By LingZhi

“Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon come out from behind the clouds. Shine” – Buddha.

The potential of our minds is immense. Every day, every minute, every second, hundreds and thousands of thoughts go through us. We are constantly thinking. Even when we are sleeping, our minds can still be working – we dream!

Since our minds play such an important function in our lives, it is important to learn to control our minds. For positive thoughts will translate into our actions and make our lives a better one.

But how can we do that?

So, over the recent years, I have come to appreciate meditation.

My work is relatively hectic. Throughout a working day, various work issues will need to be resolved by a certain cut off timing within the same day. Hence, with such intensity at work, I become irritable and impatient easily.

Whenever I meditate, the after effects last for a few days! I am better able to concentrate at work, stay focused, and resolve any issues quickly! Stress levels are gradually reduced as I am able to deliver work more effectively.

The benefits of meditation are endless. I still am impatient and can be irritable, but these have been drastically reduced. A new colleague mentioned recently: “You always look very happy. Is it because you are a Buddhist or a Christian?” I replied with a wide smile: “Yes, I am a Buddhist!”

While being a Buddhist does not equate to being happy, learning and practicing Buddha’s teachings in my daily life certainly made me a happier person than before.

By Alvin

Many people think that Buddhism is just a religion of superstition beliefs, while some think of it as a religion that is only about chanting and meditation. Some may even think of Buddhism as a belief that is only related to seeking good fortune or as something to turn only at times of death. Buddhism is commonly associated with people burning joss stick and incense papers, praying for lucky numbers, or monks chanting for the deceased at funerals, and others may think that Buddhism is a very passive religion. This is far from the truth as Buddhism is more than a religion. I understand it as beyond religion. 

Why do I say so? For Buddhism actually teaches us how to attain blissfulness, enlightenment and wisdom. The words blissfulness, enlightenment or wisdom may sound like heavy words, but attaining more wisdom and being enlightened is not limited only to those who choose to be ordained as monks or nuns. Neither does it require us to retreat into a cave for decades of meditation as many may have perceived based on movies or period drama shows. Buddhist teachings can be easily applied in our daily lives for any circumstances or situations in an enlightened way in order to benefit ourselves while benefitting others. 

The practice of Buddhism (学佛) is different from Buddhist Studies (佛学). Studying Buddhism is the acquiring of knowledge, but to be a Buddhist is to follow the footsteps of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. It is not enough to only learn and understand the Buddhist concepts and teachings, for we also have to embrace them in our thinking and use them in our daily lives. Being selfless, constantly watching our thoughts, speech and actions, giving without any expectations for recognition and rewards, are some of the best examples I can think of that can guide us in our cultivation as Buddhists in our daily lives. Hence, I consider Buddhism as being more than a religion. 

At the moment, I know that I have only just begun my practice of Buddhism, slowly increasing my wisdom. I shall quote a phrase shared by Jen Chen Dharma Teacher, Missionary Chen, “the journey is only considered far if you do not even start walking” (路不走才遥远). I consider myself lucky for having the opportunity to know the direction towards where I should start my journey. I do not think of myself as being religious but I am very grateful for having found a Buddhist Centre where I can based my Buddhist cultivation upon with readily available resources to guide my path to enlightenment.