EDSG Talk 25th September 08

Sigalovada Sutta: The Discourse of Sigala

Speaker : Bro Lau See Kaing
Venue : 7.30 pm @ BK3 Civil School
Talk Content Synopsis

The Summary of the coming talk on "Sigalovada Sutta":


Sigalovada Sutta is the 31st Sutta described in the Digha Nikaya ("Long Discourses of Buddha"). It is also known as the Sīgāla Sutta, the Sīgālaka Sutta, the Siṅgālovāda Sutta, and the Sigālovāda Suttanta ("The Sigāla Homily").

Buddhaghosa has referred to this sutta as "the Vinaya [Buddhist code of discipline] of the householder." In modern times, Bhikkhu Bodhi has identified this sutta as the "most comprehensive Nikāya text" which pertains "to the happiness directly visible in this present life."

Sigala's honoring his father

The Sigalovada Sutta takes place when Lord Buddha encountered a youth called Sigala in his morning stroll. The young man, in drenched attire, prostrated and worshipped the four compass direction (East, South, West and North), plus the Earth (Down) and the Sky (Up). When asked by Lord Buddha why he did so, the youth Sigala replied that he had been told by his late father to do so and he thought that it was right to uphold his father's wishes. Lord Buddha then, based on Sigala's point of view, taught him on how a noble one (Pali: ariya) should worship the Six directions.




Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

EDSG Movie Sharing 9th October 08

Venue : 7.30 pm @ DK11


Synopsis
Hilary Swank stars in this gripping story of inner city kids raised on drive-by shootings and hard-core attitude - and the teacher who gives them the one thing they need most: a voice of there own. Dropped into the free-fire zone of a school torn by violence and racial tension, teacher Erin Gruwell battles an uncaring system in a fight to make the classroom matter in her students lives. Now, telling their own stories, and hearing the stories of others, a group of supposedly "unteachable" teens will discover the power of tolerance, reclaim their shattered lives, and change their world.


Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

EDSG Talk 25th September 08

Practising the Dhamma at Work

Speaker : Bro Siew Kok Ewe
Venue : 7.30 pm @ BK3 Civil School

Talk Content Synopsis
The Summary of the coming talk on “Practicing the Dhamma at Work”
“understanding and practicing the dhamma (Buddha’s teaching) can help one to develop the right attitude towards one’s job and colleagues at work; it can help one overcome difficulties at the workplace, be happy and enjoy a fruitful career.”


Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

EDSG Talk 28th August 08

How emotional management as a part of inner engineering?

Speaker : Bro Leonard Tan
Venue : 7.30 pm @ DK11
Talk Content Synopsis

The Summary of the coming talk on “ Emotional management as part of Inner Engineering”

“ As human, we can’t run away from emotions. We live base on our emotion in day to day chore. Do we know emotion is self centered? Do we know what move our emotions? Do we understand how to manage it and how it can impact others? Can we see the engineering behind our emotions and why we reacted that way? Buddhism can be considered as the only religion who seek answer and help internally. Buddhist don’t seek answer, solution or help from external. The Buddha have thought us many ways how to look at the engineering of our mind and emotions and how to improve it from one step at a time.”

The goal of this talk is to encourage and to share with all that we could achieve our goals in life by “understanding & managing” our emotions.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

The House of 1000 Mirrors

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

Japanese Folktale

taken from http://www.insightoftheday.com

Gifts from the heart

According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher. After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter. Heartfelt gifts deserve the return gift of gratitude."

I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.

Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.

Michael Josephson

EDSG Talk 27th Febuary 08

Living Wisely, Shaping Destiny

Speaker : Sister Surya
Venue : 7.30 pm @ BSK1

Talk Content Synopsis

1. Understanding and avoiding the Channels of Ruin
2. Achieving the different levels of Benefits
3. Gains by acting skillfully

• Long Life
• Beauty/Good Looks
• Pleasure
• Status
• Rebirth in Heavenly Realms

Parts of the Talk:

1. Framing - Shape our destiny and to live wisely.
2. Approach – How to live e.g. Life/practical illustrations
3. Sustaining - Understanding and dealing with daily life
4. Summary – How it all fits

"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity"
---- Albert Einstein

Happy Chinese New Year and Valentines Day!
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu