'Just Be Good' booklets...

[appicchato]

Greetings Friends,
TY Lee, the author of 'Just Be Good' (justbegood.net), 'A Life of Blessings', and 'Island of Light' (a Buddhist history of Sri Lanka) periodically sends me boxes of the aforementioned booklets to distribute to interested parties...all free, of course...I'm broaching the subject here to act as an intermediary (if that's the right word) to facilitate obtaining these for anyone who might be interested in 'spreading the word'...a postal address and an approximate number desired is all that's required...these are a great (what you might call) entry level introduction to Buddhism...

'Just Be Good' is available in Spanish, Polish, German, Indonesian, Chinese, and Hindi...

PM or email me...

Be well...

[bodom]

Thank you Bhante. Those booklets are excellent little introductions to Buddhism.

Just Be Good
http://www.justbegood.net/

[retrofuturist]

Greetings bhante,

I've assisted with some local distribution of these books and support the initiative!



T Y Lee may also have copies of his "Island Of Light" booklet to distribute, on the sacred Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka.

One bonus with offering to assist in the distribution is you get to keep a copy for yourself.

Metta,
Retro.

[Khalil Bodhi]

Bhante,

I've just PM'd you. Thank you.

[pilgrim]

Bhante, Is your post addressed to people staying in Thailand only? otherwise it might result in double handling and it may be cheaper overall for those outside Thailand to get them straight from TY Lee in Singapore. I also request books from him every few months to distribute locally.

[Kim OHara]

And of course, if anyone is inspired to put a little of their own time and money to good use, it is possible to download the high-resolution pdf from the Just Be Good site and take it to a local instant printer. That saves costs all the way along the delivery chain.
Disclaimer: I haven't done it myself
Yet.


Kim

[alan]

Those little books may be cute and all, but do you really think they do any good?

[pilgrim]

Those little books may be cute and all, but do you really think they do any good?

You can see the comments of those who read them
http://www.justbegood.net/Comments.htm

[alan]

Can't argue with the results.

[appicchato]

Bhante, Is your post addressed to people staying in Thailand only? otherwise it might result in double handling and it may be cheaper overall for those outside Thailand to get them straight from TY Lee in Singapore. I also request books from him every few months to distribute locally.

No...my intention was/is to acquire a list and then forward it to him (they would be posted from Singapore, and not through me)...his booklets are increasing in popularity and shipments are (sometimes) in five figures...I'm just attempting to consolidate and simplify their distribution to parties that might not otherwise know of the offer...anyone and everyone interested is certainly free to contact the website directly...

Happy to hear you're involved also...

[pilgrim]

That's cool. I've also arranged for the book to be translated into Khmer. Now I'm waiting for a friend in Cambodia to arrange for its printing, which probably be towards end of the year.

[alan]

Don't you think these are simple-minded?
"Anyone can go to Heaven"? ...Really?
I find it hard to be persuaded by this argument.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings Alan,

It's worth bearing in mind they're written by a Singaporean, set against the backdrop of the Islam... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Singapore

If you were trying to grab the attention of modern skeptics, you might end up with something like this, from T Y Lee's website instead... http://www.justbegood.net/Downloads/e-b ... %201_1.pdf

Speaking of which, his downloads page does have a reasonably broad range of free materials available... http://www.justbegood.net/Downloads.htm

Metta,
Retro.

[alan]

Hi Retro
Singapore is a primarily Chinese city. I don't see any reason to believe the Islamic influence has any relevance.
And I don't see the good of telling people that Buddhism promises an afterlife in heaven.
Cheers,
Alan.

[cooran]

Hello alan,

In Singapore, 15 % of the population is Muslim.... a significant proportion of the population.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51529.htm

While in the U.S.A., only 0.5% is Muslim.
http://www.adherents.com/adh_dem.html

And here are some of the Buddha's Teachings on getting to Heaven:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sagga/

with metta
Chris

[alan]

Yes cooran I know that well. I've spent months in Singapore over many years and have been there many times.
The Muslim population has no real influence outside their quarter.

[appicchato]

Biting my tongue...

[alan]

Why? If you have something to say, then please say it. Biting your tongue is ridiculous and pointless.

[pilgrim]

I also do not see the relevance of Islam in this discussion. If anything, the Just Be Good booklets, ( I think the title is a little tonque-in-cheek) is more a response to the evangelistic Christianity in Singapore that has made aggressive gains in recent years. Statistics indicate that Christianity's expansion has been at the expense of Buddhism. See: http://newnation.sg/2011/01/christianit ... nsus-2010/

The JBG booklets are not the only free Dhamma books available in Singapore. You can also get free books on suttas , meditation, forest tradition books, Pa-auk books, Mahasi books etc. The JBG may not be attractive to those who consider themselves knowledgeable or intellectually discerning but serve an important role to introduce Buddhism at entry level and have been tremendously popular across Asia. They are distributed in several countries including Philippines and Malaysia. 100,000 copies were recently printed in China bringing TY Lee's books to a total of 500,000 books as at end of 2010.

Would you prefer that these books not be printed and distributed at all?

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

If anything, the Just Be Good booklets, ( I think the title is a little tonque-in-cheek) is more a response to the evangelistic Christianity in Singapore that has made aggressive gains in recent years. Statistics indicate that Christianity's expansion has been at the expense of Buddhism. See: http://newnation.sg/2011/01/christianit ... nsus-2010/

Yes, that underpins the point I was trying to make... it's a competitive spiritual marketplace, and each theistic denomination is putting their own spin on who will be the "chosen ones" based on whatever faith, belief or devotional criteria their doctrine entails.

To suggest the same outcome can be achieved by just being good, would be a relevant, appealing and sensible value proposition, set against the competition.

Metta,
Retro.