American Buddhist Net

THE appeal of convicted Buddhist monk Ming Yi, 48, due to be heard on Monday, was postponed because of his lawyer's medical condition.

Ming Yi, the founder and former chief executive of Ren Ci Hospital, has filed an appeal to the High Court against his conviction and 10-month jail term on several charges.

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Last December, the South Korean government found itself walking a tightrope while planning to join the international troops in Afghanistan.

It was a complexity created by a number—number “4” to be precise.

As it happened, South Korea was the 44th member to join the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force fighting the insurgents in Afghanistan. The number “44” bothered the government.

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PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday reiterated his worry that not enough Singaporeans are starting families. Total fertility rate last year hit a new low of 1.23. For the Chinese community here, it was even lower at 1.09.

But falling birth rate is an issue faced by East Asian countries, he noted, and it is partly a result of changing values.

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Wanted: Rental Boyfriend for Lunar New Year

A prominent Hindu temple in Singapore is under scanner over concerns of anomalies in management and administration with the Commissioner of Charities launching a probe into its affairs.

A formal inquiry has been launched by Singapore's Commissioner of Charities into the affairs of the Siva Krishna Temple after the Hindu Endowments Board expressed concern over the way it was being managed, the Channel News Asia reported.

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According to influential Asian online gay portal fridae.com, some 85 people including prominent young filmmakers Sun Koh and Royston Tan have lodged police reports last weekend against Lighthouse Evangelism Senior Pastor’s disparaging remarks about homosexuals in video clip which was initially posted on his website, but had been taken off after he was hauled up for questioning by the Internal Security Department (ISD) last Monday.

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The sources for this story are not all that clear to me, but if they are correct, I think it is a mistake to report Tan to the cops for what he said. His free speech is as important as everyone else's. We support gay rights in Singapore, but believe Tan's right to speak his mind - obnoxious as it may be - is an even more fundamental right. Censorship laws could be used against gays one day. Better to answer Tan than to report him to the cops. ABN

By Hurr Riyahi

In the recent fiasco of Paster Rony Tan, it is not unusual to see ISD intervening. It is always either ISD who intervene in cases of any breach or potential breach in race or inter-faith relations. However what is unusual is that if one looks at any developed or civilized countries, there is no other parallel of a security intelligence agency taking such a role. Instead without involving security or enforcement agencies, other countries try to seek resolution using much peaceful and amicable methods.

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We agree, but would go even further than what Riyahi recommends. We think that neither the government nor law enforcement should have had anything to do with what Tan said. Buddhists should just listen to what people like Tan say. If it is true, accept the criticism and make amends. If it is false, either ignore it or answer it. Generally, criticisms like Tan's reflect badly much more on the person making them than on the group being criticized. ABN

In a short 5-minute speech made during a church service yesterday, Lighthouse Evangelism Senior Pastor Rony Tan gave his promise again to promote religious harmony in Singapore and urged church members to follow suit.

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SINGAPORE — When Ben Loke wanted to boost his financial prospects, he approached neither his banker nor his broker.

Instead, the 35-year-old company executive asked a professional tattooist to ink on his back a "sak yant" religious symbol which he hoped would bring him wealth and happiness.

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...What they should have done, instead of warning him, was to punish him. Fine him; send him to jail, whatever. If it takes a show of power to prevent this kind of incidence from happening again, by all means, do whatever that is necessary.

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Could not disagree more. IMO, calls like this for "punishment" for Tan's "offenses" just show that Singapore is not a mature society. I am a Buddhist; I watched part of one of Tan's tapes; I thought he was wrong and being stupid, but I see no reason to punish him, or anyone else, for what they say. You can't freeze history or keep society in the same frozen state for long. You also cannot control society from the top down for very long. Things change. People change. Ideas and beliefs change. The best way to deal with change is allow maximum freedom so people at all levels can learn from each other. Beyond that, I also firmly believe no government anywhere should have the power to tell people what to think or what they can or cannot say. I hope Tan moves to the USA and makes hundreds of tapes that really insult Buddhism. I will posts links to every one of them. In fact, I have been thinking about making some really nasty ones myself. Maybe a slow-motion shot of a hammer coming down on a Buddhist statue or a sutra being thrown into a fire. Most people are not babies and even those that are should not be calling on the government to jail people for being obnoxious. Free speech really should be thought of as a universal human right. And while we are on the subject, how come you pussies in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are allowing your free speech rights to be taken from you? Rather than model your pathetic social ideals on places like Singapore and Malaysia, why don't you follow the mighty Icelanders who are getting close to enacting the most comprehensive and best free speech laws in the world? Why are you going backwards when you should be going forward? Traditional Asian societies historically never had political freedom, but you guys mostly descend from parts of the world where political freedoms were fought for. People died for them, and died to protect them. So why are you going backwards instead of forwards? ABN

Dissatisfied with the way the controversy over a pastor's remarks on Buddhism has panned out in a successful meeting for reconciliation between leaders of the respective faiths, a group of Singaporeans are calling for the arrest of Lighthouse Evangelism founder and senior pastor the Rev. Rony Tan.

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This has more to do with authoritarian personalities losing control of themselves than with anything Tan said. Singaporeans, especially Buddhists, ought to have better sense than this. Who cares what Tan said? He probably made a few good points, as these extreme reactions show. ABN

Singapore has warned a Christian pastor that his online videos are offensive to Buddhists and Taoists, underlining the city-state's concerns that religion is a potential faultline for its multicultural society.

Pastor Rony Tan, of Lighthouse Evangelism, apologised and pulled the video clips off the internet after being visited by the government's Internal Security Department on Monday, the pastor and the government said on their websites.

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Buddhist, Taoist leaders accept pastor's apology

Reason pastor not arrested

IMO, no apology was needed. The tone of the news pieces above along with the government "investigation" bothers me far more than anything Tan said. The piece entitled "Reason pastor not arrested" sends chills down my spine. Americans should be aware that we are heading in the direction of Singapore or China, where information is carefully controlled and those who break ranks are, indeed, arrested. The USA is the last country in the world with decent protections for free speech, and at the rate we are going we won't have those protections much longer. ABN

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Singapore has warned a Christian pastor that his online videos are offensive to Buddhists and Taoists, underlining the city-state's concerns that religion is a potential faultline for its multicultural society.

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Though I do not live in Singapore, I am a Buddhist, and I hereby declare that his videos DO NOT offend me in the least. Let him say whatever he wants. In fact, I WANT him to criticize us because it is good for us. Furthermore, if anything about this incident does offend me, it is only that the pastor is being censored. Censorship laws offend me and they are against the deep tenets of my religion. NOT what some pastor, or anyone else, says about us. ABN

An angry reader emailed us video clips of a speech made by Pastor Rony Tan from Lighthouse Evangelism in Singapore which appeared to have ridiculed Buddhism:

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I only watched a few minutes of one of the videos, finding it too boring and uninformed to bother continuing with, but it does provide a window into understanding how some people view Buddhism. The format is a former monk being questioned by a preacher. I hope I never see a Buddhist doing this with a former Christian. ABN

Boobs, hooters, melons, and tatas—they all refer to those luscious pair of lumpy cushions jutting out every woman’s shirt. I say luscious because every man (or at least every straight one) craves nothing more than to lay his eyes on a big pair of boobs.

It is in fact this very dream that inspired the OverEasy nightclub in Singapore to organize an event officially titled “Fill My Cups,” but better known as “Booze for Your Boobs.”

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CONVICTED Buddhist monk Ming Yi was on Wednesday granted permission to leave Singapore - the second time he has been allowed to do so since his sentencing in November last year.

The monk, who turns 48 on Thursday, is to travel to several countries for a month to deal with temple matters.

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CENTENARIAN Teresa Hsu kept some 200 people in stitches during her talk on ‘Love All Serve All’ at the Malaysian Buddhist Association hall in Penang last Friday.

For the bubbly Chinese-born Singaporean, who is affectionately known as Singapore’s Mother Teresa, laughter is definitely the best medicine.

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A NIGHTCLUB in Singapore is offering free drinks to women according to the cup size of their bra, reports China Press.

The OverEasy nightclub came out with the idea to attract customers by organising the event themed 'Fill My Cups'.

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REN Ci's community hospital was officially opened on Monday, after more than a decade of setbacks and delays.

With the addition of the new 277-bedded community hospital at Irrawaddy Road, and together with its nursing home and chronic care facilities, Ren Ci can now take in 661 patients.

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FEWER people than expected visited a five-day exhibition of Buddhist relics, after controversy was stirred by five Buddhist associations taking an advertisement to dissociate themselves from it.

In all, about 150,000 people - fewer than the expected 200,000 - showed up for the 5th International Buddha's Relics Arts & Cultural Exhibition, held in Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, said the organiser, the Kadhampa Buddhist Association.

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THE last voyage for Mr S J Foo's baby daughter, Chuan Xin, was on a ferry that took them both out to sea on Friday.

Sadly, it was a one-way journey for Mr Foo's 21/2-month-old infant, who had died from complications related to the severe brain abnormalities she was born with.

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SINGAPORE — “Finger!” announced the man with the spade, looking up from a deep, muddy hole and displaying something that looked like a small broken twig.

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Singaporeans sure are embracing Korea, heart and Seoul. Fort Canning turned into a mini-Korea on Saturday (December 12) as a crowd of more than 5,000 flocked there for a concert parading top pop talent from the country.

Tickets for the Seoul'd Out Concert have been selling like hot cakes with fans eager to see Korean pop stars such as FT Island, The Brown-Eyed Girls and T-Max in one show.

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THE limited popularity of Singapore's Russian Orthodox Church calls to attention the uneasy relationship modern Russians have with religion.

Since it was set up two years ago, Russian Orthodox Church members have increased from 10 to 100, but that is still only a small fraction of the 3,000 Russians who live here.

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SINGAPORE: The ex-CEO of Ren Ci Hospital, Ming Yi has been sentenced to ten months jail. A district court has also sentenced his former aide, 34-year-old Raymond Yeung to nine months' imprisonment.

47-year-old Ming Yi, whose real name is Goh Kah Heng and Raymond Yeung were convicted last month of falsifying Ren Ci payment vouchers.

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AFTER a two-year hiatus, the popular Ren Ci charity show will be back on TV screens in January - without its former star attraction, Buddhist monk Ming Yi.

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CONVICTED Buddhist monk Ming Yi and his aide Raymond Yeung will be sentenced next Saturday.

The sentencing, which was supposed to have taken place yesterday, was adjourned to allow the prosecution more time to study Ming Yi's mitigation, which was submitted late by his lawyers.

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THE sentencing of convicted Buddhist monk Ming Yi and aide Raymond Yeung was postponed on Friday to next Saturday.

The adjournment was to give prosecution time to study Ming Yi's mitigation, which was submitted late by his lawyers.

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The Singapore Buddhist Free Clinic has seen a rise in the number of patients seeking treatment in the last few months with some unable to pay for the token $1 consultation fee!

Venerable Sian Tong, who has worked at the clinic for more than 30 years, noted that the clinic has seen many contract workers made jobless by the downturn.

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FORMER Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre's chief executive Ming Yi has been allowed by the courts to travel overseas, two weeks after being convicted on criminal charges.

The 47-year-old Buddhist monk requested permission to travel to Hong Kong and Thailand between Oct 26 and Nov 11 to attend to some temple matters.

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Singapore netizens are aghast with the quality of their country's beauty queens

First it was ex-Miss Singapore World 2009 Ris Low who gave up her throne over a credit card conviction.

Netizens were aghast with her command of English and some even commented on her lack of intelligence.

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