Thursday, September 30, 2010

Everything is beautiful - Ray Stevens

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

How To Practice Buddhist Breathing Meditation

The passing of BiL Mike

What is life without death? Life and death , both sides of a coin. So they say. Today, the passing of BiL or my brother-in-law , Micheal,  A few months ago, he was in a coma and was near death. He came out of it and when we meet him later, he was hooked on to a oxyen tank in his house.  He told us that he will be dead if his doctor have delayed treating him by 15 minutes. He was resting on his usual chair in his TV room. He continued by telling us to retire early and do not make the same mistake as him as he has been working late into his years. He could have enjoyed alot more if he is wiser then,
He was a doctor by profession and he is a good investor in the stock market and properties, During his younger days, he smoke heavily when he and his friends were serving as interns in the government hospitals in China  and at that time, they believe that they could live forever. When he reach his 80th birthday, he suffered a heart attack and he choose to be treated in Singapore and he recovered well. He was back to his old self until he felt a shortage of breath and was diagnosed with severely damaged  lungs.and later, he fell into a coma.  After his coming out of his coma, he knows that his days were numbered and he started to organized his affairs. He told us that he has outlived all his friends and he asked his doctor r why smoking can damage his lungs but this does not happen to his smoking friends..  His doctor told him that if you throw out a handful of beans, some beans will grow and in his case, his bean grew.
At that meeting with him , it was like closing a chapter with him.. His daughter have just visited him for the past few days  and she has  just gone back to UK and she expressed her wish to meet him again in December while at our departure from his room, we say the same thing, hoping to see around the next time my family visit KL. He has no expression except to acknowledge that he will try. After that , off we go,
The message came after lunch that my BiL have passed away  today while in the toilet. Oops, the nite before and at a wedding dinner, I have told another BiL of mine that Mike's condition is not good and he should pay him a visit. The advise could have been abit late but then again, how would I know.
Well, when the time comes, we will have to go and if it is not the time to go yet, we will be around. Like the Chinese saying goes: when the God of Hade wants you to die at 3am , how can you wait until 5am. My great teacher, Ajahn Brahm have said that life and death is a natural thing  and there is no special reasons. It can happen anytime and should not be a surprise.
In this post, I want to bid goodbye to my BiL Mike. Ashes to ashes , dust to dust. Rest in peace and the show will go on with or without us,  Back to the Universe. Ommmmmm,

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

THE MOST RELAXING MUSIC IMAGINABLE

The Meaning of Life - Peace of Mind

Hyper-sensitive child

I was flying back from Singapore and right behind me was a beautiful child crying and making lots of noise as the plane prepared to take off,  The stewardess came to see the child a few times and the take off was delayed until the child was properly seated and buckle up,  Both the parent was very patient with the child and pleading with the child to behave and obey the request of the stewardess.  It took alot of patient and uncondition love from the parent to take care of the hyper-sensitive child.  It was really a burden and hardship to manage this child.

This incident brought back a news in today's newspaper that a good and generous man jump to his death after strangling his mentally retarded child due to his business failure and pressure from loan sharks,  He realized that to leave the child to his wife would be a huge burden on his surviving spouse, He is such a kind and loving man although what he did was wrong , May he have a better life in his next incarnation,

In Buddhism, we cannot judge what is right or wrong and who are we to judge, The dead man and the hyper-sensitive child  is just only  answering to thier karma from their previous  life, There are so much hardship in the world and so much unhappiness if we were to zoom into a specific incident or happening,  To avoid such suffering is to let go our fixing mind and search for peace from within, Lets have good wish to both of them,  Namo,,,,

Monday, September 27, 2010

Sands casino, Singapore

Today, I was at the Sands Casino just to see what is there but it turns out to be  a disappointment as the place was quite barren and the gaming set up was simple and basic. There was a large crowd but not large enough and the air was smokey and hot. The ventilation was bad and the place uninteresting,  But, the focus is on the gambling. There was full concentration by the gamblers and everybody wants to win, The eagerness to win and the desire to be rich by winning was the main motivation,

No need food and rest , only coffee , tea and smoking helps to keep them awake until all the money is lost or the win is good enough, This is the purpose of the people there, Life goes on , the show must go on. This is the choice of these gamblers to live their life this way, For me, there is no more thrill and those days were gone and what I need is sleep and a good rest, Tomorrow will be another day, same for the gamblers,

Life is full of choices and it depends on how you spend it , next day is another beginning and a new start and you will need to exercise another choice of how to spend the day, Live for the moment and loving kindness, Ommmm,

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Prem Rawat — The Possibility of Peace Within

Prem Rawat — The Possibility of Peace Within

Dear all, Maharji is a great teacher, poet and thinker.  Hopefully, his speech will pave a way for you to find peace from your within.  one of his synopsis is that there is flower in every breath and we will need to find the nectar in the flower  and enjoy the beauty of each breath. Life is a journey, you have to take every step and find your own destiny. No walking is also walking ,so this is your choice, Happiness in every steps you take,   Ommmm/

Test of my dharma

Good day to all of you. Today I experienced a real test of my dharma. I was going to the market for breakfast and when I reach there,I saw a vacant space by the road side. So I move my car forward to reverse in but in come another car from behind as he squezze in from behind and just left the car in an akward position and out come an old msn and his wife and they just lock their car and walk off. I was shocked and upset. It is so unbelievable. I could remain angry for the rest of the day or I move on with my happy mood. In  the dharma, we are taught that if we get angry , it is only hurting ourself over the imperfection of others. The person want to irritate me and if I am angry and remain upset, then he win and succeed to upset me. I chose to move on and I found a better and proper place to park. I realize the wonderful working of the dharma. Loving kindness to all.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

The Power of Mindfulness & Compassion

Here we go, Dharma Penang

To all my friends and future friends,  There is a time for everything and a reason for our meeting in this platform. The purpose of this platform is to share our thoughts, experience and understanding of life. No hold bar....lets be frank and exploratory in our exchanges of views and communication,

As a start, a recent article in the star about a great teacher, Van Thien Haht who repeated the teaching of  Buddha  Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is uncertain and what we have is now and we have to stay happy at this very moment and not to re-act to external triggers but just watch and let it go-by . Stay focus as there are alot of outside imperfect events or people which will hurt us if we respond to it.

Lets be aware of our in-breath, our mid-breath and our out-breath and remain focus in the flow of the breath repeatedly and drop all our thoughts and to be in suspension. It is difficult but lets try and repeat the exercise and experience the short phase of bliss... namaste.