FW: The First Large-Scale Ammonite Exhibition in Singapore

 

 

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Subject: The First Large-Scale Ammonite Exhibition in Singapore

 

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How Mindfulness of Breathing Can Dissolve Anger

The Buddha taught that the fire of anger can burn up everything we have done to bring happiness to ourselves and others. There is not one of us who has not sown seeds of anger in one's heart, and if those seeds are watered, they will grow rapidly and choke us and those around us. When we are angry, we should come back to ourselves by means of our conscious breathing. We should not look at or listen to the one we feel is making us angry and causing us to suffer. The other person may have said or done something unskilful or unmindful. But his unskilful words or actions arise from his own suffering. He may just be seeking some relief, hoping to survive. The excessive suffering of one person will often overflow to others. A person who is suffering needs our help, not our anger. We come to see this when we examine our anger through our breathing.The Buddha says that anger makes us look ugly. If we are able to breathe [mindfully] when we are angry and recognise the ugliness anger brings with it, that recognition acts as a bell of mindfulness. We breathe and smile mindfully in order to bring some evenness back into our hearts, at the same time relaxing the nervous system and the tense muscles of the face. We must keep on with our conscious breathing as we practise walking meditation in the open air, looking deeply at what has happened. Mindfulness and conscious breathing are sources of energy and can calm the storm of anger, which itself is also a source of energy. If we keep practising mindfulness in order to take care of our anger with the affection of a mother when she takes a small child in her arms, then not only shall we calm the storm but we shall also be able to find out where our anger really comes from. Our practice, carefully executed, will thus be able to transform the seeds of anger in us.The Blooming of a Lotus: Guided Meditation for Achieving the Miracle of Mindfulness (Thich Nhat Hanh)

Friend who owe me money

For those I have gladly lend the money to and has not kept their promise to pay back. I wish you happy and free from suffering. I hope you are able to get over this difficult times as quickly as possible. Please take care for all these is never permanent. Such is the law of Dharma

Story of the day

A respected monk arrived at the gates of a King's grand palace. Due to his great fame, none of the guards dared to halt him as he entered the hall where the King was seated on his throne. The following conversation ensued.

King: Dear Venerable Sir, how may I assist you?
Monk: I would like somewhere to spend the night in this inn.
King: You have mistaken! This is no inn - it's my palace!
Monk: Who owned this place before you?
King: My late father.
Monk: And who ruled it before him?
King: My grandfather, who is also deceased.
Monk: If this is where people come to live only for a while before leaving, why is it not an inn?
King: I am so sorry! This is indeed an inn. Your stay is most welcome!

The monk had wanted to remind the King of the irrefutable truth of transience, of all things material and even mental, of the fleeting nature of his life, wealth and status - despite wielding great power. Similar to the King, wherever we live, be it a big house or a small apartment, is like a hotel. Even the most valuable material things within are but items in a hotel, temporally 'loaned' to us for use. As much as we might wish to live in this hotel forever, we can never - unless we realise the path to transcend the cycle of life and death. Even this body that we have, which we think is ours to rule over is a hotel which we live in, for usually less than a hundred more years! If so, may we use 'our' body wisely and share 'our' posessions kindly! - Shen Shi'an

A Buddhist charity was giving out aids to the needy in terms of cash and kind for disaster relief. What was surprising to reporters was that various individuals from all walks of life were helped despite differences in race or religion with no questions asked. Most pleasantly surprised were those who came to seek donations. When asked about the rationale of the charity, a volunteer helper had this to share…
“The Buddha taught that as long as we are unenlightened, all of us experience suffering, regardless of who we are, and this suffering is largely the same in nature. If our suffering is not very different from the suffering of others, they is no need to differentiate who deserves more compassion. With this in mind, the Buddha encouraged the practice of equanimous and unconditional compassion.
“True love is so unconditional that not only is it blind to the colour or faith of its recipient, it is given freely with not a single string attached, with no demands of religious conversion or such, with no expectations of reciprocation. True love also encompasses all sentient beings who suffer like us, including animals. Of course, it is not challenging to practise this perfectly, but as the Buddha urged, practice does make perfect.
“It is totally natural to wish to help those we are closer with or are more familiar with first – such as family and friends. But the point of perfecting our giving is to continually stretch our limits of generosity - to be increasingly inclusive of more and more beings without bias. Only in this way can compassion eventually be perfected, made truly sublime and immeasurable as it is meant to be.
“On the Buddhist path of practice, it is an ideal to strive to walk the Bodhisattva path, to practise great generosity in various ways, that gives of one’s time, effort, wealth, comfort and wisdom to alleviate the suffering of other beings. In fact, it is only upon the perfection of generosity, along with other virtues, that we can become Buddhas – fully enlightened and liberated beings.
“When others heard of our charity’s impartial giving to the needy, this inspired more generous donations to support our cause. Unconditional love begets more unconditional love! This is how we can change the world together – by the boundless spread of compassion for one and all! I would like to hereby share one of my favourite verses from the Buddhist teachings by the great sage Shantideva (from ‘A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’) -
All the happiness there is in this worldArises from wishing others to be happy,And all the suffering there is in this worldArises from wishing ourself to be happy.”

Whenever I got bumped into by unmindful and unapologetic pedestrians in the past, the natural tendency was to give rise to some resentment. It’s as if the world is totally at fault, while I’m perfectly blameless. Nowadays, I have a different take. I realised that most of these bumps are the results of my own unmindfulness - in the sense that if I were more mindful, I should had seen these bumps coming. There is karma at play too. Even if it’s not right for someone to bump into me accidentally, it’s no accident that I’m are bumped into, because I karmically deserved it in some way - even if it’s wrong on the part of the bumper to be unmindful. Every bump is a sudden yet solemn reminder that I have negative karma, which can bear fruit in unexpected ways.
These days, I brace myself for bumps which I see to be coming, and try to prepare myself for those I don’t see coming too. I remind myself that Samsara is the realm of Dukkha (dissatisfactions), that I should expect Dukkha from various aspects of life - from work, relationships, and yes, even from ‘random’ strangers on the walkway. Who am I to imagine that a ‘walk’ to anywhere from Point A to Point B (within Samsara) will be smooth-sailing and free of any ‘bumps’? My karma can’t be that good. Samsara is the public school fo hard knocks. I brace myself in a relaxed but mindful way. And hey, the resentment when bumped into then becomes almost non-existent. As Master Chengyen put it, ‘To be angry is to let others’ mistakes punish oneself’. Ultimately, all punishment is self-punishment because we choose to victimise ourselves and suffer - when there’s absolutely no need to.
Related Article:Meet Mr. Bumphttp://moonpointer.com/index1.php?itemid=930

Dharma for the day

When the mind is in accord with the Dharma for one moment,we are a Buddha for one moment;When the mind is in accord with the Dharma moment after moment,we are a Buddha moment after moment

Reading for the Week

Read " An Unentangled Knowing" by Upasaka Kee Nanayon. She was the foremost woman who teaches Dhamma in modern Thailand. Known for the simplicity of her way of life and for the direct and uncompromising style of her teachings. This book is worth reading and learning about what Dhamma is all about.

Train your mind, better yourself through life.

Hi, I am praticing insight meditation and has always interested in Buddhism and its wisdom on Dharma.