insights

Kaki

2011-07-28T14:12:00.001+08:00

Here's the full version of the 6 min short film by Roystan Tan that was recently shown on TV. Its by commissioned by the HPB (Health Promotion Board) to promote health screenings, in particular, colorectal cancer checks.

I like the whole setup and the song is fairly catchy (even mistook it for a french song when i first saw the video). All the elements pieced together nicely so i think Roystan Tan pretty much nailed this one. Maybe you will enjoy this 6 min clip Kaki as much as i do :)

First Precept - the Practice of Kindness

2011-05-30T10:33:00.011+08:00

In Buddhism, we often speak of the 5 basic precepts that lay practitioners follow and today i'm putting down a short reflection on the first precept. Before i begin, you may ask what is a precept - precepts are generally regarded as principles that we adhere to that guide our daily thoughts, speech and bodily actions.

What is the first precept? Buddha said the first precept to a spiritual and harmonious life is to avoid killing. It is the practice of non-killing / non-violence, the practice to perfect the art of compassion. All practitioners are strongly encouraged to include all sentient beings and not just limit the practice to human beings in their practice of the first precept of non-violence.

Why do we practice non-violence? When we reflect and look deeper into ourselves and our surroundings, we will quickly realise and understand that all beings, including ourselves have the innate wish to be well and happy. There is no being who will wish to suffer and remain in a state of unhappiness. This innate wish of non-suffering is one of the common connections that we can identify ourselves with the rest of the sentient beings and develop empathy.

And when we incorporate the practice into our daily life, we first learn and practice not to be violent and harsh with ourselves. We must learn to apply the practice of kindness and love to our own mind and body first. This means first learning to let go of negative thoughts and intentions that arise in our minds. Mind is the forerunner of all speech and actions. Entertain and water similar negative thoughts and it may soon come into realisation and we will find ourselves hurting both in speech and action.

Without learning the ability to take of ourselves, to take care of our own sufferings and to treat ourselves with kindness and compassion, we will not be able to treat our loved ones similarly in the same loving capacity. The ability to love and take care of others especially our loved ones lies basically in our ability to self-love and take care of ourselves.

As we practice and become more skillful in treating ourselves and others with kindness, we will generate lesser sufferings. As sufferings lessen, we will have more opportunities to cultivate and water the seeds of peace, love and compassion within us, more joy and happiness will then naturally arise in our daily living.

In order to become more skillful in our practice, we must temper it with both wisdom and understanding. Only with the right view and right understanding, our best intentions and efforts made towards our practice will not be wasted or generate undesired results. What is this wisdom necessary to ensure our efforts produce the right results? It is known as insight and not just any insight but insights to impermanence, non-self and interdependence.

Without this insight, it is difficult to realise our knowledge into true wisdom. True wisdom is when we learn to transform our knowledge into realisation, apply the knowledge in our daily thoughts, speech and actions. Most of you will agree with me that having knowledge is not sufficient and only upon practical application is the knowledge proven useful and worthy.

Our practice and the results we yield will vary from person to person as we are unique individuals living under unique conditions but most importantly is that we nurture the intentions of kindness and compassion and start on the path of liberation.

May all be well and happy on the path of practice and may the path bear you sweet fruits of love, peace and joy.

PM Figurines - Wizard of Oz Collection

2011-05-28T11:29:00.000+08:00

If you've read one of my previous posts - Graphic Novel - Wizard of Oz, you probably know i'm quite the fan of Oz. To my surprise (and a very pleasant one i say), Precious Moments will be launching a set of figurines under the theme Wizard of Oz.

According to the latest newsletter i received, the 4 main characters from Wizard of Oz have been earmarked for their first launch under this collection series. Some of the retailers have already begun taking pre-shipping orders via their websites and expect these figurines to be ready for shipping by late Sep this year.

Just a quick peek to how these figurines look like -

"Heels Click 3 And Home I'll Be" Dorothy

"Follow The Path" Scarecrow

"Let Your Heart Guide You" Tin Man

"True Courage" Cowardly Lion

I have been purchasing PM figurines for a fair number of years, mainly as gifts for my friends on special occasions such as birthdays, weddings and Christmas. So far, i have yet to start a collection of my own. Things are about to change for me, this series is definitely going to be a keeper. Looking forward to its arrival in the Singapore stores :)

New Boop for My X100

2011-05-26T08:21:00.004+08:00

Got a nice accessory addition to my new camera Fujifilm X100 - a soft release. Its probably fair to say i'm not a flashy guy so the soft release that i purchased is what most people would term a safe buy. Its something more conservative, a satin red Boop.

"See that little red fella sitting right on top of the shutter release button, that is the Boop"

There are several designs to choose from. Some are unique, some interesting while others are cute like the ladybird series we see below. If you want to read more and see more about soft releases, you can visit this URL Beep - Boop - Bip - Bug

"Some of Bips in cute mini bug design"

If you are interested in getting one, you can visit ChiifCameras. The shop is located at Excelsior Shopping Centre, right across Peninsula Plaza. Owner of the shop, Chii Fei is a nice chatty person who doesn't mind sharing some tips over small talk during the ten minutes i was there.

Stepping Down of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew - An Exchange of Views Among Friends

2011-05-19T08:49:00.002+08:00

Posted an article by Dr Catherine Lim on Minister Mentor’s Resignation recently in Facebook and it had spiralled a spirited discussion among friends that can pretty much be summed as thought provoking.

For a start, i couldn't agree more strongly on the various points noted by Dr Lim in her commentary and i particularly loved this part, "the material prosperity that he had given Singapore, which many world leaders could never match, was no longer enough compensation to Singaporeans for the soullessness that was beginning to show in the society" and below are the exchanges between the 3 of us as it was. Hope it will provoke some thoughts in you too.

Sam: Unfortunately this is also propagated through the education system. The young were never taught how to be. Only what to be. I still stand by this quote regarding education. I only hope that the system can transform fast enough before my kids enter school.... - "There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. Surely these should never be confused in the mind of any man who has the slightest inkling of what culture is. For most of us it is essential that we should make a living...In the complications of modern life and with our increased accumulation of knowledge, it doubtless helps greatly to compress some years of experience into far fewer years by studying for a particular trade or profession in an institution; but that fact should not blind us to another—namely, that in so doing we are learning a trade or a profession, but are not getting a liberal education as human beings." - James Truslow Adams

Ming: it is indeed a pity that our schools and institutions have became training grounds rather than actual places of education in order for Singapore to achieve its economic success. We train people rather than educate.

And its made worse by the fact that our society does not allow an average family to live on a single income. Had a single income suffice, the other parent would then be able to make up the gaps of truly educating the child in addition to the training received in schools.

A true education should be one that allows the person to realise that he / she does not know everything and thus humbling us, in turn freeing the mind to perceive and accept endless possibilities. This is something i see lacking in most children these days.

Ivy: I choose to focus on what he has done rather than not done. I dont talk politics but i think Singapore will never be what it is without Lee Kuan Yew. You just cant expect the growth to be 面面周全, something had to give for the other to grow with such speed. 改朝换代是难免的 but i still hold him in awe for what he has done for singapore for more than half a century. It is time for Singapore to have a change and he has embraced it. To me, it is the action of a great man.

As for single income families, i have seen several of my friends resigning their jobs after they give birth to take care of their children, with the plan to return to work when the kids grow older. So there are people who are doing it. Even if it is a full time parent taking care of their children, how they intend to so it also plays a big part.

I do not agree though that SDU focus more on graduate women only becos Lee Kuan Yew believe they have better offspring! Its simply becos they set too high standards and perhaps spend longer hours working that these women have a higher percentage of singles - thats not too hard to understand isnt it??

And yes the education system shld change. It is designed to filter out the smart and potential ones and flush out the less intellectual, instead of developing them. Right from primary school

By the way my sister is a working mother but she has done a great job in instilling proper values into her children. She always say it is the quality of the time u spend with ur children, not the quantity :)

Ming: Yes Aibuay, most of us including myself are grateful to the economic success that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has brought to Singapore, along with an extremely safe place to live and grow up in. Frankly speaking, i don't think anyone could have done a better job than him. However, material success does not equate to happiness and this is one of the more prominent points being voiced in this recent election.

Of course suffice to say, Singaporeans are pretty high on their expectations of our government. It is something that has to be managed on both ends, government and people. We also need to examine our own expectations and make sure it is not unrealistic. Perhaps we should take a hint from Bhutan, a country that has hardly any material comforts and yet their people are amongst the world's happiest. They measure their country's success using GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) and not GDP which is something that our government has overly focused on. This is so much in contrast to Singapore when most of us enjoy much material comfort and yet are among some of the unhappiest people ever lived.

As you have mentioned, its a give and take situation and most policies implemented by him simply had no place for human values, something that Dr Catherine Lim had pointed out in her post and i do agree on. It is a pity that this has brought about an educational system that is more skwered towards training rather than giving a true education for our next generation.

As for single income families, let's not talk about people who enjoy a salary higher than average and can allow one of the parents to have the luxury of looking after the children. The average median income as mentioned recently by our Finance Minister is about $2,400. At the sort of income, CPF contribution to the ordinary account in total by both employee and employer is at 23% if we are under 35 years old. Meaning about $552 goes into the OA and it decreases with age since more percentile will go towards medisave account.

A resale three room flat on the average costs about $300,000. Of course a BTO will be much cheaper, at least $50,000 cheaper with the subsidies involved. So using that as an indication and assume a loan of $200,000 is taken up over a 30 years period, the repayment is $801 each month, hardly covered by a single income and cash top up would be needed. After deducting CPF contribution of 20% and the cash top up, he or she would be left with about $1,670.

Is that enough to feed a family? Yes, it will be but hardly much will be left for savings and emergencies. I don't think that is a comfortable kind of cashflow or situation that people will get into if they can avoid it. And what happens? Both parents have to work for the financial stability that they wish to give each other and the family. And i have friends who are earning salaries that are quite substantially below the median income our Finance Minister mentioned.

I also agree that quality of the time spent is more important than the quantity of time spent with children but we have to be mindful that there still has to be a minimum amount of time and effort invested and when these times are utilised fully and properly then it becomes quality time. With both parents working from day till night struggling to make ends meet, the time made avail to their children is very little and how many wayward children have we seen lost to such cases? The number is not small i'm afraid, this is one thing that concerns a fair amount of Singaporeans.

Let me use a ridiculous example to illustrate what i mean - 2 minutes of quality time spent by the parent each day with the child filled with utmost love imparting the highest values vs hours of bad influence each day from external environments. It will hardly make a difference in most cases but in comparison if its a few hours a day spent from the parents when they can explain and guide their children, then the quality time will be truly effective. It is not as simple as saying quality time matters, not quantity. Both have to be in balance.

I have a friend who is working as a school counsellor and i know for a fact that she is overwhelmed by her workload. My belief (and i'm sure that she will agree with) is that some of these kids undergoing assistance would have done a lot better had the parents (or at least one of them) gave them the minimum time and attention required to impart the right values and educate them. And for most cases why didn't the parents do so in the first place? I think we know the answers for some of these neglected kids, their parents are both struggling to make ends meet. To me, its such a pity.

Sam: Alternative ideas were suppressed each time they were voiced. People who could have effectively created a balance in the lopsided culture of materialism left and went elsewhere. They were labelled "quitters". Indeed while some only complain of what he did not do, one cannot ignore the fact that he had fostered an autocratic form of leadership and government. Was this good or bad? Opinions differ. But don't ever assume that nobody, not a single soul could have done a better job. That is idol worship. Singapore might not have turned out the same way, but don't for once think it could not have been better. There were many others who had contributed and dedicated their lives. This "success" wasn't one man's doing. I do not stand in awe of intelligence and great leadership. That shit is plentiful. I stand in awe of enduring virtue in the face of corruption. Pay your politicians obscene amounts so that they will remain incorruptible? That is equivalent to coating your shoes in bovine excrement so that dust won't gather on it. The man himself, his family and extended family have all been rewarded materially enough to last for generations. There isn't a need to blow more sunshine up their money-holes as there simply isn't enough space for it. Enough of idol worship already. Let's move on and work on the current issues.

Ming: Sam i totally agree with you that had someone else been at helm, Singapore could have possibly turned out better with a more balanced and gracious society that has more room in our national policies for love and compassion that could address the needs of the less fortunate and the average family, placing less importance on economic success. This is probably more than evident from most of the comments in the past weeks we seen on facebook when friends posted electoins related topics and hence the call for an alternative voice in government that has resonated ever so strongly in this election.

However, i still stand by my belief that no one i knew could have achieved the sort of economic success and an environment where we can go about our daily activities with a peace of mind without worries of being hurt or being caught in act of crime even though it was achieved through very high-handed methods of crushing any opposing person that stood in the way. So in that manner of an autocratic form of leadership and seeing success in material terms, he probably has done the best job and no one could have rivalled him in this particular area.

Even when my friend mentioned that she stand in awe, i don't think even that would amount to idol worship especially when most of us had so much to question and criticise about the policies he implemented over the years he was holding the reins (and yes especially the portion about the ridiculous pay package that he and his ministers are getting, its absurd having to pay so much to an office holder who professed to be serving in the interests of the people in the first place.. so much for passion and serving the people). Rather than saying its idol worship, i see it more of a form of grudging respect that people gave him knowing that they themselves may not be able to make some of the hard choices that he made in the past to achieve what Singapore has today.

And this is the irony of them all! Despite having provided us with the material comforts that many countries do not enjoy such as clean water and all sort of good basic infrastructures, we are not happy at all and seek to change the form of government he has moulded with his life long efforts. Might i borrow a quote from Dr Catherine Lim's article again that illustrate this point best, "the material prosperity that he had given Singapore, which many world leaders could never match, was no longer enough compensation to Singaporeans for the soullessness that was beginning to show in the society".

For that, i am extremely glad that the WP had made a breakthrough in this election winning a GRC and gained more seats than any opposition party did since our independence days. I only wish that WP would live up to its promises and carry an alternative voice in the Parliament, allowing more humane policies to be passed so that our society will be able to progress much more intellectually, emotionally and spiritually and not just materially.

Sam: I'm sorry if I appear harsh. There seems to be plenty of loyalist comments appearing around. Starting to get on my nerves. Lets hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Changes usually involves pain of some sorts. Sometimes we have to b...acktrack a few steps in order to set ourselves onto another path. The debt burden in the Western world seems to be coming down fast... with the US debt Armageddon approaching early August 2011. Unfortunately I don't see anyone up there actively prepping the system, other than the Finance Minister giving some sort of passing "warning". Fiddling with the exchange rate can only go so far. It's like pumping water from one sinking boat into another. We need a life raft. Those in power need to actively secure and build our basic commodity and energy supplies via the reserves, and not continue leaving it in the casino houses of the stock market. The new foreign minister needs to secure or better relations with our neighboring countries who supply our nation's stockpile. We need to boost and provide technology that supports agriculture, energy and water purification to these neighbours. They have the resources. We can provide the systems and the technology. That's how we can move forward. The old economics supported by Western consumption is fading. It won't work as well into the next 2 decades. Change is needed.

Ming: haha dude, i dont think you are harsh at all, you are just being firm in your convictions although the words used at times may seem a little overly critical but you are just being yourself. And not to mention, these are discussions and exchanges i enjoyed tremendously and you are one of those people who i can count on to know exactly what they are talking about.

This would not be the first time i agree with you that the government has significantly played down the impacts of the global financial issues in their communications to public. I would even venture as far as to say they are somewhat overly optimistic in some of their economic forecasts, thinking that the inflation would somewhat be capped at a reasonable overall rate of 2% over the next 10 years. This is something i find disturbing especially when the recent inflation rate has already hit 5% despite their best efforts to control it with their short term meaures of strengthening the dollar. And again, we need to stress on the fact that this is short term measure and will not work in the long run and as you nicely put, " Fiddling with the exchange rate can only go so far."

Let's hope with the shakeup in the new lineup of cabinet ministers, we will see faster response time and better planning and preparation for the big economic downturn that may possibly happen in the near future.

Happy Vesak 2011

2011-05-18T08:36:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was Vesak Day where Buddhists worldwide commemorate the day when the historical Sakyamuni Buddha attained his enlightenment more than 2500 years ago and started a work that spans throughout the rest of his living days to spread the message of love, wisdom and compassion.

In addition to visiting temples, offerings and prayers, it is essential to reflect upon the wisdom of Buddha's teachings. These reflections will in turn enable us to imbue our daily activities with a little more wisdom and a little more compassion that will transform our lives into joyful living which will bring about more happiness into the lives of ours and others that we come into contact. This i believe is the surest way to pay homage to the Buddha and his lifetime teachings.

Buddha has taught much and one important aspect of his teachings is to live in the here and now, to be mindful of the present moment. What does it truly mean to be mindful of the present moment? Many mistaken this as a doctrine to indulge ourselves now in this moment without a care for both our past and future. This view and understanding cannot be anymore erroneous from Buddha's true intent.

To be mindful of the present moment indicates the underlying need to embrace our past, understanding that we cannot the exact person we are in this very moment in time unless everything that has transpired before us happened exactly the way it did. Only when we are armed with such right understanding and view, can we find acceptance of our past, people and conditions surrounding us with loving kindness. This opens our minds and hearts to our past actions, both individual and collective, and their karmic effects, providing us with the means to forgive within and without.

When we are mindful of the present moment, we also become aware of our actions and how it will affect our future and their ripples through time, through generations to come. We will realise that when Buddha advised us not to chase the future, things that has yet come to pass, he did not mean for us to ignore our future. On the contrary, he is asking us to be responsible for our own future and generations to come by taking care of the here and now. To live in a sensible and responsible manner instead of wasting our time and efforts on dreaming grandeur illusions that will not materialise in the future unless we make the conscious effort to build the foundations in the present.

Buddha has summed it up most effectively in a single statement, "You are the child of your past, parent of your future, the captain of your own ship." We have steered to this spot today because of our past actions, and unless we can reconcile this understanding with ourselves, we will never be able to see clearly where we are steering towards with our current actions.

Dukkha muccantu, Yattha-laddha-sampattito, Mavigacchantu kammassaka - May all be free from suffering, May all that is gained not be lost, All are owners of their own kamma.

Personal Notes on GE 2011

2011-05-09T10:14:00.003+08:00

Overall i'm in an opinion that most Singapore citizens had voted in a generally logical and rational manner for the recent General Elections even though emotions ran high at certain points during the campaigning period. For that, i am very glad and pleased because the results will eventually affect the policies of this nation in the not too distant future and we cannot allow emotions to impair our judgement. How did i come to such an opinion? Let's have a look at the following points i noted during this election.

1) Contest for Ang Mo Kio GRC - the only electorate contested where percentage of votes for PAP actually went up instead of going down in comparison to the rest of the other constituencies. In 2006 when AMK GRC was contested by Workers Party, PAP garnered a total of 66%. For GE 2011, the percentile went up to 69% when facing Reform Party. It indicated that residents will not provide their support for candidates who are not sincere in serving them. Given a limited choice, they will continue to cast their vote for a team who had been serving them for the past years as long as the basic expectations have been meet.

Lack of sincerity by the opposition party is evident when they did not walk the ground to connect with the voters and failed to communicate their plans for the residents (there were neither banners put up nor leaflets distributed to indicate their presence in the GRC). It was as though they were not in the contest for the GRC and there was also the fact that some of the team candidates were loaned from other opposition parties in order to make up the numbers required to partake in the contest. This reflected one important point, they only contested for the sake of contesting and to ensure it was not a walkover, tying down PM Lee in his own GRC so that he cannot devote 100% of his time for the support of other GRCs.

2) How Workers Party won Aljunied GRC - the opposition party made political landmark breakthrough in the GRC system with some of the following factors in their favour. Voters only voted in an opposition team when they field excellent candidates that shown promises of being capable taking over the helm from the current team of elected MPs.

a) Miss Sylvia Lim - she contested in 2006 and was recognised as one of the best candidates that the opposition party had ever fielded. She had both excellent educational and career credentials. Her team had garnered 43.9% votes, the highest percentage for any opposition teams in 2006 elections. None of the opposition came close to such high percentile, none over 40%. That in turn allowed her to become a NCMP in the Parliament. Although she had no voting rights in the House but it allowed her to debate on all issues raised within the Parliament. That was something that she did exceeding well over the last 5 years, gaining her the reputation that she is not in any way inferior to the elected MPs. To her credit, she also maintained her presence in the ground over the last 5 years, making sure that the her party did not lose any of the grounds gained in the previous election.

b) Mr Low Thia Khiang - one of the only 2 elected MPs from the opposition parties in the last 20 years before GE 2011. It is no easy task being one of opposition voices especially when you are out numbered 82 to 2. However, he had done a good job ensuring that his constituency was well taken care of while he challenged some of the more debatable issues in Parliament in a logical and rational questioning manner. All these have been done despite the odds and obstacles that were met throughout his political career such as not having an proper meeting room to conduct his Meet the People Session and having only limited funds at his disposal. That built up his reputation as a man who sincerely wish to serve his people and a credible alternate voice in the Parliament.

He also shown the people that he is a man with vision and quick to correct his weakness as long as the criticisms were valid. One example i can think of is how he reached out to top candidates like Miss Sylvia Lim and Mr Chen Show Mao to build up his ranks when MM Lee commented that he did not have a First World Opposition. Another is how he envisioned ahead and calculated his move into a contest for a GRC. He only went for the broke when he was sure that his chances of winning were even. How did he level the playing field? That brings us to the next point.

c) At least 2 heavyweights in the team - Mr Low ensured he was not the only experienced politician and heavyweight in the team that contest for Aljunied GRC. He had in the same team, Miss Sylvia Lim who by this election is a experienced parliament member although she was not attached to any constituency. That lent a lot of consideration to the voters when they were deciding if the opposition team should be given a chance. Afterall, the team will be able to rely on at least two experienced politicians to guide the rest of the team members who are new to the political scene ensuring a smooth transfer between the incumbent team to the newly elected MPs from the opposition team.

Pity to say, this is the point where i believe Mr Chiam mainly lost out on his bid for a GRC. He was the only heavyweight and experienced parliament member in his team. Had he at this election, had another able and experienced person with credentials similar to Miss Sylvia Lim in his team, more votes might have swayed his way and we could have seen another upset. It is evident from the percentages of the votes for the various GRCs contested in this election that one heavyweight in the team will garner you a slight advantage but not enough to win the contest. 2 or more heavyweights in the team will level the ground and give the opposition team a fair chance of winning the GRC.

3) How PAP held on to other GRCs - one lousy team member in PAP team will not tip the scales and win the battle for the opposition parties. This is immensely evident for this election. From what i gathered so far, Minister Mah Bow Tan, Minister Wong Kan Seng and Miss Tin Pei Ling are some of the most unpopular PAP candidates fielded in this election and yet their teams continued to hold on to their seats in the GRCs they contested in. It shows that one man or woman will not make or break the team. Although the overall percentage of their supporters will drop but it is simply not enough to unseat them.

What voters did was to also take into consideration of the other 2 or 3 MPs in PAP's team that performed decently in the past and compare them to the opposition team of unknown and untested candidates. When cornered with such a choice, they will rather see in a team with the 2 or 3 decent MPs that has performed admirably (even though there is a member that they immensely dislike) than to see an entire team of untested candidates elected. I suppose this is what we termed as the "lesser of two evils" and the residents made the choice best to their knowledge. Ironically and sad to say, it is also this mentality that we lost a most respected former elected MP Mr Chiam See Tong. Simply because he did not have better and tested team members on his bench for his bid for a GRC.

In any case, the votes have been cast and i wish that no matter who is in the Parliament, be it PAP or the opposition parties, they will bear in mind that they are citizens first and party members second and work towards the common good of all Singaporeans. It is only then we will truly see a First Class Government and First World Parliament.

Turtle Party

2011-05-04T00:32:00.000+08:00

With the general elections on going at the moment, there's a note by a kindhearted volunteer polling agent circulating in facebook informing the public that drawing a turtle in the box on ballot paper will not actually spoil the vote and instead the vote will go to the party that the box belongs to. Same thing goes for those drawing a big cross that exceeds the boundaries of the box in hope to spoil the vote. As long as the centre of the cross lies within a box, the vote will be considered valid and the party that the box belongs to will have that particular vote.

So, how true is it? i decided to check on the statue itself to see on what grounds and conditions will a vote be rejected. Here is the URL Statutes - Contested Elections to the relevant statue about contested elections and based on what i see under section 50, the volunteer is making a valid case. A vote is rejected only when it is unmarked or it is uncertain which party you are voting for (i.e. crossing both boxes) or when you identified yourself on the ballot paper (e.g. beside your cross, you wrote, "Yours faithfully, Mr Smith Tan." So, please stop doddling on your vote or you may unintentionally end up voting for the team that you didn't wish to root for in the first place.

50. —(1) The Returning Officer shall reject as invalid the following ballot papers only, namely, any ballot paper —

(a) which does not bear the complete official mark for the authentication of ballot papers or is not initialled by the presiding officer;

(b) on which votes are given for more than one candidate or group of candidates;

(c) on which anything is written or marked by which the voter can be identified except the printed number on the back;

(d) which is unmarked; or

(e) which is void for uncertainty. .

Habits

2011-03-17T17:53:00.001+08:00

Have you ever wondered why alcoholics and smokers (or any other addicts for the matter) find it hard to quit their addiction? The main reason lies in the fact that not only they are trying to get rid of the physical addiction but they are also attempting to kick the habit at the very same time.

As the old saying goes: "Old habits die hard." and habit energy (as Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh terms it) can be a very powerful force. The energy and its momentum has been reinforced and accumulated over an extended period of time, seeds watered constantly and roots grown deep and strong. There is little wonder why most addicts will find it an uphill task and a struggle in their process of ridding their addiction.

This is when the practice of mindfulness can help to lessen and weaken the habit energy. Of course, the weakening and uprooting of the habit energy will not happen overnight. Like how the seeds of the habit had been watered and strengthened over time, it will too, take time for the energy to weaken.

How can the practice of mindfulness help? When we are mindful, we will know when the craving arises and when it arise, we can then mindfully take of it. We do not run or turn away from the sudden craving, instead we acknowledge it. At the same time we also recognise that we do not have to give in to the addiction and habit energy for the matter and realise with wisdom that the craving will pass, such is the law of impermanence.

Once we are able to do that, the craving will no longer hold sway and the habit energy naturally weakens a little. And as we practice more mindfulness, the habit energy will weaken a little more each time we practice earnestly and in time, the addiction will wear off and the habit energy dwindles down to such a weaken state that it can hardly be felt. At this point, we will know that we have successfully conquer our addictions, our bad habits.

Blessings

2011-01-31T13:28:00.002+08:00

Although the previous 2 weeks did not start out too well but nothing in essence is permanent. There is not one thing in this world that is not in a constant flux. And for this very reason when things are bleak, keeping this truth in mind can empower us with the ability to look beyond our current pain and suffering, to the future horizon with hope that things may change for better.

However, we have to be realistic here - though we can hope and work with our utmost efforts toward a better future, it does not necessarily guarantee one. Yet by doing nothing, resigning to the "fate" and living our lives in despair, is the most unkind thing we can ever do to ourselves, for that would simply implied we failed before we even tried. To surmise, there is no guaranteed success but failure is imminent if we do not even attempt at the betterment of our lives.

And so 2 week has gone by and being fairly fruitful in both material and spiritual sense. Materially fruitful as i went for the first job interview for a project manager role in a finance department (that may ultimately transform into a proper management reporting role in 2 years time) and sent out my resume to another headhunter from another HR agency who requested a latest copy of it.

On the other hand, i received spiritual blessings from Sister who dedicated some of her merits to me in good wishes that i will successfully land in a better job that will allow me to enjoy more time to improve my own spiritual life and health. She reminded me again that earning a lesser pay should not be a concern as long as one can make sure our health, both physical and mental are well taken care of and with time for spiritual developments.

No arguments with that especially not from me when i have used up all my sick leave last year and even had to cover some of the days that i'm sick with my share of annual leave.

In Motion

2011-01-18T07:24:00.000+08:00

Come late Feb this year, there will be a significant change to my daily routines. The role of my current job will end officially on 25th Feb and considered fully transited to our colleagues in India.

Depending on how conditions changes each day as it draws nearer to the date, i will either transfer within the firm to place myself with a new role in another department or leave the company for other external opportunties that may yet present themselves. At the moment, as the saying goes, nothing is cast in stone especially so when the future is ever the unknown, the great adventure as i usually like to term it :)

Even though we are not sure how things will end up, there is no need to be passive about the turn of events. In actual fact, we should be doing the exact opposite, to plan and act to our best efforts so that things may turn out for the best and our lives will be the better of it. And when it does not, we know that we did our best and we can hold ourselves in confidence with no regrets and laments.

And what have i done so far? i have been actively on the lookout for internal openings but suffice to say, the pickings are thin at this point in time and the roles available are not what i have in mind. Of course that prompted the next logical course of action, to look outside the firm for suitable opportunities.

Although i only recently put up my resume on efinancials website last week, Cindy from a HR firm called up to arrange a quick meeting. The 1.5hr meeting has been pretty fruitful for the both of us, her knowing more about my work profile and also allowing me to outline what sort of roles i would be interested in. A bonus for both of us, she mentioned that she need a candidate with investment accounting experience and i managed to link her up with Doreen, my former colleague from AXA Re. Hopefully we can all work out something. :)

Not Your Traditional Goodie Two Shoes

2011-01-14T00:53:00.003+08:00

Not your traditional heroes in DragonBall but they played a part in protecting Earth :)

Units 00 and 17

2011-01-12T23:48:00.007+08:00

Recent iphone photo apps additions =) EVA 零号機(藍色版) and 人造人17號

DragonBall Collections

2011-01-10T22:36:00.016+08:00

A little something different from my usual post =) Some pics of the little DragonBall 2" to 5" figurines. All done with iphone camera and photoshop express app for iphone.

Availability of Pure Land and Kingdom of God

2010-12-09T23:58:00.002+08:00

Last thursday, a good friend of mine, Xuezhen posted a message in Facebook via the application 'God wants You to Know' and the message went, "On this day, God wants you to know that your pilgrimage to God is your pilgrimage to yourself. It's never too late to start and it's never too soon to take one more step on your pilgrimage." and she wondered what it meant.

When i read this post, it popped into my mind almost instantaneously what Thay Thich Nhat Hanh mentioned extensively in his books and Dhamma talks, the Here and Now. He talked about Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land and how it can be achieved here in this very present moment, in the Here and Now and all of us can do so by simply residing in this very present moment.

When we are here and now, mindful and fully aware of the present moment without being distracted by the past and future, the mind does not crave or cling. Mind settles down bit by bit, becoming calm and peaceful, naturally free of worries and anxieties. Without any unwholesome thoughts, our minds are clear and our hearts light. We are happy, we are blissful and we have already arrived in Pure Land.

Thay could not have said it better - a quote from him, "If you practice correctly, you know the Buddha is already in your own heart, that God is already in your own heart. You can see that the Pure Land, that the Buddha is right here in your own heart. God is not somewhere else. If you study the Christian mystics, you can see that God is right here. In Plum Village we have often said, 'The Pure Land is here and now.' Nirvana is not a realm you attain after you die. Nirvana is something that is available right here and now. We have to put nirvana in the right place: right here and right now. Nirvana is here and now."

In the same spirit, i left a comment on her post that from what i understood, our friends of the Christian faith has the belief that we are made in the image of God. And therefore the Kingdom of God is available in the present moment and within ourselves. If we understand and have faith in that, there is no need to search outwardly for a path to the Gates of Heaven and we only simply need to look within ourselves and journey inwards to be with Him in his Heavenly Palace.

In Thay's recent tour in Southeast Asia during September this year, he stopped by Singapore and held a 5 day retreat in Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery. During the retreat, he held a Dhamma talk one of the evenings that was opened to the members of public. I had the good fortune to attend it and for that i have to thank Ryan who had a spare ticket. During the talk, Thay spoke of how Pure Land and Kingdom of God can be achieved in the here and now.

With good humour, he spoke of how we carry portable entertainment devices such as IPods, mobile phones and e-book readers to bring happiness to ourselves everywhere we go. And for him, he too has portable enjoyment, portable happiness that he brings everywhere he goes - his Portable Pure Land. And i know his portable happiness is way better than any of ours. IPods, mobile phones and e-book readers can run out of battery or breakdown due to wear and tear, rendering fustration but Portable Pure Land requires no batteries and will not wear out due to usage. In fact, the more you practice and use Pure Land, the more vivid it becomes, the more vibrant it will be. Seems like Thay has the better version of portable happiness. =)

So have we practiced mindfulness today and have you brought your Portable Pure Land, Portable Kingdom of God with you? If you have not, let's rest a moment and touch base with ourselves to enter Pure Land, to enter the Kingdom of God.

Ryan & Lorine 13th Nov 2010

2010-11-16T21:08:00.022+08:00

Some highlights from Ryan and Lorine's wedding day =)

Listen, its Blessings

2010-08-15T20:21:00.000+08:00

With the recent happenings, i consider it a blessing among friends who are able to lend one another a listening ear, to offer one another some form of support that the other parties might need during these times. Although there might be little that friends can actually do for each other but just the fact of being able to be there in the present moment alone can touch the other party both emotionally and mentally, providing them the strength to pick themselves up quicker than having little or no support at all.

It is no doubt having to face the situation where the current job is no longer secured and the prospect of not being able to find some other work (be it within or without the current firm), there will be a sense of insecurity and loss of direction for some while there will be others who are able to compose themselves quickly and move along. To some degree, those who were able to take the news with some light heartedness are probably the ones who recognised right from start that this job is going to end someday no matter what. It is with only by arming ourselves with the understanding of impermanence that we will realise that this job or any jobs (past or future or even anything for the matter) will end at some point in time.

After all, change is the only constant and that is the truth that no one can refute. Why are people then so upset about losing their jobs? Countless reasons but the bottomline, these reasons are based on attachments and ignorance.

A recent dhamma talk by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh pretty much summed up how we can face the prospects of losing our jobs in a much more positive way. He said, "Many of us are afraid that we cannot continue with the living style that we have because of the economic crisis. And that fear is an obstacle. It does not allow us to be happy. If we can remove that fear, then happiness will be possible, rightaway, even if we have to live a little bit more simply."

To that i must say, my friends Evelyn and Xuezhen lived very much by that guideline, pretty unfazed at losing their jobs or changing to a whole new industry or type of job that they truly believed they will be happier in. So i truly wish that my current colleagues and friends will be able to free themselves of such job related fears and worries and their hearts will smile much brighter =)

Good Health - 4 Sublime States of Mind, A Logical Approach

2010-06-14T12:26:00.001+08:00

A casual conversation over drinks at Coffee Club with Ryan, Lorine and Cecilia after watching Unmistaken Child on Saturday night at Cathay. During the short coffee chat, Lorine mentioned how one of her friends regained much better health after constantly generating merits.

The approach taken by the friend to generate merits includes setting captivated animals free and reciting a specific buddhist mantra frequently, consistently. Although some may have felt that there were unseen forces at work such as devas (heavenly beings) surrounding the person with blessings when they commit such meritorious acts, i like to take it in a very logical approach ~ to make it more commonplace and how buddhism can be seen in a very practical light with no mysticism surrounding it, how it can relate and be incorporated into our daily lives.

First of all, i do not refute the existence of devas and other unseen, unknown karmic forces can be at work but i cannot explain or answer to others what i do not know or have no experience in. A zen master once answered his student when his student enquired about afterlife events that he honestly does not know what lies beyond death and can only know on the day of his own passing and this is the kind of earnest answers that we can truly rely on for guiding us towards our own insights.

Secondly, we have to bear in mind the spirit of Kalama Sutta when Buddha taught that any sensible person can decide what teachings can be accepted as true, and not to believe religious teachings just because they claimed to be true, or even through the application of various techniques. Direct knowledge grounded in one's own experience can be called upon. He advised that the words of the wise should be heeded and considered. Not passively accepting but rather, constant questioning and personal testing to identify those truths which we are able to demonstrate to ourselves that it actually reduces our own sufferings and bring about love and happiness.

So let's discern for ourselves and see how committing meritorious acts such as releasing captivated animals, doing donations, reciting mantras, etc can help to promote good health.

In Buddhism, we can find texts on Buddha speaking about the 4 sublime states of mind which is essential for liberation, the sorrow-less bliss, unconditioned happiness. What are these 4 sublime states of mind? They are metta (loving kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (altrustic joy) and upekkha (equanimity). Medical studies over years have proven time again and again that if our mindset is healthy and positive, our general well being will likely be positive as well. A healthy mental state allows the body to build its immune system, contributing to better overall health and also recover faster when the body is not well. And without a doubt, these 4 sublime states of mind are some of the most positive states of mind a person can cultivate.

So what does meritorious acts have got to do with these states of minds and our well being? Let's consider the facts and motives behind such acts. Take example, releasing of captivated animals, donations of food or medicine for the poor. All these acts stem from the fact that people have an innate wish to do good, a wish rooted in metta (loving kindness) and karuna (compassion) for these examples. And so when participating in such acts, the person's mind naturally rejoice in the thought of the good done for the less fortunate sentient beings. The mind will smile at this on its own accord and a smiling mind promotes happier cells and in turn translating into better well being.

So what about reciting mantra? For some buddhists, they believe that mantra contains powerful transformation powers and can do wondrous things such as generating miracles. Some skeptics will probably think that mantra has no such effects and they are simply words. Let's investigate what a mantra truly is and means.

Mantra can be defined as a word or group of words that are capable of creating transformation, generating miracles. In most cases when an effort is made to chant a mantra continuously, it can help to calm and focus the mind which is in line with the Buddhist teachings to master the mind. It can assist the practitioner to reach equanimity, one of the four sublime states. And a miracle does not have to be something beyond this world, it can be something most ordinary. Sometimes, the most ordinary miracles are truly the ones that are worth treasuring. Especially if reciting the mantra helps to transform the mind of a person from negativity to calmness, that's a miracle in itself. A quote from Ven. Thich Nhat Han that thoroughly illustrate how miracles are found here and now, in each present moment of our daily lives.

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

So have you taken a moment today to reside in one of the four sublime mind states to transform your mind, your body with better health and create a miracle for yourself? If you have not, take this opportunity now to just reside in the present moment and enjoy the simplicity of breathing for 3 minutes =)

Looking and Not Seeing

2010-05-31T05:29:00.001+08:00

The origin of the thoughts and reflections behind this post pretty much came from a recent catch up session with Buddy. We managed to catch Iron Man2 and sat around for some teh terik exchanging recent developments. What never fails to come up during our talks is his little darling princess Erinne (aka my lovely god daughter).

Children are often a source of both joys and worries for parents and that is true no matter how old the child is. You can be 60+ and your Pa or Ma at 90+ and they will still worry for you. That's how great and unconditional the care that our parents have for us. What changes over the years is how we transform into the person we are, and through our actions and with our age, our parents give up more of their controls and influences over us. That's to say, the more responsible we act, the more assured our parents are, the more they will be willing to let go.

Yiting never fails to bring a sense of pride to Buddy's face, she's a quick-witted lass (and not a single person who knows her will deny her that) and Bud's real proud of it. But what's worrying him is also how that little lady is not using it to her advantage. Instead of tapping into that advantage to explore more things, to gain new knowledge, to maximise her potential, she chooses not to, she balks at the very thought of the effort needed from her.

That is definitely one thing that most parents fret over ~ no parent wants to shortchange their kiddo if sky's the limit for them but the children themselves also have to reach out for the sky. If early childhood can be compared to a drama production, the parents are the ones setting the stage, creating the backdrop and providing the scripts. But whether the performance will be a resounding success still depends largely on the actors and actresses, the children themselves have to choose to act and how well they want to act.

Part of our conversation also touched on how Buddy thinks her friends might be having a significant influence on her and that she may be relishing quite a fair bit on peer support/pressure and as the chinese saying goes, 近朱者赤近墨者黑. The saying is not without its age old wisdom ~ when the environment is conducive, fruits will naturally bear. Just imagine sowing an apple seed in the middle of the desert. Do you think it will grow and bear fruits?

So naturally, to nurture a child to his or her potential, we have to place them in an environment best suited for them so they are allowed the best chances of blossoming. It is definitely better if she can be doing her studies with a group of like minded students so they can encourage each other and spur one another on. Of course we cannot be definite that the child will not do well when shrouded in conditions or environment that is not as conducive (such as having playful friends or nonchalant teachers), time has proven to us that there has been and will continue to have exceptions. But the truth is, we are all social creatures and at such a tender age, without training the mind till it reaches a certain level of mental strength, i must say it will be an uphill task for the child to perform well.

In an example that Bud mentioned, i can see how quick on the feet Yiting can be but in the wrong direction. For comprehension, she simply reads through the passage and when it comes to answering the questions, all she simply does is to look out for keywords in the question and match them to the passage. Once she determines the sentence in the passage that has the same keywords, she just copy that sentence for her answer.

The method itself is not incorrect, just not correctly applied. Had she read through the passage and understood the story or the message of the passage, this method will work well in her favour since she already knows how to look out for key words in the question. She will be able to work out the correct answers (most, if not all) and not just simply copy them word for word. We all know that answers sometimes need to be inferred from several sentences in the passage, that requires some form of thinking, linking and understanding. She became efficient at answering questions but not effective.

She sees word for word, sentence for sentence and does not realise the relationship between the sentences. Relationships are sometimes more crucial to the determination of a situation, a status that the words themselves cannot expressed adequately. What exasperated Bud is that Erinne does not see the relations between the sentences. There isn't much i can do except to offer a listening ear and a little advice to Bud. The responsibilities of educating a child comes mainly from the people that she spend the most time with and that means her parents largely.

I mentioned to him that he can try to use the analogy of Erinne (herself) to explain to her that a sentence can mean more that what is written in itself if it is seen and related with other sentences. What i mean to say is that Erinne is not only just Erinne. She is like a sentence in a passage, the rest of her family members are each a sentence; her family is a passage.

When seen in the context of a family, she is no longer just Erinne, she is also a daughter to her parents, sister to her brother, niece to her uncles and aunties and grandchild to her grandparents. And when we extend beyond the family to her school (another passage), she is a student to her teachers, friend to her classmates and teammate to the rest of her team for her CCA.

In short, she looks at her passage and reads it without truly seeing the passage for all it stands and means for. Speaking of which, that reminds me of a movie, Avatar when the Na'vi says I See You for their greeting. They do not just look at the other person on the surface and acknowledge the visual sight of another being. They read into the other's core being and acknowledge its relationships, its energy flow with the rest of the universe. Haha, guess its something which most of us adults are guilty of, not just the kids. We look but we do not See.

PS: Hope Erinne had a good Birthday over the weekend and no prizes for guessing what i intend to give her for her present =)

百万小学堂

2010-05-14T13:45:00.005+08:00

If there is a Chinese variety show that i would recommend, it is definitely 百万小学堂 hands down. Its good, clean and fun entertainment for both young and old alike. Where else can you get knowledge in such fun manner with loads of laughter and cute people?

If you have no idea what i'm talking about, tune in to Channel U every wednesday at 8pm to see how artistes try to work their way through various level of Primary School questions to reach the ultimate top prize of NT$100,000. Of course they are provided some aids to help them along the way and these aids comes in small smart packages with cute names like 大力, 小西瓜, 威力, 妞妞 and 丁丁. And if i ever have kids one day, i want a 小西瓜 and a 威力 wahaha

Want to see how they look like, here's the official website 百万小学堂

Ring! What's that Noise?

2010-03-12T15:09:00.000+08:00

Some reflections of sorts on a short msn chat with one of my younger friends who was feeling out of sorts some time back. Below are a couple of points worth mentioning. Couldn't really find the time to post this up last few weeks due to commitments at work until now.

1. What is a good education? I have never truly ponder over this until my retreat when Bhante asked what do we think is good education and i realised i didn't quite know except that a good education is one that prepares and equips you with the necessary tools so you can continue to learn, not just in school but in every situation that you encounter in life. He pretty much went straight to the point. He said a good education is one that makes you realise you do not know everything. And when we do realise that it makes us more humble and more willing to listen and learn.

2. Why does one feel unsettled, restlessness during certain points of our lives? And no matter what we do, it is still there? It's really because we have not found our focus and once we have our focus, we will be able to form a channel for all these energies and naturally, our minds will become more settled. Sometimes, people may think their jobs, their hobbies, their passions are their ultimate focus in life at a particular point in time. At the moment, they may be so immersed into the particular activity that they feel happy, settled, contented.

But in reality, focus change. Focus themselves are impermanent. So, there is no need to be upset when we lose interest or passion in a particular activity. More important, is to understand that the lost of interest will pass as well and it may not be a bad thing if our energy can be used somewhere else for other activities that will lead to betterment of our lives. But of course if the activity helps to better our lives, then give it some thought that we should preserve with it even though the interest may not be there for the moment.

3. Why do people feel lost? As normal people, we have a need to identify who we truly are and why we are here, what is the meaning of life. There are people who may not go through this questioning phase but for some, it can be a real struggle. During these struggles, there are probably times when we ask ourselves who we are and we are hard pressed for an answer. Good news is if we arrived at that, then we at least identified the problem. Without identifying the problem, there can be no solution found. A quote from Venerable Mahinda,

"The true meaning of life lies beyond worldly happiness, beyond material wealth and status. As long as we do not have the wisdom to realise impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and emptiness of worldly things and pursuits, we will always be seeking for meaning. To realise the true purpose and meaning of life, we need patience, perseverance as well as faith and confidence in moral and spiritual values. We need to fulfil our immediate purpose before we can move on to something higher."

So what is our purpose? It changes from time to time, it is never the same, just like the rest of the phenomena. Why so? Simple ~ our desires, our goals and our responsibilities change, nothing stays the same. That's impermanence. As Ven Mahinda stated, we need to fulfil our immediate purpose before we can move on to something higher. This statement is simple yet powerful statement. It is down to earth and applicable to every single one of us.

Say for example when we are kids, for most of us, our immediate purpose was to study and get a good diploma or degree so we can land ourselves a stable job. But as we grow older, our perceptions change along with our needs and wants. So, now having landed in a stable job, our purpose may be to earn enough to sustain ourselves and for some, our parents and families.

So you see, our immediate purpose and responsibilities change as time passes but one thing doesn't change. What is that you ask? Our intentions, our very innate desires and intentions to be well and happy. No one wishes to find themselves in a state of suffering, every single sentient being has the same innate wish to be well and happy. In order to achieve happiness for myself, i strive to better myself, to better others, to try and bring love, peace and joy to people around me.

You might ask why do we need to make others happy when we are searching for happiness for ourselves? Reasoning is pretty simple, we cannot be truly happy unless our surroundings and people around us are too, happy and well. Imagine yourself constantly shrouded by unhappy family members and friends who are constantly plagued by suffering. Imagine a couple constantly arguing and getting into fights, do you think any of the party is happy? So, my intention is to be as selfless as i can and to love both myself and others more and to realise that "i" is no longer "i" and we are all inter connected (or inter-being as Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh terms it) so that i can achieve a state of love, peace and joy for myself and others.

4. Is our basic nature truly selfless? You might ask what if our nature are not that selfless? I have no doubt about it. In everyone, there's a seed of compassion. The only question is if we water this seed within us and take care of it enough so that it will blossom and manifest. So, how do we know if we have this seed within us? Do you feel like crying when u see people in distress when people are suffering? If you do, that is a sign that you have the seed of compassion within you. What you lack, may simply be watering, nurturing of the seed so that it blossoms beautifully.

5) What is meditation? My friend mentioned about seeing a youtube video where a girl was talking about her past lives and how she saw them when she went into deep meditation. She asked me if i experienced it before as she was planning to try out meditation as a form of reaching inwards.

My question ~ is seeing past lives so important? I have never seen any past lives before during my meditation. It is probably because i'm not good with my meditation but seeing or not seeing is not important. We have to understand that those are byproducts and not the true purpose of meditation.

What people do at times is when distressed is to add more noise, more distractions to fill in what's missing instead of making some effort to be calm and quiet. What can i say? Meditation is a way to develop our mind, our awareness. And the truth, for some, meditation can be quite distressing the first few sessions. We may not be able to sit still and our thoughts are flying around and the mind is probably the noisiest place ever.

But that is what meditation does, to allow us to hear these noises, these chattering in our mind, to be aware of them and to understand, to realise that they are impermanent. They arise and they fall like all phenomena. Its only when we recognise and realise that, the mind will become more settled and live in the present moment. Its very much like a lake with muddied water, if we keep stiring it, the soil will never settle, the water will not turn clear. Only when we accept the fact that the soil is there and part of the lake, we will stop stirring the water to clear the mud. It is only when we stop, the soil will settle and the water clears and bottom of the lake seen.

So all in all, meditation doesn't allow us to cope with our issues or cluttered mind or bring away our troubles. What it really does, is to give us a chance to be Aware. =)

Where's the Joy?

2010-02-13T12:10:00.004+08:00

This post is prompted by a recent chance meeting in the train with one of my ex-camp mates while going to work. One of the times i saw him was a couple of years back when he just graduated and searching for a job.

Back then, he's already had his fair share of complains and apparently that hasn't changed much. We had about 3 or 4 chance meetings so far since we completed our national services and haha, come to think of it, he's the one doing most of the talking during these chance meetings.

If my memory serves me right, he was grumbling about not getting a job despite having a degree and going through so many rounds of interviews. And after trying to get a job for more than half a year and leading nowhere, he decided to give up his search and try his luck going into business. And what kind of business, i have absolutely no idea and can't recall the slightest notion.

And sometime later, he dabbled into freelance photography and is now a full time photographer. This time round, he was complaining about the photographers' market and how freelancers are undercutting the market esp those who does actual day wedding photography. Then he went on to complain about taking on assignments for companies and how they refuse to pay up after he completed their assignments and delivered the end products.

Of course i did not have much to comment except to say that we can learn to wise up with past experiences. He can now be more careful and more mindful with his dealings so that he does not fall into such situations again. And to that his reply was that he now has his own methods in dealing with people like this ~ he gets them to enter a written agreement and have them put down their thumbprints so that they cannot deny by saying that their signatures have been forged. To that, i did not comment further - afterall, when one has nothing good or helpful to say, say nothing at all.

And currently, he's into taking photographs for nightlife events, mainly events held in clubs. And to prevent people from trespassing into his niche market, he professed doing his takes with a certain style and not just concentrate on shooting "zar bor" (hokkien word for women) that grace the event, unlike some other photographers. Right now, he noticed that some newbies actually follow him around and try to copy what he is shooting. He absolutely hates that and he finds that behaviour so typical of the locals, to just try and copy someone's work whenever they can.

And i went, "You don't sound happy with your current line of work at all. Have you considered changing your line or changing the environment you are working in?" He insisted to me that he is really happy with his current work, just not the people that he's dealing with.

Of course, i'm not convinced he's happy, not in the slightest bit at all. I could not sense the happiness he mentioned from him. So i asked again, "Are you sure you are happy cos you really sound unhappy to me at all." And he stuck to his earlier reply - he's only unhappy with the people he have to deal with in his line of work.

Little does he realise that life is a package, you cannot take what you like and reject what you don't. Be it good or bad, they come together ~ just like the sign of Ying and Yang ~ there cannot be good without bad and neither could there be bad without good. Afterall, how can he take on event photography for nightlife events and not deal with the people who provides the very event itself, the very opportunity for him to take the pictures he profess to love so much?

So i reflected and a question arises - Where's the Joy? Joy will only manifest when one realised that suffering stems from 3 destructive roots, Hatred, Greed and Ignorance. And when we do, we learn to recognise these 3 roots and transform them to the 3 constructive roots, Love, Generosity and Wisdom. Once our mind is transformed to dwell on the 3 constructive roots, joy naturally arises on its own accord since the supporting conditions are conducive.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh once said during an interview that the start of the cessation of suffering is also the start of the manifestation of great happiness. So how can the cessation of suffering come about? That we can relate back to the 4 Noble Truths that Buddha taught more than 2500 years ago.

First Noble Truth ~ There is Suffering. We must learn to recognise that we are suffering. Like any problem solving skills we develop or learn, the very first step is always to recognise the problem; simple logic and pure common sense will at least affirm that much.

Without first recognising the problem, we will not be able to move on to the second step, to determine the cause of the problem, which in this case also happens to be the Second Noble Truth ~ There is a Cause to Suffering. And now that we are able to determine the cause of the problem, can the problem be solved, automatically becomes the next question. And yes, we can transform Suffering and that will be the Third Noble Truth - There is Cessation to Suffering.

Last but not least, is there a way or method to end our suffering, to transform suffering into happiness? That will be the Fourth Noble Truth - There is a Path leading to Cessation of Suffering. What path are we talking about then? The Noble Eightfold Path as prescribed by the Buddha.

Why the Noble Eightfold Path? There are many reasons why we should choose to walk this path and it differs for each individual but ultimately there is but one common reason every person who walk this path shares ~ it brings happiness. Of course there are other things that bring joy and happiness but why in particular this Nobe Eightfold Path? That we have to first know and understand what Suffering is and what makes up this path.

So let's take a look at the word Suffering. What is Suffering? It is the state that a person is in when he or she is distressed. And suffering comes in many forms but for the moment, we can classify them into 3 main types of suffering, namely physical suffering, mental suffering and emotional suffering. But what really is Suffering? And most of the time, people tend to suffer more than what is really necessary. Why so? Simply because there is attachment and ignorance.

To illustrate this point, let's think of a scenario when we have to see a dentist to remove a decayed tooth. For some people, even before stepping into the clinic, they start to worry and imagine the whole process, the pain of anaesthetic jab, the pain from removing the decayed tooth. They cannot concentrate on the present moment, their thoughts constantly on the pain to come and they feel uptight and jittery. So how long did the pain last? In truth, probably no more than a few minutes. Yet, before the pain arrives, the person is already distressed. Now, that is Suffering.

Now that we know what Suffering is, let's take a look at the Path and what makes it up and how it can bring happiness and end Suffering. As the name suggests, there are eight components to it and they are:

Right Views
Right Thoughts
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Mindfulness
Right Effort
Right Concentration

This eight compenents does not start 1 and ends at 8. In fact, they are like a cycle, one gives rise to another and supports the next. How so? Having Right Views and Right Thoughts will naturally condition the mind and it is natural that when we entertain certain thoughts long enough, they manifest in our daily speech and actions. And so this leads to Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood.

With Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood, we change our environment and associate with people that will make it conducive for us to develop further both mentally and spiritual. This in turn leads to Right Mindfulnes, Right Effort and Right Concentration.

And what happens when we are more developed mentally and spiritually? It affirms our views and thoughts and so our conviction is stronger and what do we have then? "Stronger" Right Views and Right Thoughts and which in leads again to "Stronger" Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood and it goes to creating "Stronger" Right Mindfulnes, Right Effort and Right Concentration.

With that, our mind becomes calmer and the 3 roots, Love, Generosity and Wisdom will grow deeper and deeper. What happen to us then? Needless to say, we become more loving, more generous and wiser and here comes the Joy.

Retreat at Aloka (Aus)

2010-02-04T19:46:00.016+08:00

Went to Australia for a short retreat at Aloka Meditation Centre in Jan. Over there, it was probably one of life's most enriching experiences and lessons gained.

My gratitude to Sister for inviting me to go on a retreat. Over there, she provided me with much guidance on Dhamma and about facing some of my innermost self that i turned away from subconsciously.

Not only that, there were times when Bhante gave small talks which i found both humorous and quick witted and yet at the same time, they were filled with messages that were full of wisdom and insight. Messages that will benefit one for a lifetime to come.

I also like to thank the residents, namely Angelina, Sudhamma, Catherine, Su Liang, Emily and Auntie as they made the extra effort to take care of my special diet as there were lots of stuff that i'm not able to take.

Many people have misgivings about retreats. Some think its lots of fun and enjoyment while some think its all strict and tough. I suppose it depends on the sort of retreat you are attending but the bottom line of a retreat is to get in touch with yourself, to hear yourself, to be mindful of the present moment, to be truly here and now, without any or as little distractions as possible.

Most time, there's morning and evening chanting sessions and thereafter, its individual time for practice with occasional interviews with Sister for guidance. Of course, we also help out with the household chores. Everyone do their part to maintain the place which serves everyone. Most importantly there, we learn to do mindful walking, mindful eating, mindful breathing and just live in the present moment, the true art to living in the present.

Its quite funny how Qin told me what she imagine a retreat will be like and when i relate to her my experience, its like worlds apart and we both had a good laugh out of that.

Oh by the way, i managed to get some shots of the Stupa there with a very blue sky adorning it. Its really quite a sight. Will post them once i'm done with the editing =)

Trip to Sydney - Mid Jan'10

2009-12-20T02:17:00.001+08:00

Leave has been approved for the period from 14th Jan to 22nd Jan for my trip to Aus - Sydney. For now, what is left for me to do before end of the month is to book my flight and arrange for accommodations.

Every trip to me is special and unique. For this coming trip, even more so. I will be spending a good 4 to 5 days at Aloka Meditation Centre at Peats Ridge for a retreat. Sister Sumitra has been encouraging me to set aside sometime to visit her for a retreat, to get in touch with my spiritual self. She's been mentioning to me that its good that i'm reading up on Buddhist philosophies but more important, i should start to put more practice into it and go for a proper retreat.

Its the first ever retreat i will be attending so i'm not quite sure what to expect but i believe there will be time set aside for activities such as meditation, self-reflection and dhamma talks. These are the times for practicing mindfulness, mindfulness of the current in breath and out breath, mindfulness of the present moment.

After the retreat, i intend to spend the remaining 2 or 3 days in the city itself to do some sightseeing and photography as well cos if i can, "i want to take that 3 pictures that break my heart" (if you have no idea what i'm talking about, watch the 2nd video in my previous post - Dont Be A Tourist =P

Of all, there is one thing i'm absolutely sure of, this trip, this retreat will be most nourishing to both body and mind.

Don't Be A Tourist

2009-12-17T00:23:00.008+08:00

Here's the series of "Don't Be A Tourist" advert clips by Kevin Spacey on Olympus Pen that really stole me. Esp the clip with the line that goes, "I don't want to take 300,000 same old pictures that break my hard drive. I want to take 3 that break my heart."

Other clips with lines like, "I don't want to be the camera guy....., 15 lenses, 3 tripods... I want to be, I don't know, camera ciao, picture wow." and "... photographs that hurt everytime you look at it..." were also done up very nicely.

And I must say, they are most excellently done as a series. Just kept going wow over them... it's just so captivating.... They didn't break my heart but they sure did touch my heart. =)

Hidalgo - Breed and Bloodline Matters Not

2009-11-14T18:34:00.000+08:00

Passed by Sembawang Music Store in Plaza Singapura yesterday and there's an ongoing 50% discount storewide and seeing that, i popped in for a quick look to see if there are bargains to be gotten.

And guess what, i left the store with 2 DVDs, Hidalgo and Sunshine at the cost of $17. These 2 films are not immensely popular or well received but are films that i have good impressions about having caught them on the big screen couple of years back.

Talking about Hidalgo, you can read a brief summary about its plot here - Hidalgo. Its a film that has several meaningful messages that underlines it. One of the stronger messages that came across, is that breed and bloodline does not matter, what matters more is the spirit and determination of the the sentient being, regardless of man or horse.

Does it matter if a horse is mustang and not pure breed? And does it truly matter if a man is born of a lowly station and not a royalty? What matters more is the determination and effort made to reach the final goal. Even one born of the lowest station can rise to the occasion with the right effort. Buddha has taught this numerous times, over and over again that even the lowest caste is subjected to the law of kamma and can attain enlightenment with the right effort and determination.

Here's a good quote from Shirley,James that on how transient all earthly deeds are and how are men will be brought equal ultimately ~ "The glories of our blood and state are shadows, not substantial things; There is no armour against fate; Death lays his icy hand on kings: Scepter and crown must tumble down, And in the dust be equal made with the poor crooked scythe and spade."

So not matter if you have been born blessed or surrounded by hardships, it's wonderful merits to reflect and look beyond materials, making a constant effort to better ourselves so we can bring liberation, love, peace and joy to the people around us. With metta.

Change - You or Me?

2009-11-07T18:59:00.002+08:00

Was chatting with Phyllis a few days back and she popped an interesting question? She asked, "Is it my perception that has changed or did the other party truly changed when i find that someone has changed?"

My answer for that ~ Both. Why both? Its pretty simple, change is a constant for both parties. Our perception is constantly changing and being shaped with each and every passing moment we experience in our lives. At the same time, so are the people around us, they too are constantly changing. Their thoughts and behaviour being shaped by each past experience they have in the very same moment too.

But why is it that we feel so strongly that someone has changed at a certain point in time but not the rest or not at other times? The key words are attention and noticeable.

Firstly, we do not pay attention to the changes that are occuring this very moment which we consider inconsequential and when we do pay attention, we realise that a lot has passed us by. Secondly, is that the change in either ourselves or the other person is drastic enough that it becomes noticeable, so resulting in the way we view the other party, giving rise to the very question itself ~ did we change or did he/she change?

Just some of my reflections on changes =)

Let's Make Our World The Most Beautiful Home

2009-11-07T18:05:00.003+08:00

Nice music video by our very own National Environment Agency and the title speaks for itself. Let's all do our little part and make our world a little better by being more conscious in reducing waste =)

Zander (Pics)

2009-10-24T03:01:00.003+08:00

2 quick pics of cute little Zander that i snapped at Mei's wedding dinner. Courtesy of Huijia and Dihong - he's their son afterall =)

Asian Civilisations Museum 2009

2009-10-13T03:51:00.009+08:00

Did a short visit to the Asian Civilisations Museum earlier and here are some of the pics taken for the day. Enjoy! =)

Thanks for All The Blessings =)

2009-10-11T01:47:00.004+08:00

Couple of friends that i want to thank for the lovely gifts today and the wonderful time spent =)

MaCy ™ - that's Mark and Tracy (our beloved Mr and Mrs Plunkett) - for being one of the "siblings" i have outside home, whom i can always count on to give each another rock solid advice without fail anytime anywhere. =)

David and Pearlyn (soon-to-be Mr and Mrs Song) - for being the one of the most bubbly pair of friends one can ever get. Life is not dull and not filled with laughter when time is spent together with them.
PS: Erm... David, although i'm saying something nice about you, i'm still going to just "morally support" you during your gatecrashing, no actual actions intended hahaha

Cecilia (BFF of soon-to-be Mrs Song) - a very nice lady whom is always on the lookout for the interests and well-being of her friends. Never fail to go the distance and be as accommodating as she can for the people she cares. But she can definitely use more sleep. Whoops... hahaha

Ryan and Lorine (soon-to-be Mr and Mrs Koh) - though new found friends, yet in this little time, i already felt their earnest and sincere attitude they have towards their friends. And not to mention, they are quite the animated pair, its really interesting to be around them haha

Last but not least, Dylan (aka XiaoQiang, Spider, Di Neng Er, Nai Ba) - for being the fun loving and cool dude who never nitpick nor harp on little issues and only wish for everyone in his presence to be happy, to have loads and loads of fun plus laughter. Stay cool!

Also, not forgetting the rest of you whom have sent me your warm hearted blessings and well wishes. May all of you be blessed with many joyful moments and beautiful times ahead. =)

若你碰到他

2009-10-10T03:14:00.003+08:00

Bought this recent release couple of weeks back together with another album 陶喆 - 69樂章, 2 of my favourite artistes.

But i find myself really drawn and listening to 若你碰到他 by 蔡健雅 more often. Not to say the other album by 陶喆 is no good cos he is definitely one of the most creative singers of our time. But i suppose this time round 健雅 really got to me with that mellow feel to her songs. Can't really put my finger down but its a little something here and there that portrays a sense of lost and found in the midst of a crowd of people. As if searching for something that is calling out to us which is so near yet unidentifiable.

Like what my pa used to tell me when i was a kid, "A picture speaks a thousand words." Look at the album cover and it seems to say it all. 健雅 in the midst of a crowd blurred out to the background which appears to be a train junction of sorts where tons of people pass through day and night. And there she is, appearing to have heard something or someone calling out to her and yet not knowing which direction it came from. Marvellous isn't it? Listen to it, it is that lovely and well worth listening to =)

Quick Coffeeshop Dhamma Discussion

2009-10-09T03:09:00.001+08:00

Just thought to put in down in words a little insight that was brought about by a quick coffeeshop chat i had with my new found friends, Cecilia and Lorine about 2 weeks back.

Oh before that, we had desserts at MOF and were making fun of David and Pearlyn - haha what's new right? And David, if you are reading this, i suggest that you make peace with the ladies soon, very soon. If not, the only person that is going to stand by your side during gate crashing will be only Dylan. Haha, Mark and I should be there, right behind you and i mean it ~ right behind, providing our utmost moral support. Yes, just moral support! hahaha

Alright, enough of the side funnies and back to the topic proper. We were talking about the gaining of merits and betterment of our lives (and future lives), how buddhism has a very practical approach to it. It is through such an practical attitude and the simple wish that all their friends and relatives to gain some merits that Ryan and Lorine will be holding their wedding dinner in a vegetarian restaurant. The attendees do not need to know that they are creating merits but nonetheless, they are still creating it, such is their commitment in promoting the cause of lesser meat eating and gaining of merits through such acts.

Though one may think that a single dinner might not amount to much, but let's remember the Butterfly Effect and how the smallest action can cause enormous effect or change in the long run. And there's a quote from Billabong that i like very much (and even have a bright orange t-shirt from that that reads the quote loud), "Be The Change You Want In The World". So simply said, it all starts from within. =)

Another point we touched on was children. Lorine and Cecilia both mentioned that sometimes kids are best left to their own devices so they can develop their full potential. I cannot agree more but parents must be wise enough to understand when children can left to their own devices and when guidance must be provided. Its a thin line but these have to be worked out between the parents and their children in order for the child to grow in a most conducive environment to realise their full potential.

Lorine also mentioned that kids may have certain tendencies as a result of their past lives, habits or unfulfilled wishes brought over to this life. And sometimes, its best to help the child fulfil these tendencies rather than go against them as that may be their purpose of life. On a practical approach, as long as it is good tendencies, yes, we should encourage it but if we know that the tendencies is ill in nature, then we should help the child to curb it, for their purpose of life could very well be to allow the parents to learn wisdom and patience since helping the child to curb certain habits which can be no mean feat, and may very well take a lifetime. Let's remember that love should be tempered with wisdom for the results to come to fruition.

There was a part when Lorine spoke about how a master once commented that if one is in doubt of one's afterlife, there's always the option of having children as the children can dedicate merits to their parents by means of chanting scriptures and it can help to promote the parents' status and the children too since merits will be gained by both parties. I offered a slightly more practical view of using here and now.

When one decides to have children, the parents will be committed to showering love and concern. This helps to promote loving kindness especially when we temper the love with wisdom. When one's mental state of mind and full attention of every single living moment is spent in love and kindness, one will naturally be "promoted" to a higher state and also one will not have the time and energy to scheme or commit ill-doing (this also comes from the part knowing we have to set a good example for the child to learn). So, in doing less ill deeds is also the equivalent of not committing "bad" kamma, in turn that results in more merits gained or not expanded. If it doesn't promote, it definitely helps to maintain. =)

We Off To See The Wizard Of Oz

2009-09-21T11:07:00.008+08:00

Marvel just did a most marvellous job! They released The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in graphic novel form and I got my copy at Kinokuniya Orchard on Sunday! =)

It's of my favourite films as a kid and do you know that film itself is already 70 years old. Yes, it was made in 1939 =) Nice colours for a film this old, isn't it? Considering it is one of the first full length films to be produced. And another well known fact, the popular classic song Over the Rainbow was written for this movie, and won itself the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

This graphic novel adaptaion is done by award winning scribe Eric Shanower and fan favorite artist Skottie Young. I loved the way its being presented, the way how it brings out a sense of joy and simplicity. Oh, the colours are just lovely, they bring out the exact moods required for each illustrated scene.

By the way, there's a cool sample sketchbook at Marvel for a preview Wizard Of Oz Sketchbook #1

Let's hum and sing along, ♪We're off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!♪ and join Dorothy, Toto, Lion, Tinman and Scarecrow on their magical adventure in the land of Oz =)

Miracles

2009-09-19T04:45:00.002+08:00

Below is a little something that i posted recently in the forum when a fellow dhamma brother posted his thoughtful comments on how one shouldn't be too obssessed with supernatural issues and mistake them as teachings of the Buddha. Further to his notes, i added the following:

Buddha has taught that there are three types of miracles -

1. Physical miracles such as levitating powers and walking through walls.
2. Mental miracles such as telepathy and telekinetic abilities.
3. Miracle of walking the Noble Path.

Of the above three miracles, only the third one is worthy of praise as the first two can be liken to performances of a magician. They impress and may provide temproral gains but do little more than that. Whereas the third kind of miracle can allow one to achieve freedom from suffering.

Buddha also warned against developing miraculous power without developing spiritually as it can be dangerous since without wisdom, one may deviate from the right path and misuse the powers for worldly gains instead.

Below is a good read about miraculous powers from a section of What Buddhist Believe from Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda -What Buddhists Believe - Miraculous Power

So let us not be distracted by supernatural powers and their miraculous performances but concentrate on the miracle that is existing right within us - the ability to live in the present moment, here and now.

With metta - may all beings be well and happy

David Eddings ( 7th July 1931 – 2th June 2009)

2009-09-09T02:21:00.009+08:00

While Googling for some novels under genre Fantasy, I happened to chance upon the news of David Eddings passing away in June 2009 at the age of 77. It came as a pity to me, for someone who started reading his novels during my teenage years and still continue to revisit his books every now and then till this date with tons of laughter and enjoyment.

What can i say about him? He definitely writes a most excellent read and in his stories, he is able to breathe life into the main characters, making them so seemingly alive that you almost believe that you can simply turn around and hold a conversation with them. Looking across the room, i can see Sorceress Polgara bickering with her grumpy dad Belgarath, calling him Old Wolf repeatedly. In another corner, there is the thundering mad Sparhawk crushing into a fight with his boyish childhood friend Kalten alongside his no nonsense squire Kurik, aided by the other church knight champions Ulath, Tynian, Bevier and Berit against Otha and his hordes .

Of course, not forgetting that rat looking prince, Silk bargaining hard with other merchants, cutting hard deals and sweeping them off their feet with his "charming" ways. Did i forget to mention how Talen, the thief turned squire, becomes the future husband target of Flute, Princess Danae, Child Goddess Aphrael (they are the one and the same, afterall a Goddess should have supernatural abilities and that is to split herself up! And that she did!) and he is still trying very very hard to run away from that possibility. Oh oh, there he is, scampering across the room!

What is most truly invaluable about his style of writing? Its his sense of humour that exudes a sense of quick, dry wittiness. He creates conversations and dialogues between characters with a dry humour that often brings out a smile or laughter from me. It allows them to become alive, to become endearing to any person who reads it. Afterall, what do family and friends do amongst one another? We hold conversations and we communicate and through it, we feel alive with each other. That is why i remember the characters so vividly ~ their lively dialogues, it brings them to life =)

May he be at peace and always be well and happy. May all his fans like me continue to find love and joy through the works that he left us.

Great Expectations

2009-09-05T02:52:00.000+08:00

No, i'm not thinking about the book written by Charles Dicken or the film starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Its more along the train of thoughts about the expectations we have for ourselves or the happenings in our lives.

What are expectations? As defined in wikipedia - In the case of uncertainty, expectation is what is considered the most likely to happen. An expectation, which is a belief that is centred on the future, may or may not be realistic. A less advantageous result gives rise to the emotion of disappointment. If something happens that is not at all expected it is a surprise. An expectation about the behavior or performance of another person, expressed to that person, may have the nature of a strong request, or an order.

How do these feelings of disappointments or surprises arise when expectations are not met? Let's take a moment to investigate, shall we? It helps in understanding ourselves better and the workings of our mind better.

Whenever a pleasant or unpleasant feeling arises, it is usually the resultant of a particular event that has gone either favourably or not. But why does this particular event affect us in such a way and not the thousands or millions of other events that are happening at the exact same moment in time?

The reason is fairly straightforward - there is attachment. Without us attaching any values to the results of these events, we would not be affected by the results no matter now well or bad they turn out. Let's take for example, you hear from your colleague that his uncle has lost a fortune in stocks recently. What is your feeling, your thoughts, your reaction now? Now, let's think of it from ourselves, what would be our feelings, our reactions if we lost a fortune in the same stock? Or if we not invest in stocks at all? All would be very different isn't it? Some stronger than the others and it all depends on if we are personally involved or if we have an interest in the same matter.

Knowing that attachments can bring unhappiness and suffering, why do we still get attached to certain people, objects or events? To know why we persist in our ways despite the suffering it brings, we have to firstly understand that attachment stems from ignorance. When we discuss about ignorance here, it is not the lack of knowledge of a certain matter or subject but rather, it is the ignorance of the fact of impermanence and non-self.

As long as we do not realise impermanence and non-self, we continue to be bound by the illusion of self. As long as we are bound by the illusion of self, we continue to suffer. There is no greater illusion than the illusion of self. Let's take a step back and define ourselves. How do we define ourselves? Where can this self of ours be found? To put it simply, how can do we define 'I'?

Of course, we can point to ourselves now and state that this is 'I'. So, based on that, we can presume that 'I' is made up of the entire being, our mind and body, every single part of it, our eyes, arms, legs, etc. But pause a moment and think, what happen if i lose a arm or leg now. Am 'I' still 'I'? Of course, all of us will say so, we are still ourselves even though we may have lost a limb. Maybe then we retract the earlier statement and say that is physical, so it is not the real 'I'. It is our mind that truly defines 'I', it is what and how we think, our thoughts, our feelings that define the real 'I". Then, are we able to point a finger to our head and say this is my mind, my thoughts and feelings? Again, no, we are just pointing to the place where our brain resides, that is all. And do you happen to notice how we address it with terms like my head or my brain or my mind? It is put in such a way that it belongs to someone, 'I' to be exact. So where is this 'I' that owns my mind, my body, my thoughts and my feelings? Not to say 'I' does not exist but it simply do not exist in the way we believe it to be.

As the Buddha has skilfully taught, 'I' is but a false sense of self that set itself up in a temporary collection of elements when the conditions are ripe and when the conditions are no longer, it dissolves away. In Buddhism, the analogy of a cart is often used to illustrate this point. A cart may be broken down into its basic components -axle, wheels, shafts, sides, etc. Then the cart is there no more; all we have is nothing but a pile of components. In the same way 'I' am made up of various elements or aggregates (skandhas): form (body), perception, conception, volition and consciousness (mind). Upon death these elements do not vanish from the face of the universe, they form new combinations elsewhere. Thus the whole universe is a great, ever-changing orchestration of interconnected movements without beginning or end.

By realising the truth of impermanance and non-self, we can learn to be free of attachments. Freed of attachments, we can be free from suffering. Without attachments and a sense of false self, we wil learn to live in the present moment and no longer be perturbed by the turn of events, no matter how favourable or unfavourable it may be. Remember the story about the Happiness of a Car Salesman? How infinite happiness can be obtained with Zero expectations? Maybe you don't but here's the link to it Happiness of a Car Salesman

May all of us be free from suffering. May all of us soon attain sorrowless bliss. With metta.

Solar Eclipse

2009-07-23T06:02:00.005+08:00

A full solar eclipse occurred less than 24 hrs ago in some of the most populated places on Earth and for many, it was once in a lifetime event. Prior to the occurrence, much media attention has been given to this rare natural phenomenon as it will be the longest full eclipse of the century lasting a full 6 mins, providing lots of hype and excitement in anticipation of its coming.

Although it was a rare event, an event that allows the scientists to better study the outer rims of the Sun but there were even more happenings beyond the walls of the scientific world. Speculations from astrologers and fortune tellers predicting disasters and calamities, common folk readying themselves to perform rituals necessary to ward off evil or enhance the good fortune that can be brought about by this natural event. All these brought about with the sole reason that people are ignorant. Ignorance gave rise to the fears and these fears were being played upon.

Sad enough to say, disaster did strike during the eclipse. At least an Indian woman has been reported to have died during the stampede with several others left injured when thousands rushed to witness the phenomenon on the banks of River Ganges.

This is where i found it somewhat saddening. People reading so much into a natural phenomenon, so much to the extend that they are reading signs that are non-existing, building fears where there should be none and placing false hopes where it should not be. They have placed too much importance to something material and transient and in the process forgetten about their own internal cultivation.

I was somewhat reminded of a little story that i read some years back. A teacher asked the class of students, "Children, can you name me the 7 wonders of the world?" One child stood up and said, " They are Chichen Itza, Christ the Redeemer, Colosseum, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Petra, Taj Mahal and Giza Pyramid Complex." "Very well done" the teacher replied. A little girl stood up and said, "Sir but aren't the 7 wonders the ability to see, to hear, to speak, to touch, to taste, to smell and to breathe?"

Sometimes in the midst of so much excitement, we forget that the most wondrous phenomenon is the ability to live and breathe in the present moment and cherish all the real gifts we are bestowed with. So my dear friends, let us take a deep breathe right now, let go of everything and just relish in this intake of fresh air, to enjoy this present living moment. =)

Tune In to Recovery

2009-07-19T19:58:00.003+08:00

Caught a bad cold couple of days back and was sneezing and coughing quite a bit, accompanied with a blocked nose (ears are blocked too). Not to mention that it came with lots of aches all over the body and that sudden hot/cold feelings.

During these times, most of us will feel lousy and probably not in a mood for anything at all, much less a chat with a total stranger. It was the cab uncle that drove me home after knocking off at ard 2 in the morning. He needed a chat and so when we reached my destination, he pulled over, turned around and talked to me for a bit. We had a quick chat for abt 20 mins and he was mostly expressing his views about how humans are destroying the natural order of earth and some stuff about his daughter, how unsensitive she is and also how nowadays youngsters do not know how to respect the elders and also an incident how he managed to point a young chap in the right direction.

As you can see it was mostly a listening session with minimum input from me. And just before i got off, i mentioned to the uncle that we need not have such a negative outlook to life and we ought to (if possible) see all these situations as trainings, to train ourselves to be a better person esp if we truly feel that the things around us are not that well. Afterall, all changes starts from within and the smallest change may someday amount to a big change given the right conditions. The mind can only be well if we keep infusing it will loving kindness, keeping it calm and joyful. Hearing this, he smiled a little and said yes, just like trees, if you water it and take good care of it, only then it will grow green and healthy. Hearing that and seeing uncle smiled, i smiled back feeling happier, said my byes and got off.

Since feeling happy is a good factor when it comes to recovering from any illness, i'm sure i was more tuned in to recovery than i was before i took the cab. For all my friends who are not feeling well right now, let's tune in to recovery together.

Macau & HongKong Aug'08

2009-07-05T01:12:00.011+08:00

Some photographs to share from the short trip to Macau and HongKong last year in Aug'08. Not much keepers and did not really have the time to do the selection and the necessary post processing until the last 2 weeks. A little different this time round is that i experimented a little with the colours =)

Who Are We?

2009-06-15T02:31:00.002+08:00

Started off by a series of SMS with a friend when i related to her some simple exercises on how she can gain a little insight to who she really is. If you are interested, you can try these 2 simple exercise to help you settle into the present moment and gain a little insight to the workings of your mind.

Hear More with Silence

Breathing Mindfully

Now back to the topic proper - she mentioned that she is struggling to find out who she really is. If we all recall, most of us probably heard or came across this famous quote, "I think, therefore I am." sometime in our lives. I replied to her something similar ~ We are what we think we are. We are also what we think we are not. She got a little baffled at this and since it is difficult to explain via sms, i promised to write a short note on this and hopefully it will help.

First of all, we must understand interdependency and how we can relate it to our daily lives. Every single phenomena can only exist the way it exist now because of all other phenomena that exist exactly the way they were, they are and they will be. Any condition lacking and we will not know the world exactly the way it is now.

Imagine if any of the events that led you up to this stage in life did not happen, what will it be like? And also contemplate along this line, for all that did not happen - they also helped to shape the world exactly the way it is now. Once we are able to relate in such a manner, we will appreciate why Buddha said these exact words, "When this is, that is. From the arising of this comes the arising of that. When this isn't, that isn't. From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that."

This is why i replied that we are what we are and we are also what we are not. Every single person and event enable us to define exactly who we are in this very moment and yes when i mentioned event, it includes our very thoughts as well. So when we are also defined by what we think we are and in the same spirit we are also what think we are not, for it allows us to set the boundaries and define what we think we are.

Afterall, we cannot know long without knowing short, we cannot know joy without sorrow and we cannot also know happiness without suffering. So, the same reasoning applies, we cannot know who we are until we know who we are not =)

Erinne The Little Ballerina

2009-06-02T09:54:00.004+08:00

Activities may not always go with plan but even so, life is full of surprises and many of them can be pleasant if we learn to live in the present moment and not dwell on the past. Sunday was one of them.

On Sunday, i planned to go over to Winson's and pay a little visit to Erinne, my god daughter so she can her birthday present that was purchased on the 9th when i was at the Mickey's Mouse concept store at the newly opened Tampines 1. It's a nice little pink watch with Walt Disney's Princesses =)

Her birthday falls on 29th but i was working the afternoon shift for the past weeks. Coupled with the fact that exams and Mark's wedding were just over 22nd, i wasn't able to afford time in the evenings to visit her till the weekend where we can have the entire day at our disposal. Haha, talk about long awaited present.

The initial plan was to pop over, see the kids, pass the presents (yes, there is more than 1 present cos i couldn't resist buying Erinne and Etienne some books during the MPH warehouse sale), spend some time with the kids for the afternoon and meet Qin in the evening.

Like i mentioned earlier, things didn't exactly go to plan but still the day went pleasantly. Received a sms from Qin that she's not gonna be able to meet up and so that freed up the entire evening for me. And guess what, Bud mentioned that Erinne's has a open house for her ballet lesson and maybe i could join him if i'm free. It's meant for the parents to see how their children are progressing and also for a quick sort of teacher meet the parents session.

So there we are, with the rest of the parents watching all 12 little gals practice their basic ballet moves. Haha and those gals don't seem to be too happy or enjoying themselves. I can't blame them, there were more adults than kids in the room and their instructor, Tricia Tan, kept poking fun at them, "Are your parents so scary? Girls, come on, let's smile."

Not all were lost. There were moments when the girls giggled and smiled ~ although its probably not as much as the rest of the times when the parents were not around. A quick note to Bud that i should try to come again the next open house and capture some shots with a proper DSLR and he was in total agreement. So, let's hope that the next time i post something on the Erinne The Little Ballerina, its with pictures. =)

Marley and Me (not me, but john grogan)

2009-06-01T08:10:00.002+08:00

Finished the read more than a week ago but its only today that i really managed some time to write a quick review on this lovely title.

I have to admit that this is probably one of the books that i would never have imagine picking up at full price from our usual bookstores and i didn't ~ got it at about near 50% off during the MPH warehouse at Expo couple of weeks back.

It's sometimes how wondrous things worked out. My usual genre of reads are along the lines of fantasy or buddhist philosophies and you can see that this was way out ~ its non-fiction.

During the sale, i couldn't help but remembered David's recommendation (with Pearlyn's seconding it) on how good the film was (oh yes, there was a recent film adapted from this book starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston). So much so that i decided why not, go ahead and give it a try, it may surprise me. A book in most respects, is usually more detailed than the film and if a film is already so enjoyable, the book shouldn't be a disappointment.

Surprise it did. You don't need to be a dog lover to fall in love with the book. Afterall, its not a book just about the life of Marley. It's more than that. It's about the connections and the events that Marley shared with John and his family. The connections between them were so strong that Marley is a more a family member than just an ordinary pet. This is despite Marley providing them with so much issues and problems throughout his living years.

But it is through accepting each other's faults and issues that we endear to one another because with the faults comes along the love and joy shared. Like what we often hear but do not realise ~ It comes in a package =) So, go ahead, try this package and feel the connections with Marley, John, Jenny and their 3 lovely children.

AMK Industrial Park 2

2009-05-19T06:14:00.002+08:00

A random picture that i took in Jan this year with the construction of a new building in Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2 against a nice evening sky. Nothing much into it, just the simplicity of seeing something nice, snapping it and presenting it to you =)

Lucky Mini Pumpkins?

2009-05-14T03:54:00.005+08:00

A misc shot taken in Chinatown during Chinese New Year's eve.

MPH Warehouse Sale

2009-05-11T04:46:00.006+08:00

Reading has always been an integral part of my life. Yes, i love books and more than that, i love to share the joy of reading with my friends and the little ones in my life. A good read is often more satisfying than just playing with toys or electronic games and i'm a strong believer in that. That's one of the reasons why i do not own a handheld electronic gameset such as PSP or Nintendo DS List; i rather hold a good read in my hands anytime.

I also strongly believe that good reading habits has to be cultivated from young and children should try to spend more time reading rather than playing games. It helps them to develop a better command of the language and also increase the creativity of their minds when they start to picture what the author is trying to describe through words.

I'm not against playing games especially if they are educational ones that allows development both internally and externally. Instead, most of the times, children are often seen with games that does not help in developing love, kindness or intellectually. That's the main reason why i usually buy the little ones, novels and books rather than toys or games once they reach a certain age.

There's a MPH Warehouse Sale over the weekend, lots of good bargains and i came home satisfied with 2 full bags of books. Among them, i have Chronicles of Narnia, Marley & Me, Transformers - The Veiled Threat and Heroes - Saving Charlie. The rest are children's reads that i intend to give to the little ones such as High School Musical 3, Winnie the Pooh, O'clock Stories by Enid Blyton. There's also some colouring and fun activity books for the really "little" ones. =)

The Daily Enlightenment

2009-05-06T02:37:00.002+08:00

The Daily Enlightenment has been been sharing weekly newsletter on the Dhamma and Buddhist reflections for more than a decade. In the recent years, they have started the print of TDE booklet and it has been a huge success.

For this Vesak, they are launching book 3. If you wish to share in the joy of the gift of Dhamma, below is the link to make an online contribution to it. The Gift of Dhamma Exceeds All Gifts. May you always be well and happy.

http://thedailyenli ghtenment. com/sponsor

Hear More With Silence

2009-05-03T02:40:00.000+08:00

Have you ever wondered if we truly hear nothing when we do not speak or when someone does not reply to the questions we asked? I beg to differ for these may be the times when we truly hear more, more about ourselves than any other times.

Let's try this excercise, sit down in room that is as quiet as you can find. Just sit down and do nothing for a couple of moments. Once our body starts settling down, we will soon notice all the little noises that we usually do not notice, that little creak or squeak or the sound of the fan rotating its blade. All of a sudden, you realise how sharp and acute you can hear those sounds.

After listening to all these sounds (that we hardly notice but which is happening all these times around us) for a couple of minutes, our thoughts may start to wander. Random thoughts will start to arise. We may remember things that have happened in the past or we may start to imagine about things that may happen in the future. Or we may just simply allow our imagination to run around without any boundaries. The best part, we may not even notice that our thoughts are wandering and we are no longer paying attention to our surroundings.

Now, let's start paying attention to these thoughts that arise, do not follow it but be aware of how it arises and how it falls and how another thought takes over. Do it for a few minutes and we will realise how much thoughts we can have in this small space of time, how busy our minds truly are. Yes, you may not believe it but it is truly so; our minds are pretty unsettled. But in these few minutes, you will start to gain a little insight to how our minds truly works and who the person truly is beneath all these buzz of activities. If you get my drift, these are the times we are starting to hear ourselves, our inner thoughts, the person we are, hearing the stuff that truly matters.

Isn't it funny how things work? So, my dear ones, have you heard yourself lately?

Prepared to Die Now?

2009-04-28T05:44:00.004+08:00

In the forum, a fellow dhamma user posted the question if we are ready to Die now? And there is a poll for it with most of the posters choosing the option "Come what may ..let go", one choosing "Somehow ready" and no one choosing options "not yet, still thinking i am in the pink of health..." or "I need some time !!!!"

Here's some of the replies posted online to this topic -

1) This is a taboo question in many people , but death can happen to us anytime , anywhere
Being a Buddhist , one should let go when the Time comes and Reflect on what one have done and not done and Wholeheartedly preparation for the afterlife

2) 西藏度亡经 retell by Yi FanYi Fan is a very great writer with excellent writing skill, making very brilliant examples to make reader understand the profound parts. if anyone is holding this book, pls turn to page 131-143where Guru Rinpoche impart the heart of Enlightenment. it is a key! If one can understand and apply that into daily practice, step by step...the result will be far beyond what we can imagine.

3) I've live a full life so if my time is up, I have no regrets in crossing over. Though I do wonder who'll take care of my funeral arrangements and if I'll have a wake as my immediate and extended family are all Christians.

Below was my reply to this topic and i wish it has helped in someway to stress the importance of impermanence and the art of living here and now.

Nope, i do not think i will ever be fully prepared to die, at least not in the near future that i can forsee (although i'm not saying we cannot prepare for it). The truth is sometimes while lying down on the bed and i will just wonder what is it going to be like after death? And the stark reality is i do not know at all depsite all that we can learn and read or even hear about it from various people and masters.

I recalled once reading a short passage about a student asking the master what is it like after death? Will they go to Pureland? Will they be re-born? How can they be sure that there's a rebirth and it will not be nothing after death? The master simply smiled and replied that he does not know and will only know on the day he passes away. A very truthful and insightful answer by the master and we know that the master is absolutely right.

The more i reflect upon death, the less fearful i become of it but at the same time, the more i found myself inadequate in preparation. Embracing this feeling of inadequacy, it allows and reminds me the importance of impermanence, the importance of living here and now, in the present moment - to learn to think, speak and act with loving kindness and wisdom whenever possible, allowing me to develop internally and externally, helping in the betterment of the lives for both myself and those around me.

Below are some quotes from Master Thich Nhat Hanh that stressed the importance of impermanence and living in the present moment.

"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"

"Whatever you do or say in a state of anger will only cause more damage in the relationship. Instead, try not to do anything or say anything when you are angry."

with metta

Buddha Nature - Its Inherently The Same

2009-04-25T12:34:00.003+08:00

Buddha Nature resides in each and one of us and all of us have the potential to realise this nature. Regardless of what notions and concepts we may have, the truth is Buddha Nature is inherent in all sentient beings and the same for all.

You do not have anymore Buddha Nature than i do nor do i have more Buddha Nature than you. And do not ever think that saints have more Buddha Nature than we do, for this only serves to undermine ourselves, our potential to emulate them in terms of their kindness and compassion. =)

There is a simple illustration that can give us a glimpse of how non-increasing and non-decreasing the Buddha nature is, how inherently it is the same for all sentient beings. In this illustration, we make use of a Mountain (Buddha Nature) and 4 basic groups of people, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats and Other Sentient Beings.

The Mountain (Buddha nature) is some distance away from these 4 groups of people. To these 4 groups of people, the Mountain is the same, there is no difference for they are facing the same Mountain. The only difference is how clear do these 4 groups of people have the Mountain in sight - it depends on how much obstruction has been cleared and how uncluttered their minds are.

For Buddhas - there are no obstruction, just like seeing the mountain on a clear bright sunny day. The whole mountain is in sight clearly with all its granduer and details.

For Bodhisattvas - there are very little obstructions, it is akin to seeing the mountain on a clear day but with occasional passing clouds. Once in a while, the sight is not all that clear when the clouds passes by and the sunlight shining on the mountain is dimmed.

For Arhats - there are slightly more obstructions compared to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, it is like seeing the mountain with some mist. The mountain is clearly in sight but they are not able to see the full details with the mist shrouding the mountain.

For Other Sentient Beings (including myself) - it is like seeing the mountain shrouded with a huge fog. The sight is fuzzy and to some extent, the fog may be so bad that we do not see the mountain even when we stand at the mountain feet.

This simple illustration provide us some insights to how non-increasing and non-decreasing the Buddha nature is. It is the same in all sentient beings, no more and no less just as the Mountain (Buddha Nature) is to these 4 groups of people. All there is to it, is the amount of obstructions we have that prevent us from having a clear sight like a Buddha.

Let's Talk About Money and Monks

2009-04-11T23:47:00.006+08:00

This entry came about when one of fellow dhamma forum user who posted some questions due to recent news that she read about a monk. She wanted to clarify on her thinking that Buddhist monks are never paid a salary since their needs would be taken care of by the temple administrators who draw from temple donations. She also read up something that is confusing, it goes like this,

"The interpretation of the rules, however differs between the Mahayana and Theravada traditions. The Theravadins, especially those from Thailand, claim to observe these rules to the letter of the law, however, in many cases, the following is more in theory than in actual practice ......... Also, a rule prohibiting the handling of gold and silver, in other words - money, is considered by the Mahayana Sangha a handicap were it to be observed strictly in today's world. They interpret this rule as avoiding the accumulation of riches which leads to greed. Theravadin monks tend to split hairs on this rule as, although most will not touch coins, many carry credit cards and cheque books."

She liked to know if it wasn't Buddha's intention for those who joined the religious order to detach themselves from worldly pleasures, desires and material things and if so, how did the Mahayana teachings end up deviating?

For someone who is new to Buddhism, it may seem contradicting to have read such news and articles and it may even shake their faith and trust in the teachings of the Buddha. For that i would like to share some insights on this which i have shared earlier in the forum so each and one of us can reflect and clear the doubts on the Sangha that might have arose within us.

First of all, let's not lose heart at the Sangha just because there were some unfavourable news reported. We have to remind ourselves what Buddha taught before he passed into parinibbana. He said to the Sangha to be a light upon themselves, to use the Dhamma as a guide, as a teacher.

"Think not that you have no teacher after my death. Regard the Dhamma and Vinaya I have taught you as your teacher."

Let us use the Dhamma to reflect and contemplate for ourselves, to look for the meaning and purpose why certain precepts were introduced by the Buddha. That way i believe, is the best way to clear our minds of doubts, shedding light for each and everyone of us.

We must recall the intentions for these precepts and codes. They were setup to help the practitioner to develop spiritually, to rid themselves of suffering which has its roots in attachments and ignorance.

So is it all that truly important not to touch money at all? Let's contemplate on this scenario:

There is a sick person on the deathbed in the final moments. For the last time before passing away, he or she wishes to hear the preaching of the Dhamma from the abbot of a small local modest monastery of their rural town that he or she attends regularly.

Because the monastery is a small establishment with small followings, they do not own a vehicle as they are not able to afford one. Very much due to the fact the donations from the local followers were small although they have already been very generous in their givings.

Now, the family members of the sick person are extremely poor, there is no way that they could afford to hire a car to fetch the abbot. They even have to borrow the phone from their neighbours to call the abbot. Now, this abbot is currently alone in the monastery. Having received this call, he realised that he has to do something to fulfil the final wishes of this dying person.

He knows that there is enough money left from the donations in the monastery to allow him to hire a car to quickly travel to the home of the dying person. What should he do when the precepts indicate that he should not have contact with money?

1) Refuse the family saying that he cannot go as he needs to adhere to the precepts. If he breaks them, his spiritual development will be hindered. Not only that, he gets to retain the donations.

2) Request one of the family members to walk for the next 2 or 3 hours to his monastery so that the family member can take physically handle the money. With that, they can hire a car and he will not need to break his precepts.

3) Simply pick up the money, hire the car and reach the dying person in the shortest possible time to expound the Dhamma for the last time, generating merits for the person.

Of these 3 solutions, which one will generate the most merits? Which one will help the most number of people develop spiritually? I hope this little story helped to clear some doubts if the Mahayana had actually deviated from the Teachings.

Sometimes, things are not what they may appeared to be on the surface. When handling money, it does not mean that one is attached to wealth and when not handling money, it does not mean that one does not crave for wealth.

One classic story is about attachments and how deceiving appearances can be revolves around 2 monks, one elderly master and his disciple helping a woman cross a river.

In the story, these 2 monks were on a long journey and reached a river. There is a young lady who wishes to cross the river but did not wish for her dress to get wet as she has to be presentable in her match making session later, it could decide her life long happiness. Seeing the 2 monks approaching the river, and an idea came to her and she requested them for assistance, to bear her across the river.

The young monk was very hesitant and did not agree to the request as it was in violation of the precepts to be in contact with a member of the opposite sex. To his shock, his master acceded and carried the young lady across the river. Once they were across the river, the lady gave her thanks and left. The monks continue their way.

On their, the young monk kept thinking about the incident and was absolutely furious that his master had broken a precept. At first, he kept it to himself but the more he think of it, the more disgusted he was. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he burst out and shouted at his master, how could he be so shameless and hanker after physical contact with young lady.

The old master simply broke out with a smile and said, "I've left her at the riverside once we have crossed the river. If you did not mentioned it again, i would not have recalled the incident. But you instead, have carried her all the way till now, over such a long distance." In this story, we can now see who truly is attached and who is not.

Metta - Loving Kindness (Includes Loving Yourself Too)

2009-04-04T06:14:00.000+08:00

The topic on metta and self love came about when there was question posted in the forum on what happens to a Buddhist who has taken the vows but commits suicide? This is a question that is thought invoking and truly deserves our attention.

My opinion was that one must have reached a point in life where he or she believed that suffering and pain has reached beyond their ability to bear, having reached such a decision. To that effect, he or she has not realised the Teachings of Buddha and the action of suicide only serves to imprint the last thought before death as a thought of suffering. And if one is to believe that there is re-birth and due to the strong kamma of the last lingering thought before death, one will be most likely to be reborn in a place of suffering regardless whether or not the vows were taken. Of course, the sense of guilt will be stronger for a person who has taken the vows, resulting in the last thought to be even more negative, causing further suffering.

Before one reaches the point to even contemplate about suicide, we should constantly remind ourselves in the interdependency of all phenomenon. The truth is that our actions affects not only ourselves but also our loved ones, friends, communities and if you can believe, the world. The fact is, we do not live alone. If one commits suicide, we must understand that the loved ones of the one committing such an act will be devastated and they will have much suffering to bear for the actions of one committing such grave acts. If we truly love our loved ones, how can we even bear to entertain such thoughts allowing them to bear the consequences of our unwholesome actions?

One may then raise a point, what if our parents have passed on and with no close confidants, does that provide a more compelling reason for one to consider or even commit suicide? That is to say that one believe that there is no one who will feel sad or devastated if we were to pass on. The only repercussion is that people will feel shock momentarily or just disgusted about this happening in their vicinity, probably worrying about the decrease in the value of their property due to bad publicity. Otherwise, it is only the effort of requiring public resources like police, coroner and undertakers to handle and close the case formally.

For that we have to work on the basis that life is precious and all beings are equal in their pursuit for happiness. When someone contemplates suicide or chose to hurt themselves, in a matter of fact, they are seeking happiness although it may be very self-deluded. If possible, there is no one who will wish for pain and suffering in life. But when the mind is unclear and clouded, we can sometimes make the wrong call or judgement, committing actions which we believe will end our suffering. Suicide, self-mutilation are some of the actions that people make when it comes to such times.

With the thought that life is infinitely precious and all beings are equal, it does not make it anymore compelling for any person to consider suicide just because their loved ones are not around. However, we must admit that there is most likely lesser support for someone who does not have their loved ones around them, making it easier for them to sink deeper into depression and ultimately reaching such decisions.

Let's bear in mind that when someone commits suicide, he or she has not realised the Teachings of Buddha and in this case, has not realised the 4 sublime states of the mind, metta (loving kindess), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy) or upekkha (equanimity). In specific, metta is the state of mind that should be stressed on in this particular discussion.

Buddha has taught that metta should be cultivated towards all beings just like the unconditional love that a mother has towards her only child where the life of her child is just as important to hers. When Buddha mentioned all beings, it includes ourselves. We must not forget to love others as equally as we love ourselves and to love ourselves as equally as we love others. Here is a quote from Master Thich Nhat Hanh on the importance of self love.

"In taking good care of yourself, you take good care of your beloved one. Self-love is the foundation for your capacity to love the other person. If you don't take good care of yourself, if you are not happy, if you are not peaceful, you cannot make the other person happy. You cannot help the other person; you cannot love. Your capacity for loving another person depends entirely on your capacity for loving yourself, for taking care of yourself."

If one is to believe in the subject of rebirth, knowingly that committing suicide will only result in more suffering in the next rebirth, then in the spirit ot metta and self love, that itself can be one of the most valid reasons not to commit such an act.

Let's also not forget the benefits that metta can bring. If we can cultivate ourselves constantly with metta, we will naturally be loving and generous in our ways (thoughts, speech and actions). One of the many benefits of being generous and loving is that people around us will naturally be attracted to us. Of these people, there are definitely some that will be worthy of our companionship. We can then seek to foster a friendship that could last a lifetime providing the support that is not in anyway lesser than those that could be showered by our own family members.

When it come to developing metta, most of us will find that it will be near impossible to develop it overnight to the state where we can reach out with unconditional love for all beings, we may not even be able to do it in this lifetime. Those who are able to are usually the ones who have in their previous lives cultivated great merits enabling them to be born in conditions where it allows them to do so. The rest of us will find that it is a lifetime (or even countless lifetimes) journey of cultivation.

As most of us have yet to perfect metta and our love are mostly conditioned, it is important for us to start the embarkment on this lifetime journey of learning and practice. While practicing, we must always remember that happiness comes from within and not without. As an old Tibetan saying goes, "Seeking happiness outside ourselves is like waiting for sunshine in a cave facing north." So, let's start by cultivating self love which is the first basic exercise of metta meditation which generally starts with the following four exercises in sequence.

1) Love for ourselves
2) Love for someone we like
3) Love for someone we are neutral to
4) Love for someone we dislike

One may then raise another point, what if a quick relief is needed and we all know that metta meditation requires time and effort to bear fruits. In that case, we have to understand that for the person suffering, the people (families, friends, communities and Sangha) around him or her can provide immediate relief, support, concern and care making one feel better. He or she may also seek a doctor to have medication prescribed for temporary easing of the symptoms.

But again, we must understand that this is temporary. Ultimately, one has to realise that true happiness comes from within and not externally. So, if he or her continuously dwell on their pain and do not break off from the vicious cycle, then one is likely to be trapped within no matter how much relief and support is provided. Both must work hand in hand for the best results, self determination to be well and happy and support from the communities, lacking of either will make it very much harder although we cannot say it is impossible. And if i remembered correctly, Master Sheng Yen once mentioned that pain is unavoidable in life but suffering is not and suffering is our mentality towards pain.

Is Kamma Predictable?

2009-04-02T01:29:00.002+08:00

Sometime back in the forum we had a discussion on several points and one of them revolved around kamma. The question posted - Is kamma predictable? Is it possible for us to predict what sort of kamma will befall on us? For example, if a person is a life-long thief in the present life, is it likely that in the next life, this person will constantly suffer loss of personal property ?

Here are my views posted on the forum based on the limited knowledge i have on the Dhamma. There is nothing mystical about kamma and in fact, my tendency towards kamma is to relate it to our daily activities so it is more personal and relevant. Below is my take on it and if there are any lacking, it is due to my limited understanding.

As long as we have not liberated ourselves and perfect our wisdom and compassion, there is only a limit to how much we can determine the effects of our actions. Let's revisit the meaning of kamma -

Kamma is commonly known as the law of causes and effects. However, it is more than that, the law of causes and effects only form part of kamma. The word kamma implies volition meaning action with intention. Action here will encompass all three aspects, mental, speech and body. With every deed, it is naturally followed by an effect and this is how kamma came to be commonly known as the law of cause and effect.

There are four main types of kamma. They are kamma that rippens in this birth, kamma that rippens in next birth, kamma that rippens in successive births and kamma that is ineffective due to a lack of auxillary conditions.

Kamma is then further divided into the following categories. Kamma that produces their own resultants, kamma that supplements (supports) the resultants of another, kamma that alters the resultants of another and kamma that destroys the resultants of another.

To the question on next life, we cannot be sure that the person who is a thief in this life will always suffer constant loss of property in his next life. We have to bear in mind that for kamma to bear fruits, it is also dependent on the auxillary conditions for the fruits to rippen. Not only that, there are also kamma that one may accumulate to alter or even negate the bad effects of previous actions. As such, not all fruits will rippen, be it this birth, next birth or successive births.

Maybe for illustration purposes, let's use Robin Hood. He constantly robs the rich and gives to the poor. So in robbing others, if kamma is so fathomable and direct and without recourse, he will have to bear the effects of constantly losing his property in his next re-birth. But what about his generosity that he practiced due to compassion for those that are poor and suffering? Wouldn't that help him to ensure that his next birth be in the realms of heaven without material wants and needs. If so, how can he then suffer the kamma of a thief? I leave you to contemplate more on this point.

Instead of thinking about kamma and re-births as in our next lives and beyond, why not think of them in the following manner which is more practical in our day to day living. Esp when Buddha constantly stressed that we should be mindful of here and now since the past has gone and the future yet to be.

1) kamma that rippens in this birth - kamma that rippens this moment / today
2) kamma that rippens in next birth - kamma that rippens in the next moment / tomorrow
3) kamma that rippens in successive births - kamma that rippens many moments later / many days later

By reflecting in this manner, i believe we will be more mindful of our actions and their effects on us, our families, communities and environment here and now. If we are already so mindful of our actions here and now, constantly ensuring that each action was done with right intentions, with love and compassion, why should we worry about our next re-birth? By taking care of now, haven't we already took care of our future?

Heart Sutra

2009-03-25T23:31:00.015+08:00

Heart Sutra is known to be the shortest sutra which presents the purest essence of Buddha's Teachings. In the Heart Sutra, there are several lines that we may have come across quite often in our lives,

"Form Does not Differ From Emptiness, And Emptiness Does Not Differ From Form. Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form."

When we refer to emptiness in Buddhism, we are referring to being empty of an independent self. All phenomenon are interdependent, they cannot exist independently. No phenomenon, be it mental or physical, is independent. If it is, there will be no awareness of such phenomenon since the very awareness of such a phenomenon is dependent on our consciousness to acknowledge its existence itself is a mental phenomena. A classic exemplary question is when we see an object, does it exist externally or does it exist internally within our mind? By reflecting on this question, we already have a glimpse of the understanding of interdependence.

"Emptiness of All Dharmas Are Non-Arising, Non-Ceasing, Non-Defiled, Non-Pure, Non-Increasing, Non-Decreasing."

Imagine all the dhamma to be an ocean. A wave in its rise and fall is like individual phenomena (dhamma), each born and cease in its own time when the conditions rippens. Some waves are big and strong while some are small and weak. Although most of them will be like the little waves, your day to day ordinary life phenomenon but there are some who rises above the rest, phenomenon that affects the communities or the world, even the entire universe.

But we need to look beyond the waves, not to lose sight of the ocean itself. A wave is ocean. Although a wave itself is a distinct individual event, it cannot be separated from ocean. When the conditions ripens enough to cause a wave, nothing has been added to ocean. When the activity of wave ceases, the ocean is not lessen in anyway as well. The ocean remains the ocean.

"There is no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of suffering, and no path. There is no wisdom, there is no attainment."

In contrast to the fourth noble truths that we know - There is suffering, there is cause of suffering, there is cessation of suffering and there is a path leading to the cessation of suffering, the heart sutra appears to have stated the exact opposites. Truly that is not so, as they refer to the Buddha nature that is ever present in all sentient beings. The ability to experience nibbana here and now. We are like a piece of diamond that is covered in mud and through careful washing, the diamond will shine forth, such is the nature of our mind. A diamond covered in mud is still a diamond, its value no lessen, just waiting to be discovered. That is the reason why there is no wisdom, no attainment, for what has to be attained has always been ever present, just covered up at the moment.

In the heart sutra, the last line Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha is actually a mantra. Mantra can be defined as a word or group of words that are capable of creating transformation, generating miracles. In most cases when an effort is made to chant a mantra continuously, it can help to calm and focus the mind which is in line with the Buddhist teachings to master the mind. To this effect, we can safely say that the mantra does generate transformation and that itself is already a miracle. A miracle does not have to be something beyond this world, it can be quite ordinary and the most ordinary miracles are truly the ones worth treasuring.

The meaning of the line Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha as defined by Master Sheng Yen is Go, Go, Go to the shore beyond (nibbana), All together to the shore beyond, And complete the bodhi path. Let's start the journey to cross over, shall we? =)

Buddhist and Vegetarian - They Are Not The Same

2009-03-22T09:00:00.003+08:00

Here's another entry that arose from some questions posted by Quietfight in the forum. In the thread, she posted the following questions.

1) Why certain the Chinese Buddhists go a step further beyond vegetarian and strictly forbid the use of onion, garlic, leeks, chives and shallots to flavour cooking. Isn't maintaining a meat free diet already considered being a committed Buddhist?

2) Onion, garlic, leeks, chives and shallots excite the senses. Why is it wrong to excite the senses while enjoying a meal, even if its a meat free one?

Let's reflect back on the 5 precepts and their meanings. The precepts are meant to be a guide for the disciples to foster a healthy environment where there is love, peace and joy in the way of living and within the community. By doing so, it also allows the discple to have a conducive environment to further his insights and develop wisdom and compassion leading to the ultimate liberation. One of the characteristics that a Buddhist seek to develop by following these precepts is humility.

To contemplate on this, let's go back to the days of Buddha. In those days, the disciples of Buddha relied on alms begged from nearby towns and villages and when doing so, it is also a way to practice their humility for they cannot refuse what was given and they cannot ask for more than what is given. So, regardless of meat or vegetables, they are to accept the alms as long it was given in good faith and especially when the families whom provided the alms sacrificed whatever little they have to eat to the disciples and the amount could be substantial resulting in the family having to be less than full for a meal.

However, there is the precept of non-killing to consider as Buddhists revere life and practice compassion for all sentient beings. Let's reflect on this precept, why did Buddha request disciples to follow this precept? To lessen the suffering of sentient beings, not to create more. In that Buddha laid down the rule that one should not accept the meat if the meat was derived from an animal that was killed for purposely for the monk(s). Killing the animal for the purpose of alms giving defeats the intention to lessen suffering of sentient beings. That's the reason why Buddhists commit themselves to a diet that does not include "live" meat or a full vegetarian diet. All of these being done to further spiritual development, to foster metta (loving-kindness).

So reflecting on these points, as an illustration, do we purposely estranged ourselves from our parents or families because they put meat on the dinner table, refusing to eat them, arguing with them in anger and insisting that a separate meal to be prepared because of our commitment not to take meat? That's not the way to live with your families, not when we know that it took no small kamma for us to be born as the child of our parents, siblings to our brothers and sisters. One way is to take them since they are prepared with the love of your parents or families and it make no sense to create unnecessary anger or suffering within the family. In time if possible, we may wish to gradually guide them to a more wholesome meal when lesser meat or even no meat is used in preparing the meal so they can generate merits as well.

Afterall, isn't it contradicting for a vegetarian who loves and buys leather goods since meat and leather goods are both produced by the death of an animal? Below is a good read on vegetarianism.

Vegetarianism

As for the exclusion of the 5 pungent vegetables, there is a good answer on this by Master Chin Kong in the article, Art of Living - check it on page 34 to 35 of the pdf file in the link below. In summary, the restriction is to assist spiritual development as any of these taken in large quantities can cause irritation to the body, lessening the ability to concentrate, thereby diminishing spiritual development.

Art of Living

As for exciting the senses, there is no right and wrong answer in that. What Buddha taught was to free ourselves of attachments so that we can liberate ourselves. If we are too attached to the notion of exciting our senses, then obviously there is great attachment there and we should try to free ourselves from it. This is more in line with the precept of not taking alcohol and intoxicants as this precept seeks to remind us not to indulge in our senses, dulling the clarity of the mind. So all in all, there is nothing wrong in having an enjoyable meal but we do not need to be too attached to having an exciting meal all the time.

Of Schools and Lineages and Rituals

2009-03-22T08:32:00.003+08:00

The below points arose from another forum discussion with Quietfight when she posed the question on the different schools of Buddhism and their authenticity and if the rituals are in contradiction to the Teachings of Buddha.

In the today's society, Buddhism is represented by many schools and lineages but they are just different methods (vehicles) to attain liberation, to perfect wisdom and compassion. We can perhaps view them in comparison to this illustration. One would like to travel from the east to the west of a country or continent, we can either travel via buses, cars, bicycles, trains, planes or a mixture of them. Ultimately, we will reach our destination regardless of the method though some may take longer than others.

That is not to say that we should keep switching transportation means. Afterall, there are waiting time wasted if we keep switching, resulting in adverse effect, more loss of time. Instead, one should still devote ourselves to one method of practice till one is competent as it is just like learning to ride a bicycle or to drive a car. By focusing on one method, the mind will not be distracted and will reach a certain level of competency much faster. Let's think back and reflect for a minute when there was a time we worried about the completion of 2 tasks. When doing task 1, our mind kept thinking about task 2, isn't it very tiring and we are not able to concentrate at all and mistakes arose, resulting having to double the efforts to correct them. In the first place, had we been able to concentrate on one single task at a time, we would have completed task 1 much earlier and better, lesser mistakes, leaving more time for task 2.

Here's some links for knowledge on the timeline of Buddhism and the backgrounds of the various schools:

Timeline Of Buddhism
Theravada - Teachings Of The Elders
Mahayana - The Great Vehicle
Vajrayana - The Thunderbolt Vehicle

Once we have thought it through, we will realise that all schools teach the same basics, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Noble Path, the path to liberation, to perfect wisdom and perfect compassion. Whatever differences they have is just to suit the different needs that arose from the various groups of people that Buddhism came into contact with.

Just like 2500 years ago, Buddha taught his disciples according to the situation arose, never prescribing just one single method. He saw the different nature of each student and that they are unique in their own rights, he simply pointed them to the best method that would lead them to liberation. For example, he taught his disciples the method of breath mindfulness but there was one instance, he instead instructed one disciple to watch a candle flame instead. Watching the candle flame and its flickering, the disciple realised the impermanence nature of all phenomenon, he was enlightened.

As for rituals, let's not be quick to dismiss it as something that is contradicting to the Buddhist philosophies and teachings because we do not understand it. For example, the rituals of chanting. Reciting suttas is a need in the past as there was no written records of Buddha's Teachings. The only way to pass them down is through the Sangha reciting them and committing them to memory. Not only that chanting sutta or mantra is another excellent method to calm the mind if one finds difficulty in meditation. By reciting a sutta or mantra, we are also expressing our faith in the Teachings and reminding ourselves of its meanings and lessons.

Another ritual, is the prostration towards a Buddha or Bodhisattva statue. When a Buddhist does that, he or she is not praying to the statue. After all it is after just another stone or wood craving. The underlying meaning of prostration is to remember what the stone or wood image implies - the Teachings of the Great Beings, their wisdom and compassion, their vows to liberate all sentient beings. In prostration, it is a way to express our humility and that we should do our best to follow the Teachings and paths of these Great Beings, not only to ourselves but to also assist all sentient beings in attaining liberation.

5 Precepts - A Discussion

2009-03-19T06:32:00.005+08:00

A couple of days back, a few of us discussed on the 5 precepts over the forum. Would like to share it as it was a good discussion and one of our mates, quietfight, posted a very good question,

"After a person participates in a ceremony to take Refuge in the Triple Gems to commit to adhering to the 5 Precepts, what happens when the person breaches precepts ? For example, commit adultery in a moment of weakness or run over a cat while driving ?"

Below was my reply based on my understanding of the Dhamma,

"As with all other actions and decisions we take in life, there will naturally be its effects and consequences, that is one of the basic laws of kamma.

Whether or not a person undertakes the precepts or not, by committing adultery, the person and all the individuals involved will naturally be visited by the effects of adultery and we all know that the effects can be ruinous to those involved and their families. The same goes for running over a cat while driving, kamma will visit but for this, it depends on the situation - was it an intentional act or was it unintentional?

One note to bear in mind is that kamma is stronger when the act is intentional. Since undertaking the 5 precepts was an intentional act, we know that the kamma will be stronger one breaks the precepts compared to one that has not undertaken the vows. Let's view it this way - since the person has taken the vows, i believe the person will mostly be a man or woman of conscience. As such when breaking it (especially intentionally), he or she will know that a precept has been broken and by their conscience, he or she will suffer more mentally in addition whatever material or physical effects the actions may bear.

Maybe as a quick guide to the decisions we make with reference to the 5 precepts is to revisit the intentions of Buddha when he prescribed the precepts for lay people who came to listen to his teachings. It is to promote and foster good, healthy living where it will help one to develop wisdom, compassion and love, bringing joy and happiness to one's families and communities.

With this constantly borne in mind, we should seek to foster an environment when we can uphold the 5 precepts better. Example, prior to committing the adultery in a moment of weakness as you mentioned, conducive conditions and environment must have existed for the situation to happen. Such as being alone together or getting drunk, acting in a moment of stupor. In this case, if the person had constantly remembered Buddha's teachings, the person will know better than to allow conditions and environment to develop further till the siuation is as such and cannot be salvaged.

Afterall, how does one consume alcohol in a fruit juice bar?

By the way, below is link to a good read on kamma

What Karma Is

The Gift of Dhamma Exceeds All Gifts"

If you are interested in the full discussion, here's the link to the forum on this:

http://www.sgclub.com/singapore/clarification_5_precepts_139165.html

Here We Go Again

2009-03-14T05:20:00.002+08:00

With the global recession, it cannot be helped but to see companies looking for cheaper alternatives, to reduce costs, to better the bottomlines till times are better. The firm i'm working in is no exception and it doesn't help when our department is a cost driven department. In about 3 to 4 months, 6 of my colleagues will be leaving us, be it internally or externally as their positions are being deployed to India. I pray that they will get another position within the firm soon as not only its a loss to the firm if they go just because they cannot find another position soon enough internally. But from the fact that some of them are pretty close friends and it will definitely be a loss to me personally to see them go.

One of my colleague who was not affected by this deployment remarked that it was so sudden, stemming from the effect that we have discussed this before and we believed that deployment will only come after the 1st quarter results if the loss continues for the firm. Why we believe so was due to the nature of our work, where problem solving skills cannot be taught but only gained through experience and knowledge of the systems. These skills cannot be achieved easily within a short period of time. So strong was our conviction that we believe that deployment will happen gradually and over the next 2 years. Afterall, the roles within our department that does the setup and maintenance of the static data took a year to deployed. If these roles that handled the routine and mundane tasks took a year, what's more for those like us whose roles are more investigative and intuitive by nature. Maybe that's also the reason why we are having a partial deployment now rather than a full deployment; to test if a full deployment is possible?

Whatever it maybe, i told my colleague who was so distraught by the news that there's always a silver lining. We should be grateful that it's not a full deployment and that we are still employed. With the fact that we are being retained only serve to prove that we are at least performing our jobs well and we would be the last to go. For that fact, it should also argue well for our next job when we need to search for one.

An Experience

2009-03-08T12:21:00.004+08:00

In slightly over a week's time, i will be ending my current shift for New York hours, moving on to Europe hours.

What marks the end of a shift also signifies the beginning of a new one, such is the law of nature, cyclical existence of all conditions.

Sometimes, have you ever wonder if we are really moving from a source to a destination or are simply still residing on the same spot? A matter of perception, a matter of which end we are viewing from. Imagine a line (time) starting from Spot A (beginning) to Spot B (ending) just like the one below to be our timeline.

(A) ._______________________________________________. (B)

What happens if you are turn it around in such a way that Spot A is right behind Spot B in your line of sight. It becomes a single spot just like the one below, doesn't it?

(A) . (B)

Where has the line (time) gone to? Disappeared? No, it is still there although it is now out of sight because one end is now overlapping the other. Just like looking at a metal tube with its centre hollow. Viewing from the side, we see the full length but when we view it from one end through the hollow centre, we see the other side with no indication of the length except by the feel of our hands when holding it.

So what is time? Its existence provide us with the condition to grow, to move on and yet its existence cannot be related in such a way that our words, thoughts or concepts can fully comprehend or explain its nature. We can only experience the passing of time directly, there is no other way.

Though we are not able to fully conceptualise time, we can relate it in the simplest and most direct manner. "Time is an Experience." that's how i will put it. How will you experience Time?

Remains, Revisits and Recalls

2009-02-28T05:15:00.010+08:00

Remains - It's already the end of February 2009 and i still have another 4 days of leave brought forward from last year that needs to be cleared by March. Now that both 2008 year end reporting and Jan 2009 month end reporting are over, i will have to try clear them mid March lest they are forfeited. But it still remains to be seen if my leave application will be successful or not for the dates i'm trying for.

Revisits - This must be the 5th or 6th time i read Incarnations of Immortality and it is still so refreshing. Within these 7 books, Piers Anthony created a world where science and magic were at their peak with Death (Thanatos), Time (Chronos), Fate (Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos), War (Mars), Nature (Gaea), Evil (Satan) and Good (God) being offices of immortals that are being held by different people from time to time. A highly recommended read for fantansy fans.

Recalls - Reading the series where Immortals (yes even God and Satan) are offices that changed hands every few decades or centuries, i recall the wise teachings of Buddha on impermanence. No matter how a phenomena seems permanent, it is still an illusion since all phenomenon are in a state of constant flux even if they are not evident to us, to the naked eye. Like mother Earth where the land was whole billions of years ago and yet now, it is separated into several major continents. There is no mistake here what we believe is so ever unchanging in nature, is in truth so ever impermanent, no matter how slow and invisible the change is.

Paticcasamuppāda - Dependent Origination

2009-02-13T04:25:00.003+08:00

Paticcasamuppāda - Dependent Origination

When this is, that is.
From the arising of this comes the arising of that.
When this isn't, that isn't.
From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that.

Every phenomena has 3 parts, the beginning, the middle and the ending. The ending of this phenomena is in turn the beginning of another. Every phenomena has a cause which progressed into an effect and that effect in turn becomes a cause of another phenomena.

Every single phenomena can only exist the way it is now because all other phenomena exist the way exactly the way they were, are and will be. Such is the interdependency nature of all, for one cannot truly exist the way they simply are without the rest doing so.

Contemplate about how we exist in this very moment, can we exist in this manner if all events did not occur the way they are? How did we come into being? We cannot exist without our parents meeting each other and our parents in turn cannot exist without their parents meeting and this cannot be made possible if Earth is not suitable for life.

Imagine Edison did not invent light bulb. Imagine Wright Brothers did not invent the first airplane. Imagine if televisions were not invented. Imagine languages and literacy did not evolve they way they did till they are today. What will the world be like? Will we still be the very same person we are here and now? That is interdependency, we cannot exist the way we know we are without the rest of the phenomena existing the way they are in the past, present and future.

Precious Moments

2009-02-03T05:26:00.020+08:00

Just collected my fourth Precious Moments membership card on the last Sat nite. Its been four years running that i'm a member. I don't collect the figurines but i like giving them to friends for special times like their weddings, birthdays and christmas as each figurine has a unique quote that i find appropriate for the occasion. Here are some of those that i remembered, do you happened to recognise some of those? =)

Always Reach For The Stars

August Poppy Peaceful

Count Each Birthday With A Joyful Smile

Filled With Wonder And Joy On This Special Night

Friendship Is A Sweet Journey

God Bless This Baby Girl

Happily Ever After

It Only Takes A Moment To Show You Care

January Snowdrop Pure And Gentle

Let's Always Preserve Our Friendship

Love One Another

March Violet Modest

May Your Birthday Be A Blessing Figurine

May Your Every Wish Come True

May Your Holidays Be Warm and Fuzzy

November Crysanthemum Sassy Cheerful

Ringing In The Season

Say I Do

Sow Much To Do

The Fruit Of The Spirit Is Love, Joy, and Peace

The Path Of Friendship Is Not Measured In Miles But Moments Shared

The 'Purr-fect' Christmas Morning

Together Is The Nicest Place To Be

Wishing You The Sweetest Birthday

You Crafted A Place In My Heart

You Have A Certain Glow About You

You Have Touched So Many Hearts

十心语

2009-01-30T04:51:00.008+08:00

时时要观心事事才顺心

逆境要忍心烦恼要清心

修学要恒心帮人要耐心

说话要细心做事要专心

做人要爱心对人要宽心

those are the 十心语 that the cute little monk say to me everytime i turn my head slightly in the office =)

Back to NYK Shift

2009-01-20T04:37:00.004+08:00

It's back to NYK Shift today and it will be so for the next 2 months. Sort of looking forward to it after working in Pacific hours where i usually worked about 12 to 15 hrs a day most of the time. Somehow in NYK shift, the hours are shorter and i get to wear causually to office. Meantime, i'm still trying to recover from my bad dose of sniffles.

Started on Amber and Blood (Volume 3 of The Dark Disicple) by Margaret Weis. Just a little background, she and Tracy Hickman started the all time bestselling series DragonLance Chroniclces which is one of my favourite reads.

Just before the story starts, there is usually a few pages for acknowledgements and dedications. To my pleasant surprise, there was a page dedicated to The Five Remembrances of Buddha:

1) I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

2) I am of nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.

3) I am of nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

4) All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.

5) My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu. =)

Rolling Once Again

2009-01-05T01:12:00.003+08:00

Its good to be skating once again, to feel the wheels rolling beneath me and a little breeze in my face. Skating demands focus, both mentally and physically but it provides enjoyment in its own way.

Skated only 24km on Fri nite by myself and realised that i was pretty much out of shape. Used to do 48km with no problem at all but now at only half that distance, i'm already pretty drained. Well, i did stop for several months, so i guess its gonna take me awhile to get toned up.

Earlier today, i met up with Mark, Tracy, David and Pearlyn for a leisure evening skate at East Coast. We did about 20km at a fairly leisure pace. Its been quite a while since i last seen these 2 couples and it felt good to be able to catch up with these good friends of mine.

Even while i was skating, my thoughts drifted to her every now and then, wishing her day was just as good as mine, if not better. Of course, not forgetting all of you guys out there who visits my blog site, i hope your day ended just as well as mine.

3rd Jan 2009 - 216 Pages

2009-01-04T01:04:00.006+08:00

If there's a way that i can describe my feelings for the day, i can only say i'm all mixed up. In any case, it will pass eventually like all phenomena. Just gotta type it out, let it go and move for the next day.

Got messages from Qin last nite about 2 plus in the morning and from the tone of them, i didn't really feel comfortable esp when the last bit just broke off suddenly. I changed and took a cab down, i just had to be sure she wasn't wandering about in the middle of the nite. Walked around the neighbourhood, no sign of her. Tried calling, nobody answered. Told myself she's probably back at home and resting already. Nothing much i could do so i hung around for a while till about 4, left a message and prayed for her well being and i went home.

She replied today about 3 in the afternoon, i'm glad to get that sms but again it just stopped, no further replies from her. Tried a few more times in the evening until it was around 7 plus when i tried with a phone call. It just rang and rang and rang, nobody answered. The silence was stifling, i had to do something. No point in dwelling on negative thoughts and fretting about. I got out of the flat and took a bus to Junction 8. Had Mos Burger for my dinner and while i was at it, i started on The Redemption of Althalus. Another quality novel by David Eddings, this is probably the 4th or 5th time reading this. Oh ya, a good book is one excellent way to focus the mind instead of having it jumping around like a monkey. Did about 60plus pages of it while i was there.

Next stop, Dobhy Ghaut. Popped into Gramophone, and i purchased some CDs. Didn't really have any idea what else to do, i walked over to the National Museum to admire the structure. Admired it for abit before crossing SMU to reach the other side and settled down at Coffee Bean (btw, the full name is Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf if you haven't noticed) for a cup of coffee and a slice of Apple Tart. Do give the Apple Tart a try the next time you are in Coffee Bean, its pretty decent (in my opinion). Read some more and its nearly 11pm. The cafe's closing and its time for me to go. Strolled down to Suntec and took Bus 70 home but i didn't go home immediately. Instead, i went to Macs that was about 5 mins walk away from home. Had some of those Twister fries and a cup of orange juice. Sat there for about 1 hr and read some more. Its nearly 1am, time to go home and already at page 216.

So, here i am, all logged on to my MSN, Yahoo Mail, Facebook and Blogger.

Saw some updates about her, Word Challenge shows she's the leader at 4 plus in the morning last nite and she also uploaded some fotos earlier about 7 plus this evening. Now, at the very least i know she's generally fine and i can at set my mind to ease.

First Fri Nite of 2009

2009-01-02T09:29:00.005+08:00

Qin mentioned yesterday that a fren is bringing her out this evening for dinner, hope she will have an enjoyable dinner tonight. Its been really a long time since i last went for a couple hours of skate in the nite alone with a little sea breeze to my face and music in my ears. Maybe, i should head to East Coast tonight. The sky is looking a little dark and i just hope the weather will hold. Another thing, i gotta remember to charge my headphones, the batts are flat.

Keep Walking

2009-01-01T22:01:00.008+08:00

That's how i spent most of my free time these days including today 1st Jan 2009. I go out for walks for up to 4 or 5 hours at a stretch with no particular destination in mind. Its just sort of wandering around type of walk.

It's good, helps to keep clear my mind from a lot of cluttering thoughts. In between the walk, i will take small break, have some coffee and read my novel for a little while. Once i'm rested, up and walking again till its time to go home.

Maybe just a quick update of my last few days in 2008, though not particularly interesting i must say:

24/12 & 25/12 - stayed home as my allergies acted up real bad, had a swollen face and rashes all over. To make matter worse, i had my first hyper ventilation experience on eve of Christmas. Had to trouble Pops to bring all the presents to the little ones. Was real glad when Pops told me Shana was delighted. Hope Shawn is just as delighted too.

26/12 - was a good day despite having to work for more than 12 hours. Met Qin for dinner and show. It was one of those rare days that we managed to meet up as arranged. Sometimes conditions does not present itself in such a manner that makes it easy for us to meet. Just have to keep trying. We caught Ip Man, a good flick with lots of actions and appropriate attempts at humour. Loved the part when the kiddo cycled out and said, "Pa, Ma said that you better start hitting back or else all the furniture will be broken."

27/12 - rested for most part of the day. Chatted with Qin online for awhile in the nite before going down to Win's place to pass Erinne her overdue Christmas present. Haha, as usual she likes to sulk when buddy makes her do her homework. But hey, i'm the funny guy and i got the little gal giggling soon. Later in the nite, buddy and me had a good catch up coffee session.

28/12 - wanted to catch Bolt but didn't manage to get a confirmation sms in time, so just left home around 6 in the evening for a stroll around town area. Took a train down to Orchard and went to Kino. Didn't' waste the trip, new graphic novels for Dragonlance and Demon Wars were out. Then i popped over to Gramophone at Cathay, finally decided to pick up the Band of Brothers DVDs. One of the best war series ever made. After that, i just kept walking, accompanied with the music that streamed steadily from my headset. Walked the length of Orchard till i reached Marina and over to Esplanade. Turned around and went back to Plaza Sing, then turn around again back to Suntec and took a bus home.

29/12 - was on leave for the day. Not much going on, wanted to meet up with Qin after work but it didn't work out again. Just strolled around City area again in the evening, waiting to see if there's a chance to meet up while searching for a present. Found a PM figurine at Plaza Sing. Always had a soft spot for these figurines, they have such nice qoutes. Esp their slogan, "Where memories are sweeter." Settled down at Gelare, had a slice of apple crumble and a nice cup of warm coffee while continuing my read of Tamuli by David Eddings. Can't remember how many times i have read this series, must be at least half a dozen times by now. By the time it was 9 plus, i just decided to pack it up and go home, figuratively speaking of course.

30/12 - back to work and after i knocked off ard 8, i popped over to Qin's place to pass her the gift to mark the passing of a year. Even though it was for only an hour or so, i was glad to be able to see her. Later back home, Hong got me online and asked me if i wanted to join him and the rest to catch fireworks at Marina area the next day. I declined, i had other ideas.

31/12 - wasn't so good a day but like all other days, it still passes on. Intitially, i planned to visit ACM (Asian Civilisation Museum) in the nite, have dinner and followed by a nite tour of the place. For that day, it was opened till 1 am and they had some sort of countdown event going about. Thought it would be a interesing way to move into a new year. For sure, it didn't go as i wish it would. Qin sms me in the morn that she wasn't feeling good and won't be able to meet up. To make matters worse, there was an issue at work that kept me working till 11.30pm without even time for dinner. Haha luckily, Ivy's husband, Ping (a good fren of mine from Poly days) came to pick her up abt midnite and we managed to grab some Macs at Queensway to fill our stomachs. Oh, he brought his new pair of pets along, nice enough puppies and i think Toufu got beautiful eyes.

01/01 - wished to catch Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea today but didn't manage to. Instead, took a train ride to Clarke Quay in the evening and i just wandered there to Boat Quay and Raffles Place around the old shophouses and museums. I like colonial buildings, they have a certain charm about them. Then stopped by City Hall around 8 plus and had dinner at Pastamania. There, i rested and continued my read for a while before strolling back to Dohby Ghaut to take a train ride home. And the rest of the day, typing this log.

Btw, Happy New Year to all of you out there. May you always be well and happy. May the year ahead be filled with love, peace and joy for you and your loved ones.

Of Oceans and Waves

2008-12-27T19:26:00.002+08:00

When we think of ourselves, do we think individually or do we think collectively? Although not all the time but most of the time, the answer is individually. "I" comes up more often than "We" during our thought proccesses.

Why is that so? It is simply how we are being conditioned over the years and generations. From a very young age, our education has included "I", "You", "He", "She", "We" and "They". Taught in such a way to differentiate individuals but the truth is, the effects are more than just differentiation. To a certain degree, it conditions our mind to separates ourselves from others. Is this good or bad?

When we look deeper, we cannot say if such a thought process is truly good or bad. We can see that it is like a double edged sword, it can be used both ways. It depends on how we used it. We can used it to stop ourselves from destructive actions such as using "I" to separate ourselves from the rest who are dwelling in ways and dealings that do not better our lives or the lives of our loved ones. But when it comes to dwelling on our own misfortunes, the word "I" may not be as useful as it has a tendency to exaggerate the situation. Sometimes bad enough to start a whole chain of reactions that worsen the situation further. This is when the word "We" comes in very useful. It can help us to regain better clarity of the situation, to look beyond "I" and see the full picture with objectivity.

Just as the Buddha has taught, we can be liken to waves and oceans. A wave in its rise and fall is like us individually, the birth (rise) and death (fall) of a person. Some waves are big and strong while some are small and weak. While most of us will be the little waves, leading a most ordinary life but there are some who rises above the rest, seemingly a life that is not so ordinary, be it full of glitter or be it full of turbulence. But we need to look beyond the waves, not to lose sight of the ocean itself.

A wave is ocean. Although a wave itself is a distinct phenomenon it cannot be separated from ocean. When the conditions ripens enough to cause a wave, nothing is added to ocean. When the activity of wave ceases, nothing has been taken away from ocean as well. The ocean is still the ocean.

Maybe that is one of the reasons why people feel calmer when watching the sea. It tends to gives one a sense of belonging to something bigger than self. Oh, if you are the sort that gets sea sick easily, you look at a patch of grassland or a range of moutains or the clouds in the sky, it should work just as well. Sorry if it sounds a little cold.. my sense of warped humour tends to get the better of me =P

Breakdown

2008-12-24T18:14:00.001+08:00

Last nite..

and it was the first time i experienced hyperventilation syndrome..

Today's Epilogue

2008-12-12T01:07:00.008+08:00

11 Dec 2008 - a day where the atmosphere in the office was far from usual.

Eyes darted towards each slightly exaggerated movement in our visual corners. Ears perked up each time the doors opened and closed slightly louder than normal. You can almost literally feel your hair standing in the air and your nerves tingling beneath the skin.

Words and information exchanged quickly between men and women alike; something is not right. Everyone is wondering - Where is he? Why does he not return to his work station? Yes, the people involved in the exercise were notified today. Spirits were further dampened with the rain beating upon the window panes. Hmmph, as if it was not melodramatic enough. Attention turned inwards, almost everyone had the same thought, "Will i be next?" So immersed in their thoughts, some jumped even at the sound of their phones ringing.

Emotions were clearly etched on everyone's face. There's no hiding it, each one wearing a different facial expression. Seeing a familiar go, tears were threatening to flow for some while others simply relieved that they were not part of the exercise. For the rest, Resentment? Surprise? Shock? I cannot tell for sure but the feelings are definitely not positive. So were mine, it doesn't feel good to see someone leave without a closure. Especially when he has been one of the better new found friends since i joined.

Job Cuts..

2008-12-11T11:49:00.004+08:00

As announced to the media, there's going to be a job reduction exercise in the firm due to Strategic Change.

A total of more than 5,300 jobs will be made redundant and that is more than 10% of our total workforce. From what is known, it appears that we in the Asia Pacific region will be hit hardest.

The namelist will be announced soon in the month itself and i believe it will be these couple of days. So, who is affected? Maybe me? Who knows? Let's wait for the announcement then.

Sweet Camomile

2008-12-11T01:25:00.003+08:00

Since her first concert here in Singapore 4 years ago, Emi Fujita will be holding her second concert this Sat 13 Dec 2008 in Esplanade.

Because of my indecisiveness, I missed the first concert. I was left with choices of the most expensive seats by the time i made up my mind. It was too late. Back then, i simply do not have the budget to get a pair of tickets at 100 plus each.

Now, i'm 4 years older and with a little more spending power. So, i'm not going to miss it if i can possibly help it. Yup, i holding a pair of the Cat B passes. =)

I can still recall the time when i first heard her voice in Music Junction at Plaza Singapura 5 years back. They were playing the song "What a Wonderful World" from her second Camomile album, Camomile Blend.

It touched and i was so absolutely captivated by it. From that moment, i knew i was going to walk out from that music store with a copy of the album in my hands. The album surpassed my expectations and i keep recommending it to my colleagues. For those who heard her, they may not become a overnight fan like me but they definitely did agree that she was gifted with a most soothing voice. As for me since then, i've been looking out for her new works each time i pop into a music store.

Yes, i am so looking forward to this Sat! =)

Happiness of A Car Salesman

2008-11-28T03:10:00.005+08:00

Just to share a little short story that was told by Venerable Mahinda during a Dhamma talk, a story about a car salesman and his index of happiness.

"There was a car salesman who measured his happiness in life each month using a very simple formula - no. of cars that was actually sold / no. of cars he expects to sell. So during months when car sales were good, the salesman was filled with happiness but when times were bad, so was his mood."

"Take for example, he expects to sell 100 cars each month. In one of the months, he sold 75 cars - based on the formula, he would be 75% happy. A good percentage since he was happy most of the time. But what if he sold a single car during the month, then he would only be 1% happy - isn't that sad?"

"So the salesman tries extremely hard each month to sell as many cars as he could. But little did he realise, there is a much easier way to happiness - to lower his expectations."

"Remember the earlier formlua? If the denominator is 1 and not 100, he will be a very happy man, at least 100% happy if he managed to sell just 1 car alone. But what if we learn not to have Zero expectations? Anything divided by zero is always infinite in a maths formula, then our happiness will be infinite."

In just a simple short story, Bhante has provided a quick insight how much unhappiness can be caused when one has too much expectations in life, no matter whether the expectations are for ourselves or others.

However, we must not confuse expectations with goals, we still need to have goals in life so that we have something to work for so that we do not become complacent or lazy. With goals in life, we can make plans and place our efforts in the right direction and not let our thoughts or actions wander about mindlessly.

We may think of a goal as a destination, a snow-capped mountain that is a thousand miles away. From far, we already have the mountain in sight. If we expect to reach mountain in the next 2 hours, we are likely to be disappointed since it is very unlikely we can do so. But if we forget about pushing time to reach the mountain and just simply walk towards it with no expectation on the time required to get there, we may even find ourselves enjoying the walk itself.

Isn't that a lot nicer? =)

Breathing Mindfully

2008-11-15T15:00:00.005+08:00

Watching your breath? Have you ever done so? Is it fast and hard or is it slow and steady?

Breath mindfulness is a technique that has been taught for thousand of years. You may wonder, don't we all know how to breathe? Yes, we all know how to but over the years as we grow, we forget, we forget how to breathe without a care.

Remember when we are all still a child, all of us knew how to breathe, how to do so without a care, to breathe each breath and marvel in each and every moment as we fill our lungs with air. Why not take this moment, slow down, put away whatever you are doing and just watch your breathe for a few minutes or so?

It is a marvellous feeling when we settle into it, our breath becomes lighter and so does our heart and mind. Our mind may be filled with activities at first but as we practice it over time, it becomes easier to be more mindful of our breaths. Most of us as we start off, our breaths are hard and fast because of the tension that has been built up in our mind and body over the years. But just let our body and mind settle and our breaths will follow suit. It will start to slow down and we will find that each intake of breath becoming smoother.

Our breaths can be reflected to be a mirror of our lives. Like each moment in life, each breath is unique in its own rights, some long, some short, some hard, some smooth, reflecting impermanence. Our bodies rise and fall as we breathe in and out, just like our lives, birth (rise) and death (fall) with some days of our lives somewhat harder than the rest while some days are more pleasant. As we reflect on this while we watch our breaths, we will understand life a little better and with that understanding, we naturally become more lighthearted and just simply marvel in the simplictity of it all.

Now that we realise breathing is such a big event, will you spend a few minutes of your time with it everyday? =)

My Workstation @ ORL

2008-10-28T02:31:00.003+08:00

It's been over 3 months since we moved from ORQ to ORL. Here's a little peek to how my corner looks like.. its a pity those partitions are metal, so not much space for me to pin up fotos. Other than that, its still pretty much cosy like my previous workstations. =)

Shingles Part 2

2008-10-16T02:18:00.003+08:00

According to Wikipedia, the occurence of Shingles is 1.2 to 3.4 cases per 1,000 healthy individuals. That works out to be about 0.12% to 0.34% chances of contracting Shingles.

Sometimes when events like this happens to ourselves, we tend to ask the question, "Why me of all people?" and start lamenting about our situation. Doing so serves no wholesome purpose and will only worsen our mentality and slow down the recovery of our body since a body cannot be well without a healthy mind.

In turn, why not ask ourselves the question the other way round, "Why not?" What makes us so special that we are spared instead and not others? This will help us to take stock of the entire situation in a more holistic manner.

After all, we are all sentient beings subjected to the 4 conditions, Birth, Old Age, Sickness and Death and no one is spared from such.

Shingles

2008-10-15T03:05:00.004+08:00

Think i got the shingles, in Chinese it is know as 生蛇..

The symptons started on saturday nite, its getting progressively worse. It starts from my chest area and it stretches all the way to my back spinal area.

It causing me no small amount of pain and discomfort.. not only that it is causing my social life too and i missed a very impt message on monday nite..

More information abt it can be found in the below link..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingles

Unthoughtfulness

2008-10-10T04:56:00.003+08:00

I was pretty unthoughtful and i did not realise it till Qin hinted to me today, my bad.. it was something that i should have taken note of.. heehee, to make it worse, it was a lesson that i could learn from my 2 very good friends. so here i am, making this entry so that whenever i happen to revisit my blog, i can reflect again on how to be a little more thoughtful to those people whom i hold close to my mind =)

Test Feed to Facebook

2008-10-06T02:08:00.001+08:00

Facebook has a function to import feed.. so here goes.. not sure if it works.. so i'm testing now

好久不見

2008-10-05T04:33:00.007+08:00

好久不見 by Eason 陳奕迅 - a most heartwenching song that i find reflective of my mood over the last few months.

Club 123

2008-08-30T19:40:00.002+08:00

Its a new "club" that we started in our department -

Some of us have been working more than 12 hours a day, even up to as much as 16, for most of our work days during the last 5 weeks or so.

Guessed the couple of us are feeling rather drained out and it was one of these days that the idea just came upon me.. you know.. just eureka! i said to EG (my korean colleague), " Hey 123! Dinner? We are going now." and she looked up with a perplexed face, "Ya, dinner ok. But what's 123?" "Haha, its 1 man, 2 shifts, 3 regions"

Hearing that EG and i broke into a hearty laughter with the rest of my colleagues. It sort of lighten up the mood in the office when everyone were so engrossed in their work staring into the LCD screen sitting in front of us.

Its important to work hard but its just as important to take a break when one is needed. And more importantly to work lightheartedly even though the tough is going. =)

向左走.向右走

2008-08-24T23:09:00.010+08:00

向左走.向右走 by 梁咏琪 is one of my favourite movie theme songs and i love this line 两条平行线总有交汇的一天.

How can 2 parallel lines meet? Is it possible? I can think of 1 way. Maybe you can think of another?

Imagine these 2 lines on a piece of paper just like below.

____________________________________________

Draw dotted a line between them at equal distance.

____________________________________________

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________

Fold the paper at the dotted line and the 2 lines will meet. Parallel lines do meet =)

Alternative Perspectives

2008-08-22T01:14:00.004+08:00

Imagine looking at a stick flat, it will probably look like this
_____________________

Turn it around and look at one end, it will end up looking like this
.

Liken to a coin with 2 sides, there's always duality in all situations, there is no absolute.

Even time, although we can measure it in seconds, minutes, hours, days and years, it is still relative to our perspective. We can tell that from examples that occur in our daily lives - A sec is too long for a anxious husband whose wife is in the operating theatre but a day is too short when a newly wedded couple is on their wedding honeymoon.

Capsules

2008-08-20T01:02:00.004+08:00

Some fun shots that i did sometime back with the miniature DragonBall characters that i got from capsules =)

这一秒你好不好

2008-08-12T00:47:00.006+08:00

A song by 许志安 that was released way back in 2001 but a song that i still find light and soothing to the ears even today as i hear it.

想你风就停了
刚好不迟不早
想你会在做什么呢
会不会也孤单呢

这一秒你好不好
希望你会微笑
有你我觉得我重要
我会努力成为你的骄傲

如果这一秒钟你想起我的笑容
那是同一秒钟你浮现我脑海中
如果当寂寞穿透思念是一种痛
亲爱的没有人比我懂

世界这一秒钟多少爱都已落空
庆幸这一秒钟我们仍心意互通
言语虽无法形容却真实的可以触碰
我的世界只为你转动

Especially the words highlighted in yellow, that's how i hope you are each time i think of you.

The Leap Years

2008-08-03T19:52:00.004+08:00

Just watched The Leap Years on DVD - its not too bad a film.

Nothing to really rave about but nonetheless it is one of the better local films that appeared on the big screen this year. Btw, i do feel that Singapore was portrayed rather beautifully throughout the show.

If you wish to learn more about the film, you can visit the official website - http://www.mediacorpraintree.com/TLY/

What really caught my attention was the quotes used at each junction of the movie. Two of them especially.

William Shakespeare: It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

Robert Frost: In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.

I find it very Zen like, very much in the spirit of buddhism. Just like what Buddha has once said, "You are the child of your past, parent of your future, the captain of your own ship."

These quotes remind us how we are the ones who really determine how we live and how impermanent all conditioned things are.

Things and events are always in a constant flux and though we may not have complete control on how these events will turn out but we definitely can influence them and even more so, to decide on our own mindset about them.

It goes on, does it not?

In Remembrance of My Godfather, Ho

2008-07-27T01:00:00.004+08:00

My paternal uncle, also my godpa, Ho who passed away on 16th July.

What can be said of him? I'm sure there's alot to him that i have never known and will never know. What ever in the future i can learn of him will be through his legacy, his children and grandchildren - my cousins and their babies. How they live and how they remember him will be the best testament to his efforts in living his life fully.

There is one thing i know for sure - he had great passion in social work and spent a great deal of time serving the community. His lifelong efforts were recognised when he was awarded the public service medal years back. But that is not important as the fact that his passion and involvement in social work had benefitted individuals and the community.

I hope that the merits he generated in his living years will continue to flow strong like his name, Ho - translate as river in the years ahead. May it gather more strength as time goes by, just like how a trickle becomes a stream, a stream joins many to form into a river with the flow gaining strength each moment it flows downstream. With metta.

Along the Dotted Lines..

2008-06-28T13:31:00.004+08:00

Ya, it's official... Mark and Tracy just signed on those very binding lines this very morning =) Congrats Mr and Mrs Plunkett! Glad to be a part of this important chapter of your lives. Truly honored to be able to put down my prints as one of your witnesses and leave my mark on one of the most important papers that the two of you can ever share...

Hmm.. so do i get to be Gan Die once again in the future say 2 or 3 years down the road? Me sort of looking forward to it.. heehee

28KM

2008-06-21T16:52:00.004+08:00

That's the distance i cycled from home to workplace and back. Not much of a distance but its a nice enough ride on my trusted GT Ava. Furthermore, its the first time i cycled to work. I should be doing this every now and then on fri nites if i happen to be working the late nite shift =)

Afterall, the amenities are there to make it convenient for cyclist like me - we got a bicycle park area within the carpark and a shower room in the office (heater included haha).

42KM

2008-06-15T17:52:00.009+08:00

No more no less, all done this morning on my trusted Salomon skates that took a 3 month break due to studies.

It feels good to skating in East Coast again with the sun in my eyes and music in my ears. Sure missed these skating times alot. When skating, time simply rolled by and i just enjoyed the sights that presents themselves as i passed by them.

Oh.. i almost rolled over a snake this morning during the stretch of park connector along Changi Coastal Road. Its really a tiny one - by my estimate, just abt the 50 to 60 cm in total length. Could have easily missed it with the track littered with leaves. Luckily for both of us, we both jumped when we came near each other and a good thing we jumped in opposite directions!

Scottie

2008-06-01T06:01:00.010+08:00

Just got my bike helmet today from Chapter2Cycle with a little discount, courtesy of Mark =) Haha, always nice to know someone who knows the boss - discounts are likely esp when you can get your friend to come along and show "face".

Went for a ride tonite about 1.30am from home to East Coast and back (couldnt ride ard the park cos some marathon was going on). Must say the helmet is definitely worth the price - its really light; i could hardly feel the weight and absolutely not felt the slightest pressure point after 2 hours. Sweet!

Little Buddha

2008-03-25T00:00:00.000+08:00

In many ways Little Buddha is a companion piece to Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor. A beautiful travelogue and history lesson unfolds in the two parts of this film: a historical text of Siddhartha (Keanu Reeves) and the contemporary quest of Lama Norbu (Ying Ruocheng), who believes he has found the reincarnation of his former teacher in a Seattle child. The ancient, magical tales sweep away the blasé contemporary action. Ruocheng's presence drives the story of discovery as the child learns about the teachings of Buddhism. A visual feast that will dazzle both young and old. In fact, were it not a religious icon, the youngsters might want Siddhartha dolls after viewing his magical on-screen adventures. Beautiful cinematography by Vittorio Storaro. --Doug Thomas

Finally, i managed to lay my hands on a copy of this film! It was a number of years ago when i first read about this picture. Since then, i have been asking around the local shops if they have a copy of this dvd. Apparently being a pretty old film, released in 1993 and coupled with the fact that this is not a mainstream film, i couldn't find it despite trying numerous places. Even so, i kept a lookout for the film whenever i go into a dvd shop.

Sunday was my lucky day - on the way home, i dropped into Gramophone (Cathay) after my classes. Didn't really have anything in mind but just ahead to browse around for awhile (since its on the way) and see if i might chance on a lucky find and boy did i get lucky!

What should i say about this film? Stunning, beautiful, breathtaking, emotions and thoughts provoking, magical, simplistic? Apologies for the limited vocab but i have really no idea how best to describe this film except that it really connects. All i can say, its really in a class of its own. =) Haha, on a note, Keanu Reeves sounds really trying with that indian accent, dubbing might have been a better option.

Studies

2008-02-24T00:00:00.001+08:00

"The purpose of studying Buddhismis not to study Buddhism,but to study ourselves."
Quote from Shunryu Suzuki

I believe it's the same across any religion that teaches us to do self-reflection. It is a simply a way to reach deeper within, to know who we truly are and in relation to our surroundings.

Do we truly know ourselves? If we do, then how can doubt, fear, anger and anxiety continue to arise in our mind? We are all interdependent, we cannot exist without one another and all the conditions being the way it is right now.

Each one of us is just like a wave in the ocean. If you know one, you know all. Once we understand ourselves, our mind will open to others and we will also know them. Understand and know that we are all seeking happiness. At this point, all delusions will be dispel and wisdom naturally arise.

So, let's just take a moment from our ever busy scheule to look into ourselves to touch and release the inner peace, although buried deep down, that has always been present.

Beautiful Image

2008-02-17T00:00:00.000+08:00

What is the most beautiful image that ever came across your mind? It differs from people to people but most of them have one thing in common; these images include the ones we loved most.

What's mine? It's a little imaginary but it's quite alright to be a little creative; i'm doing the creativity afterall and you probably say the same thing if you are in my shoes now =P

A huge green grassland lying in front of me that stretches on for miles and miles, going way beyond the sight of my eyes. A gentle breeze blows through, caressing my face and creating waves across the emerald sea. Taking a deep breath, i smell the freshness of countless droplets of morning dew that sparkles on the grass blades they reside upon.

There she is amongst the waves, holding her hands wide open across, causing the tiny droplets of dew to sprinkle about as she twirls and turns in her joyful little dance of happiness. She wears a long white dress, the colour so pure that it is not unlike the petals of a fresh blooming lily. Just below the hemline of her dress, her petite ankles are tinted with the green from the grass that she gently lands upon with her every step.

She turns around to gaze upon me and the sparkle in her pair of deep brown eyes conveys thousands of unsaid words, feelings and stories that i will take a lifetime to understand. Decidedly, she bestow me a smile with her perfectly formed lips, one that warms the very inner soul of me. A little sigh of contentment escapes my lips and i smile back to her. She waves back and with a giggle, continues her dance of joy among the greenery.

I turn my head to the right and there is a huge ancient tree upon a small hilltop, providing a cooling shade to everyone that rests beneath it. My parents are there, standing beneath the shade, looking so calm and peaceful with their hands joined together. Nodding their heads gracefully towards me, they affirm my thoughts that they are always watching over us, their children.

Not too far away, i sight my siblings, each standing tall and blessed at the start of their own path that leads away from the huge tree. Though travelling in different directions, seeking their own future, there is no doubt our paths are closely intertwined since the day we are born and will continue to be so for this very lifetime.

As i look around me, i see others as well and there they are, all of them, those that entered my life and those that i will meet and cross paths in a later stage. Some will be my closest friends while some will be no more than a passing moment. All decided by our past, present and future actions. No more and no less, be it big or small, these are the people that will be a part of my journey this life.

At this exact precise moment, i do not know how but i simply know this moment to be the exact moment, it it just right. Nothing more, nothing less; exactly the way it always is. My beautiful image. =)

愛我

2008-02-15T00:00:00.000+08:00

A very special song.. keeps growing on me everyday.. =)
found its MV on the web - 愛我

Going 50?

2008-02-08T00:00:00.003+08:00

Going 50? I'm looking forward to it... oh no.. not my age but to skate 50km - from Fort Road to Changi Village and back.. ya, that's what i'm thinking of right now =P

I did approx. 30km just about a week ago after work, East Coast Mac->Fort Road->Changi Village but had to stop right there as it was getting late, ard 1.30pm.. had to hit the bed, otherwise i won't have enuff energy when i start my shift at 11pm...

haha, so who wants to join me for a full course?? mark/trace/dylan/david - who wants in?

Due to the nature of my work and some other commitments, i hardly get to meet these skating khakis of mine especially now that i'm on new york hours... Think you guys are slacking without me around.. hahaha.. esp trace, dylan & david.. dun just eat the goodies, rememeber to work out.. at least mark does biking on his off days..

Btw, I do hit the road with my bike every now and then. My ride -a drop dead gorgeous GT Avalanche 2.0 (2006). Click the link below to have an idea of how she looks like..

And i'm looking forward to get the alluring one below.. hope there will be stock coming in this late feb or early march.. its out of stock for now...

蔡健雅 Goodbye & Hello

2008-01-24T00:00:00.001+08:00

In my opinion, one of the best album she has to date.. maybe its just me but i really like the overall style and presentation of this album =) much better than her previous albums.

Not that her previous albums were no good; they are actually some of the best albums that our local artists produced to date.. but she seem to be in her element for this..

How should i put it? It was as if she found a deeper sense of inner self, opening a new chapter in her life and this sense of being can be felt through the way she performed the songs. She seemed more at ease with herself, more relaxed, somewhat with the flow..

My recommendations (or rather my favourites):
1) Track 03 当你离开的时候
2) Track 05 越来越不懂
3) Track 06 如果你爱我
4) Track 08 It's True
5) Track 09 晨间新闻
6) Track 10 走过的路

Merlion in AMK

2007-12-30T00:00:00.000+08:00

Went cycling ard 3 am and a little surprise from Ang Mo Kio Estate - 2 miniature merlion statues..

Guess, Merlion Park near Esplanade isn't the only place to see merlions =P
Goes to show little treasures are just ard corner if we know where to look =)