Mr Giam shares his thoughts on how to be a good person

Read the full transcript of Mr Giam's podcast (Part 2). Listen to the full episode here.

"My name is Giam Yong Hua, 65 years old this year. I picked up Carpentry when I was at Changi (Prison). I’m pretty good at it.

When I was in prison, I studied Buddhism. It is easy to learn about, but to actually practise it is a very challenging thing to do. In our everyday lives, it is important to take small steps in practising Buddhism. The initial stage will be very challenging, because you are not used to it. Your mind will stray and wander. It is important to take one step at a time, to slowly cultivate good habits.

There are three main points as to how to be a good person: Guard Against, Set Your Heart and Wisdom. These three points are easy to remember, so that you can practise and not just forget about it. It will help us fight our bad desires and become a better person.

Guard Against: Don’t do anything bad. Cut off the bad habits, bad people, bad desires, and the hateful thoughts.

Set Your Heart: To set your heart on the good, so it doesn’t stray.

Wisdom: Once you have the knowledge of what’s good and what’s bad, you won’t commit bad deeds.

That’s all. This principle may seem basic and fundamental, but it is also the deepest and hardest to practise. It is easy to say, but difficult to execute."