The Noble Eightfold Path

• Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā)
1. Right understanding
2. Right thought

• Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla)
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood

• Mental discipline (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi)
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

The Five Precepts:

1. Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures.

2. Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.

3. Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.

4. Musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech.

5. Suramerayamajja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.

The Four Friends

The wise Panda immediately commented about my earlier post on the picture of the 4 friends which I have taken from the holiest temple in Tibet.

Here is the nice Buddhist story for your weekend reading.

In one of the Buddha's previous lifetimes, in the forest of Kashika, there lived four noble beings: a bird, a monkey, a rabbit, and an elephant. The four, who drank at the same spring, soon became friends.

One day they decided that it would be proper to show the greatest deference to the eldest among them. To determine their respective ages, each one recalled the height of a nearby nyagrodha (ficus bengalensis) tree when he had first seen it.

The elephant said, "I must be the oldest. I remember that when I was born the shadow of the tree fell across my body."

The monkey said, "I must be older than the elephant. When I was born the tree was the same size as me."

The rabbit said, "I must be older than either of you. When I was born, the seed of the tree was just sprouting; I took a young leaf and ate it."

The bird said, "I must be older than any of you. When I was born I ate the fruit of a tree south of this spring. The seed of the nyagrodha tree passed through my body as waste, so I planted it."

The four then showed each other respect accordingly: The elephant placed the bird on the crown of his head, the rabbit on his neck, and the monkey on his back. Then the bird said, "Now we must keep the five basic disciplines** throughout our lives."

This they did, and to insure that all other beings did the same, the bird initiated all those with wings, the elephant initiated all those with fangs, the rabbit initiated all those with paws, and the monkey initiated all those with fur.

The peace that then pervaded the kingdom was so great that the king and his ministers felt its effects and began congratulating themselves. The king thought that it was his wise Dharma rule which was causing the kingdom to prosper. The queen thought that good fortune was due to the royal couple's lack of sexual misconduct. And the princes thought it was due to the respect they showed their parents; while the subjects thought that it was due to their obedience to the king.

Now, because each attributed the kingdom's prosperity to a different factor, a great dispute ensued.

The king therefore summoned a great far-seeing adept who said, "The kingdom's prosperity is due to none of your efforts.

In the Kashika forest live four great beings who keep the five disciplines and initiated their families into these disciplines. Through their efforts, prosperity resulted. Because the king and his subjects have also kept these precepts, the kingdom has reaped the benefits of this practice of the Dharma. Any animals who have died have been reborn in the 33 states of the realm of the gods."

Indra, king of the god realm, expressed his amazement with the following praise: "With respect and courteousness, enduring the hardship of the forests, through the moral behavior of the birds, all sentient beings of the world are firmly established [on the path.]"

The Buddha then revealed that he was the bird in a previous life, while his attendant Ananda was the elephant, Shariputra was the rabbit and Maudgalyana was the monkey.

From this tale known as The Four Friends derive the animal symbols for 3 of the Buddha's closest disciples, or it may be that it is their distinctive personal characteristics that have been recorded for us here.


**The Five Wonderful Precepts as applied by Thich Nhat Han:

First Precept
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.

Second Precept
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I vow to cultivate loving kindness and learn ways to work for the well-being of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I vow to practice generosity by sharing my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in real need. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.

Third Precept
Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I vow to cultivate responsibility and learn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.

Fourth Precept
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I vow to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering.

Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I vow to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

Fifth Precept
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society.

I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society.

Have a pleasant weekend.. and since I am oversea conference next week, I may not be able to post next week. Your thoughts are in my prayers.

Harmony

Four Harmonious Friends or Thuenpa Puen Zhi  

I have always wanted to attend the International Conference on Ethics And Institutional Reviews In Clinical Trials. But it was scheduled to be held this week, and because of my commitment on the Buddhist retreat, I thought I should give it a miss this time, since my department dun have the funds to sponsor me for this conference and it costs about USD2K for registration alone.

The meeting was somehow postponed to next week, but still having no money, I did not even apply for it.

Last Friday, I received a call from the conference organiser saying that a speaker could not make it for the conference because of other work commitments and she asked if I could fill in for him to deliver a lecture instead.

Of course, I would be delighted and now I get accomodation, flights and registration... ALL FREE!

Yippee... I am in cloud nine !!!!

Lotus and Emptiness

My Love for the lotus flower has been as long as my interest with Buddhism.

When working in Thailand, I am always fascinated with this wonderful flower, which grew out of muddy smelly water and yet looking so pure and distinct.

The lotus, once out of the muddy water, will radiate its beauty with cyclic blooming and closing as if it has a special clock pre-programmed inside its core. After opening and closing its petals for a few times, it will then slowly bend down and disappear back into the muddy water and the petals will rot to become part of the mud.

Did u know that once u cut the lotus from the muddy water, the petals will close up and look like a bulb and will never open again. It is an universal fact that all cut lotus flower will never bloom again.

The Thai has a fantastic idea to make every one see the opening of the lotus.. And that is by using human intervention, they will fold the petals to reveal its core.

Sometimes, even the bees are attracted by this folded lotus.

The lotus itself exists by definition.. In Buddhist term, it is a SHENWANG, or an existing thing which is changing (and dying).

Many a times, our mental impression that a lotus opening is a KUNTAK, (which is nothing but a mental image of the lotus with its petal fully bloom). One must constantly remind ourselves that this snap shot mental image is not real, not an existing thing and not changing. We, however, like to add our emotions to this KUNTAK, (ie, the full bloom lotus)... like I feel happy to see a full bloom lotus. Nothing wrong with that, just that sometimes, we want such feeling so much that we will resort to take nature on our own hand to sustain our feelings on this KUNTAK (in this case, the folding of the lotus petals)

The totality of the relationship between the KUNTAK and the SHENWANG is YONGDRUP.. which is the emptiness of the whole issue. The lotus when came out of the water, did not label itself as lotus, or beautiful, or ugly.... It is our KUNTAK or mental impression that labels it and add our own emotions to it. The relationship between the Lotus and your mental image is empty and this is caused by your Karma seeds.. that you have eyes to see and know what is a lotus. Try describing a lotus to someone who is blind or never seen a lotus... pretty difficult, isn't it.

Applying into our daily life, when you see your angry boss (SHENWANG) scolding you, you can react and shout back, or you can look at him and create a mental impression (KUNTAK) that he is trying to teach you something... This way, suffering and pain can be reduced.

Try it.

Heart Frozen

You only see what your eyes want to see
How can life be what you want it to be
You're frozen
When your heart's not open

You're so consumed with how much you get
You waste your time with hate and regret
You're broken
When your heart's not open

Now there's no point in placing the blame
And you should know I suffer the same
If I lose you
My heart will be broken

Love is a bird, she needs to fly
Let all the hurt inside of you die
You're frozen
When your heart's not open

Mmmmmm, if I could melt your heart
Mmmmmm, we'd never be apart
Mmmmmm, give yourself to me
Mmmmmm, you hold the key

Planting good Karma Seeds

Unker Francis did a good deed for charity and swap SiSuaLai's old postage stamp for his kayaking trip, but he seems stuck with it for a few months since no one wants to swap with him, despite increasing the number of trips.

During my last trip, I said I didn't mind swapping the trips with one of my pottery but I was afriad that the chain may die in my hand since no one really likes my existing pottery. Furthermore, my new works are being held by the Guru for the exhibition, and I cannot swap either.

During yesterday email with Watercolourdude, he mentioned that he wanted to go river kayaking with Unker and immediately I thought of an idea.
Photo from FH2o
Wouldn't it be a great idea for WCD to swap his painting for the kayaking trips. In fact, his Bako beach painting would be great to swap for many kayaking trips!

And yes, the rainforest trip is really good.. Trust me and I am sure everyone here enjoyed my earlier post on my trips.

All in the name of charity and I thought I am planting a good Karma seed for charity.

Today, Unker wrote to me to invite me to kayak with him in Borneo Highlands! Wah, immediate results.

Wah isn't Karma seeds powerful?

Have you planted yours today?

Buddhism and Pain

As a kid, I feel pain whenever I see suffering.. When the neighbour's kid fell from his bicycle, my brother laughed at him but I screamed, as if I felt his pain.

Growing up, it pains me whenever a natural disaster strikes or a group terrorist attack. When the tsunami strikes, it pains me even more with the demise of my dad. I was almost down to full depression and needed clinical relief, since I was also nursing a root canal problem at the same time.

I am sure many people felt the same, even the most cruel animal will have compassion. Some chose to ignore them, some "lived" with them, some "coped" with them. For comfort, some turned to their family and friends, some turned to drugs, some counted their blessings, some took stocks of their lifes, some went to their religion, some went to their God/Gods.

I chose the latter. But I cannot understand why a religion or a follower of a great religion can decide to kill so many people in the name of God, and neither can I understand why the all loving God is willing to let a natural disaster cause so much suffering and deaths.

I have no answer, and neither does the books I have read, except for one book.. which I read on the plane (if you have read my other post)

Buddha says (in the 4 noble Truth) that in this world..

1) there is suffering...
2) and there is a cause to all this suffering...
3) there can be cessation of suffering...
4) and there is a path to freedom from suffering and pain.

Like in medicine,

1- There is an illness .... 2- There is a cause of illness .... 3- There is a possibility of a cure of the illness .... 4- There is a prescription i.e., what we need to do to bring about a cure.

It pains me to see someone I cared for in suffering and I can do nothing about it. I can listen to one's woes, and even if I commented, I get snapped at, since he has so much negative emotion. If I dun comment, I am branded as condescending and dun bother.

Either way, I am lost and a loser. What I can only do is to relieve any physical pain (instantly providing panadol for headache) and dedicate all my prayers to him and may he get inner peace.

Pottery and Karma

My love for pottery was tested yesterday by my teacher.

She suddenly asked the class if anyone was doing pottery. I slowly put up my hand, not in fear, but uncertain of what will come next.

"Well, perhaps you can explain the cause and effect in pottery."

WHAM... gheee... hmm...

I have done so many pieces of pottery, under quite a few teachers and was fortunate enough to hold exhibitions before and I still felt trapped.

Holding on to my mala beads, I slowly composed myself and said.

"The mud that I used is the Material or Direct cause, and water, the throwing wheel, my hands, fire, tools and glaze are Contributory factors or Indirect causes. The result after throwing,firing and glazing is my ugly water pitcher." I said with a smile.

The Material cause and the contributory factors will result in the effects.

"Very well," my teacher smiles.

"Now, can someone else try to explain the cause and effects of conception?"

Well, the egg and sperm fused as fertilization takes place. The egg and sperm are (or is it?) the material cause and the effects is the formation of the foetus?

Wrong... and why?

Class 1 2 3

I have survived my first 3 formal Buddhist classes (17 more to go).

Armed with my note-book, highlighter, pen, water bottle and mala beads, I rushed to my class after work, hoping to understand the thick Diamond Sutra, which I have read so many times and couldn't understand.

My first 3 classes were surprisingly pleasant. And NO Sutra (as yet)

Our teacher started to teach The Art of Reasoning, Buddhist Logic and Perception (Pramana).

Buddhist's concept of karma and emptiness were discussed, at elementary level which is enriching for even the learned practitioners.

The class students were from a variety of the communities, ranging from housewives to bankers, fashion designers to secretaries, businessman to professionals, young to old, and even a Christian couple attended the class.

Simple questions which we have always took for granted were discussed.

Like what is logic? What is truth? What is faith and blind faith?

and yes, I am enjoying it (Thanks to all of you who wrote to me) and I will share what I learn soon.



Perhaps I should start another blog on my learning (in order not to bore friends from other religions)...

What do u think?

Chuc Mung Sinh Nhat, Hiepee!

July 21..

Cambodian = Som owie nek mein aryouk yrinyu!
Chinese-Cantonese = Sun Yat Fai Lok!
Chinese Fuzhou = San Ni Kuai Lo!
Chiness-Hakka = Sang Ngit Fai Lok!
Chinese-Mandarin = qu ni sheng er kuai le
Chinese-Shanghaiese = San ruit kua lok!
Croatian = Sretan Rodendan!
Czech = Vsechno nejlepsi k Tvym narozeninam!!
Danish = Tillykke med fodselsdagen!
Dutch = Hartelijk gefeliciteerd! or Van harte gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag!
English = Happy Birthday!
Esperanto = Felichan Naskightagon!
Finnish = Hyvaa syntymapaivaa!
French (Canada) = Bonne Fete!
French = Joyeux Anniversaire!
German = Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
Greek = Eytyxismena Genethlia! or Chronia Pola!
Greenlandic = Inuuinni pilluarit!
Gronings (Netherlands) = Fielsteerd mit joen verjoardag!
Hawaiian = Hau`oli la hanau!
Hebrew = Yom Huledet Same'ach!
Hiligaynon (Philippines) = Masadya gid nga adlaw sa imo pagkatawo!
Hindi (India) = Janam Din ki badhai! or Janam Din ki shubkamnaayein!
Hungarian = Boldog szuletesnapot! or Isten eltessen!
Icelandic = Til hamingju med afmaelisdaginn!
Indonesian = Selamat Ulang Tahun!
Irish-gaelic = La-breithe mhaith agat! or Co` latha breith sona dhut! Or Breithla Shona Dhuit!
Italian Buon Compleanno!
Japanese Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu!
Javaans-Indonesia Slamet Ulang Taunmoe!
Korean Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da!
Kurdish Rojbun a te piroz be!
Kyrgyz Tulgan kunum menen!
Latin Fortuna dies natalis!
Latvian Daudz laimes dzimsanas diena!
Luxembourgeois Vill Gleck fir daei Geburtsdaag!
Macedonian Sreken roden den!
Malayalam (India) Pirannal Aasamsakal! or Janmadinasamsakal!
Malaysian Selamat Hari Jadi!
Maltese Nifrahlek ghal gheluq sninek!
Maori Kia huritau ki a koe!
Marathi (India) Wadhdiwasachya Shubhechha!
Mauritian Kreol mo swet u en bonlaniverser!
Mbula (Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea) Leleng ambai pa mbeng ku taipet i!
Mongolian Torson odriin mend hurgee!
Navajo bil hoozho bi'dizhchi-neeji' 'aneilkaah!
Niederdeutsch (North Germany) Ick gratuleer di scheun!
Nepali Janma dhin ko Subha kamana!
Norwegian Gratulerer med dagen!
Oriya (India) Janmadina Abhinandan!
Papiamento (lower Dutch Antilles) Masha Pabien I hopi aña mas!
Pashto (Afganistan) Padayish rawaz day unbaraksha!
Persian Tavalodet Mobarak!
Pinoy (Philippines) Maligayang kaarawan sa iyo!
Polish Wszystkiego Najlepszego! or Wszystkiego najlepszego zokazji urodzin!
wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin
Portuguese (Brazil) Parabens pelo seu aniversario! or Parabenspara voce! or Parabens e muitas felicidades!
Portuguese Feliz Aniversario! or Parabens!
Punjabi (India) Janam din diyan wadhayian!
Rajasthani (India) Janam ghaanth ri badhai, khoob jeeyo!
Romanian La Multi Ani!
Rosarino Basico (Argentina) Feneligiz Cunumplegeanagonos!
Russian S dniom razhdjenia! or Pazdravliayu s dniom razhdjenia!
Sami/Lappish Lihkos Riegadanbeaivvis!
Samoan Manuia lou aso fanau!
Sanskrit (India) Ravihi janmadinam aacharati!
Sardinian (Italy) Achent'annos! Achent'annos!
Schwyzerduetsch (Swiss German) Vill Glück zum Geburri!
Serbian Srecan Rodjendan!
Slovak Vsetko najlepsie k narodeninam!
Slovene Vse najboljse za rojstni dan!
Sotho Masego motsatsing la psalo!
Spanish Feliz Cumpleaños!
Sri Lankan Suba Upan dinayak vewa!
Sundanese Wilujeng Tepang Taun!
Surinamese Mi fresteri ju!
Swahili Hongera! or Heri ya Siku kuu!
Swedish Grattis på födelsedagen
Syriac Tahnyotho or brigo!
Tagalog (Philippines) Maligayang Bati Sa Iyong Kaarawan!
Taiwanese San leaz quiet lo!
Tamil (India) Piranda naal vaazhthukkal!
Telugu (India) Janmadina subha kankshalu!
Telugu Puttina Roju Shubakanksalu!
Thai Suk San Wan Keut!
Tibetan Droonkher Tashi Delek!
Tulu(Karnataka - India) Putudina dina saukhya!
Turkish Dogum gunun kutlu olsun!
Ukrainian Mnohiya lita! or Z dnem narodjennia!
Urdu (India) Janam Din Mubarak
Urdu (Pakistan) Saalgirah Mubarak!
Vietnamese Chuc Mung Sinh Nhat!
Visayan (Philippines) Malipayong adlaw nga natawhan!
Welsh Penblwydd Hapus i Chi!
Xhosa (South Afican) Imini emandi kuwe!
Yiddish A Freilekhn Gebortstog!
Yoruba (Nigeria) Eku Ojobi!
Zulu (South Afican) Ilanga elimndandi kuwe!

A Short Retreat

My family has been Buddhists for generations, and looking at my mum (aka. my personal nagging machine) kneeling down chanting for half an hour a day for the past XX years, have always made me wonder.

What is her motivation... Especially when she can be so busy to run a business of 3 restaurants at one time.

My curiosity and quest for Buddhism peaked during my visit to Tibet (which is in my first few posts in this blog). Tibetans are so poor but they have so many reasons to be happy, and Buddhism is definitely one of the main reasons.

I have then decided that learning the Dharma will be my path.

My main objective to attend this teaching in July is to understand and learn the Dharma purely and the middle path.

This will be my first Buddhist formal training and retreat, and already many people are very happy (for the right and wrong reasons)..

I guess you may know their reasons.

Another Love Song?

A hundred days had made me older
since the last time that I've saw your pretty face

A thousand lights had made me colder and I don’t think I can look at this the same

But all the miles had separate
They disappear now when I’m dreaming of your face

I’m here without you baby
but your still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
and I dream about you all the time
I’m here without you baby
but your still with me in my dreams
And tonight it’s only you and me

The miles just keep rollin
as the people either way to say hello
I've heard this life is overrated
but I hope that it gets better as we go

I’m here without you baby
but your still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
and I dream about you all the time
I’m here without you baby
but your still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl it’s only you and me

Everything I know,
and anywhere I go
it gets hard but it won’t take away my love
And when the last one falls,
when it’s all said and done
it get hard but it won’t take away my love

I’m here without you baby
but your still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
and I dream about you all the time
I’m here without you baby
but your still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl it’s only you and me

Another Love Story?

Love Story
Andy Williams

Where do I begin to tell the story
Of how great a love can be
The sweet love story that is older than the sea
The simple truth about the love she brings to me

Where do I start
With her first hello
She gave new meaning to this empty world of mine
They'll never be another love another time
She came into my life and made the living fine

She fills my heart
She fills my heart with very special things
Angel songs and wild imaginings
She fill my soul with so much love
That any where I go I'm never lonely
With her around who could be lonely
I reach for her hand
She's always there

How long does it last
Can love be measured by the hours in a day
I have no answers now
But this much I can say
I know I'll need her until the stars all burn away
And she'll be there

How long does it last
Can love be measured by the hours in a day
I have no answers now
But this much I can say
I know I'll need her until the stars all burn away
And she'll be there

Boy meet Girl. Boy is having trouble with his wife. Both fell in love.

No commitments, no empty promises, no lies, just enjoy the love...

And what's wrong with that? ...you tell me...

GO Sbanboy Go!

In case, you are thinking that I am writing on the WC, you may switch blog now.

No offense to WC fans, but Gucci seems to be addicted to WC too and is now barking everynight, with WC or not. The neighbours are starting to stare at me with their Panda eyes when I walked Gucci. Of course, I stared back with my
equally big Panda eyes.

OK, back to my main story, Sbanboy read my post of The Bald Eagle and was inspired by the eagle's transformation into something better. Visiting his blog, I realised that he is going through some rough patches and gave him some more encouraging words to get him going.

Sometimes, life can come to a halt with so many things piling up and falling down like dominos.

Everyone goes through rough patch, and I can guarantee this is not the last one.

Most importantly when life pushes you down, you pick up the pieces, spring up and run faster than you used to run

Life is a journey... and u should enjoy every moment of it, whether good or bad. Sometimes obstacles are put in our way to made us stronger.. so enjoy it.

Which brings to another story.. (yes yes, I am getting better)


A little monk who is learning painting, music, chess and reading found that he is not able to understand Zen Buddhism as much as his peers. He asked his master Hui Neng, who told him to walk with him to Mt Huang Shan to the temple at the top.

As they walk, Master Hui Neng, told the little monk that he could pick some of the Mani stone (or prayer stones) along the way.

In the middle of the mountain, the little monk was carrying so much stones that he couldn't walk anymore.

Master Hui Neng said, "Well, your destination is the top of the mountain and if you let go some of the stones, you can reach your destination."

When life (be it career, emotions, work stress, relationship problem, marriage) piles up on you, do a list, get your priorities right and remain focus. And of course you need a healthy body to begin with.

Go Sbanboy Go, we are all behind you.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND... (my retreat starts this Sunday)

The Bathtub Theory

It doesn't hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started.

During a visit to the Institute of Mental Health (a mental asylum in Singapore), a visitor asked the Director what the criteria was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.

"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a room with or without a view?"

Manjushri's Wisdom for Mandy

One of my lurkers left this message in my chat box..

mandy said:

was just wondering if the buddha
power is somewhat affected due to its recent mishaps....

Which reminds me of another story .. (oops, do I sound like Tan Ah Teck?)

One day, Manjushri the Bodhisatta of wisdom was walking on the road and everyone was welcoming him. A young man went in front of him, kneeled down, prayed to him and asked for blessing for wealth, good health and great fortune.

The Bodhisatta smiled and waved at him to follow him as he walked into the temple. Inside the temple, the Bodhisatta kneeled down and pray to a statue of his own divination.

Puzzled, the young man asked, "Why are you praying to yourself?"

The Bodhisatta smile again, " If I cannot depend on myself, who else can I pray to?"

Hopefully this story can help Mandy. May you find inner peace.

Fly Eagles Fly

Eagles are the most long lived bird in the world

By the time they reach 40 years old, their claws started to age, losing their effectiveness making it hard for them to catch their preys. The lifespan of an eagle is up to 70 years old. But in order to live this long, the eagle must make the toughest decision when it's at 40. Their beaks began to grow long and curvy to the point that it reached its chest. Its wings are extremely heavy due to thickened and long feathers making flying extremely difficult.

The eagle is left with two choices: do nothing and await its death or go through a painful period of transformation and renewal. For 150 days, it trained itself to fly beyond the high mountains, build and live in its nest and cease all flying activities. It then began to knock its beak against granite rocks till its old beak completely removed. When the new beak is grown, it would use it to remove all its old claws and await quietly for all new claws to be fully grown.

When new claws are fully grown it would use these to remove all its feathers, one by one, 5 months later, when feathers are fully grown, with renewed strength, it began soaring in the sky yet once again and was able to live for the next 30 years.

In life, as individual in a ministry, even in an organization, sometimes we have to learn to make difficult decisions so as to make room for changes. Changes bring about renewal. And the only way for us to soar again is to let go of old ways, old habits, old life. For as long as we are prepared to put aside our old baggage (past glory or shame, past success or failures), be willing to become zero, with an empty cup mentality, we will be able to discover our potentials and head towards a renewed perspective in any aspect of our lives.



And the journey of renewal will be painful and it requires an attitude of 5 words - I want, I am willing.

Buddha's vow

In continuation of questions from a Lurker at my blog..

anonymous said:

Robin, thanks for taking the
time to reply me. I heard from somewhere that to make 'reinforce' your prayer,
it'll be good to employ dancers....how true is that huh?

anonymous said: Can we also pray for
relationship related issues?


Robin said:
haha, if I am Buddha, I would take 2 aspirin before I listen to all the problems
of the world. You can pray for everything, it is your Karma and faith.. hmmm..
perhaps I should write a post on this

Which brings me to a story that I have read.

Everyone in town had heard that praying to the Big Buddha at the largest Buddhist temple in Borobudur, would bring wealth, luck, blessing and everything you wished for.


People of all walks of life came to pray, and they came with offering of gold, gems, money, dancers, fruits, food, flowers, and everything they could offer. By bringing all these things, they hoped that their wishes would be fulfilled and 'reinforced'.


A poor old woman who only had enough money to buy a small oil lamp stood in the middle of the temple and offered her prayers too. Because her gift was so small, the temple's attendant placed her lamp at the furthest corner of the Buddha.

Suddenly the temple was stuck by lightning and all the offerings were destroyed.

In the midst of darkest, the only light was from the old lady's lamp... as her faith was the strongest!

Is it safe to take Taxi?

Someone left a series of questions about his/her first trip to Bangkok Thailand.

Of course I am honored, when the person asked me how to worship Pra Phom (4 face buddha) at Erawan Shrine, which I replied in my Chat Box and won't bored you here, since I was told that people are running away from my site because it has too much Buddhist flavour and animals, to which I won't comment. But the person asked a question which is extremely interesting.. Is it safe to take the taxi in Bangkok. I am sure you must have heard about how Taxi driver bringing you to a deserted place and rob you dry... Fear not, Robin, the wonderboi is here. Most of the time, taxis are safe in the city, but let me share some tricks on how your taxi ride can be better.
 Most of the taxi drivers understand English or else ask the hotel reception to write down in Thai, the name of the place u want to visit.
 Here's Robin's guide to a safe Taxi journey:

1. Choose a taxi that looks nice and have a permanent taxi sign on top of it.
2. Make sure the aircon and the taxi meter is working.. hehe
3. (Jokes asside) write down the taxi number BEFORE you board the taxi and put that info in your pocket. Make sure that the taxi meter is turned on when the journey begins.
4. Take out your camera, pretend pretend and take a pic of the driver's taxi license (usually on the front, if not present, ask the taxi to stop and get out).
5. If you more kia-su (Singaporean title), take a picture of the driver when he digs his nose at the traffic junction... kakaka

Now any more questions?