Nov 22

It was an amazing Saturday as I attended a teaching on the Five Precepts given by the Venerable Guan Cheng from Hong Kong.

The Five Precepts are the basic moral guidelines for lay Buddhists (ordinary people, not monks or nuns). They are not “commandments” in the religious sense—you’re not “sinning against God” if you break them. Instead, they are voluntary training rules (sikkhāpada) that you undertake to reduce suffering for yourself and others, and to create the right conditions for meditation and wisdom to grow.

Paradoxically, you actually gain more freedom by living a disciplined life. These rules are not meant to restrict you; they free you from being chained to your own desires, giving you the clarity and strength needed for true liberation.

Besides attending his teaching, here are two interesting things I picked up recently:

1. “Greek-style” yogurt is not the same as Greek yogurt

It’s confusing when you see “Greek-style yogurt” sitting next to “Greek yogurt” on the shelf, but they are two completely different things:

- Greek yogurt is made by extensively straining regular yogurt to remove most of the whey (the liquid part). This traditional process concentrates the solids and often requires 2–3 times more milk than regular yogurt. The result is thicker, creamier, and more authentic.

- Greek-style yogurt tries to mimic that thick texture but usually skips or reduces the full straining process. Instead, manufacturers add thickeners like gelatin, pectin, starch, gums (e.g., guar or xanthan gum), cream, milk solids, or milk protein concentrate to get similar creaminess faster and cheaper.

When you choose “Greek-style yogurt” thinking it is “Greek yogurt”, you might be consuming unnecessary food additives.

2. “Qui habet fundum, habet rem publicam” (“He who has land has a stake in the Republic.”)

I have a completely different worldview now compared to five years ago. As life has become a bit more complex, I’ve noticed something fascinating about my judgements on people:

I tend to give much less weight to someone’s view when they have no skin in the game. It suddenly makes perfect sense why the Romans believed only those who have something tangible to lose can be trusted with decisions that affect everyone’s survival.

This is ancient Roman wisdom designed to prevent irresponsible democracy (democracy is seriously overrated btw). Human nature hasn’t changed in thousands of years. One day you might thank me when you fully realize how valuable this principle is—especially when making big life decisions like marriage, deep friendships, or business partnerships.