Committing Suicide...

Near my apartment, a young man committed suicide by jumping down from 12th storey. I may or may not have met him but it saddens me. I felt sad for the grandparents, the parents and his siblings for this traumatic experience. I realized people are lonely and they do not know where to go for help. They do not know who to talk to and they felt they are all alone by themselves with their problems. If someone paid a little bit more attention, we probably could have save him.

I really do not understand how one get the guts to jump to such traumatic death? If one had the guts to jump - why one do not have the guts to live? I realized that one can be sick in the body but not sick in the mind. If one is sick in the mind, one can do anything to harm one self and others.

In my practice, it is said that there will be circumstances that cloud our mind and if not mindful, we will waste this life away. There will be time when we want to practice but due to our passed Karma we lost our lives, or we are sick, or we are maimed, or we become bad – there are more unfavourable conditions than favourable conditions to practice. This mean we have to have full perfect faculties to practice but many are wasting this chance to do so. I realized that human rebirth is so precious, once lost cannot be recalled.

Having perfect facilities is not enough. If one is born in the land where Buddha’s teaching is not available, people are rude and cruel, places that people do not have enough food and in constant poverty – these are not conducive environment to do so too. If one live in countries that are at wars all the time, people believe in killing lives is to please God, people who abuse and trade in human and even kidnapped children to kill them and sell their organs. In America, every now and than people went amok shooting others - do you need to be in Hell to know it? No, there are people who are already living in Hell.

Some of us do not know whether we love our self or not. Asking one to love others are even more difficult. Some of us don’t even love our parents and how do we love others. There are so many types of people, some good, some bad, some unreasonable, some passive, some arrogant, some rich and think they do not need a religion, some take on a killing profession etc. The paths to Hell are everywhere, so is the paths to Heaven. Due to our defiled thoughts, the good path even though is in front of us, we will miss it.

Unless you are fully aware of what is going on in your head, most of the time you let it influence you into believing it is true. That is why we have differences with others. It is actually our own agenda. Your thoughts will find many reasons for you not to like the situation, the taste, the remarks, the other person etc. Is it the fault of that person? NO! it is your deluded mind.

Every day I will try to recall the teachings of Buddha and reflect on what happened around me. At time I also realized that a good person will say and do negative things even though they are well respected practitioner in the eyes of others. This is the ripening of negative actions done in the past. The Law of Cause and Effect taught and emphasized by the Buddha is a Universal Law. This Law applies to all human beings, no one is spare. Don't kid yourself and tell me that you belong to a different religious group or you are so high and mighty that you are spared. You cannot bribed a Universal Law. If human beings become so low in moral, than Nature will clear up these rubbish from the surface of Earth. We have been harming the Earth, People, Animals and we are not going to be scotch-free - the punishments are happening. The End of the World is not just a talk only - it will happen when the Effect is right. Don't be too happy that we all did not die under the Mayan Calendar's.

I am not flawless and I realized the sufferings of beings. It is a suffering person who will act and said negative things, at time I am also like that - yes, because I am suffering under that circumstance and I do it to another person and caused sufferings to him/her. However I am working on this split personality in me. If you watch Lord of the Ring - that "Precious" is a split personality! Are you like that?

Oi..o.o...Sinkapor, look at what you have natured -  A 7 years old Dr Jia Jia. Fantastic kid lah! Parents proud or not I don't know. There is one thing I know, he dam good actor. Not infringing of copyright, just sharing some good fun. Mai meh wa hor... Ta boleh tahan!

 

So Ponggol East de uncles. aunties, jiejies, korkors...dun waste your votes. Dr JiaJia at least is a good candidate but you have to wait for him to grow up deh! By then I don't know whether he will accept sweets or enjoy 'únfair' or not.

 

Ah loong de DaGe, HeiGe and Muscle Ge, this kid maybe the next Prime Minister also you don't know. He say No Casino = No Ah Loong. What he meant - You Come, You Bet and I chek ka liao!

 

Sinkapor in the Year of the Dragon is plagued by sex scandals. Sex scandals of the street men where no one bother, right up to the man who is the big chief of ......and public bothered. Looks like all those who are supposed to be teaching also cannot get their neck away from the 'halo'....what to do 'to err is human' and 'sex is the name of the game'. ''Red Color Dangerous Water"...street men die, rich men die, government officials die and Emperor also die at her feet. They pay heavily for this Red Water you know. They pay with name, fame, family, reputation and the whole nation. Lucky Dr JiaJia is guarded by his mum who will scold you 'xiao' if you have such ulterior motives....ha.a.a.a.a.!

 

The election in Ponggol East is heating up. Everybody wanted this piece of juicy cake and see who gets what. We will see uncle Yam again, Yes? No? No one can read the results better than him hor.

 

We also wait for Dr JiaJia to become the Speak for Par..la.la..ment!

 

(The language is Singapore English or Singlish. Fun language whereby one throws in local dialect to give it a punch! Finally I am wondering actually whose language is English - UK, America...says who?)

P/s - Update - The opposition party won the election at Punggol East !
 

Princess WenCheng...

Last Sunday I saw Princess Wen Cheng, The Musical.

The casts presented the story very well. It was not under or overly exaggerated and the scene were able to capture my emotion.

Kudos to the person who composed and arranged the songs. The main casts had beautiful voices and so has the casts that has singing parts. The voices were clear and powerful and projected the feelings they personified.

Kudos to the person who did the costumes. From the pictures you can see the detailed given to the various Tibetan ethnic costumes. The colors were vibrant, designed beautifully and the accessories were appropriate. I missed the Mother Tara cast picture as she was painted in green and her costume was beautifully emphasized.

Kudos to the choreographers. I love the dances. The Horse Dance when Princess Wen Cheng was crossing the river, people welcoming the Princess to their homeland and the final dance of The Eagle was so captivating. The black and white costumes brought a sense of sadness and the flight of the Eagles fired one's imagination of the sky burial.  As for the Goddess dance which projected multiple hands was excellent. The effect and precisions from these dancers were superb - kudos to them.

Finally the whole stage set-up was beautiful. I love the final scene when snow started falling.

It was indeed a show worth watching. To think that this fantastic production was done by people so close to home - Malaysia.  They certainly put up a spectacular performance and I hope to see more from this Team!

A little about Princess WenCheng. She was the niece of a great King of Tang Dynasty. Princess WenCheng was married to the King of Tibet named Songtsan Gampo. The marriage was consider a State Marriage to bring peace to both countries.

Songtsan Gampo had two wives and both of them embraced Buddhism. The Princess of Nepal brought with her a Buddha to be enshrined but the Temple she built was always destroyed. Princess WenCheng who was well verse in astrology provided solution and finally the shrine was completed. It is the famous Jokang Temple in Lhasa.

The Temple that enshrined the Buddha brought by Princess WenCheng was housed in the famous Potala Palace. Other information can be searched under Princess WenCheng in websites.

"These is a magnificent production and a standing ovation performances by the whole TEAM!"

Rapist...and the Raped

The Indian girl who was raped, brutally injured and eventually died shocked India. I was equally shocked to core.

This took part in a public transport and how safe can India be? The amount of hurt, anger, shame and most of all pain, who should account for all these? Every day there are girls being raped and only she hit the headlines. The whole of India is asking for justice.

The girl's family quietly cremated her. In moment of grief, the girl's family is willing to release her identity so that she can be a reminder to warn other women in India of their vulnerability. Does India have a solution to protect Women? What was than oblivious was out in the open.

I followed the saga on the news. How fair can the justification to a life be? There are public who want to take revenge and justice into their own hands.  There were people who saw the badly beaten up and naked bodies of the two victims and no one came up to them. The policemen whom were justifying whose responsibility was even more lame. People who are supposed to uphold justice and security are themselves a joke. People's compassion has gone down the drain.

A Guru believed that this poor girl should beg for mercy and should chant god's name. Did the Guru  think that the girl had willingly agreed to be raped without begging for mercy? I believed that her boy friend begged too, did the Rapists heeded his helplessness?

Now the Rapists are in Singapore. During the trial, the Rapists pleaded not guilty? They said that the dead girl should be the one to say "Sorry" to them? The Rapists are not remorseful for the harm they did. They know NO morale and obviously NOT human and they are also NOT beasts (beasts do not attack for sex).

Whatever happened to the dead girl, her boy friend and the Rapists are issues that sadden my heart. It affected the families involved, the lives of those who were involved, it affected the society and it affected a Nation.

Ohm Mani Padme Hum !

Activities of the Naga Beings....

I have posted on Naga Beings and now continue to talk more about them.

Nagas are Dragons, serpents, snakes or to summarize...they are reptiles but tortoise, fish and frogs too fall under this Family Group.  However Nagas are from both the world and other realms, so if you don't see them it doesn't mean they are not around. The thing that caused Nagas to be angry and bring harm to human is when they are hurt or killed in human pursuit to claimed land, cut forest, burnt jungles, dig ground, built houses, mass killing of bigger mammals in the sea etc. They will create accidents, sickness and deadly ones too or skin diseases and many more.

Buddhists do not take refuge in Nagas but we acknowledge their presence and do offerings to them for peace and harmony within the family, the society and the Nation. It is like making peace with an angry neighbor so we offer flowers, five-color clothes, milk, honey, oats etc. Remember Nagas are clean and they do not accept anything that is stained by blood. In return, the Nagas will protect humans who did the offerings, giving them protection and wealth.

As in human, the Nagas too have the Black and White groups, meaning the Bad and Good groups. The Black group will not help nor forgive and will surely harm us if we agitate them, but the White groups promised to protect Dharma practitioners and those who are kind and good.

So if you dream of snake, please find monks or Tibetan monks to help perform the Naga Puja. It can be done by offering Food, Water or Incense and the Guru will advise what is best. However if there is a serious epidemic that cause sickness and death, the Gurus normally will do the ''lion roar rituals'' to appease these Naga Beings.

There is a certain day in a month to perform these pujas. You will have to check the correct dates and take part if you can or do a small donation towards the payers.

Below is the monthly activities of the Nagas....

1) 1st Month (January) is the Naga's Dharma month. They will listen to Dharma.

2) 2nd Month (February) is the Naga gained Wisdom month. They will help and protect those who make offerings to them.

3) 3rd Month (March) is the Naga Gathering or Meeting Day. All offerings will become nectar and they will fulfilled our wishes.

4) 4th Month (April) is the Naga Discipline and Regulations Day. Offerings at the place where prayers/ rituals is permored will bring peace and harmony.

5) 5th Month (May) is a rainy month. Naga will stay at home and practice. Offerings during this month will help us gain wisdom.

6) 6th Month (June) is Fruits collecting month. Offerings made to Naga will have our wish fullfilled. These is good for people wishing for child or wealth.

7) 7th Month (July) sees Naga collecting essence of food. Offerings during this month will help us not born in places of hunger or be hungry.

8) 8th Month (August) is a Naga dress-up month. Offerings to Nagas will help to gain wealth and also auspicious success.

9) 9th Month (September) sees Nagas collecting essence from trees, give them offerings and invoke their protection and they will bestow wealth.

10) 10th Month (October) is when all Nagas take a rest. They will be sleeping so no need to do any offerings.

11) 11th Month (November) is Winter working month. Offerings to Nagas will bring peace, happiness and harmony for oneself and family and also to the Nation.

12) 12th Month (December) is when Nagas guard their Wealth. Offerings to Naga will help us safeguard our Wealth

Therefore the Monthly Naga pujas performed Monthly will see the people and the Country of Singapore safe, happy, free from epidemic. The Nation will have due rainfalls, flowers will bloom and trees bear fruits. It will also bring abundance and prosperity to oneself and the Country.

(The above is a teaching given by Khenpo Dorje of Sakya Templing in Pasir Ris)

As 2012 is coming to an end, I pray that all Beings be Well, be Happy, at Peace and be Safe. May Beings have Happiness and the Cause of Happiness and be freed from Sufferings! Sadhu x3

Wat Manao - Suphan Buri

Wat Manao ( Manao in Thai means Lime) is situated in Suphan Buri. The Temple is more than 100 years old. The current Abbot is Luangpo Chuchat. He is also the head monk for Suphan Buri District.

I met Luangpo Chuchat went he came to Singapore to celebrate ChaoKun's of Wat Ananda's 80th birthday. It is affinity and we connected. From than on, I will visit Luangpo Chuchat whenever I go to Bangkok.

The Buddha in Wat Manao is slightly different in design as compared to most temple. This particular Buddha was placed near a riverside. The giant Buddha's statue was moved into the Temple with a roof above it by Luangpo Boi (he passed away 119 years ago).

When we visited this time, there were some constructions going on. Luangpo Chuchat showed us the place where he is building a museum to house all the old Buddha statues and amulets given to the Temple. He is also building a place where lay people can stay over doing retreat.

To farm this project, Luangpo Chuchat  commissioned a set of 5 Buddha's amulets which is unique to Wat Manao for sales. He only made 5000 sets and by the time we were there, it was left with only slightly more than 80 sets. These amulets are unusual and it became collectors' items.

I was very fortunate as Luangpo is my Master and he gave me 2 different types and 1 to my brother. The amulets are retailing to raise fund so it is Bht 1,000 per pc. The set of 5 is Bht 5,000.

EMPTINESS....

Every morning for the last four months, I have been using the Service Lift from the Car Park to my office. I have the habit of looking around me so I surveyed the lift. I realized the management have sealed the lift wall with plywood and the door with white stickers. There is a mic speaker just in case we are caught in emergency and need to talk to someone but other than that, a Lift is a Lift.

As days passed by and with people moving in, the plywood protection got knocked with cracks and scratches. What more when you have workers and movers and of course you see the standard comments of all the vulgarties scribbled on the walls, with drawings and telephone numbers etc. It has something to do with mentality and it is cheap thrills.

One day I saw the white stickers covering the door was stripped off, leaving an aluminium front. While waiting for the lift to stop at my floor, I naturally looked at the lift door in front of me. Suddendly it occured to me that I am not able to see myself even though I was in front of it. I tried waving my hands and could only see slight movements. What happened to my body mass, am I not here?

SO, this was it. I am ''here and yet I am not here''. If there is no reflection of me, does that mean that I am non-existence? Probably this is what the teachings are all about. The ''mass'' you is actually not ''you''. You are neither that ''mass'' nor what you believe yourself to be. So which part of the ''mass'' is you?

I do not say I have any realization but it occured to me that "Emptiness is Form" and "Form is Emptiness". Meaning Emptiness does not mean there is nothing. It comes from nothing and goes back to nothing. Chim, right?