Vesak Day

What is Vesak Day?

Vesak Day is a day where buddhists worldwide commemorate the day when the historical Buddha attained his enlightenment and started his lifetime work to spread the message of love and compassion more than 2500 years ago.

To commemorate the significance of Vesak Day, it takes more than just visiting temples for prayers and offerings. We need to reflect upon the wisdom of the Buddha and his teachings, teachings that will lead us to live our every living day with more wisdom, joy and love.

What is the core aspect of his teachings we can reflect on this day?

Nature of impermanence of all phenomena. What is in the nature to rise, is in the nature to fall. There is nothing or anyone that is born of this world that is not subjected to growth and decay. If we can constantly reflect upon this, we will learn to make the best of our lives and constantly make an effort to better it for people around us and ourselves.

Quoting Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, "If we really understood and remembered that life was impermanent, we would do everything we could to make the other person happy right here and right now. If we spend twenty-four hours being angry at our beloved, it is because we are ignorant of impermanence"

Reflecting further, we will also understand the phenomena of the mind rise and fall too. And since suffering is a state of mind, we should remind ourselves constantly that it is impermanent and no suffering is too great that it will not pass with time. This will strengthen our faith, faith in the Four Noble Truths.

1) There is suffering in life
2) There is a cause of suffering
3) There is the cessation of suffering
4) There is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering

Contemplate on the Four Noble Truths and we will gain a better insight to how life works and in time to come, a wiser and more loving approach to life itself.

Happy Vesak Day! =)

Eventful Week Gone By

It has been quite an eventful week and with some decisions made that will bring me into another phase in life. =)

I've signed the letter of offer with Credit Suisse on tuesday and will be officially be joining them in early july. It was a most excellent offer they made to me and with that, i think of it as a great start to a whole new learning and working experience in a brand new environment.

Having secured the position and at better ease since one load is off the mind, i did my risk strategy paper on thursday morning with the rest of the CIMA students in the strategic level of studies. And i like to extend my good wishes for the exams to my 2 classmates; hope we will make it this round! =)

Got back to work on friday and tendered in my resignation letter with notice for a month. Haha, it's my first job move since i have been with AXA for the last 6 years after my national service.

My official last day was supposed to be 22nd June but i was requested by Richard (my boss, the CFO) to stay for a week more to see through the half-year reporting. So with that, my last day with AXA RE Asia Pacific will be 29th June.

An end, yet a beginning. =)