Original story in Chinese by Prof. Lee Chack-fan; retold by Raymond Lam No one knew Old Man Bai’s given name. Nor did he actually turn up to this year’s graduation ceremony, so it was all a bit awkward when it was his turn to be honored by the school assembly. Draped in his fancy academic […]
Month: May 2018
Kyoto’s Incredible Treasures: Roaming from Buddhist Temples to Shinto Shrines
On 25 and 26 March, I made a short visit to Kyoto, a city home to many atmospheric gardens, traditional teahouses, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines of wondrous ambience and architectural beauty. Behind the seemingly similar designs of the temples and shrines are a diverse constellation of Buddhist and Shinto religious practices.
The Pitfall of Moral Outrage
Lately, a discussion I have had among many friends, both online and off, has been about how deeply engaged in the world we can be as Buddhists. Did the Buddha espouse a philosophy of world-denial and escape? Or was his teaching aimed at creating greater engagement through understanding and compassion? Over the last couple years, […]
Vanity and Substance
Master Jingzong; English translation by Foying, edited by Jingxin Everything we do is basically done for one of two purposes–to massage our ego or to accomplish something of substance. The former is mere vanity while the latter has real benefits. We must not pursue both purposes entirely for ourselves, leaving others empty-handed. If substance is what we […]
Hong Kong’s Buddhists Plug into the Belt and Road Initiative
By Arun Kumar Yadav Over the past few years, several major Buddhist institutions in Hong Kong, including the famous Chan monastery of Po Lin, have expressed their interest in participating in China’s monumental Belt and Road Initiative. Another such group is the Institute of Maitreya Studies, a non-governmental organization based in Hong Kong. On its […]