A prayer for the new year...

Om Ah Hum...

I take refuge in my root guru... 

I take refuge in the Buddha Jewel

I take refuge in the Dharma Jewel

I take refuge in the Sangha Jewel...

Om Ah Hum...

May All Enlightened ones be compassionate!

May you guide us with your wisdom and compassion,

So that we may reach the other shore, slowly but surely

And never give up the resolve to awaken our Bodhi mind

in this and many life times to come...

Until we reach our own enlightenment, 

we need your light, your support, your strengths and courage

Avalokiteshvara! Lord of Compassion...

Lead us to the world of universal loving kindness, through the resonances of your Sublime Mani mantra...

Manjushri Lord of Wisdom...

Guide us so we can awaken to our own innate wisdom, the prajna to which all enlightened ones attain...

Mama Tara, the one benevolent green mother! Help us remove our own obstacles that hinders us from our true nature!

Transform our ignorance, greed and anger to wisdom, giving and loving kindness.!! 

We will remind ourselves as we see your perfect images, to remember the qualities of Samyaksambodhi and to ever strive and be diligent in our cultivation until we reach the other shore.... 

May the next year be a great year for cultivating, for realizing and fulfilling our goals...

Om Ah Hum.... Sarva Mangalam!

Time to make resolutions...

This year's resolution... some came through, some did not. So I have renewed the ones that I didn't fulfill. 

Thinking back, I have grown a lot more matured, more wiser ( I hope) and gotten to know myself better. I know that I can work well to a certain extent, under pressure... But I cannot be pressured to do things not according to my way. 

I have learned to deal with some relationship issues. It's not easy, and there are times, I was in so much of anger that I would have snapped and threw a fit and do something stupid.

I have also learned about the value of time and timing. 

Now, 2008 is coming to it's curtain call, The future is filled with uncertainty, the world economy is hanging by a thread, Countries are distressed with climatic and economic changes.

Despite this, I must look inside calmly. I am starting something so I can see the results in 4 years time. I have to be resilient and work hard....

May 2009 brings opportunities to all. 

Don't blame Nature... blame GREED within a man's heart!

I am saddened by the recent tragic events that happened in my country. I referred to the landslide incident that happened yesterday near an upper class suburb in Kuala Lumpur. Known as Bukit Antarabangsa, the suburb is quite a favorite spot for expatriates and well to do locals. This tragedy could have been avoided if the authorities in the city council and the developers who developed this hill side land paid more attention to ensure the soil is stable and the area is not over developed.

If this question of overdevelopment was posed to a child of 9 years old, That child would have answered in the most wise words, "Too much will make the hill tumble down" I feel that Nature is not to be blamed. If we were to look deeper into this issue, we should reflect on ourselves instead. Why did this occurred? It's simply because of Greed. The greed for more profit. Because of this greed in the hearts of certain parties, they have overlooked what was important for such hill side development.

If the parties concerned did what they were supposed to do, did a through check on what is important for construction and researched the effects of over development on hills and hill sides, Then people would not have to suffer what they are suffering now, the death of their beloved ones, the anguish of losing one's property and material needs.

I hope you will join me in prayer for those who lost their lives in this reckless and avoidable incident, may they be rest in peace and may they find the light to move on to their next life... Sadhu! (All pictures are courtesy of The Star paper)

I give thanks....

Wisely reflecting I eat this alms food,
not for fun, not for pleasure,
not for fattening, nor for beautification,
but only for the maintenance and nourishment
of this body,
for keeping it healthy and helping with the holy life.
Thinking thus, I shall allay hunger without overeating
so that I may continue to live blamelessly and at ease.

Alms offering to 1000 monks @ Bkt Jalil National Stadium, Sept 8th

On a sunday morning, was up at half past 4 in the morning, preparing oneself to do volunteer work at the Inaugural Alms Offering for 1,000 monks event held at Bukit Jalil National Stadium. I got another friend , CW to come and offer help too. TO came over to pick us up around 5.30 am. Yeah... I only had a few hours sleep and was feeling really sleepy throughout the whole thing but I was happy as I was given this special opportunity to help and to give alms offering.

Giving alms to Buddhist monks is a wonderful tradition in Buddhism. This act teaches us to be generous and giving, It help to reflect on ourselves all the time not to be greedy. The event started at half past 7 am and with the usual opening ceremony and speeches given by ministers and chairmans and important guests. The prayers started. This event is special as about 800 over monks from Thailand and 200 more from the local temples, converged to participate in this event.

The feeling of joy and inner peace as I see saffron clothed monks, maroon clothed forest monks and along with the other Buddhist tradition monks from the Mahayana and Vajarayana monks walked slowly with dignified pace to receive alms from devotees. Words can't describe this... only pictures can...

May the merits accrued from this alms offering and volunteer work be transfered to all sentient beings dwelling within the 10 directions. Sadhu! Om Ah Hum......

I found my inspiration!

I was surfing on the net to look for innovative vegetarian recipes and I stumbled upon this blog:

http://crystalbyblog.blogspot.com/

Please check out this site as it is full of wonderful ideas to create mouthwatering vegetarian meals... Crystal's recipes are easy and quick. So you don't have to be a gourmet chef to know about your veggies...

Here is one such recipe from a her site:

Oh, I have too many fresh lily bulbs. Besides using to cook the broccoli, I still have lots of them left. Guess, pumpkin, lily bulb and wolfberries can be a nice combination. Corn flour or cornstarch can be used instead of tapioca starch.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g pumpkin (weight after peeling), cut into chunks
° 25g fresh lily bulb, petals separated
° ½ teaspoon wolfberries, soaked
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° ½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
° 1 teaspoon tapioca starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
° 125ml water
° fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the pumpkin and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the pumpkin is soften.
3. Throw in the lily bulb, wolfberries, water and bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar and tapioca starch mixture to thicken the sauce.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Don't eat veges....if you swear!

An old wise man told me yesterday:

If you eat pure but your speech is vile, it doesn't justify the precepts of pure eating...

Sounds like Ji Gond dispensing a good advice through this old guy. . . 

So if you practice vegetarianism but your actions, intentions are not pure. . . then you're no better. . . still the same. . . 

A good and timely reminder. . .

Just to share all of these with you, got it from a friend's blog and I think it's the best advice you could give to someone you care. . .

Here is the english translation with Pali taken from the book Pali recitation for meditators by Sujiva.

I am of the nature to decay - ( Jaradhammomhi )
I have not gone beyond decay - ( Jaram Anatito )
I am of the nature to be diseased - (Vyadhi Dhammomhi)
I have not gone beyond disease - (Vyadi Anatito )
I am of the nature to die - (Marana Dhammomhi )
I have not gone beyond death - ( Marana Anatito )
All that is mine and dear - ( Sabbehi Me Piyehi Manapehi )
Will change, Will vanish - ( Nanabhavo Vinabhavo )

I am the owner of my own kamma - ( Kammassakomhi )
I am the heir of my own kamma - ( Kamma Dayado )
I am born from my own kamma - ( Kamma Yoni )
I am related to my own kamma - ( Kamma Bandhu )
I abide supported by my own kamma - ( Kamma patisarano )
Whatever kamma i shall do - ( Yam Kammam Karissami )
Wheather good or evil - (Kalyanam Va Papakam Va )
of that - ( Tassa )
I shall be the heir - ( Dayado Bhavissami )
Thus by Us - ( Evam Amhehi )
Should (these) be frequently recollected - ( Abhinham Paccavekkitabbam )

The joys of meditation

Been learning meditation again... astounding...  realized that I have a lot of random thoughts coming in and out... have to hushed them... and observed them, let them go... and bring my mind back to my breathing.... 

and in Metta, I learned to love myself, and because of this; I am trying to overcome some vices in me... to be more focus... 

Dharma classes have been good.. Made obeisance to Grand Master and requested for His blessings so my endeavors will be fruitful...

Sadhu!  May all beings be well and happy...

Friday the 13th...

Today is friday the 13th... despite being symbolically linked as a supernatural and 'unlucky' day in western mythology and folklore, I think friday the 13th is a good day. As far as I could remember, all the fridays of the 13th I have had encountered were good auspicious days. So is 13th an unlucky number? I don't know, if you search at wikipedia, it says that:

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia,^[1], a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (meaning Friday), anddekatreís (δεκατρείς) (meaning thirteen), attached to phobía (φοβία) (meaning fear). The term is a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a simple phobia (fear) of the number thirteen appearing in any case.

So, this superstition is an imported 'culture' from the west, Malaysia at one time; known as Malaya, was ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch and finally the English. Due to our colonial history, Friday the 13th has made an impact and is assimilated into our local culture and folklore. I personally don't believe in this, but comparing this with another one of many Chinese superstition, it's akin to the Chinese people having a similar phobia with the number 4. No 4 sounds like the word 'death' in the chinese phonetics. 

So, any chinese people you would know will happily avoid houses, apartment units, buildings, streets beginning with no. 4. Amazing isn't it. Whereas the Malay people love number 4. Why? Because if you look at it, the no.4 looks like someone sitting comfortably with legs crossed. There is a Malay term for this: 'Goyang Kaki' it means shaking legs literally but it actually means 'Easy livelihood'. And All cultures agree that no. 7 is an auspicious number. 

It is amazing how cultures meet and collide. It's diaspora throughout the world is amazing and because of it, we have a myriad of taboos and superstitions. Anyone feeling lucky today then?

Wesak International Film Festival 2008

I'm looking forward to this event... I hope all who are interested will join in as well.

Wesak International Film Festival 2008 

馬來西亞佛光山2008年短期出家修道會 FGS Short monastic retreat dharma assembly.

The FGS (Fo Guang Shan) Malaysia is organizing a short monastic retreat (5 days) beginning 1st of June this year. Initially, Venerable Dharma Master Shih Xing Yun was supposed to be the honored Dharma Master to do the opening ceremony, however due to the tragic earthquake incident that had happened in Wen Chuan county in Si Chuan province, The Old Bodhisattva decided to fly over to China to provide assistance. 

At the same time, the taking refuge, upholding the 5 precepts ceremony will also be conducted at the end of the monastic retreat. All this is happening at the Dong Zen monastery in the quiet town of Jenjarom, Selangor. 

For more information on how these activities please click here. The FGS malaysia site is in chinese. For english please click here. 

Moving to a new blog...

Hello Hello.. I'm shifting. . . time for a new change and new layout. . . 

Om.......

A prayer for those perished in the earthquake incident in Wen Chuang, China and the cyclone in Myanmar.

Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya, Namo Sanghaya! 

Namah Ratnatrayaya, Namo Arya Jhana, Sagara, Vairochana, Vhuya Rajaya, Tathagataya, Arhate Samyaksambuddhaya, Namah Sarva Tathagatabyeh, Arhatebyeh, Samyaksambuddhebyeh, Namah Arya Avalokiteshvaraya Bodhisattvaya, Mahasattvaya, Mahakarunikaya, Tadyatha 

Om! Dhara Dhara Dhiri Dhiri Dhuru Dhuru, Itevey Ite chale chale, Pra chale Prac Chale, Kusume, Kusuma vare i li mili chiti jva lam apanaya svaha!

Om Pra Mani Dani Soha, Om Pra Mani Dani Soha, Om Pra Mani Dani Soha!

Ripa ripa tey, Ku ha Ku ha tey, Ta Ra Li Tey Ni ha Ra Tey Vi Ma Li Tey Soha!

Om Amrita Teja Hara Hum! Om Ha Ha Ha Vismaye Svaha! Om Mani Padme Hum!

Ohm Ah Hummmmmmmmm!

May all those who perished because of the earth quake incident in China and the cyclone disaster in Myanmar be free from their sufferings, May they find peace and find the light so they can move on to the next life. 

May all be well and happy!

Sadhu! Sarva Mangalam!

Wesakha day, everyday...

Wesak is coming next monday May 19th. Today is coincidently is the Mahayana celebration for our grand master, Sakyamuni Tathagata. These 2 days are special. What holds significant for these 2 days? For foremost reasons, it is the celebration to honor the Bhagavant, our great teacher Sakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. Wesakha celebrates the Birth, renunciation of lay life, enlightenment and the parinirvana of our great teacher. It is this day, in Malaysia and Singapore, a public holiday, where lay buddhist will make merit, do dana and be mindful of their precepts. This is solely done to honor and remember grand master. 

I remember Wesakha day as a day full of prayer, devotion and abstinence during my teenage years. The day would be spend going to the Maha Vihara in Brickfield for blessings and performing dana. Then later the day, I would be temple hopping with other fellow friends to all 3 traditions, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist way places. Now as I look back, I feel Wesakha is less remembered for its origins and celebrations. 

Traders blatantly putting up wares for display and sale, Offerings of light, food, incense, flowers, are being sold at a higher price for devotees so they could 'make' their offerings while at the main shrine. Some traders even went to the extent of putting birds on cage, with hope devotees would pay an exuberant price to 'release' them only to find that these birds will be caught again by the same people who sold them... If Grandmaster ever saw his this auspicious day, HIS day for the above reasons, He'd probably be in Fire samadhi and rolled his eyes... 

Why can't we put to practice and cultivate as if everyday is wesakha? Why do we need to allocate one day to perform all the above Why can't we do this everyday, in according to our schedule and fits the time and place? Now as with all other religious celebrations, We're seeing a commercialization of such auspicious event. These blessed days are slowly turning into capital playgrounds with pomp and pagentry befitting for an Emperor but not for a great Teacher of Gods and Men, The one who's well gone, the Lord, Arhat and perfect Buddha.....

Think about it? Why can't everyday be a wesakha day? 

Blood Donation Drive Save a Life WESAK programme

If you want to do Dana, come over to Centrepoint, Bandar Utama tomorrow on May day for a Blood donation drive, organized by the Bandar Utama Buddhist Society. The event starts from 10 am to 4 pm. 

There's also another Blood donation drive organized by the Malaysian Tzu Chi society. Tzu Chi's event is held at the Puay Chai Primary School in SS2. The date is on 4th May. 

Hope all of you can make it and be a part of this auspicious event! Sarva Mangalam!

The gift of Truth excels all gifts, the flavor of Truth excels all flavors. The pleasure in Truth excels all pleasures. He who has destroyed craving overcomes all sorrow

Dharmapada verse 354

If I could.....

courtesy of Dennix Cox.com

Dear Grandmaster, I know you're here and always around. I know you watch over me and along with my master. I wished I could hear you . I hope to hear the true words of Dharma from your voice! I am very happy today. 

I am thankful that all is well with my beloved brother. May he be well and happy. May he be free from mental, physical and spiritual afflictions. May he cultivate with vigor and great faith. May He attain enlightenment in future. Give him strength, wisdom, compassion so he could accomplish his endeavors. May all his deeds praised the Dharma and may these deeds benefit all sentient beings....

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhasa! 

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhasa!

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhasa!

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu!

The power of 2

My good friend, KS is in town with Mrs S, LS. They just arrived from Hong Kong after meeting up with KS's parent who flew in from Toronto, CA. KS & LL both registered their marriage in KL last year, this April 19th, they'll be doing their 'Tea Ceremony' and hosting their wedding dinner at the West Lake Garden restaurant in Sunway Lagoon Hotel & Resort.

LL's a high spirited and easy going gal. She's the personification of simplicity, she even mentioned that she might attend the wedding dinner dressed in 'White Tee and Jeans'. Well, I applaud her for that but a wedding is after all a once in a lifetime event and you would want all your guests to have a memorable evening. Wedding dinner's all about leaving a beautiful impression on your guests once the event is over. KS's more stressed and worried about the whole thing. As I observed both personality, I find it amusing that they actually fit well for each other.

Someone would say that they both have a karmic affinity with each other. Nevertheless, Karma has indeed a role to play here. I've heard from a few Dharma masters that becoming a husband and wife is a karmic affinity. The power of 2 is definitely a force to be reckon with. As causes and conditions comes into place, thus this action is produced. A marriage is definitely no bed of roses. I've seen these two friends of mine argue and fuss over a lot of things, some times it's just about something that's not a serious matter. Both have different perceptions on how things should be viewed and take action onto. Two different perceptions, different minds, one common affinity. Indeed, it is a challenging role for the young couple.

I remembered when I first met KS when he got back, He gave me a long hug and whispered on my ear, 'Married life is hard... it needs a lot of work' This reminds me of how we should be more understanding and perceptive of one partner's needs and wants.

As with this wonderful chinese painting of two koi fish, the saying goes, May every year is blessed with abundance. I wish KS & LL the same. May they find each other endearing and more understanding. May they have the strength to face the uncertainties of life. Sarva Mangalam!

Living Now and Here!

Last night was a special night. Jan's daughter; Alicia arrived in KL. Being the wonderful Mum she is, She organized a dinner party to welcome Alicia to KL. Since it was a pot luck thing, everyone chipped in with the food. I bought 'Kai-Lan' fried rice, Alicia made her bolognese spaghetti, someone bought 'Siew Mai', Jan made garden salads, later on, there was 'Kuey Teow' and the dessert was 2 rich creamy cakes, 1 black forest and the other home made cream cake with chocolate layers. 

When Jules and Tracey arrived, those who arrived much earlier had their fill, but everyone came back to the dining table for a few rounds of seconds and thirds. During the break, Jules came out with a riddle which in a way worked up the whole atmosphere. 

"If a person is good at one moment, and bad at another moment, which one is the real moment?"

Thoughts and ideas came about. Everyone was giving it a go to see who's got the right answer, then she supplicate the riddle by adding another riddle, 

"If in the day the sky is blue, and at night it is black, which one is real?"

That left some people astound for a moment. Tracey came up with logical answers and opinions about what she perceives to be the right answer. Truthfully, I agree with Jules. There is no right or wrong. Everything depends on how you perceive things through your five senses and your mind. Ultimately, it is real and false. Everything depends on how we perceive. Duality is a concept that we use to distinguish or discriminate what is right and wrong. Ultimately, the world is governed by such concepts, Evil and Good does exist. But if we take one step deeper and look at these 2 elements at the very core, Then you will see it disappear, like the mist when the sun comes up from the hills. 

I agree with Jules when she explains that our perception is biased in some way. We 'choose' to see things that we want to. All that we perceive are enforced by our mental conditions and environment (the five senses, the situation, the time, and the moment) Based on these sets of conditions and causes, we think this is like this or that. As these conditions are not fixed, It changes. so the truth is altered in the same way. There is no ultimate truth. Thus, all is real and false. I was washing the dishes at the time. This is one of those deep provoking thoughts that made dinners very lively. So, I thought to myself, Live Now! Experience the world in this way.... WOW! What an interesting way to perceive life! At that same time, The tune of Louis Amstrong's 'What a wonderful World' was playing in my mind.... 

'oh.... yeah.....!"

Om Mani Peme Hung!

May you find metta, peace and happiness! Let this help you to discover your own 'Chenresig'
Maha Sadhu! Sarva Mangalam

Be mindful of time....

Ever noticed how time really fly very fast now? I hardly took note of time flying out of my window when I log on to check my blogs, I realized that its been 3 months since I updated my blog! Without wasting more of this precious commodity, I blogged and blogged till I drop out of my chair and fell down. I had a realization,

Time may not always make time for us. We have to always be mindful of time. Like nature, Time is a component of it, along with space. Time and Space. These 2 natural phenomena does not way for any person, or being. It simply can't adjust to suit our needs and fancy. We on the other hand, we are pressed for it, we're always lacking in enough time to do the things we need to do. Everything to us is priority.

With the world getting smaller, and technology improving our way of living, we get more stressed with ourselves and our lack of time management. We hardly have enough hours of sleep due to our work or personal commitment. Time, Time, Time. How do we manage Time? We don't. We have to manage ourself so we can have enough time to do what is deemed important to us in that period of Time.

Time is also transient. IT does not wait or sit still. It will continue to walk forward, step by step, So we must also 'walk along' with It. As I try to finish this blog, I realized I have a lot more things to do while I'm still alive and kicking. I better manage my own time so all my aspirations and goals can bear fruit before I kick the bucket and meet Lord Yama. So... have you waste enough time? If you have, then stop reading my blog and do what you have to do! Plan your time ahead so Time will become your friend instead of your foe, forever reminding you that your time is running up.... Soon, you'll be a bag of bones and leave everything behind to meet up with Lord Yama. !