robin's karma

The News of Ven. Ming Yi

2009-07-17T11:36:00.001+08:00

" FORMER Ren Ci Hospital CEO and chairman Venerable Shi Ming Yi admitted for the first time in court on Thursday that he had helped personal aide Raymond Yeung cover up for an unauthorised $50,000 loan."

~ the Straits Times July 16, 2009

Again someone called and asked me to comment on this case. And this is what I said.

A monk has precepts to take and abide to.

He will meet the fruits of his planted seeds.

I don't think anyone can judge another person,

Nor cursing and making unforgiving remarks.

For even a criminal has parents who are proud of him,

More so a monk who has built a hospital for public good.

and in the comments box after the news, I saw this remarks:

=======

Ha ha ha!

A sin monk has caused so many people here to sin too.

眼观形色内无有，耳听尘事心不知。

Ha ha ha!

Posted by: Greatestasia at Fri Jul 17 10:56:40 SGT 2009

Some wisdom indeed.

Perhaps if there is true wisdom, the legal case will not be required, if the Eightfold noble path is complied with.

If you make a mistake, admit it and owe up and repent.. fighting a legal case only to subsequently admitting your mistake is wasting public funds and attention.

I have decided not to read any more on this rubbish.

Fairy Tales?

2009-07-10T18:12:00.001+08:00

World's Shortest Fairy Tale?

Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl 'Will you marry me?' The girl said, 'NO!' And the guy lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and went fishing and hunting and played golf a lot and drank beer and scotch and had tons of money in the bank and left the toilet seat up and farted whenever he wanted.

The end

The truth about H1N1?

2009-07-03T14:59:00.001+08:00

Have been busy with this H1N1 flu for a while..

Working in the healthcare setting, everyone seems to be worried about the recently outburst of H1N1 in Singapore. The hospital is fully equipped, but the mind is not.

What do I mean by that?.. The management is swinging from a up and down mood,,, and no one knows what exactly is the right thing to do. Everybody is doing something, but no one seem to know what will happen next and whether what we are doing will make the situation worst.

I am always supporting restricting the visitors into affected area. Why should people who are not infected be allowed to enter an infected area, especially when they are not able to help. The girl friends, boy friends, children, aunties... whatever should be out.

To me, what is important is intention. Clear intention to remove unnecessary suffering should be the purpose of all our actions.

Perhaps all the hospital administrators should attend a meditation class?

How will this flu end... it probably never will... life has to go on, with or without the flu. Good personal hygiene, and avoiding crowded place, social responsiblity to stay away if u have a flu..

The practice goes on... and this time for ourselves and all sentient beings.

--
With Gratitude,
ROBIN

Michael Jackson and Public Good

2009-06-26T09:01:00.005+08:00

Heard the news that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, passed away at 12 plus last nite.

Turn on the radio, trying to hear some of his songs as I pondered my mixed feelings on this news. I was surprised that after changing close to 20 pop stations, only one is playing MJ's songs.. the rest is the morning rush hour trash.. without even mentioning his death.

Disappointed.. and wondered why (afterall he is the King of Pop)...

I cannot help but to compare MJ's death with Lady (ex-Princess) Diana. Both lived a life of self indulgence and self interest, both shared the media spotlight for their own reasons, both dead when they are relatively young and still famous...

But LD's death is mourned by the world, despite dying in her lover's car and all the scandals whereas no one is crying for MJ (may be not yet) except those who bought his tickets for the last show in London.

Perhaps, the elements in difference is public good.. What did LD do? She started charity foundations and continued to support them till her death.

MJ? hmmm... I remember he started "We are the world" but left it right opened after that. Of course he sang "Heal the world" and "Black or white" .. selling his album with some money going to the charity (but more to himself).

I guess when a person dies, those left behind would normally do an audit on what he did and what public good he made. (not that I am saying this is right or wrong.. for those moral police out there.)

But the more important thing is that one must remember what public good are we doing now... and how we can live life better, with meaning, with compassion and wisdom.

Looking at the pop stars, how many of them have done public good? Maddona*?

Amitabha Amitabha Amitabha.. May he finally rest in peace.
-
With Gratitude,
ROBIN

*typo with intentions

A trip to Malacca - More reflections

2009-06-16T18:10:00.007+08:00

HC decided to bring her children to visit their grand parent in KL and decided to stop over in Malacca for the weekend. She asked me to join them, as our previous trips were extremely pleasant and I love the company of the 3 fellas.

YM (HC's Hubby) suggested that I take a bus rather than driving alone and then back. The thought gave me a jingle for a while. To be honest, I have never taken a long distance bus all by myself. Is it safe? Is it comfortable? Do I know where to board and get off? How long is the journey? What if?

It took me 2 weeks to decide whether i should go or not.

I only decided to book the ticket after some encouragement from Lian and friends. So it is fixed. $35 will bring me from Golden Mile Complex to Malacca Makota Hotel, right at the doorstep. How difficult can that be? After all I travelled the world and completed 3 fully stamped passport. This should be easy. So I thought.

The journey started well. I took a mercedes cab to my bus station and had a interesting chat with the driver. Whilst waiting for the bus to start, I still managed to call mum and send a few sms to Lian to tell her I am leaving.

The bus look quite nice (except the GREEN curtains.. GREEN???) but good leg rooms.

At 10am, I managed to clear the Singapore Tuas Custom and enter the causeway. That where the obstacles starts. The traffic jam was frightening. The number of buses in front me up was countless.

Armed with my handphone's notepad and my Creative Zen Mp3, I managed to type in 2 posts for my other blog - Reasons to live (go check it out), and also managed to catch some sleep. The jam took up 90mins. It was frightening.

A few things I learnt. Even if you managed to clear the custom faster, you will still have to wait for the slow auntie who decided to join the longest queue (sounds like Mahayana practice). No matter how much you want your privacy, there is bound to be the same auntie trying to chat with her friend who is seated two rolls away (I was more afraid that she will fall on me as she walk from one roll to another).

There was another couple sitting behind me. They looked relax - Stretching their legs as every one was waiting for the lost auntie, eating a papaya when the bus driver was late at the stopover in Yong Peng Terminal. They reminded me of the people in Bhutan - always keeping their cool and enjoying every moment of life.

I suddenly realised what my problems were. All this while, I am drown in my own organisation, my own busy schedule, my own problems, my own meditation, my own everything. Planning and solving things, doing things, analysing situations. finding solutions and trying to strike a balance, trying too too hard.

I forgot that meditation is about not doing, just watching the breathing and not controlling it, letting the thoughts go and not trying to push them aside. Meditation is letting go. And all my meditation practice were ok, until I open my eyes and come back to real world. I am mindful of my practice and my actions but do have situation where my speech is faster than my mindful practice.

I admit I have problems in letting go. At least I am mindful me this obstacle. Perhaps if I truely master this practice, my health condition will improve.

One more thing, we are always expert in diagnosing some body else problems, but not ourselve. Even if we can, we need to put our recommendations to practice.

~I will start today. How about you?

(Photos taken using handphone, and post was typed on handphone too)

My Trip to Bhutan - A Reflection

2009-06-16T09:45:00.004+08:00

Perhaps it is my karma.

After my surgery, I told myself I need to rethink my life and how I can live life better.

Before the surgery, I told myself to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. After all, looking at the odds, things did not look great. I have 6 arteries blocked and even multiple by-pass will not help my condition.

Seeing death as part of life, I tried to learn from my death to prepare for it. I wrote my own will, appointed HC to execute it, did my assets planning. Sort out my stuff as much as I can.

I thought I would require 7 days to complete this task. But the efficiency bug in me ended up taking only 2 days to organise everything. Which mean, I have 5 days to worry about the unknown.

Oh no, this cannot happen to me. So I planned for a trip to Taiwan, in case I survived. I did and after the surgery, planned for another trip to Bhutan - 1 month after I am off the wheelchair.

Bhutan is the most peaceful and blissful country I have visited. The people there are so strange. Time is just not important to them as they slowed their life to enjoy every single moment.

Let me give you some examples. A change of money at the bank needed 2 hours, a walk from the temple to the town would need 2 days and learning a sutra may take 2 years.

Things just slowed down so much that suddenly they have all the time in the world. This I dun understand. How can they be so happy, looking at their Gross National Happiness Index. Why are they so happy for? Do they have the same suffering of ours? What about birth, sickness, growing old and death?

I wonder.

--
With Gratitude,
ROBIN

What makes you a Buddhist?

2009-06-15T08:50:00.002+08:00

By Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

It's not the clothes you wear, the ceremonies you perform, or the meditation you do, says Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse. It's not what you eat, how much you drink, or who you have sex with. It's whether you agree with the four fundamental discoveries the Buddha made under the Bodhi tree, and if you do, you can call yourself a Buddhist.

Once, I was seated on a plane in the middle seat of the middle row on a trans-Atlantic flight, and the sympathetic man sitting next to me made an attempt to be friendly. Seeing my shaved head and maroon skirt, he gathered that I was a Buddhist. When the meal was served, the man considerately offered to order a vegetarian meal for me. Having correctly assumed that I was a Buddhist, he also assumed that I don't eat meat. That was the beginning of our chat. The flight was long, so to kill our boredom, we discussed Buddhism.

Over time I have come to realize that people often associate Buddhism and Buddhists with peace, meditation, and nonviolence. In fact many seem to think that saffron or maroon robes and a peaceful smile are all it takes to be a Buddhist. As a fanatical Buddhist myself, I must take pride in this reputation, particularly the nonviolent aspect of it, which is so rare in this age of war and violence, and especially religious violence. Throughout the history of humankind, religion seems to beget brutality. Even today religious-extremist violence dominates the news. Yet I think I can say with confidence that so far we Buddhists have not disgraced ourselves. Violence has never played a part in propagating Buddhism.

However, as a trained Buddhist, I also feel a little discontented when Buddhism is associated with nothing beyond vegetarianism, nonviolence, peace, and meditation. Prince Siddhartha, who sacrificed all the comforts and luxuries of palace life, must have been searching for more than passivity and shrubbery when he set out to discover enlightenment.

When a conversation arises like the one with my seatmate on the plane, a non-Buddhist may casually ask, "What makes someone a Buddhist?" That is the hardest question to answer. If the person has a genuine interest, the complete answer does not make for light dinner conversation, and generalizations can lead to misunderstanding. Suppose that you give them the true answer, the answer that points to the very foundation of this 2,500-year-old tradition.

One is a Buddhist if he or she accepts the following four truths:

All compounded things are impermanent.
All emotions are pain.
All things have no inherent existence.
Nirvana is beyond concepts.

These four statements, spoken by the Buddha himself, are known as "the four seals." Traditionally, seal means something like a hallmark that confirms authenticity. For the sake of simplicity and flow we will refer to these statements as both seals and "truths," not to be confused with Buddhism's four noble truths, which pertain solely to aspects of suffering. Even though the four seals are believed to encompass all of Buddhism, people don't seem to want to hear about them. Without further explanation they serve only to dampen spirits and fail to inspire further interest in many cases. The topic of conversation changes and that's the end of it.

The message of the four seals is meant to be understood literally, not metaphorically or mystically—and meant to be taken seriously. But the seals are not edicts or commandments. With a little contemplation one sees that there is nothing moralistic or ritualistic about them. There is no mention of good or bad behavior. They are secular truths based on wisdom, and wisdom is the primary concern of a Buddhist. Morals and ethics are secondary. A few puffs of a cigarette and a little fooling around don't prevent someone from becoming a Buddhist. That is not to say that we have license to be wicked or immoral.

Broadly speaking, wisdom comes from a mind that has what the Buddhists call "right view." But one doesn't even have to consider oneself a Buddhist to have right view. Ultimately it is this view that determines our motivation and action. It is the view that guides us on the path of Buddhism. If we can adopt wholesome behaviors in addition to the four seals, it makes us even better Buddhists. But what makes you not a Buddhist?

If you cannot accept that all compounded or fabricated things are impermanent, if you believe that there is some essential substance or concept that is permanent, then you are not a Buddhist.
If you cannot accept that all emotions are pain, if you believe that actually some emotions are purely pleasurable, then you are not a Buddhist.

If you cannot accept that all phenomena are illusory and empty, if you believe that certain things do exist inherently, then you are not a Buddhist.

And if you think that enlightenment exists within the spheres of time, space, and power, then you are not a Buddhist.

So, what makes you a Buddhist? You may not have been born in a Buddhist country or to a Buddhist family, you may not wear robes or shave your head, you may eat meat and idolize Eminem and Paris Hilton. That doesn't mean you cannot be a Buddhist. In order to be a Buddhist, you must accept that all compounded phenomena are impermanent, all emotions are pain, all things have no inherent existence, and enlightenment is beyond concepts.

It's not necessary to be constantly and endlessly mindful of these four truths. But they must reside in your mind. You don't walk around persistently remembering your own name, but when someone asks your name, you remember it instantly. There is no doubt. Anyone who accepts these four seals, even independently of Buddha's teachings, even never having heard the name Shakyamuni Buddha, can be considered to be on the same path as he.

The Beautiful Logic of the Four Seals

Consider the example of generosity. When we begin to realize the first seal—impermanence—we see everything as transitory and without value, as if it belonged in a Salvation Army donation bag. We don't necessarily have to give it all away, but we have no clinging to it. When we see that our possessions are all impermanent compounded phenomena, that we cannot cling to them forever, generosity is already practically accomplished.

Understanding the second seal, that all emotions are pain, we see that the miser, the self, is the main culprit, providing nothing but a feeling of poverty. Therefore, by not clinging to the self, we find no reason to cling to our possessions, and there is no more pain of miserliness. Generosity becomes an act of joy.

Realizing the third seal, that all things have no inherent existence, we see the futility of clinging, because whatever we are clinging to has no truly existing nature. It's like dreaming that you are distributing a billion dollars to strangers on the street. You can give generously because it's dream money, and yet you are able to reap all the fun of the experience. Generosity based on these three views inevitably makes us realize that there is no goal. It is not a sacrifice endured in order to get recognition or to ensure a better rebirth.

Generosity without a price tag, expectations, or strings provides a glimpse into the fourth view, the truth that liberation, enlightenment, is beyond conception.

If we measure the perfection of a virtuous action, such as generosity, by material standards—how much poverty is eliminated—we can never reach perfection. Destitution and the desires of the destitute are endless. Even the desires of the wealthy are endless; in fact the desires of humans can never be fully satisfied. But according to Siddhartha, generosity should be measured by the level of attachment one has to what is being given and to the self that is giving it. Once you have realized that the self and all its possessions are impermanent and have no truly existing nature, you have nonattachment, and that is perfect generosity. For this reason the first action encouraged in the Buddhist sutras is the practice of generosity.

A Deeper Understanding of Karma, Purity and Nonviolence

The concept of karma, the undeniable trademark of Buddhism, also falls within these four truths. When causes and conditions come together and there are no obstacles, consequences arise. Consequence is karma. This karma is gathered by consciousness— the mind, or the self. If this self acts out of greed or aggression, negative karma is generated. If a thought or action is motivated by love, tolerance, and a wish for others to be happy, positive karma is generated.

Yet motivation, action, and the resulting karma are inherently like a dream, an illusion. Transcending karma, both good and bad, is nirvana. Any so-called good action that is not based on these four views is merely righteousness; it is not ultimately Siddhartha's path. Even if you were to feed all the hungry beings in the world, if you acted in complete absence of these four views, then it would be merely a good deed, not the path to enlightenment. In fact it might be a righteous act designed to feed and support the ego.

It is because of these four truths that Buddhists can practice purification. If one thinks that one is stained by negative karma or is weak or "sinful," and is frustrated, thinking that these obstacles are always getting in the way of realization, then one can take comfort in knowing that they are compounded and therefore impermanent and thus purifiable. On the other hand, if one feels lacking in ability or merit, one can take comfort knowing that merit can be accumulated through performing good deeds, because the lack of merit is impermanent and therefore changeable.

The Buddhist practice of nonviolence is not merely submissiveness with a smile or meek thoughtfulness. The fundamental cause of violence is when one is fixated on an extreme idea, such as justice or morality. This fixation usually stems from a habit of buying into dualistic views, such as bad and good, ugly and beautiful, moral and immoral. One's inflexible self-righteousness takes up all the space that would allow empathy for others. Sanity is lost. Understanding that all these views or values are compounded and impermanent, as is the person who holds them, violence is averted. When you have no ego, no clinging to the self, there is never a reason to be violent. When one understands that one's enemies are held under a powerful influence of their own ignorance and aggression, that they are trapped by their habits, it is easier to forgive them for their irritating behavior and actions. Similarly, if someone from the insane asylum insults you, there is no point in getting angry. When we transcend believing in the extremes of dualistic phenomena, we have transcended the causes of violence.

The Four Seals: A Package Deal

In Buddhism, any action that establishes or enhances the four views is a rightful path. Even seemingly ritualistic practices, such as lighting incense or practicing esoteric meditations and mantras, are designed to help focus our attention on one or all of the truths.

Anything that contradicts the four views, including some action that may seem loving and compassionate, is not part of the path. Even emptiness meditation becomes pure negation, nothing but a nihilistic path, if it is not in compliance with the four truths.

For the sake of communication we can say that these four views are the spine of Buddhism. We call them "truths" because they are simply facts. They are not manufactured; they are not a mystical revelation of the Buddha. They did not become valid only after the Buddha began to teach. Living by these principles is not a ritual or a technique. They don't qualify as morals or ethics, and they can't be trademarked or owned. There is no such thing as an "infidel" or a "blasphemer" in Buddhism because there is no one to be faithful to, to insult, or to doubt. However, those who are not aware of or do not believe in these four facts are considered by Buddhists to be ignorant. Such ignorance is not cause for moral judgment. If someone doesn't believe that humans have landed on the moon, or thinks that the world is flat, a scientist wouldn't call him a blasphemer, just ignorant. Likewise, if he doesn't believe in these four seals, he is not an infidel. In fact, if someone were to produce proof that the logic of the four seals is faulty, that clinging to the self is actually not pain, or that some element defies impermanence, then Buddhists should willingly follow that path instead. Because what we seek is enlightenment, and enlightenment means realization of the truth. So far, though, in all these centuries no proof has arisen to invalidate the four seals.

If you ignore the four seals but insist on considering yourself a Buddhist merely out of a love affair with the traditions, then that is superficial devotion. The Buddhist masters believe that however you choose to label yourself, unless you have faith in these truths, you will continue to live in an illusory world, believing it to be solid and real. Although such belief temporarily provides the bliss of ignorance, ultimately it always leads to some form of anxiety. You then spend all your time solving problems and trying to get rid of the anxiety. Your constant need to solve problems becomes like an addiction. How many problems have you solved only to watch others arise? If you are happy with this cycle, then you have no reason to complain. But when you see that you will never come to the end of problem solving, that is the beginning of the search for inner truth. While Buddhism is not the answer to all the world's temporal problems and social injustices, if you happen to be searching and if you happen to have chemistry with Siddhartha, then you may find these truths agreeable. If that is the case, you should consider following him seriously.

Richness Within Renunciation

As a follower of Siddhartha, you don't necessarily have to emulate his every action—you don't have to sneak out while your wife is sleeping. Many people think that Buddhism is synonymous with renunciation, leaving home, family, and job behind, and following the path of an ascetic. This image of austerity is partly due to the fact that a great number of Buddhists revere the mendicants in the Buddhist texts and teachings, just as the Christians admire Saint Francis of Assisi. We can't help being struck by the image of the Buddha walking barefoot in Magadha with his begging bowl, or Milarepa in his cave subsisting on nettle soup. The serenity of a simple Burmese monk accepting alms captivates our imagination.

But there is also an entirely different variety of follower of the Buddha: King Ashoka, for example, who dismounted from his royal chariot, adorned with pearls and gold, and proclaimed his wish to spread the buddhadharma throughout the world. He knelt down, seized a fistful of sand, and proclaimed that he would build as many stupas as there were grains of sand in his hand. And in fact he kept his promise. So one can be a king, a merchant, a prostitute, a junkie, or a chief executive officer and still accept the four seals. Fundamentally it is not the act of leaving behind the material world that Buddhists cherish but the ability to see the habitual clinging to this world and ourselves and to renounce the clinging.

As we begin to understand the four views, we don't necessarily discard things; we begin instead to change our attitude toward them, thereby changing their value. Just because you have less than someone else doesn't mean that you are more morally pure or virtuous. In fact, humility itself can be a form of hypocrisy. When we understand the essencelessness and impermanence of the material world, renunciation is no longer a form of self-flagellation. It doesn't mean that we're hard on ourselves. The word sacrifice takes on a different meaning. Equipped with this understanding, everything becomes about as significant as the saliva we spit on the ground. We don't feel sentimental about saliva. Losing such sentimentality is a path of bliss, sugata. When renunciation is understood as bliss, the stories of many other Indian princesses, princes, and warlords who once upon a time renounced their palace life become less outlandish.

This love of truth and veneration for the seekers of truth is an ancient tradition in countries like India. Even today, instead of looking down on renunciants, Indian society venerates them just as respectfully as we venerate professors at Harvard and Yale. Although the tradition is fading in this age when corporate culture reigns, you can still find naked, ash-clad sadhus who have given up successful law practices to become wandering mendicants. It gives me goose bumps to see how Indian society respects these people instead of shooing them away as disgraceful beggars or pests. I can't help but imagine them at the Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong. How would the nouveau-riche Chinese, desperately trying to copy Western ways, feel about these ash-clad sadhus? Would the doorman open the door for them? For that matter, how would the concierge at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles react? Instead of worshipping the truth and venerating sadhus, this is an age that worships billboards and venerates liposuction.

Adopting Wisdom, Dropping Distorted Mortalities

As you read this, you may be thinking, I'm generous and I don't have that much attachment to my things. It may be true that you aren't tightfisted, but in the midst of your generous activities, if someone walks off with your favorite pencil, you may get so angry that you want to bite his ear off. Or you may become completely disheartened if someone says, "Is that all you can give?" When we give, we are caught up in the notion of "generosity." We cling to the result—if not a good rebirth, at least recognition in this life, or maybe just a plaque on the wall. I have also met many people who think they are generous simply because they have given money to a certain museum, or even to their own children, from whom they expect a lifetime of allegiance.

If it is not accompanied by the four views, morality can be similarly distorted. Morality feeds the ego, leading us to become puritanical and to judge others whose morality is different from ours. Fixated on our version of morality, we look down on other people and try to impose our ethics on them, even if it means taking away their freedom. The great Indian scholar and saint Shantideva, himself a prince who renounced his kingdom, taught that it is impossible for us to avoid encountering anything and everything unwholesome, but if we can apply just one of these four views, we are protected from all nonvirtue. If you think the entire West is somehow satanic or immoral, it will be impossible to conquer and rehabilitate it, but if you have tolerance within yourself, this is equal to conquering. You can't smooth out the entire earth to make it easier to walk on with your bare feet, but by wearing shoes you protect yourself from rough, unpleasant surfaces.

If we can understand the four views not only intellectually but also experientially, we begin to free ourselves from fixating on things that are illusory. This freedom is what we call wisdom. Buddhists venerate wisdom above all else. Wisdom surpasses morality, love, common sense, tolerance, and vegetarianism. Wisdom is not a divine spirit that we seek from somewhere outside of ourselves. We invoke it by first hearing the teachings on the four seals—not accepting them at face value, but rather analyzing and contemplating them. If you are convinced that this path will clear some of your confusion and bring some relief, then you can actually put wisdom into practice.

In one of the oldest Buddhist teaching methods, the master gives his disciples a bone and instructs them to contemplate its origin. Through this contemplation, the disciples eventually see the bone as the end result of birth, birth as the end result of karmic formation, karmic formation as the end result of craving, and so on. Thoroughly convinced by the logic of cause, condition, and effect, they begin to apply awareness to every situation and every moment. This is what we call meditation. People who can bring us this kind of information and understanding are venerated as masters because, even though they have profound realization and could happily live in the forest, they are willing to stick around to explain the view to those who are still in the dark. Because this information liberates us from all kinds of unnecessary hiccups, we have an automatic appreciation for the explainer. So we Buddhists pay homage to the teacher.

Once you have intellectually accepted the view, you can apply any method that deepens your understanding and realization. In other words, you can use whatever techniques or practices help you to transform your habit of thinking that things are solid into the habit of seeing them as compounded, interdependent, and impermanent. This is true Buddhist meditation and practice, not just sitting still as if you were a paperweight.

Even though we know intellectually that we are going to die, this knowledge can be eclipsed by something as small as a casual compliment. Someone comments on how graceful our knuckles look, and the next thing we know we are trying to find ways to preserve these knuckles. Suddenly we feel that we have something to lose. These days we are constantly bombarded by so many new things to lose and so many things to gain. More than ever we need methods that remind us and help us get accustomed to the view, maybe even hanging a human bone from the rearview mirror, if not shaving your head and retreating to a cave. Combined with these methods, ethics and morality become useful. Ethics and morality may be secondary in Buddhism, but they are important when they bring us closer to the truth. But even if some action appears wholesome and positive, if it takes us away from the four truths, Siddhartha himself cautioned us to leave it be.

The Tea and the Teacup: Wisdom Within Culture

The four seals are like tea, while all other means to actualize these truths—practices, rituals, traditions, and cultural trappings—are like a cup. The skills and methods are observable and tangible, but the truth is not. The challenge is not to get carried away by the cup. People are more inclined to sit straight in a quiet place on a meditation cushion than to contemplate which will come first, tomorrow or the next life. Outward practices are perceivable, so the mind is quick to label them as "Buddhism," whereas the concept "all compounded things are impermanent" is not tangible and is difficult to label. It is ironic that evidence of impermanence is all around us, yet is not obvious to us.

The essence of Buddhism is beyond culture, but it is practiced by many different cultures, which use their traditions as the cup that holds the teachings. If the elements of these cultural trappings help other beings without causing harm, and if they don't contradict the four truths, then Siddhartha would encourage such practices.

Throughout the centuries so many brands and styles of cups have been produced, but however good the intention behind them, and however well they may work, they become a hindrance if we forget the tea inside. Even though their purpose is to hold the truth, we tend to focus on the means rather than the outcome. So people walk around with empty cups, or they forget to drink their tea. We human beings can become enchanted, or at least distracted, by the ceremony and color of Buddhist cultural practices. Incense and candles are exotic and attractive; impermanence and selflessness are not. Siddhartha himself said that the best way to worship is by simply remembering the principle of impermanence, the suffering of emotions, that phenomena have no inherent existence, and that nirvana is beyond concepts.

Now that Buddhism is flourishing in the West, I have heard of people altering Buddhist teachings to fit the modern way of thinking. If there is anything to be adapted, it would be the rituals and symbols, not the truth itself. Buddha himself said that his discipline and methods should be adapted appropriately to time and place. But the four truths don't need to be updated or modified; and it's impossible to do so anyway. You can change the cup, but the tea remains pure. After surviving 2,500 years and traveling 40,781,035 feet from the Bodhi tree in central India to Times Square in New York City, the concept "all compounded things are impermanent" still applies. Impermanence is still impermanence in Times Square. You cannot bend these four rules; there are no social or cultural exceptions

Practicing Harmony

Profound truths aside, these days even the most practical and obvious truths are ignored. We are like monkeys who dwell in the forest and shit on the very branches from which we hang. Every day we hear people talking about the state of the economy, not recognizing the connection between recession and greed. Because of greed, jealousy, and pride, the economy will never become strong enough to ensure that every person has access to the basic necessities of life. Our dwelling place, the Earth, becomes more and more polluted. I have met people who condemn ancient rulers and emperors and ancient religions as the source of all conflict. But the secular and modern world has not done any better; if anything, it has done worse. What is it that the modern world has made better? One of the main effects of science and technology has been to destroy the world more quickly. Many scientists believe that all living systems and all life-support systems on Earth are in decline.

It's time for modern people like ourselves to give some thought to spiritual matters, even if we have no time to sit on a cushion, even if we are put off by those who wear rosaries around their necks, and even if we are embarrassed to exhibit our religious leanings to our secular friends. Contemplating the impermanent nature of everything that we experience and the painful effect of clinging to the self brings peace and harmony—if not to the entire world, at least within our own sphere.

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche is a student of Khenpo Appey Rinpoche and is responsible for the education of approximately 1,600 monks distributed between six monasteries and institutes in Asia. He is the founder of several dharma centers in the west and three nonprofit organizations: Siddhartha's Intent, Khyentse Foundation and Lotus Outreach. He is the director of the films The Cup and Travellers & Magicians. This teaching is adapted from his first book, What Makes You Not a Buddhist, available from Shambhala Publications.

What Makes You a Buddhist?, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, Shambhala Sun, January 2007.

--
With Gratitude,
ROBIN

What is enlightenment?

2009-06-15T08:45:00.002+08:00

by Rev. Sarika Dharma

Dharma talk given on April 16, 1995

This morning Rev. Vajra handed me an article from Tuesday's paper, about how many Westerners, including celebrities such as Oliver Stone and Richard Gere, are embracing the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, hoping to reach enlightenment. I guess most everyone interested in Buddhism wants to reach enlightenment. So maybe we need to figure out what it is, if we're going to get there. First, I'd like to open this up to everybody here and hear what you think enlightenment is.

"I think it's perfect mental health."

Perfect is a word that comes up a lot in talk about enlightenment. Many people agree that someone who is enlightened is also perfect. So that's a good one to start with.

"A clear perception of reality."

First, of course, we need to define what we mean by clear, by perception, by reality. But I think we're getting somewhere already.

"Everything's all right."

That leads us in the direction of the Zen idea that we are already enlightened, and we just have to get in touch with that which is already within.

I did some exploring of other people's ideas about enlightenment. I recently got connected to the internet and discovered a way to communicate with Buddhist practitioners all over the world. Here are some of their thoughts:

One woman said, "I don't think enlightenment is perfection in itself, like the Christian ideal that God is perfect. Buddha made a few mistakes after his enlightenment." She referred to a specific incident where the Buddha gave a meditation on death to a group of monks and later returned to find they had all committed suicide out of despair. So, that could be seen as a mistake, yes. But whose mistake? Maybe not his.

She continued, "I think it is beyond anything we can imagine or comprehend in our present state of mind. I can sort of visualize it, but I can't put it into words. How can anyone comprehend ultimate transcendence if it hasn't happened yet? I think we sometimes get quick flashes of insight into this state. The main thing I know from the quick flashes is that it is nice, everything is clear."

She goes on to say that her husband believes that perfection is impossible to attain, whereas enlightenment is not. Difficult, but not impossible. He is in the army and was in the Gulf War. He told her that his experiences with meditation during the war gave him great clarity and focus of mind, and he now believes that enlightenment is there, it's just a matter of getting to it by continuing the effort. That's the clincher.

Another person wrote, "We are already perfect, but we don't know it. Enlightenment is knowing it." But what is perfection? Is it doing no wrong? Is it the absence of unstructured thinking? Is it total clarity without illusion? Maybe it's being at peace most of the time, during crises as well as the good stuff and old age and death and no ending of old age and death.

Someone else wrote, "The Buddhist path is for its own sake, not for the sake of some mythic state called enlightenment." So this person thinks that enlightenment is a myth. Some teachers and practitioners prefer not to focus on the question of enlightenment; they object to the idea of a goal, of having to attain anything. Perhaps we do have to accept, at least, the fact that without the Buddha's enlightenment experience there would be no Buddhism.

I think of it like this: we are perfect, we all have Buddha nature, but we haven't yet realized it. How can we identify this perfect state? It may be always acting so as not to harm oneself or other sentient beings and so as to benefit oneself and other sentient beings. It may be the absence of all destructive thought, or perhaps it's full clarity with no illusion. Maybe not.

Maybe it's seeing our thoughts clearly say eighty to ninety percent of the time. Maybe it's not being caught up in the self-centered dream. Maybe it's being at peace in all situations. Maybe it's when we don't hang on to the thoughts and emotions that color our experience of life.

Too many maybes.

Are we getting closer? I don't know. It's beginning to sound more complicated.

One correspondent asked, "Take a person who has attained the thing that cannot be named, are they necessarily going to be without personal flaws of all kinds?"

This is an important question. Because when we make a judgment on someone else's attainment and we see that they still have personality traits that we consider flaws, we may think the person is not awake at all.

Someone else answered this question by saying, "The attained person may still have flaws, but they are acutely aware of them and are diligent in clearing them away." Then enlightenment is an awareness of imperfection and a willingness to live in such a way that those imperfections don't interfere with our relationship with the world and all that's in it.

One person responded by suggesting that if I wanted to know what enlightenment was I should ask a Buddha, since Buddhas are the only ones who experience enlightenment. Well, who is a Buddha? Are there any Buddhas alive today? How can we tell?

To me, my master was an enlightened being. Many others agreed with me. He wasn't "perfect" if that means never making mistakes. One time, he locked his car with the keys in it and the motor running. He didn't get upset with himself or upset at all, actually. He laughed at his own foolishness and said, "Zen mind is forgetting mind." That phrase is still used by his disciples as a good excuse.

Forgetfulness is a human characteristic. Enlightenment can only be attained by a human being. An enlightened being doesn't become super-human, but rather fully human. Ven. Thien-An had a way of being that showed he was right there in each moment. He saw clearly and was able to communicate that clarity. We learned from his presence beyond what we learned from his words. He spoke with a smile of mind-to-mind transmission, the most important learning of all.

Can we really know if another person is enlightened? Maybe only the person having that experience can tell. Of course, that can be very dangerous; it may be our ego rather than our clarity that is telling us that we are attained. We may not be able to discern the difference until we have expanded our ego to include all. More importantly, if we focus constantly on our state of being and on the concept of enlightenment as a goal, we may miss the process of being in each moment, and thus never find it.

Another correspondent said, "Anything to be attained is also something to be later lost. The reference in the tradition is Nirvana, which is not enlightenment but extinction. And when the extinction is complete, that which has no beginning or ending and cannot be attained or lost is fully manifest."

There are so many different ideas. Many many different approaches. Let's look at a few more technical definitions.

First, we need to look at the word itself. Enlightenment is a translation from Sanskrit, but English doesn't have a word with exactly the same meaning. Enlightenment sounds like the light is shining, perhaps shining from a halo above a person's head. If the word enlightenment makes us think that an attained person would have light around them, an aura of light, then it is not the best word to use.

But enlightenment also suggests a light that makes everything clear, that makes everything able to be seen. Perhaps the word "awakening" expresses this more precisely. Being awake to our own processes, to what is really going on in the world. Understanding how the world works, how it functions, and how we function in it. The Shambhala Dictionary defines enlightenment as "an awakening to a nowness of emptiness, in which the person is empty, even as the entire universe is empty."

What is the meaning of this word "emptiness" (shunyata)? We usually think of empty as referring to something that doesn't contain anything, like a cup without liquid in it, like a hole that's been dug in the earth. But that is not what empty means in the Buddhist sense. Emptiness has to do with impermanence, with no essence, with imperfection--the three characteristics of life and the world. Emptiness means that everything is constantly changing, that there is nothing to hold on to. There is no solidity, no permanent form; everything is in process.

Emptiness is not an object that is perceived by a subject. Enlightenment also is not that. In this ultimate state of being, there is no object, there is no subject. There is oneness--and connection.

Mental health? Certainly, because we are not filled with all kinds of paranoia or neuroses about how the world "treats us." When we are awake, we can understand that when someone insults us, it doesn't really have anything to do with us; it has to do with that person's state of being. And as much as we would like the person to give us approval rather than insult, we can't make them different, can't make them understand. If we practice not responding to insults, which is a practice monks do, we see that we are not really involved in what is happening. It is the other person who is angry, maybe about something that doesn't have anything to do with us. When we see this, we can begin to let go of our ego defenses and ultimately we will see that there is no self that needs protection.

Once when the Buddha was teaching, the wife of a man who had left his home to follow Sakyamuni came to see him. She was exceedingly angry at the Buddha for ruining her life, as she saw it. She approached the Buddha and began to regale him with epithets, blaming him for all her troubles and demanding that he force her husband to come back to his home and his responsibilities.

The Buddha listened to all her complaints with great patience and respect, but he never answered her. After a while, she ran out of steam and left. Ananda turned to the Buddha and said, "Lord, why did you not answer that woman; she is very unhappy." Sakyamuni replied, "She came to give me a gift, but I refused to accept it, so she took it back home with her."

The Buddhist tradition acknowledges different levels of enlightenment. Perfect, complete enlightenment, or anuttara-samyaksambodhi, is the enlightenment that the Buddha realized, the enlightenment that is the beginning of the Buddhadharma itself. If the Buddha hadn't experienced enlightenment, he wouldn't have had anything to tell us about. But since he did, we have Buddhism and a path to follow.

Enlightenment is by its nature always the same. Still, there are different degrees of enlightenment. If we compare the process to breaking through a wall, then the experience can vary from a tiny chink in the wall, letting in a glimpse of light, to the total annihilation of the wall, destroying all obstacles to seeing clearly. In Zen, these glimpses are called kensho, seeing one's own true nature.

Many times these first glimpses surprise us. We like it, so we try to grasp onto it and, of course, then it's gone. It takes a while before we can just watch. If we keep on with our practice, the glimpses become more frequent and more prolonged. We have to be willing and diligent to continue on the path without really knowing where we're heading. We may become confused and think that enlightenment, the experience of emptiness, is separate from the ordinary world of phenomena. It is not. Both exist in oneness. The Heart Sutra tells us that form is no other than emptiness and emptiness is no other than form.

In profound enlightenment, the ego is annihilated; it dies. In Zen we say that we must die on the cushion. Don't drop over dead, just let your ego die! The result of this dying, of this great death, is great life. A life of freedom and peace.

The Theravadin tradition delineates different stages of attainment, which are frequently mentioned in the Pali Canon. One moves from stream-enterer to once-returner, to non-returner, and finally to arhat, an enlightened being. The model also includes three stages of enlightenment: that of a noble disciple, that of one who seeks enlightenment for himself alone, and the enlightenment of a Buddha. In this system, one moves along the path step by step.

Most of the Mahayana sects also recognize three kinds of enlightenment: enlightenment for oneself, which is the enlightenment of an arhat; enlightenment for the sake of others, which is the enlightenment of a Bodhisattva; and the complete, perfect enlightenment of a Buddha.

Zen employs a model of insight into nonseparation; that Nirvana and samsara are one through the nondifferentiation of subject and object. Zen master Dogen said, "To go forth and experience the myriad things is delusion. That the myriad things spring forth and experience themselves is enlightenment."

The experience of awakening enables us to comprehend the true nature of things, their emptiness. Not nihilistic, but rather unperceivable, unthinkable, unfeelable, and endless beyond existence. This is a totally new kind of experience for us, different from anything we can conceive of.

The Therigatha, or songs of the elder nuns, was composed by women who lived at the time of the Buddha and are considered enlightened beings. Through their words we can get a glimpse of what the enlightened state felt like to them.

"Buddha who set me and many others free from pain, I have reached the state where everything stops. This is my last body, and I will not go from birth to birth again."

Enlightenment as "the state where everything stops."

Another says, "I don't long to be god; there is no fear in my heart." Yet another says, "Free from ties, I live in the world without obsessions."

The latter is one of my personal goals. To not be imprisoned by my mind, by stray thoughts that return again and again, but to simply let those thoughts pass right through me.

Another of the elders says, "I have annihilated all the obsessions of the mind. When you throw away your longing to be, you will live at peace. With the roots of craving uprooted, I have become cool and quenched." So there's another aspect of enlightenment.

"Now I am quenched and still. I am careful quenched, calm and free. My mind was freed Free from all bonds. My heart was set free." Freedom.

Perhaps the light in enlightenment doesn't refer so much to a light that can be seen, but to the lightness that comes with feeling free. No longer oppressed.

"Intent on peace of mind, untied from all that binds, my heart is at peace. The great dark is torn apart and death, you too are destroyed. Nirvana, the unchanging state, desire and hatred fall away, along with the obsessions of the mind."

Another says, "I have no thought of becoming. I know freedom from birth and death and do not grieve or weep. I am free and want nothing. I realize great joy. I have quenched the fires. My craving has died. Free of desire and its chains, your mind is free of clinging."

Perhaps when you came to services this morning you expected to get some answers about enlightenment. And I have given you many answers. Your own answer may be different, but these ideas encourage us to continue our explorations. But it's best to not look too hard for "answers." To know enlightenment, we must first learn to be, just that.

My Godma (born 2 Feb 1918 death 4 Jun 2009)

2009-06-11T09:03:00.006+08:00

My Godma has been bedridden for some time now.

At the age of 96, she is staying in Tai Pei Old People's Home for the past 15 years, so much so that nobody actually remember her house before. After a while, nobody remembered she existed as she wither in her old bed and a smal shelf in the home.

When she first arrived at the home, I remembered that she had visitors regularly.. and to everyone who came, she had always told them that she would wish to go back to her own house as soon as she was able to walk again and how she fondly missed her own house and her own bed.

"No matter how good it is here, nothing can be compared to my bed" and she would rattle off in Cantonese that 龙床不如狗窝（meaning the dragon bed cannot be compared to my doggy kennel)

Godma owned a shop house at the corner of Lavender Street with a coffee shop at the ground floor and a large house with 7 rooms (for rental) on the 2nd level. It was in one of this room that I was born and spent most of my childhood.

Her stay at the old folks home was forever, though she never realised that, and the coffee shop was seized by her nieces who claimed that it belonged to their father. Anyway, this is another story and I hope to write a book on her life one day.

She passed away peacefully on 12.45pm, 4th Jun 2009. In the bright noon sun shinning into her bed through the window grill, she looked so peaceful... no more pain, no more heart break, no more sadness, no more regrets, no more empty promises, no more disappointments, no more neglects, no more sorries, no more...

May she rest in peace forever.

--
With Gratitude,
ROBIN

红尘 (red dust translated)

2009-05-28T16:19:00.001+08:00

When I posted in English, the wise panda used the internet translation service and thought it was a good post.

HC (a follower of my blog) however, complained that she does not understand Chinese and needed her husband help in the translation.

I have done a short translation myself, learning the shoes of Metta, although I wont fit into hers).

红尘指的就是这个世间，纷纷攘攘的世俗生活。来源于过去的土路车马过后扬起的尘土，借喻名利之路。

The term "Red dust" is used to refer to this material life and existence. The origin of this Chinese term comes from the scenarios where the dust is generated after the wheel (of samsara) of chariots has left behind.

红尘是由两个字组成：红与尘。红色是传统中国的最爱，新年佳节或是一般喜庆都少不了以红色挂彩。红色代表世间的种种诱惑，象征着生命的追求和世人的欲望；经过源远文化意识熏陶，红色已涵盖了世间的特色，红色即是世间。

Red is a favorite Chinese colour, indicating wealth, lust and desire, just like the livelihood of many.

　　说到“尘”，我们即想起尘埃污浊。西方容许穿着鞋子进入宗教场所，如犹太基督教堂。反观在东方的传统风俗里，每个人在进入屋子庙宇都必须先把鞋脱掉，不把鞋底的尘埃带进；以佛教的教义则是不把自己的烦恼带入别人的家庭或是神圣的庙宇。

Dust, however, reminds me of residue or dirt left behind. For example, in the west, many place of religious practice allow visitors to wear their shoes into their temples. In the east, most of the temple would require visitors to leave their shoes outside the door, so as not to bring their “dust” into the place of practice, thus, leaving behind their worry and desires outside the premises.

　　诚然，看破红尘的真正意义就是知道、明了、体悟世间的实相。佛教认为我们是不可能在世间满足自己的追求与欲望。裟婆世界的本质是不圆满，是苦的；世间一切都是无常，有情与无情终逃不掉生老病死，成住坏空的命运。当我们深入了解无常现象，我们亦然体悟“无我”乃是一切万物的实相。这有别于西方传统的知识与信仰认知，如犹太基督教认为我们的灵魂是永恒不变的。

The term “looking through the red dust” would mean someone who has awaken from the desires and lust of life and material obsession and able to reach a certain level of enlightenment.

Buddhism teaches that every thing is suffering (noble truth 1) and the cause of suffering is desire (noble truth 2). Only by understanding and looking beyond this desire will suffering cease. The samsaric world has no end to suffering. We move through the six realms, trying to fulfill our imaginative satisfaction, only going into cyclic suffering.

Nothing is permanent, and our desire to make something which is transient to permanent causes more suffering. The practice and perfection of wisdom and compassion is the tool in our mind to overcome this red dust of samsara.

Was thinking of Sally Yeh's song throughout the whole trip in Bhutan. (I will try to make a verse by verse translation)

红尘
叶倩文
寻梦也许梦已空

Reaching a dream only to realize that it is empty
是非错对

Whether right or wrong, true or false
乐悲笑痛

Happy or sad, laughter or pain
幻影中似逝去一梦

It is only an illusion and a passing dream
越近越朦胧

When it is near, it is blurred

越远越情浓
When it is far, the heart fonder
聚散得失谁料中

Meeting or separate, who can anticipate,

红尘尽虚幻终会空

Red dust like an illusion will have its end leading to emptiness
休说苍天作弄

So dun blame heaven for this joke
红日去还在

The sun will rise and set
青山依旧

The mountain is still green
已经风雨百万重

But the soul has harden in many monsoon and storm

红尘尽水月映镜花

Red dust is like moon in the river or flower in the mirror
一笑沧桑似梦

And a smile will drown the sorrow like a dream
缘在故缘尽

Whether fate exists or ended
欢度花开花落

Still happy to see the flower bloom and wither
怨痴哭笑被风吹送

Hatred, affliction, tears and laughter will be gone with the wind

寻梦也许梦已空
是非错对
乐悲笑痛
幻影中似逝去一梦
越近越朦胧
越远越情浓
梦中一生悲自控

聚了梦难同
Being together, our dreams may be different

别了又重逢

Parting today, we will meet again
梦中一生悲自控

Like in your dream, (hopefully) you can control your sorrow

And also 陈淑桦 : 笑红尘

作曲:李宗盛作词:厉曼婷

红尘多可笑

Red dust is so funny
痴情最无聊

Attachment is so insane
目空一切也好

Looking through illusion is good
此生未了

Our lives haven’t ended
心却已无所扰

But our hearts are no longer burdened
只想换得半世逍遥

Only to hope that the balance of life can be free
醒时对人笑

We smile when we are awake
梦中全忘掉

And forgot about them when we dream
叹天黑得太早

And blame the sky for getting dark too soon
来生难料

What happen next life is hard to predict
爱恨一笔勾销

Love and hatred can be wipe off
对酒当歌我只愿开心到老

With wine and song, I wish I could be forever happy
风再冷不想逃

I will be run even in the storm,
花再美也不想要

I will be want the flowers
任我飘摇

I just want to be free
天越高心越小

The higher we climb, the smaller is our heart
不问因果有多少

Dun ask me about cause and effects
独自醉倒

I am drown in my own joy
今天哭明天笑

Crying today, laughing tomorrow
不求有人能明了

No wishing that someone will understand me
一身骄傲

Just proud to be myself
歌在唱舞在跳

Song is still playing and the dance is going on
长夜漫漫不觉晓将快乐寻找

The long night is filled with joy

--
With Gratitude,
ROBIN

红尘 - Red Dust

2009-05-25T13:47:00.002+08:00

指的就是这个世间，纷纷攘攘的世俗生活。来源于过去的土路车马过后扬起的尘土，借喻名利之路。

Was thinking of Sally Yeh's song throughout the whole trip in Bhutan.

红尘
叶倩文

寻梦也许梦已空
是非错对
乐悲笑痛
幻影中似逝去一梦
越近越朦胧
越远越情浓

聚散得失谁料中
红尘尽虚幻终会空
休说苍天作弄
红日去还在
青山依旧
已经风雨百万重

红尘尽水月映镜花
一笑沧桑似梦
缘在故缘尽
欢度花开花落
怨痴哭笑被风吹送
寻梦也许梦已空
是非错对
乐悲笑痛
幻影中似逝去一梦
越近越朦胧
越远越情浓
梦中一生悲自控
聚了梦难同
别了又重逢
梦中一生悲自控

and also 陈淑桦 : 笑红尘

红尘多可笑
痴情最无聊
目空一切也好
此生未了
心却已无所扰
只想换得半世逍遥
醒时对人笑
梦中全忘掉
叹天黑得太早
来生难料
爱恨一笔勾销
对酒当歌我只愿开心到老
风再冷不想逃
花再美也不想要
任我飘摇
天越高心越小
不问因果有多少
独自醉倒
今天哭明天笑
不求有人能明了
一身骄傲
歌在唱舞在跳
长夜漫漫不觉晓将快乐寻找
红尘多可笑
痴情最无聊
目空一切也好
此生未了
心却已无所扰
只想换得半世逍遥
醒时对人笑
梦中全忘掉
叹天黑得太早
来生难料
爱恨一笔勾销
对酒当歌我只愿开心到老
风再冷不想逃
花再美也不想要
任我飘摇
天越高心越小
不问因果有多少
独自醉倒
今天哭明天笑
不求有人能明了
一身骄傲
歌在唱舞在跳
长夜漫漫不觉晓将快乐寻找
风再冷不想逃
花再美也不想要
任我飘摇
天越高心越小
不问因果有多少
独自醉倒
今天哭明天笑
不求有人能明了
一身骄傲
歌在唱舞在跳
长夜漫漫不觉晓将快乐寻找
风再冷不想逃
花再美也不想要
任我飘摇
天越高心越小
不问因果有多少
独自醉倒
今天哭明天笑
不求有人能明了
一身骄傲
歌在唱舞在跳
长夜漫漫不觉晓将快乐寻找

--
With Gratitude,
ROBIN

The name is Buddha

2009-05-14T20:52:00.003+08:00

Unlike other major religions, Buddhism does not have draconian deity at its head, but rather places the responsibility for salvation in the hands of it disciples (sangha), both lay and ordained, following a set of teachings (dharma) from the teacher (Buddha).

Who is this teacher, the Buddha (the enlightened one)? There are a few names given to this same person, which I will try to explain below.

Borned as `Gautama` as a prince from the Sakya tribe in Nepalese Terai;

He was later known as `Sakyamuni` - the sage from Sakya Tribe;

He also referred himself as `Tathagata` in the sutras – the one who follows in the path of his predecessor;

Although his own forename was `Siddhartha`, meaning `aim obtained`

But whatever name you put into Buddha, he is the teacher and founder of the practice of Buddhism.

P.S. I am on my way to Bhutan from a pilgrimage, and will blog whenever possible.

With gratitude and loving kindness

Robin in Bangkok

Platform Sutra 壇經

2009-05-06T09:54:00.003+08:00

Two celebrated poems from the Platform Sutra 壇經- a sutra written in China as most sutra is written in India.

身是菩提树 (Shen Shi Pu Ti Shu)
心如明镜台 (Xin Ru Ming Jing Tai)
时时勤拂试 (Shi Shi Qin Fu Shi)
莫使惹尘埃 (Mo Shi Re Chen Ai)

The body is the Bodhi tree
The mind is like a bright mirror stand
Moment to moment, diligently wipe
To let no dust alight

This first verse by Venerable Shenxiu reflects conventional or relative truth as it speaks of form. ‘The body is the Bodhi tree’ because just as the Buddha depended on the tree for shelter during the quest for enlightenment, we too depend on the body to practise and realise the Dharma. The Buddha once said that “Within this fathom long body [i.e. entire length of the body] is the world [that we experience with our senses], the origin of the world, the cessation of the world and the path leading to the cessation of the world.” In other words, we depend on this body as a vehicle or instrument to realise enlightenment. (‘The cessation of the world’ can be seen as ‘the cessation of suffering’. The above quote can be seen as another way of stating how the Four Noble Truths can be realised by mindfulness of all that rises and falls within one’s body.)

‘The mind is like a bright mirror stand’ because the mind shows us whatever is reflected onto it. Our perception of reality is clouded when there is the dust of defilements (attachment, aversion and delusion) on the mind. Hence, we should be mindful from moment to moment, to not let this dust pollute the mind, to mar our vision of truth. Only with a dust-free mind can the mirror of the mind reflect perfectly, letting us perceive reality completely.

菩提本无树 (Pu Ti Ben Wu Shu)
明镜亦非台 (Ming Jing Yi Fei Tai)
本来无一物 (Ben Lai Wu Yi Wu)
何处惹尘埃 (He Chu Re Chen Ai)

Bodhi originally has no tree
The bright mirror also has no stand
Originally there is not a thing
Where can dust alight?

This second verse by (the later) Venerable Huineng reflects ultimate or absolute truth as it speaks of emptiness (of substantiality). Although the path towards enlightenment (Bodhi) is conditioned by practice, the actual essence of Bodhi is not based upon any tree or any body – because Bodhi is unconditioned. Because the true nature of the liberated mind does not abide anywhere, it has no stand. It is due to attachment that the mind dwells upon physical and mental things, including the idea that ‘The body the Bodhi tree’ and that ‘The mind is like a bright mirror stand’. As long as there is attachment to these forms, even in the mind, Bodhi is not realised.

As all mind (symbolised by the mirror) and matter (symbolised by the tree) change from moment to moment, there is no substantial ‘thing’ – which is why ‘Originally there is not a thing’. Yet, it is because there is not a fixed thing, that there can be ‘everything’ – in the constant change (other than the unconditioned) of phenomena. As there is no fixed mind and matter, the unsubstantial (also changing) dust of defilements has no substantial ‘place’ to alight or collect. Only when we have the delusion of fixed mind and matter do we seem to accumulate defilements. But because we accumulate defilements this way, we would need to, from ‘Moment to moment, diligently wipe to let no dust alight’. The first verse thus has to be practised till the second verse is realised. To function as a practicing Bodhisattva, one has to relate to the unenlightened using conventional truth (taught in the first verse), while trying to realise the ultimate truth (taught in the second verse). This is the Middle Path of the Bodhisattva that leads to the liberation of one and all.

Letting go

2009-05-05T08:43:00.007+08:00

I heard so much about AWARE and the Ren Ci management issue (note, these are not Buddhist issues).

So many people has voiced their opinions, which to me has nothing to do with them.. They just want

their say, their opinions to be heard, their ideas to be asserted, their belief to be implemented.

Worst still, Fools rush in where Angels fail to tread.

People who should not be involved... man speaking at women forum, christian saying about buddhist, religion against sexual preference, straight against gays.

What happened to tolerance? What happened to identifying similarities instead of identifying difference?

People should learn to let go.

By not letting go, u are like holding your breath... and soon you will turn purple, frustrated, frighten, angry, anxious, sick and even die.

How do you let go of things? This means you leave them as they are; it does not mean you annihilate them or throw them away. It is more like setting down and letting them be. Through the practice of letting go we realise that there is the origin of suffering, which is the attachment to desire, and we realise that we should let go of these three kinds of desire. Then we realise that we have let go of these desires; there is no longer any attachment to them.

I wrote quite a bit on this topic. U can find them by searching "letting go" on my blog search or visit:

http://robin33.blogspot.com/2007/12/more-on-letting-go.html

http://robin33.blogspot.com/2007/12/letting-go-takes-love.html

Compassion without wisdom is pointless.

Wisdom without compassion is useless

Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2009-05-02T11:39:00.003+08:00

It is definitely getting very bad !
I will put this up for my Cat shelter too... haha

缘

2009-04-28T10:33:00.004+08:00

佛说：
修百世方可同舟渡，
修千世方能共枕眠。
前生五百次的凝眸，
换今生一次的擦肩

Perhaps that is the best description for（缘）.

I still cannot find a one word English translation for this Chinese character.. Is it - hem, margin; reason, cause; karma, fate?

因缘，佛教术语，一切法的生成，皆依赖各种条件。其直接主要的条件为“因”，间接次要的条件为“缘”。缘字单就字面解释有攀爬之意，连结集合各种因由而成就现象，即为因缘。有因缘而法成。因缘果报四字往往合并使用。因缘的说法常见于佛教典籍及中国历代的文学作品中。

The beauty of one Chinese word, which requires an explanation which can fill one book is the power of Chinese Language.

Do Read Lian's page on my karma or fate or whatever with her..

莲之语

http://padmaland.blogspot.com/

Tashi, Trevor Junior and Trevor - A story about my 3 cats

2009-04-19T22:22:00.010+08:00

Christabelle, from the Kitty Care Animal Shelter called to tell me that they have a new batch of stray cats and kittens abandoned by (terrible) people in the Bedok area.

That's nothing new, since more and more people are throwing out their pets during this economic downturn..

But Christabelle was very excited about a particular kitten, a black long hair kitten, whom she claimed look exactly like my Trevor and TJ, who passed away in Oct 2006. (please read http://robin33.blogspot.com/2006/10/farewell-trevor-junior-tj-farewell.html)... I have also reproduced part of my relationship with Trevor and his brother Trevor Junior below.

I rushed to see the new cat.. only to see it jumping on my lap and started crying.. Yes, Trevor or Trevor Junior (TJ) is back.

Trevor (deceased in 2000)

Trevor Junoir (deceased in 2006)

Tashi (Now)

What a karma... 3 lifes as a cat and coming back to our house.. I have decided to give up my Buddhist name to him.. as Tashi Gyatso and hope that this will be his last re-incarnation.

Do cats really have 9 lifes or 9 re-incarnations? I really dun know.

Below are the similarities between the 3 of them.

He love to follow you around and "meow" .
Sit at the glass door and look out and wander what is happening outside
The fur and the way he walked is the same and very distinct
Run up the stairs when you let him out at night and into the bedroom straight to the toilet
Sleep on top of you and curl up like a ball when cold
Roll on the bed like its his own world and also when on top of you
Wake you up in the morning crying and will rub and rub your face
Sit on your lap or when u lay down to read and will his hands like massaging you……elmo do that as well
Naughty and very inquisitive and will not fail to explore
Very close to human and like he has been in the house before
Not afraid of the rest of the dogs and will not even hiss.
Sit with his arms folded under his body when he is resting
Will play with your hand and also will want you to tickle him under his body
Black and real black like the first Trevor…not the second Trevor Junior…….
Almost the same type of voice and very gentle when playing

FROM MY 2006 post.

Trevor came to our house to keep Tosca company. Somehow, it was logical to have a black cat after you have a white cat.

Trevor was special, he was playful and mindful of his action, so as not to provoke the easily agitated Tosca. They were best of friends, playing with each other before the accident, where Trevor went over to the Rainbow Bridge in end 2000. We still dun know what actually happened but thought that if he needs to go, we should let him go.

Trevor with Tosca on the bed

~~~~~~~~~

Three months later, going back to the same pet shop, we saw "Trevor" playing in a small cage. Apparently, our Trevor had a younger brother and was sold before we bought Trevor. He was returned by his owner because he was very sick and had been nursed back to health by the pet shop owner's maid.

We bought him home and named him Trevor Junior (TJ) 6 years ago, even though he was already an adult cat, with a whole history of medical problems.

TJ was as friendly and happy as the late Trevor. At one time, TJ was the only cat who can walk freely in our house and his greatest joy was to dash to 3rd story to sleep on the bed, whenever we opened the door,.

That was TJ's signature move and we had to warn anyone who open the cats room door to be alert of TJ dashing out, and if it happened, u would find him on the bed.

TJ was never a problematic cat. He never fights with anyone, mind his own business, is smart and always know how to have his own way of fun.

But TJ had lots of medical problem.. and had surgery to remove stones and had frequent incontinence everywhere, sometimes with blood. No amount of medications (Chinese and Western) help.

Toward his last days, I was forced to make a decision to let him go as he wishes, and not sent him for further surgery to prolong his suffering, nor put him to sleep.

Last Saturday, I dreamt that two black cats were playing in front of my bed and knew that TJ's day is approaching. On Sunday, I went back to the pet shop and asked them for the best and tasty cat food. I bought 4 cans of expensive Japanese Cat Food, knowing that if TJ makes it this week, he will at least enjoy his last supper

TJ went over the Rainbow Bridge on 16 Oct 2006.

Now he is back.

My 2009 reply to a 2006 post.

2009-04-13T05:32:00.005+08:00

I normally do not reply to anonymous post (for obvious reasons that if someone would not put in their name, they are not sincere enough as a reader and thus should not be taken seriously)...

But this will be the only exception.. since I suspected this person is from LIAN's blog.. and he/she has read some of my old postings.

Also, from the question, I sensed some frustrations and a call for more answers to his/her life... thus I decided to dedicate this post to this person and clarify below.

in 2006, I wrote:

When you see someone coming to hurt you, you should still stop him, not just because you want to prevent yourself from getting hurt, but also to prevent him from planting bad karma seeds from his action, which he will suffer more in the future.

anonymous said...

Hi, a qn: but when we stop him, is normally view as us planting bad karma seed, so is dilemma. Just like in 1 of your post, the qn of whether to save the snake or even chicken by throwing the stone at the eagle. I think this is why many ppl interpret and used according to their own interest, interpret,etc. That is to say, 1 side will argue that should stop him but the other side may say should apply compassion...how to apply compassion with wisdom? There are so many doubts to this which I think is a really big problem and question to many of us because we are not buddha and we don't have the wisdom. I really searching for what should we do but no answer... anyone has? This is what make the teachings so hard to apply...eg, compassion vs bad karma seed and if talk about apply with wisdom, how then is consider wisdom? Is like "human nature is evil or good?"....there should be answer to such ":grey areas" in apply buddha teachings right? But so far, noone able to give answer, either will say "search for yourself or I know but can't tell"...so sick with all this type of answer.

Friday, April 10, 2009 12:29:00 PM SGT

My Clarification:

A karma seed is a cause of an action which we take that will result in outcome. If the outcome is positive, it is a positive seed and if an outcome is negative, the seed is negative. Of course, whether positive or negative is subjective to you, the society and the Buddhist community.

In this case, you must stop this person from hurting you unnecessarily... and since not getting hurt is a positive result (for most people) how can this be a negative karma? Always use your heart to judge an outcome.. whether public good or whether good for all sentient beings.... and this is the practice of wisdom from yourself.

In this new world of GOOGLE, all information is available in a flash.. try to search for Karma and you will get 85,900,000 listings. You need the wisdom to find Robin's

Karma in this 85900000 listings.

Thus wisdom is important to sieve out the unwanted pages.

If you have read my other posts, I teach on compassion and wisdom

practice, which must go hand in hand.

Like a bird, compassion is on one wing and wisdom is on the other.

Only with balance on both sides, the bird can then fly.

And to gain compassion and wisdom is a practice...

a life long learning.

PS. Please leave your name if you want to continue to post in this blog.

--
With Gratitude,
ROBIN

Abandon my cat for my baby?

2009-04-07T09:20:00.005+08:00

Yesterday I had an interesting call from a lady who dun want to leave her name and dun even want to tell me where she got my number.

She claimed she had a cat to "give away" and it is a very good house cat.

When asked further, she said that she just had a baby and realised that the cats dropped off fur once in a while (as if human dun) and the cats poo smelled (as if she haven't seen cat poo before) and she is afraid her baby will be infected (I dun know of what).

From the conversation, I felt that she is determined to get rid of her cat. I warned her that house cat will not be able to survive out in the street and it will either be knocked down by cars or got infected and will die if left on the street.

She gave me an indifferent reply, and asked me if I could speak to her mother and mother in law about her cat problem.

I told her frankly that she dun have a cat problem, she has a mother-in-law and mother problem. She replied that I was sarcastic. I even offered to house her cat until she is ready to take it home for a fee... and she started bargaining before I could tell her the price by saying that she can provide food for the cat.

I gave up.

Wonder cures and faith healing

2009-04-06T11:16:00.003+08:00

Someone asked me to attend a faith healing session, and she is even willing to pay for the front seat for me to go. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart and ask her to donate the money for a good cause or if she has already purchased the ticket, she could give to someone else who may need this session more.

Wonder cures and faith healing are part of a belief system where people want to be cure so badly that sometimes, they put logic and science away.

I am not saying science has all the answers.. But logic must always be used when choosing any treatment or prevention. Otherwise, we will be crystallizing tears.

People's intention is good.. But sometimes, such intention can cause harm if use in a wrong manner.

Buddhist believe in Karma, during my last trip to Taiwan, a wise nun told me, "we are using fake medicine to treat fake illness, on our fake body".. And her teaching is about non attachment to our current sentient body. Dun get me wrong, I will continue to find a cure for my illness, but I will put the practice of the dharma in life, with wisdom and compassion along the way.

I have learnt quite a bit so far & have come to believe that at the end of the day, taking things easy & looking at all things positively forward is the best cure for me.

Just my humble opinion.

The Greatest

2009-04-01T15:17:00.005+08:00

The greatest achievement is selflessness.

The greatest worth is self-mastery.

The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.

The greatest precept is continual awareness.

The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.

The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.

The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.

The greatest generosity is non-attachment.

The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.

The greatest patience is humility.

The greatest effort is not concerned with results.

The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

~ Atisha (11th century Tibetan Buddhist master)

2009-03-30T17:14:00.004+08:00

My mind is firm like a rock,
unattached to sensual things,
no shaking in the midst of a world,

where all is decaying.

My mind has been thus well developed,
so how can suffering ever touch me?

~ Theragatha 194

Economic Tsunami and Pets

2009-03-25T14:49:00.006+08:00

Oh No... because of the economic tsunami, many people are throwing out their cats, dogs and even rabbits.

These pets are not street smart and probably got so frightened by the traffic and strangers that they are more prone to accidents and infections.

Many house pets are also not able to take care of itself and abandoning them in the concrete jungle are definitely not humane at all.

Raising a pet and abandoning it is an act of ignorance.

A lot of these are designer animals. They cannot be "freed" anywhere. It adds a new dimension of cruelty, being abandoned and unable to fend for itself. A wild animal is better equipped.

Maybe a law to stop this abusive treatment of pets is needed to put a stop to this practice.

Will people throw out their children and elderly if the economic situation gets worst???

Meanwhile, we are collecting more abandoned animals and funds are running very low.. Please contact me if you want to help.
--
With Gratitude and Loving Kindness,
ROBIN

Taiwan 101 -Gold Exhibition

2009-03-18T09:39:00.002+08:00

I normally move my life from chapters to chapters.. thus photo and memories are precious and must be well documented for the happiness and joy and then let it go with no attachment.

kittycare services

2009-03-11T10:46:00.003+08:00

We have been sponsoring an animal shelter for stray cats and dogs for the past few years with Christabel Chai.

Starting with 300 cats during the SARS cats culling period, we have now housed 1400 of stray and injured cats... and the cost is going up.

After complaints from neighbours and moving the shelter 3 times, we have managed to rent a farm space in Lim Chu Kang Lane 1 and have a proper shelter for these neglected animals. Some of them are saved from AVA before they kill them or from members of public who informed us about abandon or abused pets.

With the economic tsunami and retrenchment of expats, we see an sharp increase of abandon cats and dogs.. and many of them are not familiar to street and got knock down by cars.

We need to request for sponsorship to help maintain this shelter. If you want to donate and support our kitty care service please let me know. Any amount will defray our cost of maintaining the shelter. The cost of feeding a cat per day is about S$1.00 excluding rental and cleaning.

Please also visit our website and if anyone wish to adopt a cat, please contact us... *Adoption is subjected to terms and conditions of pets adoption and suitability.

Thank you for your support. Please visit

http://kittycareservices.blogspot.com/

--
With Gratitude and Loving Kindness,
ROBIN