Just a reminder that the delish range of CNY goodies will be available at the Shrine this Sunday… and I swear you can taste the love.

Don’t miss out!

There will be a range of nuts and delicious CNY goodies on sale at the shrine this Sunday, and on Sunday 31st January. All vegetarian of course, and all tried, tested and delicious.

As you know, we’re in the process of growing a building fund for a shrine in Singapore, so all proceeds will go towards a wonderful cause.

I’ve taken artistic license with the picture, because unfortunately I don’t think love letters are available, but my favourite broad beans are there, along with many others.

Happy New Year! I hope the festive season has been a happy and healthy one for everyone and that this year brings you closer to your dreams.

The 2010 calendar is now up on our site. There may be changes as things become clearer, so please do check back occasionally and I’ll let you know.

I’ve had a few occasions where I’ve been caught out discovering that something I’ve eaten contains animal products. Maybe you have too?

There are the obvious things to look out for, but sometimes they’re hidden in the ingredient list, in chemical names and code numbers. Did you know that Benzoic Acid, Glycerol, Monoglycerides & Glycerides (in many margarines, cake mixes and candies), Lactic Acid and Albumen are all probably animal based?

HappyCow has an A-Z up at the moment. It does mention that many on the list are now manufactured synthetically (it’s usually cheaper), but there are lots of surprises… especially if you take health supplements or use a lot of cosmetics.

It’s very Europe-centric… are there any Asian ingredients we should all be watching out for? Please leave a comment if you know any!

On this website back in November last year, we mentioned the Charter for Compassion, a global endeavor to celebrate compassion and promote collaboration between the world’s religions.

That Charter will be unveiled on November 12th, but in the meantime I wanted to point you towards the TED site, which currently has six short talks on compassion from six different perspectives — from a Rabbi, an Imam, a Reverend, a Tenzin, a Swami and a secular voice of compassion. Together, these six speakers bear witness to the fact that compassion and the Golden Rule lie at the heart of all religion and all morality.

When you’re done watching, we’d love you to leave us a comment here to tell us what you thought.

Find out more at the Charter for Compassion website.

Pictures from this year’s Deepavali celebrations are now online here.

Here’s a sample (don’t panic, that’s fireworks, not the Shrine exploding):

Mid Autumn festival open house this Saturday, 6pm onwards to about 10pm @ MHBS.

Come along and burn some lanterns or enjoy a cup of tea with us and gossip about those who are not around.

Everyone is welcome!

With National Day and Deepavali on the horizon, there’s been some change to opening dates.

02/08/09    己丑年六月十二日
16/08/09    己丑年六月二十六日
27/09/09    己丑年八月初九日
11/10/09    己丑年八月二十三日
17/10/09 (Deepavali)    己丑年八月二十九日(屠妖节)
25/10/09    己丑年九月初八日

Sorry, this is slightly old news but I think I totally forgot to mention it. I’m an airhead like that.

There are tons of really great photos from this year’s Vesak celebrations online here.

As usual, if you want bigger copies of any of them just let me know.

A few days ago I was staying with a lovely couple who organise for volunteers to go to Central American countries like El Salvador and live and help in the communities. They told me that the biggest misconception they come across is that people feel that if they’re not Bill Gates, or some other major benefactor, they can’t make a difference. That’s just not true, small voices can be just as powerful as big voices. Sometimes it only takes $2 or $5 to provide medicine to someone for a day or $20 to provide internet access for them for a whole month. We don’t have to be millionaires to really make a difference in people’s lives.

Eric Chua, Tick Koon’s son, is shaving his head to help kids with cancer here in Singapore. If you don’t know anything about childhood cancer, like leukaemia and lymphoma, it’s much more virulent than adult cancer (it spreads faster) and it can devastate the lives of kids and their families, disrupting schooling, making them feel ill all the time, requiring frequent medical treatment and even hospitalisation. And it’s not rare!

You can make a pledge to support these kids and their families by sponsoring Eric, and it doesn’t matter if it’s big or small… you will be making an important positive difference in the life of somebody who really needs your support.