Baby Moved By Song

Even a 6-month old baby can be moved by the sadness of this song, "Legend", sung by Faye Wong.

Here is a translation of the song : -

王菲- 传奇
Faye Wong – Legend

只是因为在人群中多看了你一眼
Just because the one more glance I took of you in the crowd

再也没能忘掉你容颜
I haven’t since been able to forget your face

梦想着偶然能有一天再相见
Wishing for another chance encounter someday

从此我开始孤单思念
From then on I began to think about you alone

想你时你在天边
When I’m thinking about you, you are far far away

想你时你在眼前
When I’m thinking about you, you are before my eyes

想你时你在脑海
When I’m thinking about you, you are in my heart

想你时你在心田
When I’m thinking about you, you are in my mind

宁愿相信我们前世有约
I’d rather believe that we had a past life promise

今生的爱情故事不会再改变
And this life our love story will not change

宁愿用这一生等你发现
I’d rather spend my whole life waiting for you to realize

我一直在你身旁从未走远
That I’ve been always by your side and never away


Perhaps this song has a special meaning to the baby in her previous life...

Buddha Chanting

The chanting of Amitabha Buddha's Name can be practiced by both the young and old, and those in the prime of life. It is suitable for everyone.

When Amitabha Buddha achieved buddhahood, he made 48 magnificent vows to benefit all sentient beings. These vows involved the manifesting of the Western Pure Land and the saving of all sentient beings.

Amitabha's 18th vow is the most significant - He vow to save all sentient beings who called upon him and chant his name and bring them to the Western Paradise : -

"Provided I become a Buddha, if the beings of the ten quarters who after having heard my name, and thus awakened their highest faith and aspiration of re-birth in that country of mine, even they have recollected such a thought for ten times only, they are destinated to be born there, with the exception of those who have committed the five deadly sins (Anantarya), and who have blasphemed the orthodox Law (Dharma), otherwise may I not attain the enlightenment."


Sick people can recite the Buddha's name. These people suffer from the pains of disease because of karmic obstacles. You should hold the Buddha's name in order to lessen these obstacles.

Those who are healthy should take advantage of their health to recite the Buddha's name and dedicate their recitation to insure their perpetual good health.

Old people who are approaching the end of the road should follow the good path to the end. They should recite the Buddha's name.

Young people whose road ahead is filled with limitless light should recite "Na-mo A-mi-tuo-fo" to make the light appear.

Thus, the Dharma-door of Buddha Recitation is suitable for every type of person.

You can chant while walking, standing, sitting, or reclining.

The busiest people can recite the Buddha's name, and people who are the most at leisure can also recite the Buddha's name.

How do you practice recitation when you are very busy?

You practice the Morning and Evening Dharma Method of Ten Recitations. In the morning and the evening do ten recitations. Recite for the length of a single breath, "˜Na-mo A-mi-tuo-fo" repeatedly and that is one recitation.

Ten such breaths are called ˜ten recitations.

In the morning when you get up, wash your face and brush your teeth. Then face the West, or better still face an image of Amitabha Buddha, join your palms together very respectfully and bow three times. Chant "˜Na-mo A-mi-tuo-fo" for the length of ten full breaths. Do this ten times in the morning and ten times in the evening.

Don't deliberately stretch out the length of your breath or cut it short. It should be very natural.

Do this every day without interruption; it will only take five or ten minutes.

Can you recite at other times during the day? Of course you can. The more you recite, the better. With the skill derived from your practice of this Dharma you can be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Suppose someone says, "I'm very stupid. Probably it's useless for me to recite."

In using this technique, the more stupid you are, the better! The wiser you are, the better! No matter how wise you are you cannot exhaust the method of Buddha Recitation. No matter how stupid you are, you are still included within it and it can be your guide.

This method of Buddha Recitation is one of the most expedient Dharma door.

Amitabha Buddha, in his infinite wisdom, know that a lot of sentient beings may not have the necessary skills, mental faculties, time or a guru to teach them the various Sutras. Therefore, He has opened up this Dharma door so that every sentient being can rely on His Vows to achieve enlightenment without having to go through endless rounds of reincarnation.

This is the expedient way to attain enlightenment.

Beauty From the Heart

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”
~ Helen Adams Keller

A lot of beauty that surrounds us cannot be readily seen by our eyes.

Why? Because, seeing beauty requires you to be present, mindful and awaken.

Only the heart sees genuine beauty.

It can be as simple as an act of kindness that the heart registers.

It can be a small gesture of generosity accorded to our fellow human beings.

It can be a smile for a stranger that we encounter in the streets.

These are things that the eyes may not register as it is too busy seeing the world around us.

Yet, it is the 'unseen', the little, quiet acts of beauty that the heart instantly recognizes.

Therefore, be silent and let your heart listen and see all the kindness and beauty that surround you every where.

And smile from your heart...

The Lotus

The lotus (padme) is an important symbol in Tibetan Buddhism and is commonly associated with the process of becoming a buddha.

In Tibetan Buddhist iconography, buddhas are often seated on lotus thrones, indicating their transcendent state. A lotus is born in the muck and mud at the bottom of a swamp, but when it emerges on the surface of the water and opens its petals, a beautiful flower appears, unstained by the mud from which it arose.

Similarly, the compassion and wisdom of buddhas arise from the muck of the ordinary world, which is characterized by fighting, hatred, distrust, anxiety, and other negative emotions. These emotions tend to cause people to become self-centered and lead to suffering and harmful actions.

But just as the world is the locus of destructive emotions, it is also the place in which we can become buddhas, perfected beings who have awakened from the sleep of ignorance and who perceive reality as it is, with absolute clarity and with profound compassion for suffering living beings.

Just as the lotus arises from the bottom of a swamp, so buddhas were former humans, immersed in the negative thoughts and actions in which all ordinary beings engage: the strife, wars, petty jealousies, and hatreds to which all humans, animals, and other creatures are subject.

Through their meditative training, however, buddhas have transcended such things, and like lotuses have risen above their murky origins and look down on them unsullied by the mud and mire below.

The symbolism may be extended still further, because buddhas do not simply escape the world and look down on others with pity or detached amusement; rather, like the lotus, which has roots that still connect it with the bottom of the swamp, buddhas continue to act in the world for the benefit of others, continually manifesting in various forms in order to help them, to make them aware if the reality of their situations, and to indicate the path to the awakening of buddhahood, which can free them from all suffering.

- Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism (John Powers)

I Still Call Australia Home

Well, it has been nearly 6 months since we moved to Sydney.

We have settled down here comfortably and these videos reflect our feelings very well.

Enjoy!!

Do Not Stand at My Grave

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep,
I am the thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain,
I am the shining star at night,
When you awake to the morning light.

My time has come, I am at rest,
I am the sunset in the west,
I am the clouds that race above,
Where I watch over those I love.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I do not die,
So hear these words that here I say,
I am the love that guides your way.

- Author unknown


It is normal to grieve when a loved one dies.

In the cycle of life, birth and death is as natural as the breath that we draw in.

Without darkness, we would not delight in the sunlight.

Without the exquisite pain, we would not be uplifted by joy.

Without loss, we would not be able to treasure love.

Only when there is duality, can we appreciate the infinite beauty of our lives.

So, when someone departs from our lives, the beautiful memories remain to guide us through our remaining lives.

From a Buddhist point of view, there is no death. We just discard this body that we possess and go to another plane of existence.

So, awaken and live in the present... for that is all we have.

Thoughts

"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts, we make the world."

- The Buddha


It is through our thoughts that we manifest reality to arise.

If we think happy thoughts, we will find that we live in a state of happiness.

When we dwell on negative and dark thoughts, we find our world become more depressing.

The Buddha said that there is no heaven or hell. Heaven or hell is manifested through our mind.

If you think that you are in hell, you will feel that way even though you may be surrounded by beauty, luxury and abundance.

If you think beautiful thoughts, you will find that even in the worst environments, you will feel that you are in heaven.

So, heaven and hell is actually now on earth. It is how you perceive it through your thoughts.

Therefore, focus on your thoughts and know that you can control how you think and how you feel.

Ultimately, awaken!!

Firework and Buddha Light

There is a beautiful message behind Katy Perry's song Firework.

Yes, regardless of your outer appearances, all of us have "fireworks" in our beings.

All of us a unique individuals with different gifts.

It is usually when love is around that the "Buddha light" will shine out from our hearts. It is when we feel love that the light is manifested for all to see

And what a beautiful sight it is...

So, awaken and let your light shine out to all..

Oneness

These days, with the inevitable decline in fertility, with families growing smaller and moving away from where they are born, many people are increasingly finding that they are spending more time alone.

With more people facing stress in their daily lives, making a living and finding that they do not have enough time to squeeze in all the things that they have to do, we find that we sacrifice the spending of time with our families, friends and other people.

And many people suffer from depression as they no longer have the support of their tribes to help them in terms of need.

A sense of loneliness can engulf you if you are not resilient enough.

However, being alone is not a bad thing.

There is a great difference between being alone and being lonely.

You can choose to be alone and still be happy.

With more time by yourself, you can indulge in your passions. Listen to music whenever you want, read a book all night, invest in the many dreams that you had when you were young - dreams that you have postponed because you have no time.

Nourish your spirituality. Find what brings you peace of mind. The Buddhist believe that the resting place of the mind is in the silence of the heart.

Feed your soul by surrounding yourself with an atmosphere of appreciation of all that is good with your life. Your eyes must see beauty. Turn away from ugliness - people who behave badly, fashion victims who have no sense of style and places of decay and deterioration.

Connect with the people whom you come across. Have a kind word or a smile for the many people that you come across everyday. It is through these connections that you thrive in a village.

Most important of all, love yourself and treat yourself with kindness, respect, understanding and patience. Get to know yourself - what you enjoy, what drives you and what brings you immense pleasures.

Be one with silence - in the nothingness is where everything exists...

Be still... and awaken

Hand Dance

Here is another way to communicate, without words.

Cat Slaps Dog

Even animals can display human-like characteristics.

The little puppy was just looking for someone to play with.

However, the cat was not interested and got so irritated that he slapped the puppy.

Look at the puppy's expression - it displayed surprise, hurt and disappointment.

So, all sentient beings share the same thing - to be happy and accepted.

Awaken Your Dreams

"Logic can bring you from point A to B;
But imagination can take you everywhere"
- Albert Einstein

We exist in a mundane world where we live our lives very logically, with each action and decisions taken in a practical way.

We see our daily routines as simple as setting goals, figuring the way to reach it and then just taking the action to get there.

However, our lives would be very much richer if we just take some time to dream and let our imagination soar.

It is during these periods of silent, of "Me" time that we can set our minds free and just think about the "What Ifs" and the "Why Nots".

It is these dreams arising from our imaginations that allows for breakthroughs and inventions that changes our lives as well as affect the lives of people around us.

Apple was just an idea that Steve Job imagined in his mind and brought to reality in his garage.

And Facebook was just a big dream of making connections with everybody that has grown to more than 500 million friends around the whole world.

So, do not be afraid to use your imagine. Dream big.

And most important of all, take the necessary actions to awaken your dreams, and manifest a beautiful reality here on earth...

Life's A Mess...

Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it.

Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end.

Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies.

Just live.

Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.


What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.

The most important is this: Do not work.

Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.

Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.

People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.

Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.

So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.

Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: Be wary of the truth.

I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.


I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: Be hated.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions.

It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: Fall in love.

I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.

Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false.

Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.

Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.

You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.

You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

- Extracted from the speech given by Adrian Tan to the graduating class of 2008.

The Highest...

The highest skill lies in the realization of selflessness.
The highest nobility lies in taming your own mind.
The highest excellence lies in having the attitude that seeks to help others.
The highest precept is continual mindfulness.

The highest remedy lies in understanding the intrinsic transcendence of everything.
The highest activity lies in not conforming with worldly concerns.
The highest mystic realization lies in lessening and transmuting the passions.
The highest charity lies in non-attachment.

The highest morality lies in having a peaceful mind.
The highest tolerance lies in humility.
The highest effort lies in abandoning attachment to works.

The highest meditation lies in the mind without claims.
The highest wisdom lies in not grasping anything as being what it appears to be.

~ Atisha

The 59th Minute

David Suzuki, the world-renowned environmentalist from Canada was at the Sydney Opera House last week to talk about his passion - the environment.

He presented a case that our Mother Earth is in the 59th minute of a suicidal path of economic growth.

Mr Suzuki asks us to imagine putting 1 bacteria cell, which divides every minute, into a test tube full of food. This is the exponential growth, which is the path of humanity when it believes in unlimited economic growth.

"At time zero, you have 1 cell; one minute later, you have 2; two minutes you have 4; three minutes, you have 8; four minutes later, you have 16."

"That is exponential growth," he said "And at 60 minutes, the test tube is completely full of bacteria and there is no food left - a 60-minute cycle."

"When is the test tube half full?" he asked. "Well, the answer, of course is at 59 minutes; but a minute later, it is completely full."

"So at 58 minutes, it is only 25% full; 57 minutes, it is 10 1/2% full. At 55 minutes of the 60-minute cycle, it is only 3% full."

"Therefore, if at 55 minutes, one of the bacteria said to its companions that they had a poplulation problem, the other bacteria would be incredulous because 97% of the test tube would be empty and they had been around for 55 minutes!"

"Yet, they would have only 5 minutes left..."

"How do we add even a fraction of 1% more of air, water, soil or biodiversity?", Mr Suzuki asked.

"We cannot!! The biodiversity of our planet Earth is fixed and finite!!"

"And every biologist I have talked to agrees with me - we are past the 59th minute", he said.

The above conversation was really scary. It seems that in our greed and self-absorption for relentless consumption, we are all rushing towards the path of mutual destruction.

We never really think that each of our actions affect the eco-system and the biodiversity of Mother Earth. We delude ourselves that She can provide us with unlimited resources, for us to use, consume and discard with no consequences.

Well, as the recent news about hurricanes, wild weathers, droughts, long winter storms, volcanoes and earthquakes around the world is showing us, Mother Earth is struggling to maintain its equilibrium amidst all the damages that we are doing to Her.

So, please help Mother Nature and ultimately, your loved ones and yourself.

Cut down on your blatant consumption. Ask yourself if you really need more material things to be happy. Pause and consider before you splurge on the latest "In" thing or fashion. Can you live without buying any of your "wants" and still be happy?

Something for you to think about as you go through your life every day.

Remember, we are at the 59th minute already...