Shhh..The Neighbours Will Talk..

How often have we heard ourselves say that?

We may not say it out loud but often have that inner conversation with ourselves when we are thinking of doing something that is out of the social norm.

Well, it is good to have rules when it comes to extreme acts which could land us in jail like stealing or cheating or killing someone. These are acts which infringe onto others like taking away what does not belong to us or infringing on the physical well being and safety of others.

But what about those that just doen’t hurt anyone? Like sporting some weird color hairdo or wearing outlandish makeup.

Weird or outlandish is a matter of perception. From the time we were born, knowingly or unknowing we were layered with values-social and cultural values. Along the way as we grow, we developed our own.

Part of our behaviour is of course purely animal. For we are all primates, are we not? Our mannerisms and bodily language often are indicators to our animal side. The way we cross our hands or stand all arise from basic animal instincts carried over from the distant path of evolution.

All of these provide a clue to how we can develop our mind. If only we can peel away those layers, maybe we can find the real us.

Neck Pain Remedy

Being a sufferer of neck pain, I have tried many forms of treatment from massage, painkillers and other drugs, natural and un-natural, acupuncture, exercises, traction and others.

Lately I have been using a goose feather pillow and I find that they give the neck a rest allowing a more restful sleep compared with other pillows I have tried.

This one is sold at Jusco as "Sleeping Partner".

I would suggest that even if you have no neck or back problems now, do use a pillow with good neck support. I believe this allows the neck to rest and muscles and what-nots a chance to recuperate preventing damage and eventual neck pain.

Neck pain is no fun and can be debilitating. Take care-prevention is better than cure.

Beautiful Beads

While squeezing through the narrow lanes along the River Ganga, I saw this.



Aren't they pretty?

Blessed are we who have Friends

Friends are one of the few the real Treasures in life. I read this here.

Ever wondered how true it is that true friends can be counted on the fingers of one's hands?

I remember reading from somewhere when I was young that a true friend is one you would want to bring with you into the deep forest. This is one test as a true friend will not desert you and would give his or her life for you in danger. They will not run away when you need them most - a friend in need is a friend indeed!

Through our journeys in life and on the road, we do get to experience the different kinds and levels of friendships. From our school days, we learn how mercurial friends can be. The push and pull of simply getting on with life affects our moods people around us perceive this.

Fellow travellers on vacations and holidays too show their true colors. When we are taken away from our familiar environments, we react as all animals do and the natural instincts start to show. Sometimes it amy make us think that if it is not with suitable companions, it is better to travel alone especially if the travel is going to be a rough one.Backpacking through unfamiliar regions for example.

I do believe that to fulfill our potential as human, the adage "reliable as the salt of the Earth" is something to live by.

India Crossing

This remains one of my favorite images.

It was taken on the road from Dehra Dun to Dharamsala, not the main highway route but that off track route further to the west.

This crossing is actually over a dried up river bed for the bridge had collapsed. The lorry people are washing their trucks on the river. Basic as their livelihood may be but a lot of pride is present. Just as the cow is sacred because they are partners in eking out the land, so are trucks as they are part of the sustenance of life.

As the sun sets, it tells of the sweetness of rest and a meal at the end of a long hard day. It offers peace and recovery for the toil of the next day.

Pilgrimage (ii)

In 199x, my buddys and I joined other buddies on a 'pilgrimage' to the sacred places and monasteries in NE Thailand. There we had the happy karma to meet the Venerable Maha Boowa and pay homage to the relics of Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta and Ajahn Tate.

A long journey with many nights on our bus and one dinner taken way past midnight. But it was all worth it with many inspirations from meeting so many holy monks who "just like you, I am also walking along the path".

It was IJ's comment on my 'pilgrimage on foot' that reminded me of the Wat Thamkrabok near Bangkok. This monastery is famous for their method of treating drug addicts. The monks there are not allowed modern transport and wherever they have to go, they have to go on foot.

The senior monk, an American jokingly said that he is ok to accept and invitation to Penang but we will have to be patient as it will take him a fair bit of time to walk there.

On a humorous note, I remembered rushing there before the noon time Dana (food offering). In we all went to the main hall, awkwardly may I add, on our knees. Well, the monks already had their plates full and the volumes were already huge. With our 'generous' offerings I definitely believe they are all going to have the unenviable hard time of stuffing them all in. You see, monks are not supposed to waste and are obliged to finish what is in front of them. One of our buddies even offered chewing gum....:-) I wouldn't want to be in their "shoes".

Pilgrimage

I have often wanted to go on a great voyage. Maybe it is the sense of adventure of every young kampong boy or maybe it was jelled by all the wonderful stories of adventures that I read or maybe it was a mixture of both.

The real adventures were the campings and hitch-hikings with the furthest being the trails around Auckland.

Although age (and aging) has dulled this passion somewhat, I am beginning to fantasize about another type of voyage. This time it is going to be a great pilgrimage.

The only trouble with that is that I have not identified which kind of pilgrimage or what type or the form it is going to take. One of the ideas I was toying about is a pilgrimage on foot (for what is a pilgrimage if it is by easy motorized transport?). Well, I have to recognize the practicalities and realities of a real foot pilgrimage. In that, maybe it may be making use of a minimum of motorized transport but it will still be a test of personal vigour and devotion.

There were many journeys made which in most ways may be called pilgrimages. This would include visits to the graves of holy saints in Java, the Three Stupas in Nepal, the Holy Buddha places in India and Tibet but other than the first journeys to Bodhgaya, NamoBuddha and Boudha, the others somehow misses a certain flavour.

Most pilgrimages take on a religious flavor but it need not necessarily be so.

I would like combine this pilgrimage with an inner journey as well. How it is going to be again remains a fantasy but deep within I send out energies that one day within this lifetime it shall come to pass.

This write does look like a rambling and ranting of which it is but perchance, an idea can form and concrete action taken. Any suggestions…?

My first fig fruit

One morning after the rain, I saw this beautiful fig hanging from the fig tree in my garden.

Strange how it managed to grow to such a size without me noticing it.

This fig seemed to be a much sought after fruit for its medicinal properties. The chinese called it "Mo Far Go"

Creative Advertising

Saw this on the Batu Caves-Kepong link.

See the flags atop the mast of the crane? Methink it is an innovative way of advertising their cranes.

What are we?

A quote from this book (I have not finished reading it so am unable to provide a review...later)

"The ship is safest when it's in port, but that's not what ships were built for."

Farewell, Uncle Yap

Yesterday was a sad day for me as I sent off a freind who had to go. His heart failed him.

Many of his Energy Worker friends were there too and I believe they felt the same way.

Wherever he is now may he frolic with angels and continue his passion and goodness just as he had done on Earth.

We shared the same office building many years ago and we were part of the team who laboured and saw the birth of "Inner Journey" magazine.

Be well friend for with your going away, you have left many lessons and one of these is the impermanence of life and more importantly to make urgent use of our time here.

Farewell....

Falling Leaves

As I turned up to enter the Port Dickson toll to head north to KL yesterday morning, I was gifted a most wonderful sight.

Angsana leaves were falling like a shoal of fishes. Shades of yellow and green were fluttering down in a seemingly never ending stream, guided by an urgent calling.

I took a breath and so wanted to take a picture but the camera was located in at the back seat. To show and share with friends this beautiful sight. That brief moment will now remain a memory.

I suppose life is like that, a brief moment in time as we whiz pass. Like those leaves, we will eventually fall and return to the Earth from whence we came.

Himalaya REIKI Hands

Offloading the shelves of those Indian shops was so much fun. Product-Himalaya cold balm, an ointment very similar to our local Tiger balm only much sweeter and calmer. Not to say that it can be quite addictive. Very much like glue sniffing!

On an earlier trip to North India in 2006, one of our fellow traveler brought this balm from home and told everyone that it is very expensive thus very precious. So, this time round, when we saw them available at 40 rupees in the shops of Lucknow, we notified all our kakis and raided the shops buying up all the stock that were available. We did the same in Dharamsala. The cost was a third of what we buy from Guardian Pharmacy here.

I have found it to be very good for cold and nagging cough, especially those that racks you in the middle of the night. Dob some onto your palm and rub your palms vigorously to generate heat. Then put your palms on your chest like for a while. The heat and the evaporating vapour will work its wonders.

A fellow Reiki Master called this the “Himalaya Reiki Hands”.

Soft shell crabs, anyone?

I have heard of many people who enjoy eating the soft shell crab and treat this as a delicacy.

Well, I learnt over lunch today the cruel way in which these crabs are bred (more like prepared) for consumption. After reading this and knowing how much cruelty is involved I hope that you will not order them anymore and tell your friends about this. This is how it goes...

Young crabs which have been caught or reared have all their limbs and claws cut off. They are then thrown back into the breeding pond. These crabs apparently undergo and suffer much pain as they wriggle and struggle. Apparently it is the pain that triggers their bodies to shed their hard outer shell. Once this process is over they are harvested.

To all who rear soft shell crabs and those who delight as they eat them, please show conpassion...Om Mani Peme Hung...

Clockwise? Which direction?

Which way is clockwise?

Surely all of us know that. The thing is that not much thought has been given to this concept that have been us all our life.

It just so happens that clockwise is but one of those little silent things that have taken over our lives. It is just a convention and we have been conditioned to accept that convention. No wonder it is taught that we are a creation of conditioning.

Just like accepting that clockwise is just this direction, many of our attitudes and views and the way we take things to be are also conditioned. This conditioning is not what we really are. Peel away those layers that is not us and perhaps we may find out what we really are made up off. It is taught that we will find that we are empty of any existence and that is when it becomes really frightening. But then we are assured that that is when enlightenment dawns.

life whizzing by

Aa I was driving along the north south highway a few mornings ago, I passed by one of my favorite spots along the highway. This one is just after the Seremban toll heading north on the right hand side. It is a grassy knoll. It is not naturally grassy though as it once used to be belukar but now is a cleared area used for culturing turves.

That morning, the sun was just up and men were busy changkuling away harvesting the green turves. It was a splendid sight of men at work with nature, away from the roar of us busy noisy motorist. There was calm in that.

I so wanted to take a picture but it was not possible as I was speeding along. A great shot wasted.

Life is like that. We move so fast whizzing past that we have no time to capture the details. We miss the sights, the aroma, the joys. Just like that moment on the road, it can only remain a memory soon to fade with nothing to share with anyone else.

Should we not slow down some? Time and Tide wait for no man, how true!

Message of the torch protest

Dear Editor,

Message of the Olympic Torch Protest

I write to respond to “Wrong to hijack the Olympic torch”. I think the writer has missed my point somewhat.

The writer may have stayed with Tibetan households and found them to be at par or better than the poor in our country. That is probably an indication of how tough these people are. But what are their true feelings about the situation in their homeland? I doubt they would share the writer’s disgust.

In India, Tibetans live in settlements and do not have much freedom of work or trade. The conditions in those that I have seen would not be something that neither I nor I think, the writer, would care to spend the rest of his life. Tibetans remain refugees in India and I remember one incident where I fought the hotel people to allow my Tibetan friends to stay the night. This happened in dingy Paharganj in New Delhi, not some posh hotel where there may have been more house rules.

We need to look deeper into this whole episode of the torch run. When I said that my point has been missed is simply that Tibetans are people too and at a deeper level our brothers and sisters. The first person I would think would have realized this would be the writer who has experienced their hospitality. It is far easier to condemn and show disgust than to try to understand the reason behind another’s actions. What I am writing for is that we not be so easy to show disgust because our pleasure of watching the Olympics is threatened.

I am saddened to see images where people throw stones at each other be they Tibetans or otherwise. It should never happen. But that is not to be confused with the message behind the torch protest which is to bring world awareness to their situation.

I am not campaigning for their cause rather urging for some reflection on why they are protesting. Respect asked for is simply respect for their cry for help from the rest of the world. It may be their last cry yet. There may not be very many brave ones left who are prepared to risk personal exposure.

It begins with disgust and very soon leads to contempt then hatred. There is one thing beautiful coming out of Tibet and that is the teaching on equality and compassion. Has the writer not absorbed any of this during his stays with them?

Plight of the Tibetans

There was a rebuttal to my opinion but i have not decided whether to respond. I think he missed my point.

Here is the star link http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/14/focus/20943202&sec=focus

Dying and Dreaming

I lost a few friends this past few years to death. The day will come when I will lose all of them when I die.

I dreamt that I was walking along a path. This path used to be one of those that as a young boy I had often used when running about with boys from the same village. The shrubs that lined this path had leaves that were prickly and tend to cut our skin if we were not too careful which often happens when we became too engrossed in our games.

In this particular dream however the leaves were green, fresh, young and new growing off their long stems. I take this to be a good sign.

Within the same dream was another aspect. It got me thinking about how we are so much a slave to attachment and emotions. For example a young boy will forgo the opportunity, excitement and experience of studying in a foreign land simply because he has affections for a girl and being apart becomes something unthinkable.

As grown adults we too have moments when we pine for those we love. Very often we miss our family when we are away from home. Sometimes it is just the knowing that they are near that makes us feel good. Each may be going about their own individual activity.

We are very attached and emotional animals. Perhaps, the solution lies in us being able to move a plane higher by “feeling” on a mental level. That way distance and separation does not become an issue as when we are all mentally connected there is no separation. Of course, the teachings tell me otherwise. It tells me that as long as there is one iota of craving, a thought such as the one I have just talked about is but one distraction that will lead me astray.

The true path should be one that leads me to rejoin the great ocean, just like the droplets of rain rejoining the sea. That way all becomes inseparable and free of ‘you’ and ‘I’.

Plight of the Tibetans

Dear Editor,

I refer to the disgust expressed by “Sports Lover” over the Olympic torch protestors printed in your paper Saturday 12 April 2008.

Although this paper should not be a forum for international issues that have no direct bearing on us Malaysians but I feel it is necessary to put things in another perspective.

The plight of the Tibetans and the loss of their homeland since 1959 have not received much international exposure and judging from Sports Lover’s comments much less here than the rest of the world. It is possibly a reflection of our ignorance on this issue.

From my little exposure to Tibetans both here and my travels there as well as seeing their pathetic survival in India and Nepal, I believe that their cause of fighting against the loss of their homeland and culture deserves more respect than the use of the word “disgust” by sports lover suggests.

We watch the Olympic from the comforts of our favourite cushy sofa but have we given a thought to the sufferings of the millions who have died through flight or worse still through imprisonment and torture? I do believe in the spirit of sports and salute the dedication shown by sportsmen and women and that they should not be the ones to lose out. However, what other forums or ways are there left? The pope has spoken. So has the American president. And Richard Gere.

Historians may argue forever over who actually has sovereignty over Tibet and parts of Qinghai but the humiliation and suffering of the Tibetan people continues. Instead of talking about what is the right way, perhaps it is better to look at things from a more informed angle with some compassion thrown in.

Dear Editor, I hope that you kindly publish this letter so that others can know a little about what is happening outside our shores.
Thank you

A Dream of lost babies and flip flop-having only one face

I had a dream two nights ago which on reflection gave me some interesting insight and lessons.

It was actually two dreams in one. In the first part of this dream, I was in a hospital nursery. There was this couple with a baby who had just learnt to crawl. On the blue tiled floor was scattered lost of colorful toys. These toys were like Lego strewn all over. Somehow the baby was dropped onto the floor and she vanished. Well sort of vanish. We knew she was somewhere among the toys but just could not be located. I tried to help and in doing it made a show like I was concerned and threw sidelong glances at other people to check whether others knew I was ‘concerned’.

The next stage of the dream had me leaving this nursery. I boarded what appeared to be a huge ship but the difference was that this ship could fly. So there we go soaring over the dark sea and its huge waves. Even though soaring, this ship somehow ploughed the waters and the wake of the water was awesome.

I chanced to look at my feet and I had flip flops on. And one, the one on the right foot was coming loose. Even though I tried to hold on to it by squeezing it, there was a loss of control and that flip flop fell into the sea below. Within my thoughts the flip flop was not so important as I had another good pair of hiking boots. It was quite a high fall and I could see it fall and disappear.

What this dream taught me was that to act with greater sincerity. In my dealings and thoughts I should not act because I wanted people to think I was of a certain nature. That nature of mine should be natural and should come from the heart not for some hope of recognition or reputation. I should learn to develop myself such that every act and thought as well as the words that leave my lips are naturally free of falsity. I should have only one face which will be the same irrespective of what others see me as, what I should show to others and what I would like myself to be. That is the meaning of the first part of the dream.

The second part of the dream tells me that I should not hold onto little things in life. I should not let petty issues trouble me in that there are so many more precious things in life. There are bigger issues and goals. I should learn to let go.

Fishes and squirrels and rabbits

I happened along a shop along old pudu lama and they have the biggest carps I have ever seen. I believe they call them Kois. Anyway I took a shot with my simple phone camera and surprisingly the image came out quite good. Only thing though, it does not really show how big the fishes are. Some are like 2 feet long. Imagine!

Not so free is that creature in a makeshift cage. What do you think it is? Some say it is a civet cat but the civets I have seen are not like these. Thyeir nose is sharper. This one looks more like a rabbit and a squirrel! You would never guess where this creature was caught-right in the middle of busy Ampang. Possibly wandered off from the zoo (if so, quite a trek though for this poor creature).

By the way civet cats I learnt consume berries but do not digest them. In Indonesia they eat the coffee beans and their droppings become prized coffee beans. That is why they are also called coffee rats. Check it out @ http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?musang

'black' or 'white'?

Today a friend is travelling, taking a long train ride south. The reason for this journey is to visit a sister who is scheduled for an operation to remove a tumour, a pretty large one.

Every operation involves risk and it is not a journey to relish. It is a journey that does not carry with it the excitement that comes with setting forth on an adventure.

Very often we find ourselves in a family gathering not out of sharing some joyous moment but for some sas tearful event. The chinese say that family meet either for some 'black' or 'white' event. It echoes very appropriately the way the rat and dollar race has got to us. We just 'have no time' to catch up in lighter moments to share live or just simply for that cup of tea.

We do not catch a train to drop by or over at a brother or a sister or father or mother to say hello or simply to to chat nothings. I remember my grandmother used to trudge with her rattan weave bag from town to town visiting her daughters. I remember my aunties too doing the same and they will drop over for a few hours and then walk a long way to the bus stop and then take the last bus home to her village home many miles away.

That's how life was in the old way. What happened? We have cars and many other means of getting about yet we do not do the old way? We wait for the 'black' or 'white'....

Saving for what?

Ever own a laptop computer? And if you do, do you take the battery out to use when the mains are plugged cos batteries are expensive and you want to save the battery for that time when you need it most. Well, I did.

As often happens, the battery outlasts the laptop. Just like in life we always try to scrounge on ourselves so much so that we begin to develop some masochistic joy out of scrimping on ourselves. Very soon we find that our body gives up on us and we will leave behind all those treasured possessions like savings for that rainy day, unopened gadget or a new shirt still in its plastic envelope waiting for that one suitable day. One person I know still have the plastic wrapping on his car seat, not wanting to tear and throw it away for fear of dirtying the fabric. Well, he will never relish the soft feel of the seat cushion. That person is my brother…haha..

“Go for it!” says one shoe advertisement and I think we can see its relevance in the way we look at life as well. After energy work courses, we often teach that we must give ourselves a treat in celebration. It may be a hearty meal or just something simple like a bar of chocolate. In this way we celebrate life and also take it as an opportunity for the blessings and abundance that the Universe had provided us. Try it!

To Receive, Let Go

Hope nobody shouts"Plagiarism!!!" but this story i find meaningful..here goes :) thanks for the fwd mate.

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five.Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face."A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies.After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.

On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace. Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath.Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he wouldstop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story.

One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, daddy, not my pearls.But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night."

And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?""Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you."

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy.And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, daddy; this is for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure.

So it is, with our Heavenly Father.He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.

Are we holding onto things that we should let go of? Are we holding on to harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits and activities that we have come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go?

Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one thing .The greatest gifts happen when you share love & touch others.

In giving love and generating compassion and practising generosity oneself is healed too!

Borobudor

I remember Borobudor.
That ancient ruins
A monument from that era
of flourishing Buddhism
vajrayana Buddhism

why did it die?
simple
as all things must come and go
so too must structures and things once permanent
so died it did

religions and philosophies too
will follow this same fate
that is what the Lion of the Sakyas said
and I believe him
yes I do I do

I enter
From the low of the prambunan plains
The mural walls dark and grey
Like life
Mired in ignorance

Mong cha cha is life
murky and confused
So apt this
Of life
Blindly plodding on to nowhere

As I climb
There is some glimpse
Of the sky
And light
So further I climb

Then
Lo and behold
A rush of cool fresh air
The view stupendous
As the valley below unfolds

Endless the sunlit plains
Stretching to meet the horizon
Farmers toil the fields
As we churn in life
Endlessly

Magnificent
This ruins of borobudor
Learned its architect
But this other architect of no happiness
One day I shall defeat!

Faith !

The news say that Tibetans are fighting for their homeland. There is karma between Tibetans and I. My heart goes out to them. May they one day regain their homeland. May that day be soon!

Reiki symbols in meditation

A dear friend shared an interesting and beneficial way of incorporating meditation and Reiki. Link here. Personally I have always felt that meditation and reiki are inseparable and have often used them together.

I have always liked to work with the reiki symbols ever since I was taught them, maybe because my Reiki journey was a very beautiful, mystical as well as spiritual experience. I would admit that the skeptical part of me has always spurred me to look at them objectively. From the early beginnings, I have tried to read up on them as well as try to connect them to known symbols and knowledge, be they shamanic, pagan or religious.

Over time, I have found that this stifles my own journey. Instead it is better to set that objective part of me free and allow openness in my thoughts and belief. The dissecting mind and the real thing are two different cups of tea. After all, it is eventually one’s own experiential insight that becomes truth not words from books or the mouths of others.

I have played with many ways of working with the symbols. May I speak of one that I have used. It started with the time I saw symbol 2 being drawn in a slightly different way from that I used. In fact I liked this new way.

Symbol 1 is the power symbol and I visualize it in 3D, in powerful earthy colors swirling and dissolving into my being. Then I visualize a protective harmonizing soft golden light of symbol 2 covering me like a bell. The natural bell shape of symbol 2 is just perfect for this meditation. As long as I am in that state it becomes a most blissful experience. I find it best if the symbols flow rather than a hard attempt at a visualized form. Try it!

my Father

my Father
as I remember him
A gallant gentleman
A kind soul

ever willing to stuff your pocket
his last dollar
bullies beware his valor
he the down trodden will ever defend

soft is his heart
compassion his soul
years of toil has taken its toll
yet soft his eyes still

victim of his times
eking to survive
from day to day
fighting to live
hardened became his fists

these with our abundant existence
will never comprehend
his anxieties His fears
his hours of darkness

as each day breaks
that metal can, empty of rice
and shirtless sons with hungry mouths
On Him bear

the dim of the kerosene lamp
Is all there is
as dinner is served
as midnight arrive

some rest perhaps
before dawn breaks
before the morn’s silver streaks
cold bath under the stars
And ...
his day of toil begins
Once again

our abundant life
so easy it is to forget
his life his sacrifice His pain
This finest gentleman
Bless him
May He ever be happy!

Have you watched them sleep?

I read a very inspirational article a few days ago.

It goes like this...As young parents we often watched our young sleep and glow in their cherubic innocence and beauty with complete tender lovingness.

But have we ever watched our aged parents sleep, noticing their aged bodies sometimes lying crumpled with tiredness and wrinkled skin that once were soft with the milk of human kindness? Have we watched over them with the same tender loving care we showed our young?

Tarot card

I visited Fremantle WA last month and was quite excited to take a look at the Freo market as I heard that there were quite a few new age shops and whatnots there. There weren’t really that many to generate any excitement being the usual crystal stalls and alternative healing but what caught my eye was a tarot reader right at the entrance.

She was a plumpish lady with wistful penetrating eyes. Actually I did not get to sight her at first as she was away from her stall. On her empty stall table was a deck down side up and I noted that to be a mystic deck. Ah!…quite up my street I thought.

I kept circling back to that particular stall and finally got to catch her with a client. But unfortunately I did not get to lug my camera with me this trip and with the memory card of another camera running low had no shots to show.

I was fascinated with card reading as a child and had my share of visiting “famous” card readers in KL those days. During my secondary school years, I started reading every book available on this enchanting hobby but as I could not get a deck (wouldn’t have afforded one even if there were any around) used the playing cards instead.

One lady who inspired me with her humility and astonishing accuracy was a Bak Tai which is Mrs. White in Cantonese. She lived in those heritage houses fronting the old Klang bus station and would only accept gifts of fruits as payment. Bless her!

Coming back to the tarot; over time I find that to use them to divine events and fortune is not the point. Rather, they are glimpses into our inner self and from this fleeting glimpse allow us to work out our path in life.

To want to look into the future is what most want but that should not be the way out of life. Just like in the story of MacBeth, the witches can portray as showing you the future but may only show you half of it. In any case, to believe in that tiny glimpse of a future becomes only a lack of self will for the only right course that is to be charted is the one we do ourselves.

The tarot works the same way as dreams do giving us little gifts and pointers to guide us so that we can better able understand our inner self and through that make wise choices of our outer actions. This remains to me the most valuable gift that the tarot offers. It is simple yet profound. All we need is some basic understanding and an open mind.

impermanence of life

The Teachings say that life is short like dew drop on a blade of grass. I reckon on papaya leaves too.

found solitude pulling wild grass

I found a quiet moment of solitude today as I pulled out wild grass after mowing the garden. As i reflected i had this sudden rush of solitude and the outside world just aint for me!

butterfly angels?

A few evenings ago I noticed a butterfly flitting about my garden. One then two then three. What a rare sight... aren't they beautiful. They must be tired after a long day, folding their wings.

cycle of life

my son has now completed his degree and now has started work. At such an early stage and at such a tender age, he is now out there with all the rest sorting out his life. My wish for him is to find the happiness that many lack. One day he should find his success in this material world, find a girl he loves, marry and settle down to a family of his own.

That is the cycle of life but apart from wishing him a settled successful life, I hope his karma blossoms and he finds the Buddhadharma.I have held the view from early on that life is sufering and i have no wish to bring more beings into this world to suffer. I hope that that is not true for in that may every being with this human birth finds it an opportunity to use it well and find nibbana. I wish this too for my sons and loved ones. In fact for all.