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Showing posts from June, 2013

Buddhist Approach to Stubbornness in Children

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By Venerable Panyananda Bhikkhu from his book Love Your Children The Right Way  DEAR PARENTS, Please listen to me again about this important matter. Several days ago, a lady came to see me at the temple. She said she had only one son but he was trouble for her. I asked her how. She told me that her son was very stubborn. He did not listen to her at all and always acted as he pleased. Any time she disagreed with him there would be big trouble. When he became angry he would break things, which were close to him at the time. I listened and could not help feel pity on her and on that boy as well. Mothers always have problems with stubborn children. If the children cannot be cured, the stubbornness will become a bad habit. When they grow up they may become hotheaded and cruel. I knew another boy. When he was young he would always be angry at something. When he became angry he would hit his head against the wall every time. The parents had to help each other hold him and talk to

Life after death?

If one day I realize that there is no life after death, I would commit suicide instantly. I am not depressed. I experience a fare share of depressive moments as everybody else. I experience extremely joyous moments as well. I am loved. I have people around me to love. But its still more filled with trying, troubles, pain, monotony, expectations, grief, separation. I undergo all those negative feelings to achieve those limited periods of joyous moments. A hot cup of tea is refreshingly delicious. But the feeling doesn't last for a long. We get bored. We might not have money to buy another cup. We buy an SUV, only to find that there is a better car in the market. We are always worried about the safety of the car. The bliss of sex last for a very short time. There are so many luxuries in the world that we cannot afford. We have all the luxuries but we are  still jealous of others. By committing suicide I can avoid all those. If there is no life after death, people will be forced/in

"No Ironing" Policy

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If the world, specially companies can adopt a "No ironing required" policy for their employees, it would be humongously beneficial. In several ways. First it would be earth friendly, thus making companies more ;), i mean genuinely sustainable. Ironing requires a hell of a lot of energy. My meter goes crazy when ironing. Ironing eats up time as well, reducing the efficiency of the employees, getting them late to come to work. No-ironing policy saves money by cutting of the electricity bill. (which is a hot issue for Sri Lankan middle-class these days). Ironing destroys fabrics sooner. The heat speeds up the decay. Ironed shirts becomes thinner and it washes out the color. Ironing is utterly useless. Ironed shirt doesn't make employees efficient or effective. It does not have any effect on the quality of the work. Its just for the show. I mean who are we kidding right? Gosh, some people even iron their underpants and wests. Nonsense. If you are wearing a coa