By Charles Teo

“Good judgement is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgement.” – Mark Twain

We often rely on our experience to make our decisions, this is especially true of bad judgment where the results taught us painful lessons.

However, have we ever sat down and thought through it carefully? Is this always true? Are two situations ever always the same? Will we, as humans with our minds filled with millions of notion, always make logical and consistent decisions? Can we really trust our experience? If we cannot rely fully on our experience which is a product of our minds and perception of reality, what then, should we really rely on?

Our mind is created from the notions that fill it, figments of our memories and imagination, things which we take to be our experiences and therefore to be our “reality”. This may not be the right view, for change is, the very definition of this universe we exist in. 

Rather than let illusions of  “experiences” and “memories” cloud our perception of reality, we should instead abandon these illusions of our mind, live fully aware and enjoy every moment of the here & now.

Let awareness be our guide to bliss.

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.