by Pei Shan | Aug 20, 2021 | Featured, Lifestyle
TLDR: I used to think that Buddhism is all about blind faith, rules, god, rituals. I didn’t want to associate with it. Now, having practised the path, I see Buddhism as a way of life and I LOVE it! Here are 6 myths I use to believe!
I did not know about most of these are myths until I read “Just Be Good” by Mr T. Y. Lee. These myths were previously what I thought Buddhism was all about!
Myth 1: Buddhism is about blind faith where we must believe everything we are told
Myth 2: Buddhism is Only Focused on Praying and Meditating
Myth 3: Follow the Rules or Else!
Myth 4: Buddha is our God
Myth 5: Sakyamuni Buddha is Amitabha Buddha
Myth 6: Buddhism Emphasises a lot on Rituals like Burning Incense or Joss Paper
Having read the book, I understood better the meaning behind certain practices in Buddhism and how I can use them to live a happier and better life!
Wise Steps:
- Don’t just believe, investigate more into Buddhism and ask questions! It might just burst myths you held
- Be open to new insights that challenge what you held to be true and whole
- Knowing these as myths, don’t try to change everyone to ‘see the light’, it takes compassion and wisdom to know when is the right time to share them!
by Handful of Leaves | Aug 13, 2021 | Featured, Lifestyle
Ghost Month Series: This series explores different angles of the 7th Lunar Month, also known as the Ghost Month. Festivals, Cultures, and Religions often mix together in one place, offering space for different interpretations. We, like you, are keen to explore more. Discern on what is helpful to your practice and discard whatever is not.
The following article has been reproduced with permission from Nalanda Institute, Malaysia.
During a funeral ceremony in ancient China, paper-made models of houses, sedan chairs, treasure chests, clothes, daily utensils, and even effigies of servants, were burnt as the cortege was leaving home for burial in the cemetery.
The original meaning of such an act is to show everyone present that all former possessions of the deceased cannot be brought along to the next life.
At one’s death, everything one had ever owned has to be left behind. The burning only emphasizes this message, as it is the most graphical, symbolic, and dramatic way of showing total loss!
There is a Chinese saying that ‘no possessions can be brought along to the next existence; the only thing that follows one is his deeds, or ‘kamma’ ‘ ( 万般带不去，唯有业随身 ).
Furthermore, his relatives and friends only follow the deceased up to the grave, but soon turn to go home, leaving the dead alone in his tomb!
Thus, the burning of cheaply-produced paper models and effigies served as an effective educational tool. Witnessing how fire consumes every ‘former possession’ of the deceased, even an illiterate peasant or young child was able to understand this sense of total relinquishment at death.
Today, this practice is completely misunderstood by the majority of Chinese. Instead of the original meaning, paper-made models have been turned into “paper offerings” – with the mistaken thought that whatever one burns, his departed relatives will obtain in the netherworld!
Hence people nowadays burn paper models of the latest i-Pads, smartphones, LED screens, and “paper money” in inflated sums in order to please the dead.
All these will not help the departed ones at all.
In fact, this misunderstanding will only harm the living by maintaining their ignorance and delusions.
Many people assume that whatever is fancied in life is also fancied in the netherworld.
Instead of burning “paper offerings”, one can perform ‘Dedication of Merits’ (Pāli, ‘Pattidāna ’) to help their departed relatives.
Wise Steps:
- Recognise the possible different reasons why burning paper money became a tradition. Understand that there may be more than one reason. For example read Mothership.sg’s take on it here
- Though one may have more knowledge on Ghost Month, do not seek to aggressively change other’s behaviour (e.g. burning paper money). Instead, start a conversation to understand why others perform certain rituals. At times, being kind is better than being right. Sharing at the right time matters too!
- When walking past burning paper and effigies during this month, reflect on the impermanence of all our possessions
