TR EMERITUS

I like to thank Rony Tan for his public apology to the Buddhist community for the insensitive things he said. However, as a Buddhist I am still concerned. Due to the hype surrounding this incident, many people have watch the video clips where Rony Tan belittled Buddhism. Numerous remarks made against Buddhism were misleading and untrue. If not corrected, this could lead to greater confusion in the general public regarding what Buddhists really believe. This article is an attempt to clarify numerous misconceptions made by Pastor Rony and his two interviewees in the video clips. Misconception 1: Pastor Tan interviewed an ex-monk* According to the Joseph Wee's testimony, he joined the Buddhist monastic order for a period of only two weeks. If this is true, he was a novice and not a real monk. Monkhood is a serious commitment that requires years of dedication and training in order to develop deep understanding of the Buddha's teachings.. A novice who wants to become a monk actually has to go through a second ordination. Misconception 2: Pastor Tan commented about Buddhist chanting: "One could chant oo-ee-oo-ah-ah-tik-tank-wala-**bing-bang, it doesn't mean anything"* Traditional Buddhist chanting is usually in Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan or classical Chinese. Buddhist chanting have specific meanings. Some chants remind us of the Buddha's teachings of avoiding evil, doing of good and purification of our minds, while others are to reaffirm our faith. Many Buddhist organisations today have English and Chinese translations of these chants so that the faithful understand what they are chanting. Misconception 3: Pastor Tan and Joseph Wee commented that Buddhists want to be more powerful than God Buddhism does not subscribe to the concept of God found in the Abrahamic religions. Nor is it the Buddhist goal to be a powerful god. The goal in Buddhism is Enlightenment - to be free from greed, hatred and ignorance, which are spiritual defilements that cause the world much suffering. Misconception 4: Pastor Yan's comments on the Buddhist concept of Karma* The Buddhist concept of Karma does not equate to fatalism. Buddhists do not passively accept it when bad things happens to them. Karma means "intentional action". While Buddhists believe many of the things we experience are due to past Karma, we are also reminded that we are active participants in influencing our present and future situations through our present actions. Misconception 5: Pastor Tan commented that since we could not remember our past life, we cannot learn from our mistakes Through honest contemplation of our present state and correct understanding of how Karma works, we can know what we have done in our past-lives. Similarly, by looking at our current actions, speech and thoughts, we can know what we can expect in the future. As an ancient Buddhist saying goes, "If you want to know about your past lives, just look at your present. If you want to know about your future, look at your present too!". Misconception 6: Pastor Tan comments on the status of women in Buddhism Having read hundreds of sutras from the Pali Canon (Buddhist scriptures), I've not come across any statement by where the Buddha considers women to be of a lesser birth than men, or that rebirth as a women is result of bad deeds performed in past lives as men. In fact, the Buddha said that women, like men, have the capacity for Enlightenment and founded the monastic order of nuns, thus allowing women to actively participate as seriously as men in practising the Buddha's teachings. All these took place before the Greeks introduced democracy to their society, which incidentally, did not allow women to vote. Misconception 7: Pastor Tan commented that sounds made by gongs and bells is like music to him The use of gongs and bells are not meaningless rituals. They have specific functions in Chinese Buddhism. They are used as aids to guide devotees to chant at the same pace, as well as for signaling to devotees when to bow and rise in unison. Misconception 8: Joseph Wee (the "ex-monk") commented that he and other monks do not know what Nirvana (or Nibbana in Pali) was "Nirvana" literally means putting out the flame. In this context, it means putting out the flame of greed, hatred and delusion. The Buddha described Nirvana as the "deathless", "sublime", "peaceful", "purity" and "freedom". The Buddha clearly said that practicing the Noble Eightfold Path leads one to Nirvana. Misconception 9: Pastor Rony commented that the Buddha's last words were "I am still finding the way" Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained Enlightenment at the age of 35. From this point onwards, he was known as the Buddha, the Awakened One. He dedicated the rest of his life to showing others the way to Enlightenment and many of his disciples attained Enlightenment as well. The Buddha's last words were that of a dedicated teacher urging his unenlightened disciples to not be complacent, but to work hard. The Buddha's last words were "Subjected to change are all conditioned things. Strive on with diligence." Tok Meng Haw  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent With the question of the exact percentage of Singapore citizens employed by Resorts World Sentosa lingering on the minds of many Singaporeans, a netizen Kojakbt has taken the initiative to pose the question to Foreign Minister George Yeo on his Facebook. The Singapore government has claimed that the building of the two integrated resorts (IRs) in Singapore will help boost employment opportunities for Singaporeans. One of the IRs, Resorts World Sentosa has earlier pledged to give Singaporeans "priority" in employment. Though it claims that 70 per cent of its staff are locals (citizens and PRs included), many Singaporeans who have visited the IR lately have testified to the press that the majority of the workers there appear to be foreigners. Both RWS and the Manpower Ministry have refused to divulge the exact employment figures for Singapore citizens and continues to use vague data to obfuscate the matter. Kojakbt asked Mr George Yeo point-blank the specific number of Singaporeans employed by RWS. Mr Yeo did not answer his question directly and chose to skirt the issue by throwing smoke bombs to divert attention: When Kojakbt continues to press his case, Mr Yeo "referred" him to the relevant authorities like what he did to a young girl consulting him about a molest case: Mr Yeo asked Kojakbt to "get a MP to ask the question in Parliament", but he himself is a MP. It is puzzling that the authorities continue to pussyfoot on the question of the number of Singapore citizens employed by Resorts World Sentosa which gives the impression that they have something to hide from the public. Did the majority of the jobs go to Singaporeans as claimed or are foreigners benefitting more from the IRs? Even if a MP were to raise the question in Parliament, it is highly unlikely that a direct answer will be given. Singaporeans will have no choice but to "trust" whatever the ruling party and the state media have been telling him. After all, according to Finance Minister Tharman, the entire "system" in Singapore is based entirely on "trust" and so no further questions are needed.  Read More →

来源：星洲日报 ‧2010.02.24 罗马尼亚驻新加坡大使馆周二（2月23日）向新加坡外交部提交3份第3方照会，其中一份表示由于罗马尼亚政府在对涉嫌在车祸中撞人后逃跑的罗马尼亚公使西尔维乌．约内斯库展开调查期间，已终止了与他的雇佣合约，因此无法对他的言行加以约束。 约内斯库在车祸后回国。他在接受罗马尼亚 (Romania) 当地传媒访问时，声称自己是因在新加坡从事政治活动而被“陷害”。他还声称本身曾在2007年面对一起类似事件，当时也被指撞人后逃跑，但因有不在场的证据，最终免被对付。 新加坡外交部过后作出回应时，公开指责约内斯库发表这些毫无根据的言论，是对新加坡的严重诬蔑。 外交部周二晚上发表文告说，罗马尼亚透过大使馆发出的3份第3方照会（Third Person Note），是针对外交部去年12月15日针对罗马尼亚大使馆的汽车涉及车祸所发出的第3方照会作出回应。  Read More →