Quiet moment tonight

My crappy-buddies haven been updating their blogs for a year le! Hw lazy can you get?! Well I think prolly the state of mind has changed or 'lost' the point of what blogging is about.. which all led to the 'absence'. Speaking of which, I've 're-visit' back to my old book Open Secret; a philosophical-buddhist book about...(since its philosophical that made it difficult to define it)... "I"... in my own words, identifying the "I" concept. How do you associate yourself as being "you"? Who are you that you have to 'quantify' or identify yourself as with certain characteristic or style etc; ain't you objectifying yourself and in a way you become an object?

YAWNZ...



Married life has been interesting... after taking the first few months to sort out duties and trying to accommodate or compromise on habits, there are still the occasional 'fights'.. 1:9 of quarrel:loving-ness....when we are really fighting it'd just be friendly sparring. Its been a year! Gosh.. time flies..

The HK entries are kinda boring... so I shall not continue that.. hee

我對佛陀說.....

我對佛陀說：讓我所有朋友永遠健康快樂！

佛陀說：只能四天！
我說 : 好 ! 春天、夏天、秋天、冬天。

佛陀說：三天。
我說：好，昨天、今天、明天。

佛陀說：不行，兩天。
我說：好，白天、黑天。

佛陀說：不行，就一天！
我說：好！
佛陀茫然問道：哪一天？

我說：在我所有朋友活著的每一天！

佛陀笑了……說：以後你所有朋友將天天健康快樂

祝願你所有的朋友都是快樂健康天氣多變...
加倍保重！ ( 把溫暖傳下去哦 )

Current reading

I have Mr Smiley to thank for 'chancing' upon this book @ Bedok NLB

Open Secret
Part One ~ 1. Time & Space

""WE TEND to misunderstand the nature, & exaggerate the importance, of "time" & "space."

There are no such "things" (they do not exist in their own right): these come into apparent existence, i.e. they "function" only as a mechanism whereby events, extended spatially and sequentially, may become cognisable. They accompany events and render their development realisable. In themselves they have no existence whatever. They are appearances, and their apparent existence is deduced from the events they accompany and render perceptible. They are hypothetical, like the "ether," symbols, like the algebra, psychic inferences to aid in the cognisance of the universe we objectify, and they neither pre-exist, nor survive apart from, the events they accompany, but are utilised in function of each such event as it occurs.

Where there is no event there is no need of "time" or of "space" --- and in their absences we are no longer in bondage --- for there is no one to believe that he is bound.

Time is only an inference, devised in an effort to explain growth, development, extension and change, which consitute a further direction of measurement beyond the three that we know and at right-angles to volume; and "past," "present" and "future" are inferences derived from this temporal interpretation of the further dimension in which extension appears to occur. All forms of temporality, therefore, are conceptual and imagined.

Thus prophecy or precognition is perception from a further direction of measurement, beyond that of time, a fourth right-angle, wherefrom --- as in the case of each superior dimension --- the inferior ones are perceived as a whole, so that the "effects" of "causes" are as evident in what we call the future as they are in what we call the past.

The events only occurs in the mind of the perceiver of it, singular or plural as the case may be, and no event could be anything but a memory when we know it. No event is anything but a psychic experiences. Events, or memories of events, are objectivisations in consciousness.""

One of the best-loved of Wei Wu Wei's books, Open Secret enlightens us as to the true nature of the self, as well as time, space, and enlightenment itself. The work includes extensive commentary on the Heart Sutra, regarded by Buddhists as the summation of the Buddha's wisdom. The pseudonymous author studied intensively in Eastern and Western philosophy and metaphysics, along with the esoteric teachings of the great religions. In his writing he distills this knowledge into uniquely elegant prose - full of humor, metaphors, profundity, and his essential understanding of the open secret of life.

Tragic again..

Death news of Superband group - Soul's member Ishi

According to Channel 8 website report, the nite b4 his death, his nick was written as
"Goodby all of u"

Now, this kinda news is becoming all too familiar among the younsters now. Suicide had become a one solution for the depressed.
PLEASE, SUICIDE IS NEVER AN END 2 YOUR PROBLEM.

Hai.. having said that, everyone and anyone should show some concern to anyone who needs it. That's why, i think i'm particularly sensitive if a person doesnt look good or appear in low spirits. Bcos, u never know when the last time u met him/her. U definately wont want to tell yourself, "If i had taken the extra time to care for em, he/she will not....."

For the friends..
It really just take a extra hr maybe or delay your sleeping hr... wat is lost? Only time, time which u couldnt keep but a frd you could save.
For the depressed..
Ask for a listening ear, go to a frd, go to a stranger even.. sometimes, a stranger can be the best listener & adviser.

Love you all - Love ones & friends

LIFE is a misery or you feel not?

I am a Buddhist. I considered someone who never fails to chant the sutra everyday fully devoted , I am not. At best I will try to keep the Buddha's teaching in mind, if failing to do so, i'll reflect on myself.
In Buddhism, life itself is suffering. Which is why Buddha seek Nirvana to free himself from such miseries & hope to pass down such knowledge to free all sentient beings. But being born as a human is already the 'best' incarnation among all (the animals, beast..etc). Kind of ironic to think about it.
I do not have the best agruement why life is a misery or not. I only believe that since i am born to be human (rather than the lowly beasts) i would & should cherised my life. Since i have to live it, i'll lived it happy and do not regret. I have friends who only thinks that life is suffering, life is hard... Yes no doubt it is but why not think otherwise? If you are 'fated' to live these number of years, live without remorse.

From the Buddha

"As the wise test gold by burning, cutting and rubbing it on a piece of touchstone, so are you to accept my words after examining them and not merely out of respect for me."

~ The Buddha

Karma

"The Buddha's teaching reveals moral justice in an impersonal universal law, the law of Kamma, which reigns over all sentient existence. Kamma means action springing from intention, as bodily deed, speech, and thought. Unwholesome kamma is action rooted in mental states of greed, hatred and delusion; and wholesome kamma, action rooted in mental states of generosity or detachment, goodwill and understanding. The willed actions may fade from memory but they leave subtle imprints on the mind, seeds with the potential to come to fruition. The objective field in which the seeds of kamma ripen is the process of rebirths called samsara.
Life is not an isolated occurence beginning with birth and ending in death. Each single lifespan is part of series of lives having no discoverable beginning in time and continuing on as long as the desire for existence stands intact. Rebirth can take place in various realms. There are not only the familiar realms of human beings and animals, but ranged above we meet heavenly worlds of greater happiness, beauty and power and ranged below infernal worlds of extreme suffering. The cause for rebirth is kamma. Kamma determines the sphere into which rebirth takes place, wholesome actions bringing rebirth in higher forms, unwholesomeactions rebirth in lower forms. After yielding rebirth, kamma continues to operate, governing the endowments and circumstances.
The second level of teaching found in the Dhammapada is to follow this ethical law leading upwards--to inner development, to higher rebirths and to richer experiences of happiness and joy. However, all states of existence in samsara, even the lofty celestial abodes, are lacking in genuine worth: for they are all inherently impermanent, without any lasting substance, and thus, for those who cling to them, potential bases for suffering. The disciple of mature faculties, does not long even for rebirth among the gods. Having understood the intrinsic inadequacy of all conditioned things, his only aspiration is Nibbana, the unconditioned state where there is no more birth, ageing and death, and no more suffering.
The third level of teaching found in the Dhammapada emerges out of this aspiration for final deliverance. The Four Noble Truths provide the framework for this aim. The first truth concerns various forms of suffering, existence itself being impermanent and substanceless, is intrinsically unsatisfactory. The second truth is craving for pleasure and existence which drives us through the round of rebirths, bringing in its trail suffering. The third truth declares that the destruction of craving issues in release from suffering, and the fourth prescribes the means to gain release, the Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (Chapter 20)."

INTRODUCTION

DHAMMAPADA

Dhammapada

"Hatred never ceases through hatred. Only through love does it cease." --This and many other beautiful teachings of the Buddha can be found in the Dhammapada. "The way to end suffering is not to increase cravings and desires but to reduce and eliminate them." "The worst of all taints is the taint of ignorance." "Purify the mind." Profound wisdom and messages for a confused world. The Dhammapada, which enshrines he spirit of the Buddha's teachings, is a book for all time, a book to be cherished and loved. May it be a light to your life!
The translator Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita is an Indian monk, meditation teacher and scholar, who is firmly committed to walking the Buddha's path.

What is the Dhammapada

Abstract from the book "Dhammapada";

INTRODUCTION
From ancient times to the present, the Dhammapada has been regarded as the most succinct expression of the Buddha's teaching. In the countries following Theravada Buddhism, it is a guidebook for the everyday life. Even withdrawn contemplatives must possess a copy of the book. Yet the admiration of the Dhammapada has not been confined to followers of Buddhism. Whenever it has become known its aphoristic wisdom and stirring message have won veneration of all.
The son of a king, the Buddha, was born in sixth century B.C. His name was Siddhattha and family name Gotama (Sanskrit: Siddhartha Gautama). Groomed to be heir to the throne, he encountered disturbing facts of suffering and lost all interest in the pleasures and privileges of rulership. One night, in his twenty-ninth year, he left home and became an ascetic, resolved to find the way to deliverance from suffering. For six years he experimented with different religious systems, subjected himself to severe austerities, but found that these practices did not bring him any closer to his goal. Finally, in his thirty-fifth year, sitting in deep meditation beneath the Bodhi tree at Gaya, he attained Supreme Enlightenment and become the Buddha. Thereafter, for forty-five years, he travelled throughout India, proclaiming the truths he had discovered and founding an order of monks and nuns to carry on his message. At the age of eighty, after a long and fruitful life, he passed away peacefully in Kusinara, surrounded by a large number of disciples.
To his followers, the Buddha is neither a god, a divine incarnation, nor a prophet bearing a message of divine revelation, but one who has reached the highest spiritual attainment, Supreme Enlightenment (Bodhi). He is a world teacher who, out of compassion, points out the way to Nibbana, (Sanskrit: Nirvana), final release from suffering. His teaching, known as the Dhamma, offers a body of instructions explaining the true nature of existence and showing the path that leads to liberation. Free from all dogmas and inscrutable claims to authority, the Dhamma is founded upon Buddha's own realization of reality, and leads one who practices it to that excellence.
In its twenty-six chapters, Dhammapada spans multiple aspects of the Buddha's teaching, offering a variety of standpoints from which to gain a glimspe into the heart of Dhamma-Truth. The inspirational verses on the fundamentals of the Dhamma are meant to be used as a basis for personal edification and instruction. As water, though one in essence, assumes different shapes due to the vessels into which it is poured, so the Dhamma of liberation takes in different forms in response to the needs of the beings to be taught. This diversity is evident in the verses of Dhammapada...

BHIKKHU BODHI

Forest Hermitage, Kandy.

Killing IS a vicious cycle

1 of the most recent daunting news was of the missing-killed china girl H.N in Singapore. Hearts of locals go out to her. The motives of the suspect was unfounded. Psycho? Rape&Murder? All answers hang in the air. This and those situation in Iraq, Indonesia, Thailand...etc Where terrorist, rioters, militants, gunmen(ain't they all the same?) kills @ pleasure, unreasonable and unlogically... to many. Why must they kill? Why do they have to saw off the victims alive? Could they not put themselves in the victims shoes? So even if their comrads were killed or died in some injustice way they feel, they CANNOT kill innocents!! What about the innocents families?? There will be no end to this vicious cycle.

I cant imagine what i would do or react if my close kins are to suffer a fate similar. I jus might go insane, metally 'inbalance', probia of having a child in future... I dont know! Who does??