acres in land area!). I thought for a moment and replied, “We are not McDonalds. We are not in the ‘numbers’ business. Even if one monk should attain enlightenment, all the effort put in would be all worthwhile!” Remember, the Buddha gave his first teaching of the Dharma to the five ascetics. He didn’t wait for posters to be out, or thousands to assemble before he began. Furthermore, he discovered and applied the Dharma before teaching others.

Ven. Shi Chuan Guan

“Better it is to live one day virtuous and meditative than to live a hundred years immoral and uncontrolled.” Let the committee members learn and practise the Dharma, and experience it for themselves, for that is the best way to share the Dharma, to teach by example! May NTUBS continue to pass on the light of Wisdom, to many to come. For their welfare and benefit! Wishing all good health, happiness, success in your endeavours, and ultimately leading to Perfect Enlightenment Nirvana!

Staff Advisor’s Message The NTUBS turns 30 years old this year. Many would look back at its track record and review the various activities it has undertaken both at the university level and community level. It is an impressive record indeed. It is indeed a time to celebrate! I would like rejoice in one simple unchanging aspect of the NTUBS—it continues to serve as a conduit for NTU students, whether practicing Buddhists or those who are curious about the Buddhist practice, to come together and interact. This may seem remarkably obvious—isn’t this what the society ought to do? In my view, the NTUBS is a society that is different from others. It is not one where students congregate merely to have fun, to socialize, or improve their social capital. It is one where the basic mission is to transmit the teachings of the Buddha— the 4 Noble Truths, non-self, emptiness. It is serious matter, and may not have wide appeal. The added challenge is that the teachings of the Buddha are profound, and the NTUBS has to find means to disseminate this in a simple manner without appearing too serious to a group that may only have some fleeting interest in Buddhism. Thus, that the NTUBS has succeeded in doing this over these past 30 years is no mere feat. Remember the Buddha’s teaching on impermanence? Kudos go to the management team (main committee members, subcommittee members) over the years! They are akin to monastic Sangha members who take it upon themselves to propagate the dharma—the difference is that the NTUBS committee members are laypeople who are young and the community they serve comprises largely tertiary students. Here’re a couple of observations I’ve made over the years. First, both the management team and members of NTUBS have become more international in nature. This trend reflects the demographic profile of the NTU student, and also bodes well for the NTUBS being a Buddhist society with an international appeal. Second, every management team has its own dynamics and modus operandi. Still, they’ve always worked out well. What does this imply? Ultimately, it is the heart that matters. If you have the passion and pure motivation, things will work out fine. I close by stating that I am indeed honored and fortunate to be associated with the NTUBS. Long live NTUBS!

Prof. Tan Hun Tong 8

President’s Message

Bro. Diego Alpin

This year, 2556 B.E., has been a fruitful year for NTUBS. We celebrate our 30th anniversary as well as commemorate NTUBS Alumni’s 20th and LBSCC’s 10th year journey. I was able to witness the everlasting spirit of seniors to learn Dharma together by maintaining NTUBS Alumni network. I feel a sense of blessedness while reflecting upon the effort put into building and shaping this society in the last 3 decades. Apart from the celebration of our anniversary, we has also organized numerous meaningful activities which I believe were enjoyable and beneficial to the members. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the NTUBS 30th Committee for working wholeheartedly to make every activity a success. The dedication and hard work poured into it has been tremendous and many may not have witness such work behind each success. Also, teamwork between portfolios in many activities has never failed to amaze me. One of the examples is the regular Dharma Class, which is organized by Dharma Propagation, Fellowship, and Resource Committees. In our 30th year, NTUBS continues to provide a conducive platform for Buddhist youths to learn and practice the Buddha’s teachings through diverse avenues such as Dharma Classes, Dharma Talks, Meditation Classes and Dharma Circles. Each of these have been carefully selected to accomodate as well as further the interests of different individuals. Dharma Cicles for example, are for youths keen on expanding their knowledge in a small group environment suitable for discussions. Aside from our weekly activities, we have 2 exciting annual events, mainly our Dharma Camp as well as Camp Nirvana Singapore (CNS). This year, Dharma Camp was held at Fo Guang Shan. Members were given an exclusive opportunity to learn the Dharma in greater depth while experiencing monastic life. For CNS, it was still in the midst of preparation as I was writing this message. I can’t wait to see the freshmen’s facial expression of joy and excitement going through the 4 day camp which has been prepared by all the seniors. Moving on, I cannot help but share about our special 30th Anniversary Celebration Night. It began with Buddhism Awareness Week, a 4-day exhibition which introduced Buddhism to NTU community in another perspective which most nominal Buddhists or public may not realize. It was then followed by a formal anniversary ceremony for the 3 organizations. It was an honor to have our patrons, advisors, alumni, and members gathered and participated in a celebration that bonds the past, present and future all at once. NTUBS has also won the 4th Awaken Challenge, an annual Dharma quiz competition for youth, for the third time. Congratulation for the team for the effort and I hope that it will not be a hurdle for us to learn more about the Dharma. Instead, let us be humbled and aspire to strive more diligently. This year has not been like any other year but a period where I have been blessed to fully appreciate the warmth and kinship of NTUBS family. I sincerely hope that this sense of belonging will always be what is solely special to NTUBS.

Alumni â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Message NTUBS is my home that it will always be. Thirty years have passed and looked back, I can see similarities and differences. The society has evolved and changed. The members have come and left. The Dharma has stayed and continued. Impermanence is a fact that we all experienced. As the senior of NTUBS, how can we help to shape NTUBS for the future? One similarity in NTUBS is the purity of young hearts and minds that are diligently contributing to the learning and propagating of the Dharma. This purity is original and unique, you cannot find elsewhere. In NTUBS, we have put in effort to learn and cultivate the Dharma from batches to batches. Simplicity is another similarity that I see which is the same way as in the past. NTUBS has always been simple in our organization, events and practices. Fellowship was another similarity. The fellowship is a cement of the society. Members take care of each other and practice together along the path, thus built up the bond that last even after graduation. The passion in propagating the Dharma in the campus is able to sustain because of the fellowship. Differences that I have seen are the composition of membership nationality, the current generation mentality and behavior and the approach in organizing events. The current membership is mainly international undergraduates as compare to the past we have more locals. Due to the difference in background and experience, NTUBS has adapted to this change in the working schedule and events. Most of the international students came with some Dharma knowledge and some even have organizing experience. They brought in their experience and shared with the members. The current generation has a different life experience that we have 10 to 30 years ago. They are the Y-generation. In terms of thinking and behavior, they are different. The sense of affiliation to NTUBS is very different. The approach in organizing events is very different from my time. The main committee member in-charge will need to write proposal in details for every programme. This documentation of the events has allowed new committee to have references. â&#x20AC;&#x192; With the similarities and differences, the seniors can still chip in to help to shape NTUBS. We have 30 batches of graduates from NTUBS. Each of us can in one way or another offer their help. We can help in many different ways. We can help in training and developing the new committee. We can help to share our knowledge in the Dharma, experience in organizing Dharma activities and our contact with external Buddhist organization. We can help to provide spiritual, mental, financial and logistic support. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage more NTUBS Alumni to step forward to support and participate in our NTUBS and NTUBS Alumni activities.

Bro. Toh Hong Seng

Tai Pei Yuen Temple

大悲院 7 Jalan Kemaman, Singapore 329333 Tel: 6256 4941 Fax: 6252 6209 www.dabei.org.sg/en_02_02_tpyt. html

30th NTUBS Committee Message

Diego ALPIN

LIM Jin Yin

CHIN Chun Wah

President

Vice President-Event

Vice President-Dharma

It was an honor to be able to pledge my service to NTUBS for the 3rd year. As a president, I was faced with the challenge of upholding the quality of NTUBS activities. It worried me when I first decided to apply for the position. It worried me more when I was elected at the Annual General Meeting. However, with constant compassionate support from some good friends alongside the energetic effort of NTUBS 30th Committee Members, my worries subsided and confidence arose.

Established in 1982, our beloved society—NTUBS is already celebrating its 30th anniversary and I am proud to be part of this grand celebration. It has been a really long journey for BS. From just having 13 members in it’s very first year, NTUBS now has close to 200 members. BS is a very nice society to be in—it brings about a warm and comforting atmosphere to many, with all the friendly people in it, and the numerous opportunities it provides for people to learn the Dharma. The fact that BS is what it is today is not just the contribution of the current committee, but it was the blood, sweat and tears from all the seniors who have dedicated part of their journey in NTU to BS. So, a huge thank you to everyone out there who was once part of BS! For if it wasn’t because of you all, my life in NTU would definitely be very different from what it is now.

As the Vice President (Dharma) and as the Dharma Team coordinator of NTUBS for this 1 year, I have learned about how to lead and manage the Dharma Propagation, Fellowship and Orientation teams in organizing and carrying out the activities in regards to the Dharma, for the spiritual growth of our members through spiritual friendship as well as fun and interactive activities.I have also realised that no matter how much I know about certain topics of the Dharma, there is still a lot to learn. From the life of the Buddha to more advanced topics, such as the Abhidharma, different opinions arise and it is up to us to verify and understand the concepts behind them before putting them into practice. I feel that I may not have succeeded in implementing the Dharma completely into my daily life, but through the failures that I have experienced, being mindful and practising the knowledge that I have learned have allowed me to grow from my mistakes. Looking back, what makes NTUBS special is not just the golden 30th anniversary but also the tremendous effort that all committees have put into organizing the activities. This what makes the activities more meaningful. With the bonds formed within the 30th committee, I feel that NTUBS is a home for most of us in NTU. In the coming future, I hope that NTUBS will continue to have more interesting, creative and refreshing activities with Dharma values in it for our members to participate in. There is still room for exploration, and I believe with the talents of the committees each year, nothing is impossible.

The experience I cherish most is the chance to be able to reflect the Buddha’s Teaching constantly while managing the society. I still remember how I did a small reflection on impermanence when some problems arose, e.g. event ran behind schedule, unavailability of the venue, etc. This is the beauty of Dharma, profound yet very close to our daily life. NTUBS, for 30 years, has been the platform for NTU students, either to get acquainted or to learn more Dharma knowledge. I hope that this willl be continued in the future generations to come and that NTUBS will be a centre of excellence to produce the future Buddhist leaders and followers in the world, especially Singapore, for the development of the Sasana. Sadhu!

Being the Vice President (Events) for almost a year now, I have definitely gained a lot. What I’ve gained the most is friendship - true friends who are willing to go through the ups and downs with me. To add on, this year was rather special with all the large scale events. Hence, I’m truly grateful to have the 30th committee seeing this through together with me! Although my term as a VP (Events) is coming to an end, I sincerely hope that the future committee and members can continue to stay united and provide a platform for people to learn the Dharma. Omituofo! _/|\_

Felecia Sabtuharini HANDRAWAN

Serene TAN

KHOR Shi Wei

Honorary General Secretary

Honorary Treasurer

Orientation Director

It has been my second year in NTUBS. I will never forget all the precious memories that have been created. What makes me even happier throughout the year is to have more and more friends who have the same intention of joining NTUBS.

Time flies and it has been 2 years since I served as NTUBS Main Committee. Throughout these years I have gained a lot of wonderful memories, inspiration, and experience. This year, taking up the challenge as Orientation Director has also allowed me to grow, in both leadership and communication skills. I have learned that as a leader, one needs to know how to convey his message well to his committee, so that everyone knows what needs to be done and this can avoid miscommunication from happening. Besides that, when planning an activity, one also needs to understand the objective of that activiaty to able to successfully carry it out and not lose the meaning behind it.

Having been in this position for almost a year gives me many takeaways. Not only did I improve in the secretaryrelated skills such as making minutes and archiving, I also learned a lot more about teamwork. This is especially applicable in the portfolios I oversee, which mainly do the support jobs in the committee. Good communication and efficient management of resources, and eventually teamwork, are extremely important in order to support the activities well. Many mistakes were made along the way, but it is only from making mistakes that we learn to be better. There is one thing from the Buddha’s teaching that I appreciate, and it is really applicable in our daily life, which is right intention. There were times when challenges come and I felt like giving up, but reflecting back to my intention to take up this position, which is to propagate the Dharma for the benefit of all, I become motivated again. And I believe all my fellow committee members feel the same. On a last note, I hope there will be more people who are interested in learning the Dharma and serving the community. May NTUBS continue to improve in the future, with good quality activities and strong bonding amongst the members. Good luck 31st committee!

As a treasurer, I ensured that all expenditures are spent wisely to benefit all members. With guidance from seniors and friends in the society, I was also inspired to serve the members in the growth of wisdom through activities organized by our fellow committees. Being part of the Main Committee have provided me with more opportunities to apply Buddhism knowledge. For instance, I should have the right intention to serve the members with a heart of compassion and passion. Doing things in a “heart” way, instead of “hard” way, really makes my life meaningful. It is undeniable that NTUBS has a strong foundation, this is all due to efforts of the past 29 committees who held 100% motivation to serve their members. Thank you to all of you. With this, I sincerely wish that all future NTUBS committee members will continue to strive in servicing our Buddhist community and also in observing our inspiration – to learn, to practice, to realize, to share.

Camp Nirvana Singapore (CNS) COMMITTEE

Also, life is full of ups and downs, and there will be times that you feel sad when you are unable to achieve the things that you desire, but that will also be the time for you to learn how to let go and move on. Now, NTUBS has celebrated its 30th birthday, and I feel grateful that this ‘Bodhi seed’ that was planted and cultivated by our seniors, has now fully grown into a tree and is able to provide shelter to the future generation who are interested in the Dharma. I hope that in the near future there will be more Buddhists that will be interested in joining NTUBS and help continue spreading the Dharma.

Dharma Camp COMMITTEE

CHEW Ze Yong Event Director Time flies. As the 30th Event director, it was magnificent for me. The most valuable takeaway is that no matter how great an idea is, without a passionate team of people planning and materializing it, it remains merely as an idea. Thirty years of fellowship among the NTUBS members and alumni, it is not something easily achieved and maintained, yet we made it. From our alumni spending time, for most if not all of our events, sitting down with us to discuss about our event details, to giving us constructive advice, and even volunteering to help us out during our actual events. All these actions reflect the long-lasting bonds formed throughout the 30 years since the founding of NTUBS. It was heart-warming for someone like me who have just been part of NTUBS for less than two years to experience this. In the future, I wholeheartedly believe that NTUBS will continue to be a home for many, as well as an inspiration for all of us to explore and practice the Dharma. Martin Yong (Subcommittee): I remembered vividly my first event— Investiture—as an Event Subcommittee member in NTUBS. I had no prior related experience, and the thought of planning an event seemed absurdly difficult. However, I slowly picked up pace and now, I am much more confident in planning. Experience aside, being part of NTUBS committee has granted me a chance to improve my Buddhism knowledge and clarify any doubts and misconceptions I used to have. I have also made some awesome friends along the way. This past one year has been a truly rewarding experience which I wouldn’t trade for anything else.

Josephine HENDRIKSON Metta Director This year, NTUBS has reached its 30th Anniversary and being able to play a part in it is an honor for me. In these 30 years, a myriad of achievements and memories have been created by different generations of committees and I believe there are significant experiences that each committee member could draw from their service in NTUBS. For me, being the Metta Director for the past 1 year, I have learnt to see matters in different perspectives by working together with my own team and with other portfolios. This makes me wiser in making decisions and helps me to think in a more rational manner. With their advice, I am able to reflect on the areas that I am lacking in and improve myself to work better as a leader and in a team. Besides, by taking up this position, I am constantly reminded to cultivate and practice loving-kindness and compassion in my daily life; instead of just organizing events to promote them to the members. Even though NTUBS has evolved through generations, I believe that we have one common belief – the sense of belonging that we have towards NTUBS, as we learn the Dharma while gaining true friends. I hope in the future, this will be able to connect us together. I also hope that NTUBS can grow into a bigger and better society while still preserving its core values and can always be a place called home for the members. Foo Si Hui (Subcommittee): In the past one year with NTUBS, I have truly learnt a lot and enjoyed the entire journey. From the Annual General Meeting to the Little Bodhi Outing and Dharma Camp to the Welfare Suppers, the most rewarding experience would be the bonding with my fellow Metta team members as well as other members of NTUBS. I truly treasure the friendship made within NTUBS and I have learnt a lot about communicating with our hearts instead of just communicating verbally. NTUBS has become a family to me.

Hiroto MULIA Publication Director As a publication director, I have learned a lot, including designing magazines in which I am clueless about how to go about doing it at first. I also want to use this opportunity to thank Debbie, last year’s publication director, for giving me a lot of advice and guidance when I was learning how to design Pattra and Prajna. Besides the technical skill, I can manage my time better now. And most importantly, I managed to experience being a leader and I hope that my Subcommittee was able to follow my lead. In regards to Buddhism knowledge, I was required to attend every NTUBS activity including Dharma related events to take photos. From these activities, my Buddhism knowledge grew a lot—I was better able to understand Buddhism terms after attending several Dharma Classes. Also, being in the team of Uniquely Buddhism booth at Buddhism Awareness Week this year has allowed my Buddhism knowledge to grow. I am grateful to be part of this society and I hope that NTUBS will stay strong in the future. Lastly, I also hope that the next committee can continue the journey of NTUBS to 40, 50 or even more years and benefit from it. Ilysa Sim (Subcommittee): This amazing year spent with the committee of NTUBS has taught me the value of patience and perseverance. Being both a photographer for events and an editor for the society’s two magazines – namely Pattra and Prajna, there are many times where focused waiting reaps in rewards. Holding a great camera, a DSLR, does not automatically produce photographs. Rather, the art of observation that comes with meaningful pause on the photographers’ part. Writing calls for additional tenacity to coax in a reader, compelled by the words of a writer. I am learning to use snippets of everyday life to surround my readers, to encourage them to see more and in retrospect – little bits of life that has passed them by before.

Rizky Wirawan PRATAMA

TEOH Kai Chee

TAN Qun Feng

Business Director

Resource Director

Marketing Director

What have I learned in the one year as the Business director? It is the middle path from Buddha’s teachings. I had been stressed about our society’s fund target from our first Main Committee meeting. However, like how guitar strings must be of a suitable tension for a guitar to be able to produce beautiful music, whenever I am aware of my stressed and panicky state of self, I tell myself to calm down and relax my mind to perform to the best of my abilities. As long as we put in the effort and complete the tasks sincerely, results can be achieved. This can also be seen in the growth of NTUBS over the past thirty years. It has not been an easy path for NTUBS, but with the effort and patience, NTUBS grew from a small group of students to the current position with more than 200 members in the society. I wish that NTUBS can attract more Burmese, Vietnamese and local students to join us in learning the Buddha’s teachings in NTU. Also, I hope that NTUBS will have more opportunities in working closely not only with our alumni but also NUSBS and other Buddhist societies. Finally I wish that NTUBS will have an even brighter future and have more and more 30 years in future.

Throughout the one year as the Resource Director of NTUBS, I have learned how to lead a portfolio to accomplish the tasks given. In the midst of carrying out the activities, prioritisation of work is one skill that I have picked up along the way. I also acquired ways to coordinate different portfolios in various activities to make sure that everything runs smoothly. In addition, I have learned how to motivate my subcommittee when they feel troubled. Given the opportunity as the Resource Director to revise the Dharma knowledge from Triple Gems, Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path in the entire year, my Dharma knowledge is expanded and found many grey areas that we can ponder about. I also realized that everything is subjective—there is no right or wrong; it depends on the situation and whether wisdom is used to understand and solve the problem. I hope there will be more interesting activities by NTUBS in spreading Dharma among NTU population. I also wish that Dharma being learned will be practiced by NTU population and used in the correct manner.

It is really my pleasure to serve NTUBS 30th Committee as the Marketing Director. It has been almost 1 year and honestly, I learned a lot of things through working with people and also Buddhism knowledge gained from some Dharma activities held by NTUBS. In 30 years, I believe that we, as committee members of NTUBS, have done our best in promoting the Dharma to NTU and NIE population.

Chua Pei Ling (Subcommittee): Many things are beyond our control especially when it comes to sponsorship. However, through this one year, I have learned ways to acquire sponsorships. Exposure through Buddhism Awareness Week and research for the temple tour for Dharma Camp 2013 allowed my Buddhism knowledge to grow. The friendships, joy, fun, laughter, experiences and learning to be more appreciative—NTUBS is more than just a CCA, seriously.

Stephen Franseda Wijaya (Subcommittee): NTUBS for me not just simply a society, but a home where people in NTUBS are considered as my brothers and sisters. Being part of NTUBS in this one year, I feel that I have grown personally in terms of Buddhism knowledge and spiritually. With friends who are willing to share with you their knowledge and their experience, I really felt the warmth of a family. The experience as part of the Resource subcommittee in NTUBS for this one year was also meaningful as it had given me the opportunity to learn new things. Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the NTUBS committee members in guiding me along in this one year.

Besides, I can feel happiness and togetherness within the committee while having activities together, and I hope that the incoming NTUBS members would benefit from the activities as well, while having fun with other members. Freddy (Subcommittee): NTUBS is family to me. The people in it care about me and make me feel at home. As part of NTUBS and the Marketing committee, I have learned a lot about Buddhism, teamwork, and life. Things are not always easy but we deal with them together. We learn and grow together from these challenges. I feel that my experiences in NTUBS have made me a better person and also a better Buddhist. I am happy and proud to be part of NTUBS. I have no regrets joining NTUBS.

Benny FEBRIANSYAH Dharma Propagation Director Being the Dharma Propagation (DP) Director of NTUBS is an interesting yet challenging thing to experience. After spending 1 year carrying out my duty, I realize that time management and selfdiscipline play a major role in maintaining the balance between academics and co-curricular activities. As one who did not have a great record of managing my time effectively before, I can feel that my soft skill in that particular aspect has improved. In terms of Buddhism knowledge, I encountered new things which I have never learned before. Due to my study background, I was not so familiar with the traditions or cultures of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Through the process of carrying out my duties as a DP Director, I had more chances to do research and had some sharing with other friends from other Buddhist societies to get a better understanding about those two schools. NTUBS is 30 years old now and I am proud of being part of this integrated family. It is not easy for a society to stand for a few decades with many major challenges along the journey, but NTUBS has managed to do that. The effort and support given by the committee, staff, members, as well as alumni is the reason why NTUBS can exist until now. I hope the spirit to learn and spread the Dharma will go on and on, until we achieve our ultimate goal. Sadhu! Andy Yang (Subcommittee): As a DP Subcommittee member, I have gained a lot of invaluable experiences as well as many good friends. I have learned a lot from many activities, ranging from emceeing the talks to setting up the Puja ceremony. Active participation in most activities has also allowed me to improve my Dharma knowledge-it is often that when I have queries about Buddhism, either speakers from the talks or seniors in the society can answer them. Besides that, NTUBS is also very appealing to me in terms of the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behaviour. I feel that the people are sincere and friendly. NTUBS is like one big family taking care and helping each other and I am very grateful that I made the choice of joining NTUBS.

TAN Xin Wen Fellowship Director The two years of experience in NTUBS was a great one. All the kind and sincere friends that I have met always make me feel welcomed in NTUBS. The seniors are helpful and the juniors are always willing to lend a helping hand. As a Fellowship Director, I have learned a lot during this one year. From leading a team of people to organizing Dharma circles, I have become more mature and independent. At the same time, my Dharma knowledge has improved tremendously through Dharma Circles, Dharma Talks, as well as discussions with spiritual friends from NTUBS and external Buddhist organizations. The benefits that I have gained and learning how to look at things from different perspectives made my life in NTUBS meaningful. NTUBS has become a second home for me as well as for all the members. I hope that NTUBS will continue to thrive in the future. Let the Dharma and happiness spread too! Loh Yu Xuan (Subcommittee): Meeting more people and making new friends is of course the best part in joining NTUBS. Being in the Fellowship Subcommittee adds on to my university life as I get to work with my Subcommittee mates to plan events and also write scripts for various skits to perform for our fellow NTUBS members. For someone like me who loves to perform for people, I really enjoyed being a fellowshipper. Besides being part of the Fellowship team, attending Dharma Talks also helped to increase my Buddhism knowledge. The Dharma Talks were not very content based nor had deep context, which allowed a new Buddhism receiver like me to better understand the teachings and apply them in my daily life.

subcommittee List

EVENT TEam

Metta team

publication team

Marketing team

resource team

business team

Chew Ze Yong (D) Miechie Angeline Melvin Wee Chee Martin Le Quang Luan Sylvia Tandean Chan Steven Awi Michiko Mulia Lim Xin Er

Rizky Wirawan Pratama (D) Nivetha Freddy Shienny Karwita Liu Ruicheng Dhika Aditya Gandamana Parth Satija

Josephine Hendrikson (D) Jhee Hong Hong Ming Caresse Yeo Ting Ya Joshua Eka Wardhana Jason Lim Jit Jia Carissa Tionotto Alice Venecia Lammy Kang Chun Hee Foo Si Hui Low Wei Yang Chong Ying Yan Kalfian Jo

Tan Qun Feng (D) Lee Sze Sing Stephen Franseda Wijaya Filbert Kang teh tat how

Hiroto Mulia (D) Sutrisno Suryajaya Dwi Putra Alison Lai Pei Yen Loh Hui Mun Nguyen Thi Phuong Uyen Ilysa Sim

Teoh Kai Chee (D) Chia Zhi Hui Chua Pei Ling Lin Yaoshen Yeap Siew Yee Foo Lien Jei Edmund Seow

Dharma Propagation team

Benny Febriansyah (D) qi ting Quan Li mediana Parinda Bhathiya chan fung foong Leong Ceng Yew khor shi wei Chow Tze Hui Andy Chia Keng

fellowship team

Tan Xin Wen (D) Hor Thon Hern Fabian Tang Kevin Santoso Thow Xin Qiang Shannen Madeline Chen

tew hong boon loh yu xuan tan jia ying

Events & Activities

Dhamma Camp 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ignite in The Darknessâ&#x20AC;?

Dhamma Camp is an annual camp held by NTU Buddhist Society, aiming to explore and to improve the understanding of Dharma by experiencing monastic life. Some highlights of this 4 days-3 nights camp are Dhamma Talks, Dharma discussions, meditation sessions, tea appreciation, calligraphy session, some games which can strengthen the bonds between us and more other activities. Moreover, participants may be able to find many new spiritual friends in the camp.

Event Info Date : 9th - 12th January 2013 Venue : Fo Guang Shan Singapore Theme : Four Immeasurables

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Benny Febriansyah (Camp Master): Namo Tiratanaya! Firstly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who already took part in the success of Dhamma Camp 2013. Wonderful, reflective, and meritorious activities had been carried out during the camp and it was an honor for me to become the camp master. Since I got to know the Dhamma for the first time five years ago, it has always been my wish to promulgate this beautiful doctrine so that everybody has the chance to benefit from it. Thus, through this Dhamma Camp, I do hope the participants along with the committee could learn something from the teaching and put the essence as a daily practice. Moreover, I wish all of us can share our experience of getting in touch with Buddhism to our relatives, friends, colleagues, or even adversaries in in hopes that they too will be inspired and live up to the teachings.

WEEK

2013

Buddhism Awareness

Event Info

Buddhism Awareness Week (BAW) is an exhibition whereby three booths of different themes and focuses were set up. Through this event, NTUBS hopes that NTU and NIE populations will have a Date : 28th - 31st January 2013 better understanding of the history & origin of Buddhism, cultivate Venue : Concourse at Canteen B, Northlink, compassion and loving-kindness among themselves. Besides that, Void Deck (Outside LT1) BAW also introduced the uniqueness of Buddhism this year.

sites.google.com/site/ntubsbaw/

1. Buddhism Around the World

This booth introduces on how Buddhism was spread across the world since it was first brought to this world 2500 years ago. Additionally, information about the different “variety” of Buddhist cultures and traditions observed throughout was provided. For this year’s BAW, only traditions and cultures of countries in Asia like India, Vietnam, China, etc. were being focused.

2. Chain of Compassion In this Booth of Compassion, NTUBS collaborated with Alzheimer’s Disease Association (ADA) Singapore to sell our very own “Chain of Compassion”. All funds are donated to ADA. By purchasing the chain with a minimun of $1 and gifting it to the person you are grateful to, not only you show your gratitude to the person, but also you show your compassion to the Alzheimer’s patients.

3. Uniquely Buddhism This booth provided the basic information about the Buddha’s teachings. The chosen 3 unique teachings were Four Noble Truths, Meditation and Ehi Passiko. Posters about these 3 topics were displayed during the exhibition. Besides that, people who were interested about meditation can register for NTUBS meditation classes on the spot.

NTUBS Anniversary

This year, NTUBS celebrates 3 great and joyful occasions, which are NTUBS 30th Anniversary, NTUBS Alumni 20th Anniversary, and Little Bodhi Student Care Centre 10th Anniversary. This year anniversary, also known as 3-2-1-0 anniversary, was themed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those Years, The Road We Walked Togetherâ&#x20AC;?. As what its name suggests, NTUBS hopes that alumni and present members can recollect their fond memories in NTUBS and to serve as a motivation for everyone to live their present moment fully as well as meaningfully. Other highlights of the event were mini exhibition from NTUBS BAW 2013, video screening of NTUBS 30 years journey, drama performance by NTUBS 30th Committee, light offering as well as cake cutting ceremony. There were also photo souvenirs for the guests.

Event Info Date : 2nd February 2013 Venue : NTU HSS Auditorium

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MY THOUGHTS... Kenneth Phua (13th NTUBS President): The event was a success. Considering that it was wholly organized and ran by students, it is already of a very high standard. I really enjoyed every segment of the programme as it brought back many nostalgic memories. The teamwork and camaraderie amongst the management committee was distinctly that of NTUBS. The people are warm, always willing to help and full of humour. For me, seeing this scenario after 16 years is very reassuring that NTUBS still possesses the same enduring qualities to go on. Thank you NTUBS for a very memorable evening. Martin: To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the anniversary. It sent me cruising the rich of NTUBS past, which makes me appreciate NTUBS more. Looking from the audience that showed up down to the video screening of the well wishes from the past presidents, I have only come to realize how tightly-knit NTUBS really is. I have already known NTUBS long history, but the anniversary has really let me see NTUBS in a different light.

Thoughts After ANNIVERSARY

from Ven. Chun Yin (16th NTUBS President)

Dear friends, Just wanted to share some of my thoughts after attending the 3-21-0 event. I have been studying in India for the past few years and I happened to be back for the winter vacation. Hence I had the opportunity to attend NTUBS 30th Anniversary. I was very touched when I saw the photos and video that portrayed the growth of NTUBS over the past 30 years. I saw many of my old friends, people whom I have not seen for a long time and people whom I really would like to meet in person. The 3-2-1-0 event brought back so many fond memories. I remember the days when I was an undergraduate and I enjoyed the BF sessions conducted by Jinbo and Yimin immensely. I remember the long meetings of the 15th Main Committee and being greatly inspired by Ho Kit’s dedication and passion for NTUBS. I remember my good friends, Jieling, Bingmei, Mingyi, Sophia, Junxia, Angela, Yaoyang, Weilun, Richard, Ruiyu, Yongming, Kok Leong, Huixiang, Dongsheng, Jiali, Eliz, Shixian, Francis, Simon, Weifen, Weiling, Bobby, Huifeng, Lili and many more. I remember playing the keyboard while Seng Yuen and Hongyan played the guitar. I remember Keng Wee and Hongyan delivering supper to my hostel during the exam period and I was really “wowed” by the love and concern the alumni had for the undergraduates. I remember Alice and Kok Hwee helping me to distribute the “Bodhi Express” (the name for the newsletter before it was named “Pattra”) to the halls late at night. I remember how Shunjuan came to stay overnight with Eliz (the then Treasurer) to help balance our accounts in preparation for the AGM. I remember Khoon Lim sharing how love blossomed between him and Angeline during one of the Dharma camps. I remember attending Prof Tan’s insightful workshops and visiting him in his office to ask for advice. I remember attending Seng Yip and Gek Yong’s wedding and I am glad to hear that their daughter Avera (fondly knows as “umbrella” by Hong Seng) is now in Secondary 1!! Gosh, how time flies! Before the event, Joe Tham told me that when he came back from China, he realized that everyone in LBSCC was very tired and he told them, “你们累了，就由我来扛。” This indeed is the true blue spirit of NTUBS and I am happy to say that I experienced this while I was in the main committee of NTUBS, and was very well-supported by my fellow main committee members. Going back to NTUBS is also going back to home. To those who are in the same batch as me or are juniors to me, we have had a good time working together, growing together in the Dharma. To those who are older than me, you all have been inspiring seniors, giving me much encouragement along the way. Yesterday, the undergraduates were giving out pendrives designed with NTUBS logo as gifts and I asked how did they managed to canvass funds to produce the pendrives. They smiled and exclaimed, “It’s sponsored by the alumni!” This reminded me that when I was an undergraduate, I never felt that I was alone facing the challenges, because I knew that as long as I ask, the alumni will always try their best to support us. I wish I could organize a tea-party to invite all my old friends for a gathering. No matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, I wish that you are leading a happy and meaningful life and I pray that you will never part with the Dharma and be always blessed by the Triple Gems. Blessings, Ven. Chun Yin (Youping)

Dharma Talk:

“Managing Your Emotion” In life, we face different situations which cause different emotions or feelings to arise within us. These emotions can be resulted from the relationship with the people around us, problems in studies, etc. They can be good or bad. Sometimes, they may be strong enough to influence our actions. If we do not know how to manage them well, we could conduct unwholesome actions which may bring harm to ourselves and the people around us. This Dharma Talk, conducted by Dr. Ang Beng Choo, aims to provide a Buddhist perspective on how to manage all these emotions that arise within us and what should we practiced in order to maintain a calm and peaceful state of mind.

Event Info Date : 15th March 2013 Venue : Function Room, Nanyang House

1-Day Meditation Retreat 1-Day Meditation Retreat is an annual meditation retreat organised by NTUBS. 1-Day Meditation Retreat serves as a platform for members to learn Buddha’s teachings via meditation and gain the experience of practicing meditation away from the hustle and bustle environment that we experienced in university life. This year’s 1-Day Meditation Retreat was conducted at The Buddhist Library under the guidance of Venerable Chuan Guan. Also, there was Dharma Talk conducted by Venerable Dhammaratana. This meditation retreat also requires participants to uphold 8 percepts, noble silence which might be quite challenging for some participants.

MY THOUGHTS... Andy Yang: 1-Day Meditation Retreat was a great experience. I got to observe how a monk lives their days. Yes, I was taking Eight Precept just like real monks. Not only that, the real bliss was when you can just relax the whole day doing meditation, at first I thought that it was going to be tedious, but it was in fact the opposite. Doing a retreat refreshes my mind from the hectic life in the society. No phonecall, no assignment, no quiz, no facebook. It changes my perspective as well. Now, I know that keeping ourselves occcupied all the time whether it is assignment or quiz or even just playing on the facebook is not necessarily important. I guess the best way of knowing something is to experience it first-hand. So, if anyone got a chance to do it, please go ahead! It’s worth trying!!

Event Info Date : 29th March 2013 Venue : The Buddhist Library

Dharma Class Dharma Class 6: Evil and Suffering. Why? (18 Jan 2013) Speaker: Prof. Tan Hun Tong There are times when we did unwholesome actions in our life. Through this class, it is hoped that participants will be able to better identify things that drive them to conduct evil actions and there was discussion of examples as well. By understanding more about the roots of evil, participants can better overcome the negative defilement that arise in life. Dharma Class 7: Life After Death (15 Feb 2013) Speaker: Prof. Tan Hun Tong Most of us might be wondering, what will happen after we die? Will we be judged? Are there such things as hell and heaven as commonly believed in society? Will there still be “another life” after we die? Dharma Class 7 addresses up the Buddhist perspective of human life after death. Dharma Class 8: The Way to Joy (22 Feb 2013) Speaker: Venerable Chuan Guan As the Buddha has taught us, there is suffering in life. Buddha has also pointed out that there is a way that leads us to the cessation of suffering. So, Dharma Class 8 explained what is Buddhist perspective to end all the worldly sufferings we have in life and what should we practice in order to attain the highest bliss.

Dharma Class 9: As It Is (18 Mar 2013) Speaker: Venerable Chuan Guan Dharma Class 9 taught us to learn how to have a new perspective and see the life “as it is” Through the class, participants learned how to understand impermanence in life and let go the concept of self-centered. As such, we can accept our life “as it is” and be a happier person by being grateful with what we currently have. Dharma Class 10: The Buddha (22 Mar 2013) Speaker: Sis. Silvia Bay Dharma Class 10 covered who was the Buddha: His life and His achievements. Through this class, new insights about the journey that Buddha had gone through were covered and hopefully participants may be able to apply the lesson learnt.

Meditation Class I, II, III 1. Meditation Class I During meditation class I, our conductor, Venerable Bodhi introduced different types of meditation throughout the classes. At the end of the classes, it is hoped that participants can choose which method is the most suitable for them and apply it to their daily life. 2. Meditation Class II Venerable Bodhi, our conductor continued meditation class I teachings and led participants to experience the meditation. With more practical and hands on experience, it is hoped that participants can get the benefit of meditation and apply it in their daily life. 3. Meditation Class III This meditation class, conducted by Venerable Chuan Guan was the last meditation for the semester which touched on meditation by using contemplation of feelings. Through different types of meditation, it is hoped that participants can learn how to be more objective in judging our feelings and be more aware of the impermanence of those feelings.

Event Info Date : 22th January (I), 19th February (II), 25th March 2013 (III) Venue : TR99 (I), TR103 (II), TR100 (III)

Exam Supper :

“Chillax Session Before Exam” Exam was just around the corner and some were still having CAs, mid-terms, projects, and assignments due at the last few weeks of school. All of these will surely bring stress to all members. As usual, NTUBS organised exam supper for all members to have some fun and time for a “chillax session” before the commencement of exams. Scrumptious food, like stuffed tofu triangles and onigiri, was served by Metta team. There was also funny yet meaningful drama performance by Fellowship team. Last but not least, at the end of the wonderful night, each participant was gifted with a goodie bag, specially prepared by Business team.

Event Info Date : 5th April 2013 Venue : Seminar Room 1, Nanyang House

Vesak Day Celebration AND Senior Appreciation Party Vesak Day is the day whereby Buddhists across the world celebrate the birth, the enlightenment and the passing away (Parinirvana) of the Buddha. Through this event, NTUBS and NTUBS Alumni members got together to rejoice and reflect over the Dharma. In addition, NTUBS conducted the Seniors Appreciation Party on the very same day which was meant to express our appreciation for their continuous support and guidance. Their contributions have nursed the junior members and groomed them spiritually. All in all, this year’s celebration will be a day of gratitude, towards the Dharma and graduating seniors. Some highlight events were bathing of the Prince Siddharta, Dharma Talk by Venerable Chun Yin, sharing by alumni, interactive game, certificate giving ceremony to graduating seniors and dana offering to Venerable.

Event Info Date : 19th May 2013 Venue : Function Room, Nanyang House

Buddhist Debate BY Ven. Chun Yin

The Buddhist Debate that I am learning and practising in India comes from the glorious lineage of the famous Nalanda University. The Nalanda University was the cradle that produced great Buddhist Scholars, for instance, Nagajuna, Chandrakirti, Aryadeva, Shantarakshita, Atisha and Shantideva. The Nalanda lineage was brought to Tibet when Shantarakshita, Atisha and other great scholars were invited to propagate the Dharma in Tibet. Since then, the debating tradition has flourished and is preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition till today. Unfortunately, the debating tradition had vanished in the Theravada and Mahayana tradition. As such, I think that it is only through the Tibetan Buddhist tradition that we can still catch a glimpse of the glorious Nalanda University.

The Buddha said that, “Bhikkhus and scholars, analyze my words just as how a goldsmith examines gold by cutting, melting and smelting, not just out of respect for me.” Hence, debate is used as a technique to enable us to better understand the Buddha’s teachings. We often listen to teachings in a passive manner, accepting them at a superficial level and not thinking about its essence. It is no wonder that people have different understandings and interpretations of the teaching because we have different inclinations and mental capacities. Debating helps us to analyze the teaching to achieve greater understanding and dispel doubts in the grey areas. In the process of defending our proposition, we will know if we have grasped a thorough understanding of the concepts. It is only when questions are being posed that we have doubts and with doubts come contemplation; with contemplation comes answers. Without the process of contemplation, whatever knowledge we have gained is someone else’s, whatever knowledge we gain through contemplation is then truly ours. The Tibetan monastic education is very systematic and vast, covering the 5 major fields of logic, Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom), Madhyamika (Middle Way), Abhidharma, Vinaya (Monastic Discipline) and Tantra. In my school, we take a total of 16 years to complete the studies in the 5 major fields. We build our foundation by debating on simple questions in our first year before tackling profound concepts like compassion and emptiness in our later years. Here’s an example of a question that we debate on in our first year. In the Buddhist text, it is taught that our six senses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind) and their corresponding sense objects (form, sound, smell, taste, texture and mental objects) are mutually exclusive, and that all phenomena in the world can be classified into the six sense objects. So this would mean that the eyes see form, the ears hear sound, but the eyes will not be able to see sound, nor can the ears hear form. Hence the sense object of the eye must be a form and the sense object of the ear must be a sound etc. Here comes the question: is an ice-cream a form or a taste? If you say that the ice-cream is a form, then I will ask, “Have you not tasted an ice-cream? And isn’t the sense object of the tongue, a taste?” If you say that the ice-cream is a taste, then I will ask, “Have you not seen an ice-cream? Isn’t the sense object of the eye, a form?” If no questions are asked, then there is little chance that we will take the initiative to ponder. By learning how to debate, we start to think in greater depth and wider perspective.

Image credit: Young Monks Debate The Intricacies of Buddhist Ideas at Sera Monastery, Tibet by Will De Freitas Flickr Creative Commons

An education will not be complete without the element of examination and the Tibetan monastic education system is no exception. Our yearly examination requires us to debate one-to-one on the topics that we have learnt in the year. The debating examination is very different from the examinations in our Singaporean context. We take turns to debate for 10 minutes and answer questions for 10 minutes. 10 minutes may sound short, but it is full of challenges because our names are drawn randomly like a lottery by the teacher, therefore prior to the debate we do not know what topic we are required to debate on, and neither do we know who our opponents will be. Once our names are drawn, we are only given 5 minutes to plan our debate, and we have to showcase our understanding by refuting our opponents’ proposition within 10 minutes. This “lottery” format requires not only quick thinking, but also solid understanding of the text. The challenge is even greater for me because the debate is done totally in the Tibetan language, which is not my native language, so it is not just a battle of wits but also a test of eloquence. The debating technique is very relevant in today’s context. As a 21st century Buddhist, it is not enough just to have faith or to be contented with what is being taught simply because, “the Buddha said so.”

If what we believe is really the truth, the more we debate on it, the clearer it will become. Back in the NTUBS 16th Committee, we organised an Inter-Tertiary Buddhist Debate to achieve a clearer understanding of the Buddha’s teachings and its relevance to prevalent societal issues. The 16th Committee members put in great effort to research on various topics and debated on a few mock topics to select a good motion that had ethical, societal and religious perspective. One of the motions that we considered was “Is euthanasia ethical?” as this has the ethical issue of killing, which is a violation of the first precept. After much discussion, we finally chose the motion of, “The human nature is intrinsically good”, inspired by the Chinese saying of “人之初，性本善”. We invited NUSBS to be our debating opponent. We also invited our patrons and spiritual advisors to provide a Buddhist perspective to the debate. The debate was very well-received seeing a turnout of more than 100 people and positive feedback was received from the audience. Although I was not a representative of NTUBS during the debate, I felt that I had benefitted a lot through researching and debating on the various topics with the committee members. I hope that this introduction to Buddhist debate will inspire you to look deeper into the Buddha’s teaching, hence gaining better understanding and greater faith in this great religion.

Interview with Venerable Chuan Guan Work-Life Balance Q: Venerable, in Buddhist perspective, what is work and study life balance? A: There are many writers who write about it, many Buddhists speak about this as well. Our life cannot be divided so easily. It is a bit tricky to state an activity is purely studies or this activity is purely my personal life as you have your friends who are studying with you, so does it mean that you should study alone and not study with your friends? Does it mean that when you study you should make more friends? Or does it mean that we should not study with our family members? Or we should just study in a way that is without their support? We cannot possibly study on our own without our family’s support. Sometimes although these two cannot be clearly divided, we still seek to segregate them naturally, thinking that when we do our studies, we don’t need our family members. We think that way and we may neglect our family members. Similarly, when we graduate in the future and go out to work, we may start to be too preoccupied with our work and then possibly neglect other aspects of our life. Perhaps, instead of looking at it as a balance of just 2 things, either this or that, we can look at it as a balance of our life, how much emphasis we put into different parts of our life. As a monastic, I’m going to focus on lay Buddhist, because the standards which the Buddha set for lay Buddhist and monastics are different. In the case of lay Buddhists, there are some that think one should not pursue worldly things such as a happily married life. The Buddha did not speak against people getting married, the Buddha also did not speak against people pursuing wealth as a lay person. In fact, in various places, the Buddha spoke about how a lay person can pursue worldly wealth with entertainments and be happy about it. One can make use of wealth to buy and possess things for himself and to share with his loved ones which in turns brings happiness. So perhaps when we talk about the work/study/life balance, we are really asking ourselves, “As a lay person, what do I want out of my life?” Is your life really just about getting the best grades? Or as a graduate, life is just about getting more money, increasing the rate of getting money, increasing the growth rate of getting money? I think it should not be like that because if we spend an inordinate amount of our time on work it only serves to spend away our precious time. For example, if one buys a car just to earn money with that car, and then make the car better, and then buy more petrol and feed the car and never ever using the money for any other purpose, never ever using the car for any other purpose, except to earn more money to maintain the car. Now one may think that shifu again is talking about taxi drivers, but I am not. Taxi drivers drive their cars, their taxi, to ferry passengers to their respective

destinations. With the income that they make, they do something else with it, they do not use it just to maintain the car. They may spend some money to maintain their car to some degree, but then they also spend the rest of their money to maintain what they want to do with their life. “Do you eat to live or live to eat?” “Do you work to live or live to work?” “Do you study to live or live to study?” It becomes tricky concerning studying, because studying should be for the purpose of knowledge. Work is a bit clearer, because when you work, it should be work to sustain life meaningfully. Life should be meaningful, it would be good to have comfortable work but most importantly, to allow it to sustain our life. A work/study/life balance should be guided by one simple value and that is, our life is more than just our grades and it is more than just the amount money we have. If we keep that in mind, I think we will know how to balance our life. Q: As a Buddhist practitioner, how may we apply the Dharma to manage our time. Is there any specific teaching that we can learn? A: I think in terms of lay Buddhists, with reference to the short verses in the Dhammapada, whether in spiritual life, towards work or towards one’s loved ones, one should be energetic. As far as our life is concerned, perhaps even more importantly our loved ones, friends, and family, if we keep thinking, “still early, I can focus on this first, I can spend time with my parents later”, “I can spend time with my family later, it is ok”. Or if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend thinking, “it is ok, I can spend time with them later”. Of course there is a lack of balance. Many times, when we have our Dharma activities, I would be told by the committee from societies, from various school, “Oh shifu, exams are coming, so the Dharma classes have to come to an end, for them to prepare for exams.” So I asked, “Why should it stop just because you are going to have exams? All the more we should have Dharma activities so that they can be spiritually charged

and better manage their emotions while studying”. The important thing is consistency even while studying, even in the midst of exam. One should not think “now I am having exams, so I stop practising.” We tend to react to exams by cutting family time and everything else. I think that is a sign we are not coping well. So, I would say managing our time is crucial by planning and being real to ourselves. Some Buddhists do not feel comfortable with planning as it seemingly contrasts the idea of impermanence. “Shifu, how can we do planning? Life is impermanent, we may not wake up tomorrow. Shifu you told us, today we go to sleep, we may not wake up tomorrow. Tomorrow we wake up, go to work or to study, we may not come back. So how to plan? How do you plan?” Recognising impermanence and uncertainties in life does not mean you should not plan. In fact all the more we should be planning. Because then, you got to ask yourself, if we are not sure whether tomorrow is going to come, how are we going to use today? And in case tomorrow comes, how are you going to use it? Now I’m alive, I have this life, and it may go for how many years, but I don’t know how many years it is going to be, but I have this life, how am I going to use this life? Doing some planning is useful, cause it means knowing, asking ourselves the tough question, what do you want at the end of the day. So to me, applying the Dharma, we should really be aware of how we spend our time, keeping in mind that there is indeed uncertainties. Q: How do we manage expectations to do well in everything? Especially in Singapore, where the emphasis is on economical productivity. Everything aimed to be done, the best, the most, the highest. A: We compare those ideas such as productivity, efficiency, or we say, to strive for high GPA and ask the question, is that in line with Buddhist teachings. On the surface it may appear like there is a dichotomy here. The Noble Eightfold Path is the path towards enlightenment, but those are worldly goals. So on the surface it seems there is this mutually exclusiveness between the two. On one hand, middle way, the Noble Eightfold Path is the path towards enlightenment and it is spiritual, while on the other we are talking about worldly goals and attainments, trying to strive for higher GPA. But then you should look at the teachings itself and at the disciples of the Buddha. It does not mean that Buddhists should not be successful. But you have to ask yourself, what is the meaning of being successful? Does being successful means that you earn the most money, you have the highest GPA? If yes, then sure, go ahead and get higher GPA. Being efficient and being productive, and having higher productivity has macro implications. If we only focus on doing well, more efficient, and everybody does that because we are afraid of losing out, then lets all kill ourselves together. Not literally, but indirectly. Is that in line with the Buddhist teaching? On one hand it is not, on the other hand, it doesn’t mean that Buddhists should all be laid back, slackers. We shouldn’t. Instead, in whatever vocations and fields we

are in, we should strive for excellence, we should strive to be excellent in whatever we are doing. As a Buddhist, I think it is almost like a duty to us, because in Buddhism, we recognise that we all have this potential to be perfectly free of sufferings, to be with perfect wisdom. If we as a religion, or we as individuals, subscribe to this teaching, this ideal that we have the potential to be perfect, that we can, even if we have so much failures, then we aim to perfect ourselves. When we study and work, we may say, “shifu, you are giving me too much stress, you know, you want me to be perfect, so I have to have GPA 5.0, otherwise, anything short I’m imperfect.” I am not looking for that, and we should not measure ourselves just based on our GPA. Conversely, we should ask ourselves, have I put in my best effort, recognising that my GPA, my work and everything else depends on conditions to arise. Then I should earnestly look at the end and say what are the conditions that I can manage? The amount of time I spend, can I manage that, am I trying my best, really? Or am I just saying I don’t know I don’t know? One does not need the buddha’s teaching to tell you about the middle path, or to know that you have the potential to be a Buddha, to say “I’m going to try, that I’m going to learn”.

Image credit: Balance Stone 1 by Steve Hardy Flickr Creative Commons

Q: Stress seems inevitable in our daily life, due to the work ethics of society, what can we do to cope with the struggle for work life balance? A: Stress comes when you have an expectation or you have a demand that you believe you cannot meet. The key thing is that you think you cannot meet, you believe you cannot meet. That’s why you are stressed. It is not whether you can meet or not, really. Q: What if you believe you can meet, then other people keep saying ‘No you never meet’. Won’t you feel stressed also? A: No, unless you start to believe in that person.

Q: Let say you get fired because you are not meeting the expectation. Even if you say, “I believe I have met the expectations”, you will still get stressed up cause you have no job now. (laugh) A: No, hang on, you are mincing your words, don’t jump. I said, you are stressed mainly because you believe or you think you cannot meet. Whether you meet or not is another thing. If you meet or you don’t meet, that has nothing to do with your stress, I’m talking about before it happens. If you ultimately don’t meet, of cause, that is a different stress, that is when you didn’t meet. I’m talking about the stress, for example your exam, you have finished your exam, okay, now you don’t know whether you fail or pass, but at this point, are you stressed? If you think that you didn’t do well, you will be stressed, isn’t it? Before you do your exam, before you even see the paper, if you think “I haven’t studied enough, I don’t know enough”, even if you know enough, you will be stressed. But when you finally see the paper, actually, well, it’s quite simple, then you are not stressed. So the key thing is, what you think, not how much you know. On the other hand, you may not know enough, and you think that you know enough, so you are not stressed, but when you see it, “oh no” then you get really stressed. So it is about disparity and reality. But it doesn’t change the fact that before reality sets in, which is where most of our stress is, our fear and anxiety over the eventual outcome, many times outweigh the actual outcome. How do we deal with the feeling of being stressed? And how do we, secondly, or maybe it should be firstly, how do we deal with the cause of the stress? I like what my senior monk told me. Once he told me ”you should always ask yourself this question ‘What is the worst outcome that can happen?’” In a way, he is borrowing a pitch from risk management, risk analysis. What is the worst outcome? Can you live with that outcome? The moment you realise you can live with that outcome, then it is no longer stressful, there is nothing to be stressed over. There is no stress after that, but only if you come to that realization. Part of the satipatthana practice is to be aware of our body, our feelings, in terms of bodily feelings and mental feelings, and then after having that awareness, come back to the breathing sensation and be aware of how it (stress) feels like. Take a few deep breathes, and come back to the feeling itself. Do that for a few counts, then try to observe the stress sensation again, and see how it feels like again. Do this for a few cycles. A more traditional approach is, when feeling stressed, do some simple meditation, or do some chanting, a whole series different type of chantings. You can do chanting of Puja, sutra. You can chant Buddha’s name, you can also chant mantra. But all these are helpful only if you have been doing it regularly. If you have not been doing it regularly and you try to apply only when you are stressed, it is akin to not doing your tutorial during your whole semester, and then during exams you try to do the tutorials. Does it ever work? Never work! So, if you can face the worst outcome, then there is no

stress. That senior monk said very succinctly, “what is the worst thing that can happen? You die.” I was like “What?!” I mean you don’t expect a Buddhist monk to say that. The worst thing that can happen is that you die. He said, “Isn’t it true, the worst thing that can happen is that you die. Can you accept that you are going to die? It is a matter of time.” Not that we are trying to paint a pessimistic view and get everybody to be suicidal. No, we are not. But it is to recognize that, if the worst thing as a Buddhist, or rather, the worst thing that can happen is to die, you have already accepted that it is going to happen then you can face it. In fact, that is going to happen whether you accept or not, and for the most part, that is not the worst case anyway. Q: What is the most ideal focus in life, as a Buddhist? People are striving their best in terms of careers, finance and recognitions, are these advisable? A: Well for a lay person, to me, there is nothing wrong with pursuing excellence in terms of one’s career, in terms of having wealth and recognitions, in terms of fame, but the Buddha did warn against some of these things. In particular, fame, because when you have fame, pride tends to arise. And when you have pride, we tend to act in ways that are harmful to ourselves and the others. When you have too much pride in terms of our achievements, then sometimes we may start to have contempt towards others, we may start to become haughty, we may start to feel like ‘I’m the greatest, I’m this, I’m that, who are you all?’ We may stop listening to others, we may stop taking criticisms in the right mind, we may start to become so self-centred that we think that we are always right. And that is very dangerous. Striving for excellence in our career, to me, there is nothing wrong. If you spend 8 hours, that means you are spending one third of your life on career already, or at least for the duration when you work. And you want to be subpar, that is very sad isn’t it? (laugh) But at the same time, we must recognise that our career is only a part of our life. So if we define ourselves solely by our career, then it is a bit like what you say, putting all our eggs in one basket. If you do that, and you are retrenched tomorrow, I can assure you, it will be very devastating. There is nothing wrong with the pursue of your career, but if you let it becomes your sole preoccupation, again then, it becomes lopsided. Q: What do you think would be the ideal amount of time that we must put in for each aspect in life, family, friends and personal life? A: Hmm, ideal amount of time, this is a bit specific personally, because for everybody, it is a bit different. For example, Hiroto, you are an Indonesian. If I allocate a blanket prescription for Singaporeans and Indonesians, would you have troubles? If I say, every weekend spend time with your family, what are you going to do? Fly back every weekend? It is impossible. So it is hard, if not, impossible to give a blanket prescription. Instead of having a prescriptive amount of time, I would say, value

them. Learn to value their roles, their existence in your life. Do not belittle them. Do not trivialize their existence but acknowledge their existence. Sometimes it is as simple as just dropping a message, saying “how are you doing?” You should ask yourself, if you really care for that person, you love that person, then you should be ready to say, I’m going to devote time for that person. How much time? It is not up to me to say. It is not my life, it is your life. That person means something to you, it means something to me as well, but it means a different thing to me. So it is up to us to ask ourselves, how much time, how much effort are we going to put in? How much inconveniences are we willing to go through?

This is the end of our formal interview. Below questions are just some interesting questions that people might ask. Q: Tattoos and piercings are prominent in the present society, are there any negative consequences to the society? A: Hmm, tattoos and piercings. Sometimes it is a matter of degree, if one piercing is wrong, the other type of piercing should be wrong as well. If we allow girls to, or guys for that matter, if we allow people to pierce their ears, then why should other form of piercings be wrong? In many indigenous culture, piercing is the mark of their status in the society, in their belief or in their culture. I’m personally of this mindset, when you do something to your body, you got to ask yourself, is that change reversible? If it is a change that is irreversible, you may want to think really carefully. If you cut your hair, no big deal, you don’t like it, grow your hair. If you have enough hair, you can continue to cut and trim and whatever, and do different things. If you dye your hair, and you don’t like it you can always dye it black again. But if you pierce your body, I think it is worthwhile to ask yourself this question, is this change a reversible? And if it is not reversible, would you regret in the future? You can remove the tattoos with laser and so on. So it is your choice. In Thai tradition, the monks and some lay people will tattoo the whole noble eight fold path on their back, on their arms. Tattoos in different culture means different things. To me, it is a more permanent form of masks or eye shadows. Why are we ok with eye shadows and not tattoos? So I personally do not think that there is any negative connotation. There is nothing implicitly or inherently negative. But if you tattoo something that incites and is hateful, then you got to ask yourself, is that what you are? Maybe you really feel strongly about a certain issues in the society, and you want to express it. And then we would touch on the issue of freedom of speech. I think human rights or freedom of speech or freedom of anything has to be counter-balanced with responsibilities. Just because I have the freedom to speak, does it mean that I have to say words to hurt people or to criticize people?

Q: What is your opinion on inter-religious marriage? A: This is somewhat sensitive. But the Buddha once told a couple, a couple who has been together for a long time in their whole life, and who lived very lovingly with each other. This couple came to the Buddha, asked for advice on how they can be together, even in the future life. The Buddha didn’t scold them, with today’s Buddhists’ knowledge, we may say, how dare this couple may have so much attachments! The Buddha teaches non-attachment, how can you be attached to each other so much that you even want to be together in the next life. The Buddha said, if you uphold these four qualities, develop and maintain them to the same level, then not just in this life, but in the future life as well, can you be together. And what are they? 1) Faith and confidence, 2) precepts and morality, 3) giving, the sense of generosity to give, and 4) wisdom. Faith in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha and precepts, in other words, if you don’t have the same religious value, I think it is difficult, it is tricky and it makes sense. Imagine, just as an example, you are Buddhist and you have a Christian girlfriend, and in future you get married, and you have kids. So, your kids go to Sunday school in the morning, then later morning go to Phor Kark See (Monastery) for some Sunday study school. I don’t know. In most cases, so far, Buddhists are very open, “It is ok, as long as they don’t force us to convert.” But then later on, initially yes, there is no problem, later on it becomes tricky. I don’t blame others, I don’t blame people from other religions, because if a person is convicted and having such convictions, they would really want to share that with you. Then you say, why are they trying to do this or that? You know better, don’t set yourself up for disasters later on. There is no such thing as it is predestined, as it is meant to be. There is no “I must be with him or her”. At the first place, you can choose. It is all about choices. If you choose to keep spending time with that person, knowing well that the person is of a different faith, then it is your choice. Do I say that it is absolutely impossible? No, I don’t say that. But there are enough cases where it becomes a point of contention. But as I stand today, I would rather encourage people to follow the Buddha’s advice. Because our religious view will shape the other part, it will shape the way we live our life, in terms of the Noble Eightfold Path, in terms of the precepts. Can you imagine, the wife going to release animals or life liberation (放生), and then the husband, pick his wife up and say, let’s go for seafood. To me, if a person is really true to their own beliefs, there are too many irreconcilable differences. There are common grounds, yes, and we should focus on them, but for two persons to live together, share their life together, it is very tricky.

Image credit: Don’t Let Me Misunderstood by Stephan van Es Flickr Creative Commons

Buddhist Misconceptions

BY Jhee Hong

Buddhism is one of the many religions in the world, and it has the longest history and largest group of disciples as compared to the other religions. Many of us have heard about some comments or generalisations on Buddhism— ”Buddha is a god”, “Buddhists have to be vegetarians”, “Buddha gives us what we wish and pray for”, and the list goes on. However, these false beliefs result in misconceptions that many people perceived, and many Buddhists are of no exception. So let us now unravel the truth behind some common misconceptions about Buddhism.

1. The Buddha is a god

The Buddha (the present Buddha is Gautama Buddha) was a human being who attained enlightenment through his own efforts, and shared the Dharma to all sentient beings. The Buddha never claimed to be a god. We believe that everyone who follows his teachings has the potential to become a Buddha and be free from greed, hatred and delusion.

2. We worship the Buddha to pray for what we want

Worshipping has different meanings in different religions. One may worship a god by making offerings and ask for favours, hoping that god will answer the prayer. As Buddhists, we do not practive those kinds of worshipping — we only show our respect to the Buddha, like bowing to the Buddha statue, to express our gratitude for His teaching (Dharma).

3. Are the teachings of different schools (Theravada, Mahayana, and Tibetan Buddhism) different?

Buddhism originated in India and has spread to different parts of the world. Various schools also arised to accommodate the different cultures. These types of school may seem different on the outside, but the core teachings of all three schools is essentially the same. They advocate the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Paths that ultimately lead to enlightenment — the true happiness we all seek.

4. Chanting is meaningless

Buddhists’ recitation of the chants has its purpose and meaning. When you pay close attention to the meaning of the chants, you will realise that they contain teachings of the Buddha and provide guidelines on the practice as a Buddhist. For instance, the Mettā Sutta, also known as the loving-kindness recitation, contains a number of recollections that promote the development of loving-kindness through virtuous characteristics and meditation. Besides that, chanting also cultivates meditative concentration. It allows one to focus and stop the mind from wandering about, which is part of a Buddhist’s practice.

5. We blame everything on karma

Karma literally means “action” or “doing”; whatever one does, says, or thinks is called karma. Our intention (cetana) gives rise to action and bears a fruit (phala) or result (vipāka). What we experience within the present life, or in the context of future rebirth is influenced by our thoughts and actions. Karma does not mean that we served with a destiny that we cannot change and have to passively accept. Our karma can change depending on our actions and thoughts at the present moment. If one strives to practise and constructively change one’s thoughts and behaviors, he creates a condition to better his life. A good Buddhist will commit to the precepts that constitute the basic Buddhist code of ethics to develop positive habits and purify his mind.

6. Buddhists are not supposed to consume meat

The Buddha was not a vegetarian and he did not prohibit the consumption of meat. In fact, he explicitly rejected a notion by Devadatta to do so. The First Precept admonishes us to refrain from killing, but consumption of meat is not regarded as killing. One the other hand, the Buddha did prohibit consumption of animals that was “seen, heard or suspected” to be killed for the benefit of monks. In Buddha’s time, there were no fixed monasteries for the Buddha and Sangha, so they have to go for alms round to support their practice. If a household chose to offer meat, it was to be accepted without aversion. If the Buddha was to reject the offering, it would be an offence against the family’s hospitality and would deprive them of an opportunity to gain merit.

A kind- hearted non-vegetarian is much better than vegetarians that are selfish, ill-willed, and mean to others. When a Buddhist develops compassion and loving-kindness through practice, he or she will have the initiative to minimize the consumption of meat.

Sutta Nipata 244-6

References: http://conversion.buddhists.sg/common_misconceptions_about_buddhism http://life.gaiam.com/article/8-common-myths-about-buddhism http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/vegi.html

Image credit: Helping Out by BBC World Service Flickr Creative Commons

Little Things Buddhists Can Do BY Alison Lai Pei Yen

Have you ever wondered what you can do to help or even serve anyone who is less privileged than you? Everyone is unique in their own way, yet despite their differences, you want to help them to the best of your abilities. Buddha once related a story about two acrobats - a master and his apprentice. They used long bamboo poles to perform acrobatics by balancing it on the head and shoulders on one acrobat and the other would balance himself on top of the pole. One day, the master said, “Now you keep your eye on me, and I’ll keep my eye on you so as to prevent you from falling off.” The apprentice replied, “Oh, no, master. You should look after yourself while I look after myself. In this way, we can perform our act and earn a living safely.” By looking after yourself, you will look after others and also, by looking after others, you are actually looking out for yourself. In practicing the Dharma, it is coproductive as we are cultivating virtue which first arises in ourselves and extends out towards others. Pema Chodron also said, “We work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves”. A lot of times we do have the ability to decide on what we want to do or become. Upon helping others, we know we can reap something beneficial from it. Yet what is more important is that as we look beyond our own benefits and really go about understanding the needs of others from the bottom of our hearts - that is when we get to really appreciate things for what they are and love them for what they are. In this manner, it would be a reflex moment where we really want to help people with little and simple actions that we do. Little and simple actions, the small things that we can do often stems from what we have upheld in our principles, beliefs as well as convictions. On this non-exhaustive list, the simple things that each of us might have done may be similar or different. Living in this 21st century digital era, it is crucial not to lose the addition of personal touch in the avenues of communication between people. A faceto-face “Good morning!” greeting with a smile to people

you have encountered during the day is definitely more amicable than a WhatsApp message of “Good morning! :)”. The three R’s that everyone knows are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. However, besides being environmentally friendly, we need another set of three R’s in our daily lives, as mentioned by Dalai Lama XIV. They are respect for self, respect for others and being responsible for all your actions. With these as our moral compass within us to direct us in our lives, we will be helping and doing things that stems from within our hearts. Lo and behold, it does not take much to brighten someone’s day. A simple gesture like saying thank you to anyone who has helped us, given their assistance, and even spending time with them ought to be acknowledged and for us to be thankful for. The little things we can do every day is by practising what we have learnt and showing it by saying thank you to those who have collected our tray, or showing respect to the cleaners that have made our halls a more conducive place to stay in. It can also be in the form of dana where we donate money to people we earnestly want to help, or even lending your friend a listening ear when he or she needs one. Thich Nhat Hanh mentioned that the most precious gift we can offer to others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers. In approaching life with a practical and personal touch to benefit others, we need to keep in mind to not expect happiness by wanting to get them from outside but within. If you look to others for fulfilment, you will never be fulfilled as told by Lao Tzu.

“The prime purpose in life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them - a little thing that Buddhists can do.” Dalai Lama XIV

ZU-LIN TEMPLE ASSOCIATION 817 Bukit Batok West Ave 5, Singapore 659086 Tel. : 6665 7566 Fax : 6565 7817 Email: zltple@zulintemple.org.sg www.zulintemple.org.sg

Image credit: Broadcasting Gratitude by honor the gift Flickr Creative Commons

Gratitude Cherished in the Pearl of My Palms BY Ilysa Sim

Ever had that intense feeling? The feeling of being blessed all at once unbelievably, the one that puts a gloss of happiness and a little surprise in your eyes as well as the sound of awe and respect in your tone? With that, certain words begin to surface within you, sometimes it comes out so easy – a phrase to be said in polite company, the other times in that rush and reverence and occasionally, a little shyly. That could be you experiencing the pleasant rush of gratitude where these words are spilling over the tip of your tongue- “Thank you”, “Much appreciated”, “Thanks”, “Cheers”.

feel rather glum. Writing this article at 3am at my muggy dining room table, feeling groggy and even more fatigued at the thought that I have to report to work some hours later does not sound like a whole bunch of reasons to be thankful. And maybe so, it is why I press on to write this article letter by letter and word by word. I string these phrases into coherent sentences and hope my thoughts grip some readers by the cuff of their neck and nurture some thoughts.

I took the liberty to look up Merriam-Webster’s dictionary guide as I was interested to know of the official definition of gratitude, it is “the state of being grateful: Thankfulness”. This definition leads me to think, “what makes the gratitude you think you feel heartfelt?” My curiosity then led me to an epistle written by Thanissaro Bhikkhu stating that if one can acknowledge 3 points then it is genuine. Firstly, one must know instinctively that they have gained something good or their situation has taken a turn for the better because of someone else’s actions towards them. Secondly, the presence of implicit trust in the person on the receiving end of kindness that the action from another person means well. Thirdly, the person has indeed walked an extra mile just to supply you something you need and it is sensed by the receiver.

Being or learning to be grateful does not mean we stop being who are – HUMAN. There is nothing shameful about being who we are and acknowledging that our first reaction probably would not be the best way to handle any situation. Allow yourself a break, we complain, we get angry, we blame each other, we blame ourselves but that is healthy to a certain point. Especially healthy when it relieves us of the stress of knowing what we can’t change. After that, MOVE ON. No one is perfect in handling bad situations and facing the grumbling side of us aids to understand ourselves and each other better. In the end, be thankful that there are times where it is a trial to be thankful. Most of us learn what is good from making mistakes as it tell us clearly what is not good. Should everything in life be good and easy from our birth how would we be able to tell something is good when we have never experienced what is not?

My stream of consciousness leads me to ponder on my current state as I write about heartfelt gratitude. My head is drifting with the clouds of storm in the night sky outside the shelter of my home while I type. There seem be an unceasing parade of things that bog me down and I

Being grateful is great but what happens after realising that someone has aided us and how then can we pay back this favour? Similar to apologies, people like to hear a “sorry” when a mistake is made but would truly feel the sense of remorse from the other when the apology is seen

in their heart is that we can and will live in a state of mutual benefit, where crisis will happen but it may not always be as bad as it could have been due to the resulting actions of others surrounding you.

Image courtesy of Flickr user karen.j.ybanez

not only heard. In a nutshell “Don’t just tell me, SHOW ME.” Seeing as someone acted to show you some kindness, you should take a leaf from his book and show gratitude as well, it is no less deserved. Act on the gratitude and give it form by putting positive energy into an outcome; a tangible action that benefits another. Repay that weight of thankfulness with equal measure of loving kindness unto yourself and someone. Now, the best thing about repayment of gratitude for the kindness is that you gain more from it. You learn more, discern more and feel better more. When one is open to the idea of helping another with the best of intentions, one is also open to receiving and gaining compassion from another. Hence, by training myself to seek the good in the midst of my suffering, I am learning to be grateful and more mindful of the people around me. If not for this article, it probably would have slipped my notice that my mother has switched on the fan to cool the room for me, my stomach is comfortably full from the dinner bought by my father, I have a part time job that pays reasonably well because my lovely friend heard of my need and introduced the job to me. My list could go on, that I am more than sure of but what I hope my readers remember Image credit: Gratitude Road by Bart Maguire Flickr Creative Commons

Personally, I feel that repaying someone for the help rendered is important and it shows how much I have appreciated it but I have come to realise that rarely, especially not in equal measures do we get to repay our benefactor. Therefore, it would be great if we could instead seek to continue that chain of help and pay that thanks forward whenever we can. Let us open our hearts to extend a helping hand to someone falling behind, in need of direction to move forward or simply a compassionate listening heart to ease some suffering. An American essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote an essay in 1841 titled Compensation saying wisely, “In the order of nature we cannot render benefits to those from whom we receive them, or only seldom. But the benefit we receive must be rendered again, line for line, deed for deed, cent for cent, to somebody.” Henceforth, let us pray never, to merely stand on the shoulders of giants only to reap in the benefits or simply feel gratitude for the people whom have gone before us to lead the way. Let us always seek to strive to continue their good work, to improve what we can with our individual contribution and look back – only to guide those following behind us. As the elders have guided us and forged ahead, we will pay it forward by remembering those behind that need a helping and giving it. Ending on an additional note, go visit a website called happyrambles.com, it is an online private journal where you can list the small and big things that you are thankful for each day. The best thing about this journal is that it sends you a random entry you wrote sometime back to remind you of past things that you are grateful for via email . This acts like a daily gratitude alarm reminding you that your life can be torn or ripped by terrible things but stitched back together with compassion from others to create a beautiful patchwork quilt that showcases your journey through life thus far. References: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gratitude http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_it_forward http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/ lessonsofgratitude.html http://happyrambles.com/

朋友们，您的热情在燃烧吗？您的爱心在澎湃吗？至诚邀请您参与我们的周日学校。我们有一片园地的小幼苗需要你的热情与爱心来灌溉。本团活动: 幼儿读经班儿童周日班青少年班家长班另外，本团康乐组还设有禅修与静坐班，心灵工作坊，电影分享会，茶艺，花艺等各类文化兴趣班。朋友！勿再犹豫！让我们一起来奉献，创造和谐社会。让我们建立更美好的未来在这片可爱的家园里！

Singapore Buddhist Youth Mission 新加坡佛教青年弘法团 3306 Clementi Service Road, Singapore 129582 Tel.: 6775 5557 Fax: 6773 1009 Email: sbym1965@gmail.com www.sbym.org.sg

would enjoy, and let them know specifically why you want them to have it. 6. Invite them to do something you know they’ve always wanted to do. 7. Encourage them to try something you know they want to try, but haven’t yet because they’re scared. 8. Offer to do something you know they don’t enjoy doing, like organizing their closet or mowing their lawn. 9. Compliment them on a talent, skill, or strength that you admire. 10. Look them straight in the eyes and say, “You make the world a better place.”

50 Ways to Show Gratitude for the People in Your Life

By Lori Deschene

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” William Arthur Ward The holiday season generally brings us closer to people. Sometimes that closeness reminds us how much we love each other. Sometimes it reminds us that we drive each other crazy, as family often does. At the heart of it, Thanksgiving in particular calls us to see people with the deepest appreciation for the gifts they’ve given us. Some gifts are more immediately obvious than others—the type that come with praise, affection, and genuine esteem. Others push us, stretch us, test us, and make us wonder if there’s anything to be grateful for at all. There’s no denying certain relationships are more challenging than others, but through each we have an opportunity to grow and help others do the same. Every relationship teaches us something about loving, trusting, forgiving, setting boundaries, taking care of ourselves, and taking care of each other. From the people who love you, to the people who challenge you, to the people who support you at work, here’s how to show your gratitude:

Show Gratitude to People Who Love You

1. Share a specific example of something they did for you and how it made a difference in your life. 2. Do something little but thoughtful for them—like clean up after Thanksgiving dinner! 3. Give a long, intimate hug; or if you know they don’t like hugs, stick out your hand for a handshake to cater to their preferences and make them smile. 4. Tell them you’re there if they have anything they want to talk about—and let them know they have your full attention. 5. Give them something of yours that you think they

Show Gratitude to People Who Challenge You

11. Fully listen to what they have to say, instead of forming your rebuttal in your head and waiting to speak. 12. Thank them for introducing you to a new way to look at things, even if you still don’t agree. 13. Pinpoint something you admire about their commitment to their beliefs—even if you don’t hold them, as well. 14. Resist the urge to tell them they’re wrong. 15. Challenge them right back to be the best they can be, with love and positive intentions. 16. If they inspired you to push outside your comfort zone, thank them for inspiring you to take a risk, and let them know how it paid off. 17. Write a blog post about how they helped you see things differently and dedicate it to them. 18. Use the lesson this person teaches you through your interactions, whether it’s patience, compassion, or courage. 19. Introduce them to someone who may challenge them and help them grow, as they’ve done for you. 20. Let them know how you appreciate when they challenge you in a loving, non-confrontational way—and if they don’t do that, be calm and kind when you ask them to do that going forward.

Show Gratitude to People Who Serve You

21. Give a larger tip than usual. 22. If they have a tip jar, include a thoughtful note of appreciation along with your coins or bills. 23. Smile when you order or enlist their assistance. Smiles are contagious, so give one away! 24. If they serve you regularly, acknowledge something they always do well—like work efficiently or stay calm under pressure. 25. Exhibit patience, even if you’re in a hurry. 26. Let their superior know they do an outstanding job. 27. Keep their workplace clean—for example, at a coffee shop, clean up after yourself at the sugar stand. 28. Offer to get a coffee for them, if it’s someone working in or outside your home. 29. If you have their contact information, send an email of appreciation—and let them know you just wanted to express your gratitude, so they don’t need to write back. 30. Praise them in a review on Yelp and/or recommend them to people you know.

Show Gratitude to People Who Work with You

31. Write a hand-written thank you note, acknowledging things you value about them and their work. 32. Offer to lighten their workload in some way if you are able. 33. Bring back lunch for them if you know they’re working hard and likely haven’t had a chance to grab something. 34. If you’re running a meeting, keep it short to show them you appreciate and respect their time. 35. Ask them about their lives instead of always being all business. This doesn’t mean you need to pry into personal matters; it just means showing an interest in who they are as people. 36. Be the calm, light voice in a stressful situation. 37. Give them flowers to brighten their desk. 38. Let their boss know how they’re doing a great job and contributing to the company. 39. Listen fully if they’re having a difficult day, and recognize if they need space to figure things out on their own, not advice or help. 40. Remember the little things can make a big difference! Show Gratitude for Yourself 41. Make a list of ways you’ve impressed yourself lately. 42. Treat yourself to something you enjoy, like a pedicure or a massage. 43. If someone compliments you, thank them and let them know you’re proud of that skill, talent, or accomplishment. 44. Compliment yourself—say it while looking in the mirror, write it in a journal, or jot it on a sticky note and put it on your refrigerator. 45. Give yourself time to enjoy a passion you’re sometimes too busy to fit in. 46. Take an inventory of all the good things you’ve done for other people and the world. 47. Write yourself a love letter. Seriously, start with “Dear Lori” (but insert your own name) and describe all the things you admire about yourself.

48. Let go of any conditions you have for being kind to yourself—meaning you appreciate even if you didn’t accomplish or do anything specific. 49. Schedule a date with yourself—an afternoon or evening that’s all about you. 50. Share the beauty that is you with the people around you, knowing they’re fortunate to have you in their lives. I am fortunate to have you in mine. You make the world a better place! This article was republished with permission from tinybuddha.com. About the author Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha, an online community and blog that features stories and insights from readers from all over the globe. Since it launched in 2009, Tiny Buddha has grown into one of the most popular inspirational sites on the web, with more than 1 million readers. Lori runs the site as a group effort because she believes we all have something to teach and something to learn. She is the author of Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions and the upcoming book Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Self-Love: 40 Ways to Transform Your Inner Critic and Your Life. Image credit: Thank You! White Chocolate Feast for Kids May 04, 2010113 by Steven Depolo Flickr Creative Commons

87 Geylang East Ave 2, Singapore 389753 Tel. : 6748 6676 Fax : 6749 2343

EASY Vegetarian

RECIPE

BY Josephine Hendrikson

Onigiri Preparation 1. Rinse the Japanese Rice with water for 2-3 times then cook the rice in rice cooker for 20-30 minutes. 2. While the rice is cooking, prepare the fillings. Cut the button mushroom, mock ham, carrot and cucumber into small thin pieces. 3. Stir-fry the filling ingredients (excluding cucumber) using salt, pepper, sesame oil, cooking oil and a bit of hoisin sauce. 4. (Optional) After the rice is cooked, put vinegar into the rice for additional taste and mix it evenly. 5. Let the cooked rice cool down a bit so that it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be too hot in your hand. Method (Using Rice Mold) 1. If you are using an onigiri mold, firstly wet the mold with salted water to make the rice pop out more easily and prevent the rice from sticking to the mold. 2. Add the warm rice into the mold and spread it evenly. 3. Place the fillings in the middle of the mold and make sure that you do not overstuff it. Remember the fillings of the onigiri must not be too wet or else the rice will fall apart. 4. Add additional rice to fill in the mold. If your mold has the lid, then use the lid to press down onto the rice. Gentle pressure should be applied. But if your mold doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any lid, you may use hour hand (wet previously using salted water) to press down the rice. 5. Remove the lid (if any), invert and press down on the center to help the onigiri to slide out from the mold. 6. Wrap nori around the onigiri. You may cut a strip of the nori or use the nori to wrap the whole onigiri. You can also vary the onigiri based on your own creativity by using the leftover fillings.

INGREDIENTS: Japanese Rice A Few Sheets of Nori (seaweed) Salt Water Pepper Vegetable Cooking Oil Sesame Oil Hoisin Sauce Vinegar (Optional)

FILLINGS (Own creativity): Button Mushroom Mock Ham Carrot Cucumber Corn Green Peas

Tips: If you are using all-purpose mold that is hollow in both sides, you can put cling wrap on the table and sprinkle it with some salted water then put the mold above it and follow all the steps written above. Remember not to overstuff the onigiri with fillings The onigiri is done and ready to be eaten. Enjoy!!! especially if you are using molds with pattern of stars, as it is easier to fall apart.

Stuffed Tofu Triangles 1. Prepare the fillings. Shred carrots and thinly slice the French beans and turnip. 2. Mix and stir-fry the ingredients with cooking oil, sesame oil, salt and pepper. 3. Rinse the tofu and cut it in half diagonally to make triangles. Cut a slit down the center of the longest side of each of the tofu triangle. Cut around the slit to form an opening and carefully dig out the tofu to form a pocket. Reserve the tofu scraps for another use (you can fry the tofu scraps and eat it along with the stuffed tofu triangles). 4. Deep-fry the tofu triangles until the colour is golden brown. Put on the strainer.

INGREDIENTS: Tofu Cooking Oil Sesame Oil Salt Pepper

FILLINGS: Carrot French Beans Turnip

5. Using spoon, fill in the fillings into the fried tofu triangles. Serve hot with chili sauce or soy sauce. The stuffed tofu triangles are now ready to be eaten. Enjoy!

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple 观音堂佛祖庙 178 Waterloo St, Singapore 187964 Tel. : 6337 9227 Fax : 6337 9271

Image credit: Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple by G Bayliss Flickr Creative Commons

A Trip to Borobudur, Indonesia BY Chow Tze Hui and Teoh Kai Chee This was the most exciting day in our one week’s trip to Indonesia - we were going to explore Borobudur Temple! The monument is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has become the most visited tourist attraction. Each level of the temple and every gesture of the various Buddha statues have their own meaning. The first 6 lower levels of the temple consist of thousands of relief panels showing the life story of the Buddha, his teachings and his progress towards Nirvana. With the explanation of the tour guide, we are able to understand some of the stories instead of merely seeing them as stones. The upper platform features 72 small stupas surrounding one large central stupa which is defined as completeness. However, the diameter of the main stupa is just 9.9 metres, 0.1 metres more to reach 10 metres. When I heard this, I finally understand that nothing is totally perfect in this world. We must be humble and keep practising the teachings of the Buddha. May all being be well and happy. - Chow Tze Hui -

当我的双脚踏上婆罗浮屠塔的其中一块砖块上时，我心中充满无法形容的兴奋，我期待已久的婆罗浮屠之旅终于实现。从婆罗浮屠塔的购票处慢慢走近时，看见在印尼日惹竖立着那么神圣的佛教圣殿。一步一步地踏上阶梯，能感觉到每块一吨重的巨石铺上的坚大工程，花上八十年建成的佛塔。整个建筑分为三层，基座是代表着人类的欲望，以高墙为塔基。再向上爬，中间是五个同心方台，呈角锥体，代表着学习佛陀的教导，但仍然有欲望的存在。在这层，我看到一些佛像没有佛首，佛首被人盗走和破坏，心里是多么的伤痛。精巧的佛陀传和因果故事雕刻在墙上，提醒我该虚心向上，同时也复习佛陀的教导。顶端是三个环形平台，呈圆锥体；佛塔围绕着环形平台有72座透雕细工的印度塔，塔内有一尊佛像，代表着已经达到解脱的境界，脱离了欲望，到达极乐世界。参观了三个小时，在猛烈太阳的照耀下，我一点都不觉得晒，反而有种心怀感恩的心情。 - 张凯其 -

Chow Tze Hui

Teoh Kai Chee

Buddhism and Technology in Hand By Ilysa Sim Just as our body needs sustenance, so too does our soul. Just as our body requires rest, so too does our mind. In our hectic lives fraught with too many things to do, I think we would all agree that it is important to feed our body to be healthy and constantly nourished. Likewise, we feed the soul and mind with knowledge that helps us to grow healthily in a way that we can progress to search and move along the middle path away from suffering. BUT... How do we do this in a our fast paced world filled with entertainment technology? If we can pull up a gaming application with a touch of our heat signature, are we losing touch with Buddhism? Creators of these applications for smart-phones simply DISAGREE and we would like to introduce some of these wonderful applications to you! 1) Buddha Vacana This first app is designed and programmed by our very own seniors of NTUBS and our spiritual advisor, Ven. Chuan Guan. This app is called Buddha Vacana. It sends your phone a daily verse to reflect upon. Buddha Vacana simply means â&#x20AC;&#x153;words of the Buddhaâ&#x20AC;? and that is what the app aims to provide us to read each day. The app supports a wonderful function where a person is allowed to choose a specific time and date for the verse to be sent to their phone. It is akin to have your daily newspaper delivered to your doorstep every morning for your reading pleasure! 2) Buddhist Meditation Trainer Meditation is like a skill and with all good skills comes plenty of practice. This app targets level by level training for people interested in mediation on a daily basis. It has 10 levels of meditation with varying lengths and accompanying quotes to meditate upon. It tells you when to start and a bell chimes when your meditation session ends. One may choose to follow with the predetermined time and level for meditation or simply set their own meditation music as well as target. Busy people such as us living in a buzzing city may forget or choose to neglect meditating but the app provides a reminder for us that gives us no excuse to a perfect wind down for the day.

Buddha Vacana Apps Logo

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3) Access to Insight Access to Insight is a website that provides a large archive of English readings from Theravada Buddhism. The app version of this website allows one the freedom of being on the move and still able to read the epistles available even without a connection. Thanks to the creator of the app, we are now able to hold in storage large amounts of readings from the website without having to face frustration of being unable to continue our readings when our connection has been severed. Surrounded in an island of Buddhism on hand, travelling on long rides to work and back is no longer a waste of time but one to be treasured with words of wisdom.

Buddhism Quiz 1. Today, Buddhism is the ... largest religion of the world. 2. Buddha is known as ... 3. Where was Ajahn Brahm, a famous Theravadin Buddhist monk born? 4. Where was Gautama Buddha born? 5. What are the 2 main branches of Buddhism? 6. Thesignificant day where lay Buddhist do offerings to the monks/nuns at temples or monasteries to express their gratitude is known as …… day 7. What does Vesak Day symbolize? 8. One of the five cosmic orders that is related to act and result is known as ... 9. The ultimate goal of learning and practicing the Dharma is to achieve ... 10. Which sutta tells about the Buddha’s first teaching after he attained enlightenment? 11. What were the 4 sights that Gautama Buddha saw that made him realize the sufferings in this life? 12. In the Kalama sutta, the concept of ... is emphasized, that is to invite all beings to come and see the teachings of the Buddha for themselves. 13. Who are the first five disciples of Gautama Buddha?

What is one of the most famous Buddhist temple that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

14. The … is the main teachings of the Buddha that explains Dukkha (suffering), the cause of Dukkha, the cessation of Dukkha and the way leading to the cessation of Dukkha. 15. What do Four Immeasurables consist of? 16. What are the 4 main Buddhist pilgrimage sites? 17. What does Tripitaka (Buddhist Scriptures) literally mean? 18. What is the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore?

20. Where is The Buddhist Library in Singapore located at? 21. Following the census in 2010, what is the most followed religion in Singapore? 22. NTUBS celebrates its ... anniversary in 2013. 23. NTUBS’s staff advisor, Prof Tan Hun Tong is a professor in which faculty? 24. What are the 2 camps held by NTUBS every year?

Where can we find this Buddha statue?

1. fourth 2. Awakened one 3. London, United Kingdom 4. Lumbini 5. Theravada and Mahayana 6. Kathina 7. The birth, enlightenment and passing away (parinirvana) of Buddha 8. Karma 9. Nirvana 10. Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta 11. Old man, sick man, corpse and ascetic 12. Ehipassiko 13. Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama and Assaji 14. Four Noble Truth 15. Metta (loving-kindness), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (sympathetic joy) and Upekkha (equanimity) 16. Lumbini (birthplace of the Buddha), Bodh Gaya (place where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment), Sarnath (place where the first sermon was delivered by Gautama Buddha), Kusinara (place where Gautama Buddha passed away) 17. Three baskets 18. Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery 19. Borobudur, Indonesia 20. No.2, Lorong 24A, Geylang Road 21. Buddhism 22. thirty 23. NBS (Nanyang Business School) 24. Dharma Camp and Camp Nirvana Singapore (CNS) 25. Lantau Island, Hong Kong

Basic Buddha's Teachings in Illustration 1. Four Noble Truth (By Sutrisno) 1. There is suffering in life 2. There is the cause of suffering 3. There is the cessation of suffering 4. There is the path leading to the cessation of suffering

1 2 3 4

2. Five Precepts (By Lim Xin Er) 1. I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking life. 2. I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given. 3. I undertake the training to avoid sensual misconduct. 4. I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech. 5. I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness.

3. Ehipassiko (By Hiroto) “Ehipassiko” (meaning literally “come and see”) is an appeal to the empirical verification of the teaching of the Buddha. It is considered one of the traits of the Buddha’s teaching to encourage one to question, understand, test and verify his Teachings with one’s experience before accepting it.

Thought After Attending 8th Global Conference on Buddhism BY Freddy

The 8th Global Conference in Buddhism, themed “In the World of Rapid Change”, was held on 6th & 7th July 2013 in Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, Singapore. The opening ceremony was conducted by the Sixth President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr S R Nathan. Among the 19 distinguished speakers were from other parts of the globe including Venerable Ajahn Brahm from Bodhinyana Monastery in Australia, Dr Tan Ho Soon, the founder of Nalanda Institute in Malaysia, and Mr Tan Chade-Meng, Jolly Good Fellow of Google Inc, USA. Nevertheless, the conference did not lack Singaporean speakers such as Ms Angie Chew Monksfield, President of Buddhist Fellowship and founder of Brahm Centre and Dr Ang Beng Choo, Patron of Buddhist Fellowship. Six topics were covered in the conference, with three to four speakers for each topic. On the first day, the topics were Buddhism in the World of Rapid Change, Mindful Living, and Compassion & Charity. On the second day, the topics were Death and Beyond, Meaningful Ageing, and Health & Medicine. At the end of the second day, the conference also passed two resolutions from the Buddhist community regarding two recent events which concern Buddhism. The first resolution concerns the cases of violence by Buddhist monks against Muslims in Myanmar, while the second concerns the bombing of Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya on 7th July. The participants in the conference were actively involved in improving both resolutions. The passing of these two resolutions was an important milestone as these resolutions will be published in the media to represent the response from the world’s Buddhist community regarding the two incidents. The two-day conference has imparted valuable knowledge to more than 1,000 participants. One lesson that I found memorable is about mindfulness. Mr Tan Chade-Meng offered his insight about how practicing mindfulness in our daily lives lead to happiness, peace, and success. Venerable Ajahn Brahm spoke about how mindfulness alone is not enough, and introduced us to the concept of “kindfulness” to bring across his point that mindfulness must be accompanied by kindness to ourselves and to others. A prominent topic was about the relationship between Buddhism and healthcare science. Dr Ho Eu Chin, who spoke on “Buddhist Bioethics in Medicine & Research”, received numerous questions about stem cell research, animal testing, and abortion, among other topics regarding bioethics. Dr Tan Bhing Leet from Institute of Mental

Health also shared how mindfulness practice is used as a therapy for mental patients. Another popular topic was on “Life after Death as domain for Regression Therapy” by Dr Peter Mack, a surgeon from Singapore General Hospital, who explored the method of hypnotic therapy in order to see one’s past life. The fact that Buddhism is used in medical practice means that Buddhism can change the lives of even non-Buddhists, which I found fascinating. An important point that was brought across at various occasions was that we can teach non-Buddhists Dharma. We do not need to label the lessons from Dharma as the Buddha’s teachings, as it may make people more reluctant and defensive. Mr Tan Chade-Meng has great success transforming the lives of many non-Buddhists through Buddhist concepts without mentioning the word Buddhism or Dharma. After all, what is important is the content itself and not the labelling. I walked into the conference thinking that the theme “In the World of Rapid Change” meant that the conference would discuss how Buddhism could remain relevant in the rapidly changing modern world. I was not entirely wrong, but I left the conference with a newfound appreciation that Buddhism does not merely adapt to change but is also, more importantly, a potent agent of change in the world.

The Power of Gratitude BY Meigi Susanto

I sat in front of my laptop wondering what gratitude is and how gratitude can affect my life. Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures and acknowledging everything that you receive. Feeling gratitude can be as simple as being thankful for the ability to breathe fresh air. Sometimes as human beings we have a tendency to take everything present in our life for granted. Only when something is missing do we start to feel that it is something we should be thankful for. For example, the hazy weather which occurred in Singapore and hence many people suffered bad air quality. After weeks of haze, the weather has cleared and people are able to breathe the fresh air again. With this, many were so thankful, whereas previously only a few appreciate or are truly thankful to breathe fresh air. Personally, it is challenging to develop feelings of gratitude within myself because I have a tendency to focus on achieving greater goals or what I do not have and in the process, forget to realise what the blessings I have in my life. There are times when I sit back, calm my mind and reflect on the things and people I am grateful for. During such times, I sense a feeling of gratitude in my heart which translates into happiness and I say to myself “Yeah, I am a very lucky person and numerous blessings have occurred in my life.” How does reflecting on being grateful for the things and people in my life makes a difference on how I live – Happy. Let me state a few reasons. Image credit: 1. It reminds you of all positive things that has happened in Practicing Gratitude by Kate Ware your life. Flickr Creative Commons When you take the time and effort to think upon the positive things, it will bring out happy feelings about the people you have met, be it loved ones or brief acquaintances. This enables you to better appreciate and love your life. 2. It enable you to look at seemingly “bad situations” in a better light. You may complain a lot about your tiring work or your bossy colleague but it is not the worst thing that could happen to you. When you realize that there are still a lot of people out there whom are unable to secure a job, suddenly having a job with disagreeable colleagues do not seem that bad after all. Be grateful that you have work so you can make an honest living instead of burdening your parents through monetary reliance. Be thankful that you have an opportunity to learn to deal with difficult situations that will only serve to make you stronger and wiser. 3. It reminds you the importance of thanking others. When you cultivate gratitude in yourself, you will also remember to thank others. In our urban times, there are so many ways to do so, messaging, calling, emailing or stopping by and saying “thank you” personally. By saying “thank you” to others and acknowledging their help, you make a positive difference in their lives. It is important for them to feel appreciated and acknowledged for what they have done for you. This improves your relationships and character in addition to making them happy.

By making someone else happy, you will also feel happy as happiness is CONTAGIOUS! ^^

Image credit: Hourglass, Vintage Sand Glass in a Metal Box by Cocoa Chu Chu Flickr Creative Commons

NOW|此刻文|李俊融了知因果，活再当下。人人皆知这是佛教最基本的要点之一。我们也知道修学佛法应无时无刻，无处不是。虽是基础，但我们究竟体悟了多少，实践了多少？敢问何谓因果？当下又是何时？再往下读之前我希望诸位善知识能向自己的内心探讨这两个问题。一般普遍的答案都是说“因果” 是所造之业在他日所受之果，而“当下”则是此时此刻的时间点。以我之见这两者的关系实密不可分。所谓因中有果，果中有因,两者环环相扣。因果不间断地在当下运作:此刻的念头就是当下种下的因，此刻的遭遇就是成熟了的果。要知过去因今生受的是，要知未来果此刻造的是 [1]。无时无刻，一动念一起心我们都掌握了未来果的因。还要执著过去或担心未来？哪怕是一秒的执著与担心都在为接下来的一秒，一分，一钟，一日，一年环环种下条件。就如佛典故事中的“毒箭射经”，中毒箭者与其忙于追问箭从哪里来，不如赶紧到安全地方治疗。箭已中，再执著其因也无济于事,时间的流失甚至可能造成致命的祸害。若担心治疗的效益而延慢疗成，也只会恶化情况。在《达摩祖师传》剧中也提到了一慧语“吾本来兹土，传法救迷情。一花开五叶，结果自然成”简言之即是达摩祖师一心到中土宏法，拥有正知正见，果随因自然提现。

时,我抱持平常心，心里没有输赢一心只知道既然参加了就尽力而为。幸运的我们挤入了二十大，组办机构也要求我们提交第二份建议书。但是收到消息的时候刚巧是期中测验期间而期限刚好和我的学期末测验(CA)撞日，在之前我也有其他科目的测验。我自知我的学习能力较慢须要多点时间来温习，因此待测验完毕后才开始赶出建议书。眼看期限就在眼前,我们赶紧在几小时以内赶好第二份建议书。可当时我竟然不感到担心，只知道尽力做好就是。我们就这样再度晋级,进了六强，被邀到主办商的场地呈现概念。最终我们获得了第三名。整个过程的重点并不在于是否得奖，而是我体会到在困境中无烦恼,自然发挥所常的自由。相比以前的战战兢兢，自在豁达殊胜许多。相似的际遇也在我毕业后找工的作时呈现。当时某公司来到南大招聘时我把准备工作做好，在应征阶段向自己说，万事不是有就是无，无需太执著。我也不担心他人的成绩是否比我优秀。与此同时我也想起传观师傅曾对我们说过应征并非是盘问，而是我们向所应征的岗位和公司进一步了解，同时也让对方了解我们。此教诲巩固了我的平常心。我再一次以轻松的状态经过几轮的应征。感恩，我就这样成功的得到了我现有的这份工作。事在人为，心静境变。少了不必要的执著与担心让我们更加能专心地发挥自己的所常。不要依靠“命运”而是要“运命”好好的运用这生命。经过此等体验我更深一层地体悟到了何谓因果与当下，也造了以下谨句来提醒自己：

今日不知明日事, 是生或死无人知, 了知此时最珍时, 随缘惜缘尽人事。

未来的是我们能知多少？分分秒秒都有众生“生”与“去”，我们当下的生命也只有这吸进呼出的一口气，无常。要明了我们生边的人事物是得来不易，要珍惜每一刻但但可能诸位心里会想，在现今社会可不容易实不执著。精进尽力地把每桩事做好，只要是践这些。但是，我就在不久前体验到了活在汝法，不对他人或众生或自己造成伤害，因当下的奇妙，其实也并不是大家想像中那么果先前自然一花开五叶，结果自然成。难。就在我大四最后学期，我与一名好友参加了一个创意工程比赛。提交第一份建议书 [1] 取于佛教电影《达摩祖师传》

时，他就拋弃你，不理你了。假如他都关怀和照顾每个人，这代表此人很有爱心，是个可靠的对象。观人者一定要带有客观的思想，在他平常处事待人当中去观察，才能真正了解他，才能寻得真命天子。人与人相处都会经过一些过程。从「相识」开始至到互相了解，最好了解一个人的标准就是孝道。用此标准，就不会误找花言巧语之人，而是个又责任感、有担当的人。当时，我听了老师的讲座才明白了孝顺的孩子不仅仅是懂得感恩和奉行父母。他们也会成为别人是好伴侣，好丈夫或好老婆。

孝顺文|黎佩艳在现今崇尚自由的社会,我们不难看见许多人把年迈的父母送进了老人院，但他们却不知这对俩老而言是件非常难过的事啊！试问他们是否有曾想想母亲十月怀胎的不适与不便，以及父母用心良苦栽培的养育之恩呢？。所谓“受人滴水之恩，当以涌泉相报”，更何况父母对儿女的爱是无私的，我们理应用尽此生的时间孝顺和爱敬他们。况且孝顺父母，我们会感到充实，人生才会没有遗憾。弟子规》的入则孝就提供大家孝顺父母的方式。在入则孝中提到了“父母呼，应勿缓，父母命，行勿懒。父母教，须敬听，父母责，须顺承”，这些都是我们在日常生活可以履行的。此外，《弟子规》也提到“冬则温，夏则凊，晨则省，昏则定”，教育我们照顾父母也是子女的责任。蔡礼旭老师在“弟子规与爱情婚姻”的课题上分享到人与人之间所存在的爱心。如果某人只对一个人存有爱心，对其他人却不理不睬，那这份爱心是真的，还是假的？请问寻找对象最好的工具是什么？是孝道。假如某人没有关怀和孝顺父母，那他对你的好，是假的，是不真实的。因为你对他而言只是一个有利可图的工具。等待「利」变成「害」

在儒家思想，孔子是说到：生侍之以礼，死葬之以礼。孔子又说：“是为能养，至于犬马，皆能有养，不尽，何以别乎？”说明我们对父母一定要恭敬。此外，佛说：“孝顺父母，世间第一福田。”“若能孝顺师长，礼敬三宝圣贤，不必四处祈求，则可得四种福报：一者、颜色端正；二者、气力丰强；三者、安稳无病；四者、健康长寿，不逢灾难。” 古人云：“孝顺父母为时间最大功德，又云：“不孝父母，拜佛无益。””不孝父母，学佛或行作一切功德，皆无意义。当我们孝顺父母时不仅仅表现于每年的父亲和母亲节, 因为孝顺是一种天天都应该奉行的品德。在佛教里，孝顺分为三等：当我们供养父母物质上的享受，让父母免于饥寒而丰衣十足是为小孝。当我们光宗耀祖时，使父母同感与有荣焉这是为中孝。当我们接引父母学佛，让他们来生免于轮回之苦是为大孝。孝顺社会大众乃至一切无量无尽的众生是佛教理想中的至孝。身为佛弟子，就让我们从自己起，好好地孝顺吧！

孝顺父母， “世间第一福田。 ” 55

Tse Tho Aum Buddhist Temple 妙华山自度庵 601 Sin Ming Drive, Singapore 575719 Tel. : 6454 7666 Fax : 6458 5672 Activity 周日共修(心经与佛号)(每月农历第一个星期日) Sun 2-3.45pm

维摩诘经讲解(每月农历第一个星期日)贤祥法师 Sun 2-3.45pm

菩提一曲文|庭峰 2013 年是南大佛学会一个极致重要的年份。因为，它见证了南大佛学会三大机构的诞生和成长。即南大佛学会创立30周年、南大佛学校友会创办20周年以及南大小小菩提创立10周年。兹简称它们为30、20、10。基于佛学会已数载未自创歌曲，所以会员们建议重燃歌曲创作的传承，以增加学佛的乐趣。因此，30、20、10的主题曲—《菩提》，也就成形了。《菩提》一曲叙述了我在佛学会这两年的所学所知以及希望藉由此曲能唤醒会员们和校友们在佛学会里的点点滴滴。就让我在此和菩萨们共同分享《菩提》的歌词和我的写作感想。第一段主歌: 高高悬着的菩提晨曦披上金衣曾无助曾空虚您安抚受伤心告诉我四圣谛乃人生的真理戒定慧八正道是解脱的法门第一段副歌：您照亮学府分岔路我在花园奔驰菩提叶智慧叶忆起昔日回忆记得那年我们一起拥有光阴你笑着他哭着多想回到那个时候第二段主歌：半甲子擦肩而过流水伴着记忆感谢您感恩您孜孜不倦教导菩提依旧飘游不带一丝尘埃停泊在你我心种下智慧幼苗第二段副歌：在我迷航时候扮演着北极星引领我方向感受异乡家园记得那年我们一起拥有光阴你笑着他哭着多想回到那个时候

菩提原义智慧，亦是本会的徽章。晨曦为崇高的智慧撒上了金沙，划破了无名，带来了曙光，引来了展望，形成了本会金黄色的菩提徽章。人有时难免深困于滚滚红尘之中，因而起心动念，感到无助和空虚。但，南大佛学会总会扮演着聆听者和辅导员，给予我们帮助，解决难题。加入佛学会两年中，让我理解佛法的中心教导—四圣谛和八正道，乃人生的真理，一套唯一不二的解脱法哲，开启对人生另一面的见解。也因如此，在繁忙和多重抉择的大学课业里，我能够理性地作出选择，让我可以无忧无虑地在这美丽的花园都市—新加坡，追逐我的梦想，实现我的理念。第一段副歌的第二段，作者把镜头植入菩提叶中，希望可以唤起会员们和校友们脑海里在佛学会一同编织过的时光。可能是一张张过去的灿烂笑容，或是那些年分道扬镳时的承重离别及热泪盈眶的画面。就在这一张张的回忆宛如清清流水般在脑海缓缓流逝，三十年的岁月早已逝去，来到现今。对于佛学会这半甲子的孜孜教导，我们惟有衷心地感激和感恩您依旧弘扬佛法，不偏不倚，在会员们心中种下佛法的善苗。歌词中第二段副歌则讲述南大外国学子在人生旅途中迷失方向时，佛学会总是他们的避风港，扮演着家外之家（A Place Called Home），一解游子思家之愁。在此，结束了歌词的大略涵义讲解。然而，歌词乃作词者赋予旋律的灵魂，以自身的思想和一些写作手法如赋比兴、景语、叠字及押韵等，交织出自我风格的故事。基于人人有不同的人生历练和思想，所以当菩萨们听着《菩提》时，不妨细嚼歌词中之品味，或许会解读另一番风味。

法轮社

Mangudhvaga Buddhist Lodge

38 Jalan Eunos, Singapore 419500 Tel. : 6841 3171 Fax : 6841 7915

6A Lorong 7 Geylang, Singapore 388790

Dharma Cakra Society

妙音佛林

拼图主唱：马铭泉作曲：刘峻宾编曲：陈奕勤制作：史升棋对于人与人的相处我总有太多的感触倔强的我总不想输弄得我总是偷偷哭对生活的不满投诉也已到处向人申诉生命有太多的约束不满它就只有痛苦相处如同一套拼图零零碎碎有凹有凸他若是凹我就是凸这样才能接成幸福世界如同一套拼图没有一片绝地相同只要我们互相辅助总会拼成一幅幸福文：张凯其

Image credit: Puzzled_1991 by Justin Taylor Flickr Creative Commons

Puzzle (Lyrics Translation) For the art of getting along (with one another) I always stumble upon my emotions (I am too stubborn) to relent Making me break down in the secret I have spread my complains about life to everywhere and everyone There are too many constraints in life but such dissatisfaction will only cause more agony The art of getting along with each other is just like piecing puzzles Pieces of puzzles have concave and convex edges If he is concave puzzle, I shall be a convex puzzle This is the way to get along in harmony The world is like a set of puzzle No one puzzle is exactly the same But as long as we assist each other We can complement each other and work towards happiness

还记得小的时候很喜欢玩拼图，总觉得把它从零零碎碎的个体拼成一幅图时非常有成就感。到底什么是拼图呢？其实把它引用在我们的生活上非常管用，拼图仿佛在描述人与人之间的相处。试想想在新加坡有几百万人口，大家都来自不同背景，不同习俗，不同肤色，不同年龄，要怎样才能和睦共处呢？肯定少不了拼图的原理。每个人都有自己的长处还有短处，只有互相扶持，互相体谅，才能皆大欢喜。当争执发生时，很多人都会习惯责怪对方，往往把事情搞得更糟。不妨站在对方的立场想想，穿穿别人的鞋，更全面地了解事情。当我们在玩拼图时，拼图凸方怎能和另个拼图的凸角连接呢？在争架时，如果有一方主动退一步，那不就海阔天空了嘛。很多时候言语伤人比刀枪还来得痛，来得深。我总觉得赞扬他人是种非常善巧的法门，当别人做对时予以赞扬，做错时予以鼓励。人是想听好话的动物，即使做错了，希望听到的不是谩骂，而是辅导和鼓励。

Be Thankful Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire, If you did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful when you don’t know something For it gives you the opportunity to learn. Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow. Be thankful for your limitations Because they give you opportunities for improvement. Be thankful for each new challenge Because it will build your strength and character. Be thankful for your mistakes They will teach you valuable lessons. Be thankful when you’re tired and weary Because it means you’ve made a difference. It is easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks. GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings.

Image credit: If You Are Depressed by BK Flickr Creative Commons