MUST WATCH: Children Full of Life

In the award-winning documentary Children Full of Life, a fourth-grade class in a primary school in Kanazawa, northwest of Tokyo, learn lessons about compassion from their homeroom teacher....

Part I - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=armP8TfS9Is
Part II - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc7S8HAfDzk
Part III - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd7YWx7idfE
Part IV - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEW65OKRiAk
Part V - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FGdXEBcdh4

Temptations for a vegetarian

I most defintely ain't referring to e temptation of meat.

Before I became a vegetarian I was not fussy about food. Anything and everything goes, as long as it was e shortest queue. But now that I have less options, the need for sense (taste) pleasures seem to surface. It is really "wanting what u cannot have". I start to long for more tasty food, for more variety, for more choices.

And I realize that I m still very much attached to sense desires...

向内摄的时期

Seeing with e inner eye

I have come to a period in my life where it is time to go slow and take e time for some inner reflection. We are running everyday, trying to earn money or achieve satisfaction of sorts. Making life a never ending race.

While we do take a break to recharge once in a while, it is often a holiday where external pleasures are targetted.

Personally, a self reflection break is worth more and cost less. I am taking such a break now. And truly, time shouldn't be used in its normal scale to measure this period. There is no too long or too short for self reflection. In fact it should be a continous process. But since we don't even remember or notice that we are breathing, I don't think some of us need be concern about reflection.

I have gone into a period of self reflection and I am slowly but surely learning more about myself and how best to keep on learning. May you too take e time to slow down, breathe and reflect....

Earthwatch.org

My friend just shared about this organisation with me. A non profit that assist research teams to obtain e volunteers and resources required.You can join expeditions and be part of e research work.

Of course e catch is that u have to contribute time and money. But it would still be a meaningful and interesting experience. And you will be assisting e research work which can teach us more about our earth, about mother nature, about e different cultures, about e animal kingdom, etc.

Knowledge is never ending, waiting for us to learn. Same goes for e Truth taught by e Buddha.

The aura of bo song ness

This entry follows after the eyes of compassion.

I went to take a passport photo for my india visa (for e Dharamsala teaching tour). And as always I didn't smile for e photo. So I ended up with one that reflected my "attitude". What yen termed as bo-song-ness.

Well it is still a nice photo to me, coz it revealed e real me. One who is not apt at smiling or interacting, much less show compassion.One who seemed to treat e world as an unhappy place, with such strong dislike that it can be read from e face. For one who has everything, I find such strong negative emotions hard to stomach. Of course I know e underlying reasons. How I wish I can find it deep in my heart to show e compassion that I might have.

My pop star chase

His Holiness Dalai Lama is conducting a teaching tour in Dharamsala in Oct.

When I got news of it, I was practically jumping up and down, going "I want to go" and I was so ( still am) excited.I shared the news with a few friends and I assume they all could feel e excitement and enthusiasm that I had for e trip.

More than one had comment that I was chasing a pop idol. Well, in some ways I am. But the level of respect and love that I have for HHDL far exceeds that for any pop star. The lessons and teachings that I can gain from that one humble man far exceeds everything that I can learn in school or from my friends. He embodies the picture ( at least to me) of complete and perfect compassion , which is what I m striving for. But I do agree and know that I need to adjust my motivations if I m to be able to see him!

With eyes of compassion

Do you think I m a compassionate person? People around me might think so, but I would beg to differ.

I know myself best and I dare say that I m selfish and not as compassionate as my behavior would suggest.I will return to e topic of me later.

I had His Holiness Dalai Lama in mind when I started this entry. It is said and known that HHDL has eyes of compassion. That compassion radiates from his very being.That you can experience his compassion simply by being in his presence.

Sometimes I wonder, how much (if it can ever be quantified) compassion does he have, to be able to radiate out so. I can only imagine that his compassion is limitless! We pale significantly in comparison. Our tiny bit of compassion (like buying tissue from e elderly) is insignificant to that of HHDL, yet we think that we have done a good deed. I do not dare say that I am compassionate, because I still have selfish motives behind my actions.

功德与福德

Well there is a big difference in e 2.

One type of merit will aid in your spiritual pursuits or attainment to a certain extent while e other is more for enjoyment of worldly pleasures.The more important difference is in e accumulation of e merits.

To gain 福德 is easier. Achieved just by doing good, good deeds etc.

To upgrade it to 功德 requires a pure intention. Meaning e deed or action was done solely for e benefit of others, without thoughts of getting praise or recognition or merits.And that is not easy, for humans are very selfish creatures...as even I m...

The shirt judgement

I was attendin a course about e noble 8fold path, and midway thru e run, e coordinator shared something with us.

"One of e participants asked me if I didnt have enough shirts to wear as I m always wearing e same one on sat. I want to share that I wear this particular shirt because this shirt has e 8 noble fold path on it. I do have enough shirts..."

I was touched and impressed when I heard that. He actually tries to assist and remind Us of e teachings. But how many of us actually realized and noticed his efforts. Even worst, we criticize him for not changing his shirt.We need to be more attentive and grateful for assistance of others.It would never come across my mind to keep wearing e same shirt simply to teach.

Eating without saying grace

Actually I think and believe that it is a good habit to say grace and give thanks.

I have observed recently that I tend to goble down my food, either due to rush or hunger. Or worst, I m eating and doing something else at e same time. Not giving attention or respect to e food and those that made it possible for me to survive.

As mentioned in my much earlier entry, we really need to be grateful for e food that we put into our mouths. And to eat mindfully, savouring e taste and pleasure that e food is giving us.Thank you all for each bite that I take.

I don't look 18 anymore

The title does suggest that I m concern with e physical appearance. Well I m approaching overtime afterall.

Have always looked younger than my age due to a small frame and kiddish dressing.But recently looked into e mirror and saw an older me. To be exact, a more settled looking me. 我已沉淀了.

To elaborate, I might look young from afar, but close up, you can see my age and e experiences that I have gone thru all written on my face. There truly is a difference.But I love all that I have gone thru, be it e positive or e negative, and I won't trade it for anything in e world, for those instances made me.

Moments of clarity - knowing what is important in life

A Sammi Cheng Seiko watch ad at bugis station.

By right, we should always know what is important to us in our lives. But very so often we don't. But do you at least have moments of clarity? I sincerely hope you do.

When I m clear, I m super clear. And when I m lost, e end of e world can't even match. Why is it that I waver between clarity and confusion? Is it really because I have yet to 看破 and/or 放下? Techically once I have, I should be able to let go of all attachments, and be steadfast on my path of learning and practising e Dharma. And life and it's path should be all so clear.

I suppose I have more to internalize. Anyone has suggestions on how best to practise in our daily lives?

What is death

Death is:

1) Biological
- The physical body is no longer functioning

2) Psychological
- The person doesnt feel alive, has no social connection, feel like a burden

3) Social
- The person is treated as dead already, e.g. division of assets

We can truly die in more than one ways. But it is important not to let death and fear of it it bring us down.

what fight, what quarrel?

A friend left a comment on the entry abt e day I was in hell.

Yen and I read it, and well, we didnt quite agree with it. (just technicalities la)

In the first place, it was a one sided affair...lol
ie, i was the only one fighting.... and honestly, how does one fight with oneself (yes, i know it is possible, but not in this context)

Secondly, and this sort of reflects the understanding that we have. We read it together, looked at each other, and went, "what fight, we wont quarrelling"
This might not make sense to you, but technically it wasnt really a quarrel. It was more of me being angry at myself. And since there was no issue, and no bitter aftertaste, we didnt classify it as a quarrel.

I think this is a good example of how different people view things differently. Even between yen and me.
It is really hard to have a common understanding. So if you do find it, treasure it.

Tomatoes are alive too

I recently watched a movie titled "School days with a pig". This is based on a true story, where a teacher got his class of 6 graders to raise a pig together, on the premise that they will eat it when they graduate. It was meant to be a life lesson for them...sad to say, even tho they grew attached to the pig (P-Chan), they still killed it, but after long debates.

Read more at http://moonpointer.com/new/2009/04/bittersweet-school-days-with-a-pig/

Here are a few lines which touched/impacted me, but it's open to your own interpretation
- Tomatoes are alive too (when P-Chan ate up another class' tomatoes fr e garden)

- Eating p-chan but not other pigs is discrimination too

- Things that can be touched are less important than memories in our heart

Focus on the person

not the machine....

Some background. When pple are dying, the relatives/friends seem more concerned in watching the machines that he/she is hooked up on. Watching and/or waiting for the point where the monitor beeps, or the numbers fall. It is as if they are watching the stock market movements.

They have "tied" their attention to the machine and its readings.
Yet the patient is still lying in front of them. Should not the attention be focused on the patient instead?

Instead of worrying over the time of death, or the readings on the machine, attention should be paid and given to the patient. To show love and concern before the passing on... and not when it is too late

Die in Success

Has anyone termed u a failure, and told you that you will not succeed in anything in life.
Do not worry or be concerned. I am sure that there will be at least one thing which you will definitely succeed in!

"We'll all die successfully"
Sogyal Rinpoche

That will be our one last successful action in this life time.
No one can actually fail to die.

One point of this entry is to share that success is not necessarily important in life. What is success worth when we die? What is failure cos we still die.

Another point, is that there is nothing to fear in death.
Death is another one of those processes that we all go thru. Just like puberty or menopause, etc.
Since it is something that we do not have much control over, there is no need to give it overdue attention. Much less to fear it.

If there is fear (at least for some Buddhist), it might be coz they know that they have not been culitvating good and avoiding evil in this life. But that fear should drive them to practice and do good and avoid evil. Win-win I think....

We versus Them

If you had seen the youtube of Dr Hans Rosling, you would have heard of this before.

There is often this distinction between us and them. In the Dr's case, he was teaching global health, and his students seemed to divide the world into WE vs THEM.

WE = Westerm (developed) world
THEM = Third world countries

Why is there distinction of this sort? We are all humans, and just because they were born in a less developed country does not make them any less.

Humans seem to have this innate need to divide and categorise. Why is that the case?
To feed our ego into thinking that we are always better?
But while conditions and circumstances are different, fundamentals are the same.
We all have a human body that will grow old, sick and die.

Your body will become ashes or rot when you die. There is no difference in that.
So why them vs us? It doesnt make any sense to me.

While I say all that, I do realise and admit that the old mindset of distinction is not an easy one to rid.
Let's all work together to have equality and equanimity for ALL. [including animals, etc]

My complain clock started in Nov 08

Late last year, I read an article about a complain clock.
The author was sharing that we are all complainers. While we might have everything that we can possible need/use, we are still complaining.
And that he tried, but still fail to stop complaining for 24 hours.

Well, I did the same to try, and started up my complain clock. While I am not conscious about tracking it, I know I have thus far failed to stop complaining for a single day.

My clock is still ticking, still complaining. And I counted 25 judgements/complains which I made yesterday.
I need to work harder on this!

Hunting for a boy/girlfriend?

This is meant to be a fun entry.
Was chatting and kidding ard with yen the other day, and he came up with his own version of the four noble truths. (We were talking abt men/dating)

1. There is more than 1 man in the world
2. The man that you choose is not the best man
3. The dream man that you want is non-existent
4. You dont need man to survive

Each sentence on its own is so true. And yet pple are still clinging on to the vision of a dream man. The white knight who will come riding along to "save" you from misery.
No wonder all those shows with a Cinderalla theme is so popular.

But all these are attachment. Attachment to love, to the physical, to society's expectations.
We do NOT need these attachments!

From another angle, women can survive without man. So why the desire to be part of a couple?
Why be attached to something that is not real and might not last?

Be mindful of your mind

I just want to share this terrible terrible experience that i went thru, and am still trying to digest/analyse and learn from.

To cut the long story short, I threw a horrible tantrum at my husband and walked out of the house.

The irony is, I dont even know what was it that triggered the outburst. I only know that I came home, found that things were not done the way I requested, I blew.

I can only be grateful that the trainings (the pitiful little bit) I tried to put my mind thru helped.
The thoughts of screaming and throwing things around were running in my head, and I was sorely tempted to do so. Yet at the same time, there was a part of my consciousness that realised all the negative emotions and energy running thru. The mindful part which caught on, and held me in check.

The mindful part which stood separated from the "real" me, which went, notice your emotions and thoughts. Notice the state of the mind.

I left the house partly coz I was really angry, and partly coz I need the space to breathe. My mindfulness can only control me that much. (So I left before I could do real damage)
And once out of the house, I started to reflect. I still didnt quite understand how the outburst came about.

The real scary thing was the state in which my mind was in. I seriously could do murder than.
And later I thought to myself, I must never never ever be in that situation again, coz if I had died than, I would have ended up in HELL. As it is, my mindstate was already in hell at that moment.

Of course, this was a real extreme case where I was truly angry. But the normal day-to-day anger is still a negative mindstate that we all should avoid.

Pls stay mindful of all your thoughts and deeds. You never know when they will return to "bite" you.

Abandoning Art

"Art is never finished, only abandoned"
Leonardo Da Vinci

Does that make sense to you? It struck me deeply tho.
It is actually a matter of perspective.

Finished to one, uncomplete to another, abandoned to the third.
So what is the truth? Each might be correct (or wrong)

Normally, I would say: does it matter? as long as you believe you are right, you can be happy with that answer/mindset. Yet there might only be one Truth. [In this case, the piece of art]

3 can stare at the painting and come up with different conclusions. But that piece of painting is simply what it is, a painting. Do you see the truth if you see that?

Just do it!

If I may say, Nike was not the first one to come up with the Just do it tagline.
Recently went to the Da Vinci exhibition, and I took away some quotes

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing
Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; we must do"
Leonard Da Vinci

This can be applied to almost all of us, in every other situation.
How often it is that we procrastinate, due to ignorance, or fear, or laziness.

We think that it is enough just to know, and that with knowledge, we will be invincible. The truth is, without practice, you will never really learn, nor get anywhere. It is just like learning to cycle from a book. The book can teach u techniques, but it will not offer you the balancing practical.

There are a thousand and one things that we should just get down to DOING!
And the most impt one of all, is practising the Dharma. The urgency is even greater, for we may die anytime. Yet humans fail to realise or internalise that.

Just do it. Before it is really too late.

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Takes Refuge In The Triple Gem I

An extract (but I forgot where. My apologies to the author)

As Buddhists, we have to remember that we take refuge in the Triple Gem for guidance, protection and blessing –
constantly and profoundly. It is not an ignorant, fearful passive mentality but an active process of learning, trying and keeping at it.

Driven only by fear, men go for refuge to many places — to hills, woods, groves, trees and shrines. Such, indeed, is no safe refuge; such is not the refuge supreme. Not by resorting to such a refuge is one released from all suffering.
He who has gone for refuge to the Buddha, the Teaching and his Order, penetrates with transcendental wisdom the Four Noble Truths — suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the Noble Eightfold Path leading to the cessation of suffering.
This indeed is the safe refuge, the refuge supreme. Having gone to such a refuge, one is released from all suffering.
— Dhammapada 188-192

What other choice is there?

A continuation of my earlier entry.

To be frank and brutal, the only choice in life is death. In fact, it is not even a choice at all. There is no choice at all, because we all die. No matter what. No matter if you are rich or poor, healthy or ill, the President or a road sweeper, homeless or despised. Everyone dies. The option is not given to you. You cant plan or guage when you are going to die.

Since we all know that we are going to die, why do we still live in a manner as if tomorrow will always come?

Apparently Jet Li shared during an interview that he bids farewell to his wife every morning before he leaves for work. For he is not certain that he will be able to return home alive at night. And how true that is, for who can tell the future.

We should be mindful that we can drop dead anytime, and be grateful and appreciative of every single moment in your life. Best to make use of it to learn the Dharma, so that when the time comes, hopefully we will have the chance/"choice" of a better rebirth.

That is the only choice you can make. To prepare yourself for the next "life"

It has been 8 months

8 months since i left my previous job.
As most pple would say, time flies. I suppose it has too, in my case.
In certain sense, I did nothing much during this time.

But I know and am certain that I have grown a lot spiritually during this time. My practice is still suffering and far from good, but it is the journey and learnings that count.

It is a long and tough journey, and there is a long way to go, but I will continue on, for what other choice is there?

Spiritualism - the new evil

Only for me!

Materialism was never a real problem for me.

My faults lie with spiritualism. I keep thinking and focusing on my spiritual pursuits, such that i am not grounded, and at times, not even in touch with the reality around me.
I totally understand my own faults (and while I wont call it an obsession), I would much prefer to continue the same way. But it is high time i started on the Middle Path, one with more balance.

sad to say, i do know that i am not the only one attached to spiritualism.
truly, if it is not guarded against, it has the potential of becoming the new "evil"

Look within

The Giant Goth was hit in the eye by a rock, which turned inwards, and he died of what he saw there...
A quote from a kids book which I read a few years ago. The line has stayed with me all these while.

And I came face to face with the same teaching at the retreat, when the Venerable reminded us to look within, to reflect on ourselves. 向内摄

We are too fond of looking outwards, at the externals and circumstances around us. Such that we forget to look at our own hearts and minds. We do not want to encounter the same faith as the giant Goth. To look inward and die from the evil that you see in your own heart and mind (or life).

It was a timely reminder for me to constantly look deep inside me, to learn and grow.