Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Two Questions

Question 1:


If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who
were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis;
would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Read the next question before scrolling down to the answer of this one.

Question 2:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the
facts about the three leading candidates:

Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with
astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to
10 martinis a day.

Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used
opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke,
drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.

Which of these candidates would be your choice?


Decide first, no peeking, then turn next page for the answer.






























Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt
Candidate B is Winston Churchill
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler

And by the way, the answer to the abortion question: If you said yes, you
just killed Beethoven.


Pretty interesting isn't it? Makes a person think before judging someone.
Remember amateurs built the ark - Professionals built the Titanic.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Dharma Friday 7th July

Dear Dharma Friends,

Details @ 7.30pm
Buddhist Society of Western Australia
18-20 Nanson Way, Nollamara, Perth, WA 6061
Tel: (08) 9345 1711,
Fax: (08) 9344 4220
Email: info@bswa.org
Web site: www.bswa.org
Tradition: Theravada Spiritual
Director: Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso
Teachers: Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso and Ajahn SisterVayama

If you need ANYTHING including transport email Nam --> namhqn@yahoo.com.au


Zen story

One of the Buddhist Temples in ancient China was very small, but there were a lot of lay followers coming into make offerings, to listen to Dharma lectures, and to perform religious rituals. The Temple needed financial support from the villagers for expansion.

One day, a lay follower brought in a bag of 50 gold coins and gave it to the Buddhist Monk in charge, theVenerable Shing Chu. The Monk took the money and, without saying anything, attended to other matters.

The donor was very unhappy, because in ancient China, 50 gold coins were a lot of money, enough to support n ordinary family for several years - and the Buddhist monk simply took the donation without saying anything, not even a "thank you". So he followed the monk and said, "Your venerable, there are 50 gold coins in the bag which I have just donated to the temple.

"Yes, I know," replied the Monk, "you have just told me earlier."

The lay follower could not stand any longer. "But, I am donating 50 gold coins today, " he raised his voice and said loudly. "It is a large sum of money. How come you don't even acknowledge my donation nor even say,'thank you'?" By this time, both of them were walking pass by the Main Buddha Statue in the temple. The Monk replied,"You donate money to the Buddha, why do I have to say "thank you"?

You make donations to create good merits r yourself and to make yourself happy. If you consider such donation as a business transaction, then I will give you a 'thank you' note on behave of the Buddha so that you can take it home with you.

History of Buddhism

Ajahn Brahmali gave a fascinating talk last Friday night at Nollamara Buddhist Centre. He spoke about the history of Buddhism, both Mahayana and Theravada traditions, as well as about identifying the actual words of the Buddha through the comparisons of sutras from both traditions.

One of the insights that came from this talk was the idea that the teachings of the Buddha are essentially a personal hypothesis. Through your own practice, you can test each Buddhist concept yourself and come to your own realisation.

For those of you who couldn't make it, you can download the talk here at the BSWA web site.