Shangpa Rinpoche

Shangpa Rinpoche is a wonderful person. He is soft spoken, humble and kind. His kindness is not verbal but he silently showed you he cares.

On 12th September 2012 (yesterday) was Shangpa Rinpoche's birthday. I do not follow the activities of the Temple so I was not aware. However, somehow, somewhere my connection with Rinpochela is strong as I came to know about it.  Upon entering his abode I saw a beaming Rinpoche. I wished Rinpoche 'Happy Birthday', long life, good health and all his wishes fulfilled as he wishes them to be. I wished that Rinpoche continues to benefit more Sentient Beings far and wide. I am very happy to see so much Guru devotions showered on Rinpoche. Various centres around the world sent in their well wishes and I am sure Rinpoche knows that he is much love by us.

But I have one wish for Rinpoche..."Please publish a Book with all the pictures you took". Rinpoche is an excellent photographer. I enjoyed looking at the pictures he took of nature.

Yesterday Rinpoche also launched his book "The Path of the Yogi" Past and Present Lives of Shangpa Rinpoche. The past Shangpa Rinpoche was an Enlightened Being. The Shangpa Rinpoche this life is no less. Rinpoche said last night that he paled as compared to his past life. No, Rinpoche. The Shangpa Rinpoche this life is just as Compassionate and Enlightened, if not more. Rinpoche had done so much for Sentient Beings. Even for this girl, who probably am a lost sheep from Shangpa Rinpoche's herds was made to feel that I am also one of his.

I have known Shangpa Rinpoche for many years now. He has a presence that a disciplined and practising master has. Initially I was afraid to see him privately as he projected the feelings that he sees through me. I felt inferior being the imperfect me. He actually make me aware that I am far from my practice of perfection.

In my spiritual upbringing, Monks are Buddha's representatives and they are practicing. Many forget that once they get close to a Monk they tend to forget their behaviors and become improper in action and speech. Some have high expectations and expected the Monks to be dedicated to themselves only. Actually Monks belongs to all Sentient Beings and the ultimate objectives is to deliver all Sentinel Beings away from sufferings.

To Shangpa Rinpoche showing kindness is naturally in him but the silent support he gave me during my most difficult times leave me eternally grateful.

The Nagas Beings

Kenpo Dorje give us an understanding to why we need to perform Naga Puja monthly. I never knew the significant of this puja until I did it with Kenpo earlier however the understanding is that these beings are around us. We see some and we don't see some but if we accidentally offend them, we may get into trouble.

There are people who believe and of course there are those who will shake their heads and waved their fingers saying 'Wa lau...why you so superstitious huh?". Actually in Buddhism, we believe that there are living beings on the Six Realms of Existence. Many people have never seen the celestial dragon so to them...don't see mean non-existence. However snakes are also from the Naga family and many reptiles are too.

Nagas are very clean and pure beings - the celestial, sea and land are the same. I am not talking about snakes but the very dragon itself. So to appease them, all offering must be pure and clean. We are not able to offer anything that has meat and if we go out sea, if we can we should not wear or carry anything that is made of leather. As for attire, it is better to be in white. You will say 'what the fuss? you don't even see them". Well just think - Prevention is better than Cure.

Nagas are Dharma protectors but not all of them. Like human beings, not everyone is good so don't be gullible. Human beings when angered can beat you up or worst kill you. Nagas will not beat you up but can kill you. There are many people who out of the blues contacted Cancer and the word that comes with Cancer is DEATH. There are people who think it is bad luck but Buddhist will tell you it is a Karmic debt. People think that they will live to a ripe old age, yes because these people are enjoying their good fruits. What if you antagonized a Naga and your Karma debt is about to ripen? The Naga will take this opportunity to harm you.

So when you are digging the ground, renovating a house, going to the forest or walk the along long lonely road, even if you drive, please be mindful.

Attached a picture of the Golden Naga (Dragon) on top of MBS. Kangyur Rinpoche who we all acknowledged as the manifestation of  The Buddha of Medicine was performing Naga Puja on 18-7-12 at MBS. This picture was taken by a public and sent to LianHe Zaobao. It is not a super imposed picture. On that very same day, I was out in the sea with Ratna Rinpoche releasing Naga Vases and offerings and above the sky appeared a Rainbow and there is a red dot. How can two different phenomena appeared on the same day and about the same time?

Tomorrow (7 Sept 2012) is Naga Day again. So to those who wants to do a Naga Puja, you can checkout the website of Sakya Templing in Singapore.

May all Beings be well and Happy and be free from sufferings.

Journey to the West

…. is a great classic Chinese literature written around 16th Century. The said author was Wu Chen En and I give kudos to him as to how did he fabricated such an entertaining, magical and successful novel?

 

When people refer to the title, people cannot help but remember the Monkey God, SiWu Kong. The story circled around a Monk and his three disciples – the Monkey, Pig and Sandy. The white horse is actually a Prince of the Dragon family. 

 

This Classic has been made into movies, TV series and of course translated into simplified Chinese version as well as English books. It never fails to mesmerize the audiences and the readers with episodes of battles between good and evils. There are many characters in the story of animals spirits that after practicing of hundreds and thousand of years can turned into human and have magical powers. All these creatures craved to eat a piece of the Monk's flesh because it will give immortality.

 

It was said that the Monk, named XuanZhang did really existed. He was send by the Tang Emperor to India to bring back teachings of the Buddha so that it can benefit the people of China. During those days, travelling is by foot or horse and it takes months or years to move from one place to another.

 

My friend’s late father said that there are two possibilities and I believe many people think alike. The story was written by XuanZhang. Since he was on a spiritual journey and stopped at many places, he must have met many kind of people – the kind, the wise, the spiritual, the wicket, the cruel, the immortal etc. Instead of directly referring to them, he used different animals to represent these people and weaved a story around them. XuanZhang has a Royal Pass given by the Emperor so he was also the Diplomat of China at that time. He collected stories of various lands, culture and people and these will be stories that he will repeat to the Tang Emperor. To me this possibility is somewhat farfetched. To Buddhists practioners especially monks, they spent most of their time on spiritual learning and meditation so to write such stories is time wasting as it will not bring about Enlightenment. 

On the other hand, I felt that the possibility of Wu Chen En writing it was higher. The Author left his home town for Imperial Examination in the Capital. He was a filial son and his mother who lived her life in the village requested him to record what he saw on the way and tell her when he returned. Apparently the scholar passed the Imperial Examination and became an Imperial Officer. On his way home, he suddenly remembered his promised to his mother and fabricated these stories to entertain her.

 

Other than the literature, the Theme Song of Journey to the West is another Classic. No Journey to the West does not use this music score. Just by listening to the music/song you know the name to the movie immediately. Like the Classic Theme Song of Butterfly Lovers, this is another fantastic score. 

The title of the Theme Song is ‘May I asked where is the Path’. I love the music and the lyrics. I shall share this irreplaceable song next time when I decided to post music.

 

“Dare I asked where is the Path…the Path is beneath our feet…..”

 

The above picture is taken from the Internet and credit goes to the Artists/ Studio who created such beautiful animated character of the novel. Thank you.

Trying to Understand.....Heart Sutra

I  am self reflecting and thus self mutters. You may find what I am trying to reflect familiar and if you do, this means we are walking the same path.

" To Bodhisattva who are at ease with himself, has been practicing wisdom for a long time reflected on the impermanence of the 5 aggregates crosses the river of sufferings.

Sarila..Form is nothing but Emptiness..and..Emptiness is nothing but Form...thus Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form, So is Feeling, Thoughts, Actions and Senses are no difference.

Sarila, since all Forms are Emptiness, there is no Arising and Falling; no Impurity or Purity, no Increasing or Decreasing. When there is no Form, than there is no Feeling, Thoughts, Actions and Senses; there is no Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue and Body; no colors, sound, smell, taste or sensation. There is no vision neither is there perceptions, there is no Ignorant or ending of Ignorant; there will be no Death or ending of Death; there will be no Suffering, The Cause of Suffering, The Ending of Suffering and the Path. There is no Lost nor Gain, since there are no Lost nor Gain, when Bodhisattva is practicing the Paramita, he does not hanker over Obstacles. Since he does not hanker over Obstacles he sees through them and have no Fear. Leaving behind all illusions, he reaches Enlightenment. All Buddhas of the Three Times, by practicing this Paramita attained the Highest Wisdom. The Buddhas know this Paramita is a Great Mantra, is an Enlightening Manta, is an Incomparable Mantra and a Mantra above all Mantras, this is nothing but the Truth. Thus the Paramita Mantra and here it is : Gatte Gatte Para Gatte Para Sam Gatte Bodhi Svaha "

The Heart Sutra has 260 words. It is a Sutra that will lead one to Enlightenment. It contains the Highest Wisdom of the Buddha and also the Essence of the Buddhist Teachings.

I use to chant it is Cantonese and reflect of each sentence. No complicating thoughts, just simply explain to myself. Every time I go back to this Sutra, my understanding is different.

So I pray for the understanding of this Sutra and may I attain perfection for the benefits of all Beings.

Happy 47th Birthday Singapore

It is National Day again. Tomorrow (9.8.2012) we will see a 47 year-old Singapore.

In view of this, I want to say 'Thank You' for people who shaped Singapore, put us on the Map and such a tiny little island yet we stand tall. Thank you to all the old guards (most are no longer around) and LKY and the current cabinets too.

How will the younger generation be like? How are these people going to shape Singapore.? What are their values, their Pride and their Commitment? Noticeably, we saw people from other countries who are now citizens here, they are calling our Country their Home. We welcome them as we need the 'numbers' and the 'head counts'. Singapore is growing older and 'productions' are not working fast enough. Bring in the babies.

My wish for Singapore - May Singapore be blessed, People are Kind, Jobs are Coming, Races in Harmony, Friendship from our Neighbours, Food are Plentiful, Children are Filial and the Country is Safe.

On such a meaningful day, lets our LIONS Roar ! Do not forget the Blood, Sweat and Tears in making of a Nation.

MAJULAH SINGAPURA !!!

A Cyst

I had a growth on my back and it has been causing discomfort and pain for a few months now. Initially when the pain got unbearable, I went to my regular GP hoping that he will cut it out. However I was naive.

My GP was very up front and told me if I want to get it out I should go to the hospital. He was not prepared to do the excise because the growth was big and it was near the backbone. The cut will be long and deep and it needs to be scraped to get the hardened fats out. I was reluctant as I do not want any part of my body cut if I can avoid it. He gave me antibiotic and told me to wait for it to ripen. Again he mentioned that it may or may not ripen and I can still go through surgery.

The growth is actually a Sebaceous cyst. It is actually fatty glands that went abnormal and thus causing this swelling. He also mentioned that when it burst, it will be very smelly.

I carried this extra swelling with me for a few months and suddenly last Monday 30 Jul 2012, it burst without any warning. After I showered and got ready for work, I realized my back was wet. I than saw that my blouse was soiled with blood. My brother checked out and was shocked to see the unsightly oozing out black blood, white/yellowish cheesy looking flow which was smelly. My brother said "the volcano at your back erupted"...ha..a.a.a. so funny and I am in pain.

We went to my GP and he made me lied down. After making all the preparation, he started to squeezed the infected area. The pain was excruciating. I cannot control but screamed and yet embarrassed that I am not able to contain pain. I clenched my fist and my body tensed. My brother was with us the whole session and he told me so much flow and blood was squeezed out. The Doctor keep squeezing until the blood turned red.

There was a big hole and the Doctor inserted gauze into it and than dragging it out. He did it a few times. The pain was so bad that I have no words to describe it. I was amazed that Doctors are brave to see such and realized that they must have seen worst than this tiny wound.

"Lian, I had to insert gauze into the hole and you have to live with it as I need to clean the wound properly.  The wound underneath the hole is as big as a fishball. No bathing your back today. No pain killer but you have one day MC."

Goodness, no pain killer. I was exhausted with pain. I wonder how come I had this thing growing and not know until it became painful. I am also glad it burst. I just hope that it heals properly and I can have my beautiful smooth skin back.

So in life, we really don't know what we will grow next. Our body have a way to detox. Whatever it is, it will find a way to breakout from the body. It will give you pain. Whatever way of detoxing, the most worrying are those that are life threatening, isn't it?

I really hope that I do not grow any such things anymore. When the Doctor was squeezing, I prayed that I take all the pain of Beings who are going through pain and may they recover and be free of sufferings!

Seven Star Needles II - Purple Flower

In my earlier posting of the Seven Star Needles - Orange Flowers, I mentioned about the special Purple Flowers species. 

An Aunt gave me a cutting and she puts it in a bottle filled with water. She mentioned that I can only put it in soil when there are roots growing. She also mentioned that the purple species is not easy to grow. She do not gauranteed that my plant will survive.

My cutting survived. It did not grow into scrub but instead a few branches extended. The amazing thing is it blooms immediately. The flowers of the orange flower and purple flower bloomed differently. Orange flower blooms individually but the purple flowers blooms in a clusters.

This Purple Flower Pereskia Grandifolia is widely researched for its medicinal abilities. It was said that it is very effective for people seeking cure for cancer. I do not really know how true is this but it is definitely a medicinal plants at your backyard. Below is an extract from what I read.

"Both Pereskia bleo (orange flower) and Pereskia grandifolia (purple flower) have been used as natural remedies in cancer-related diseases, either eaten raw or taken as a concoction brewed from fresh plants. Both are believed to have anti-cancer, anti-tumor, anti-rheumatic, anti-ulcer, and anti-inflammatory properties. They are also used as remedies for the relief of headache, gastric pain, ulcers, hemorrhoids, atopic dermatitis, and for revitalizing the body.[3–5] In Panama, the locals use the whole plant of Pereskia bleo to treat gastrointestinal problems,[6] while in India, Pereskia grandifolia is used to reduce swelling.[7–8] "

For me, I fell in love with the vibrant purple clusters. It is a joy to see them buds and blooms and became a fruit. I do not really know how to use this plant but I saw many readers coming to my blog reading about this plant - The Seven Star Needles.