谢了

才想拥有，朋友就带它们漂洋过海来了， 真的谢了。 

Puppha Vagga (Flowers)

As a bee without harming the flower,

its colour or scent, flies away, 

collecting only the honey, 

even so should ones live their lives.

Dhp Puppha Vagga v49

One: Live a simple life

Two: Be green and be kind

Three: Leaving no trace behind. 

Dhammacakka Day Gift

HS, thanks and I owe you once. 

Eighth core value: Reflection

  

Long long time ago, in a monastery, all the monks practice meditation every evening.  There is a kitten in the monastery always kacau the monks when they are meditating.  So the old Abbot tied this kitten on the pillar every time before they go to meditate.  After long long time, the Abbot passed away but the kitten is still being tied on the pillar every time they meditate until it grows old and dies. Then the monks buy another kitten and tied it on the pillar every time they want to meditate. They practise this for a long long time. Until there is a sutra and catatan on the benefits of tying a kitten on the pillar while meditating.  The moral of the story is we cannot follow tradition merely without asking why. We cannot follow things blindly but must understand why we do that.  E.g. why we must bounce three times when paying respect? Why we must offer fruit, flower and water to the Triple Gems so on and so forth.  The Buddha never taught us to do all these. The Buddha only shared with us the essential things that will lead us to the Nibbana which are the Four-Noble truths and Noble Eight-fold path.  This is because the Buddha knew that human mind is very easy to create ideology.  The way we do Puja is a cultural thing or a way of paying respect.  Once ideology is being created, human mind will cling on it and believe that it is the truth.  Clinging creates attachments.  Attachments are afflictions.  It is this affliction which keeps us in the Samsara and makes us not able to be freed.

We can do reflection in a truthful way to achieve liberation from affliction. Affliction refers to attachment due to greed, hatred and delusions.  We have to reflect every day: Do I have greedy thought today? Do I act greedily today? Do I say something which will lead to greedy action? Do I have any hatred thought? Do I get angry today? Why do I get angry? What are the objects and subjects that make me feel angry? Do I have frivolous thought, action and speech today?  We must reflect sincerely and truthfully. Or else it will become justification but not reflection.

One can study Buddhism very well, like an Abhidhammist.  But still there are Abhidhammists who are depressed. So, knowledge has to be coupled with reflection then only it is called as LEARNING.

Learning is not simply adding on information.  Learning only happen when a person reflects and finally realizes the truth then only a person can be transformed. A teacher cannot transform us. A teacher can only inform. Inform us the knowledge. We have to always reflect and walk the path on our own. The Buddha didn't save Angulimala. It was Angulimala did the reflection on the Buddha's word. Then he realized that was true and finally transformed himself to a better person. 

Adding more knowledge is like adding more water to a fountain.  But it is not like lighting a lamp which will dispel the darkness. Only wisdom can dispel darkness.

Footnote: 

Eight core values

·        Compassion: The passion to the community. Be passion in helping and supporting each other. 

·        Courage: Able to cope with adversities and having the courage to go on.

·        Respect

·        Integrity

·        Service

·        Faith

·        Learning

·        Reflection

树在脱皮

冬天，树在脱皮， 意境就像蝴蝶破蛹。
“树皮一层层的，仿佛要脱掉旧衣换新裳一般”。
这些树都长在我家门前。
天天经过， 提醒我要一层层的认识我自己，
接受丑陋的自己， 慢慢净化自己， 就像大树脱皮一样。

蝴蝶破蛹，大树脱皮，人也要不停的重组才能成长。

脱皮 (1)

脱皮 (2)

脱皮 (3)

脱皮 (4)

Mind labels with perception

In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.
Our life is the creation of our mind.
The Buddha

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
Shakespeare

看不清楚是因为戴了有色眼镜(perception).
So how does perception begin to form in our mind?

Daniel Gilbert 在 Stumbling on Happiness 书中提到, 验究显示因为我们有 memory (we remember how we felt)所以才会有perception. We perceive things as we think they are. When we are doing this, the brain gets information from memory (past experience), visual perception (present experience) and visual imagination(prospection).

越说越觉得跟 Paticca Samuppada 有关...

Happiness

Happiness arises from the timely company of friends.
Happiness arises from having few needs.
Happiness arises from accumulated virtue at life's end.
Happiness arises from seeing beyond suffering.
~ Dhp v331 ~

Dalai Lama

''Peace of mind, you can't buy it from a supermarket. You can buy a diamond ring, but you can't buy peace of mind,'' Dalai Lama declares.

Who can give you the peace of mind?
Answer: Yourself

Pindapata

The Summary

To be remembered:
Wisdom is the essence,
Compassion is the outcome,
Mindfulness is the method.

~Benny Liow~

Word + Wording

我在想， 文字很历害只是因为阅读人的想象与扁见吧！
文字只是文字， 所有的东西都只是阅读人的个人的诠释罢了。

慈

"True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."

~ Martin Luther King, 1967 ~

Stubbornness

Being stubborn in something which is right, I called it tenacity.
Being stubborn in something which is not right, I called it stupidity.

But, who is there to judge what is right and not right???

Preference

Nice people attracts kind attention. ~JG~
Sadly, we just cannot run away from having preference and perception.

Dukkha

Suffering is depending on the arising of causes and conditions.
It is not depending on either you or me.
But, you and I may be one of the causes or conditions.

心被关住

心被关住 = 闷
所以要把心打开， 接受大家与自己的优缺点， 心才不会闷。

Essential and non-essential

Focus, focus, focus. I need to focus on what is essential and not the non-essential. Who can help me???

我性本恶

当心，我性本恶 ！！

Learning

I finished schooling; but I never finished learning.

~ DR ~

One of My Random Thoughts

Know the outside world.
Know the inside world.
Create a balance between outside and inside worlds.
Build a bridge then we can cross over two worlds.
By doing so, you may then live like a frog.
A frog which is able to breath in water and on land.

Thinking outside the box

Suddenly, I recalled what my friend said to me long long time ago:" People say we have to think out of the box, but why do we have to think with a box? We have to think without a box..."

Till now, I cannot really understand how to practice what he shared: to think without a box.

Is the 'box' referring to 'perception'?

We think we are thinking outside the box only because we cannot see how big the box really is. Imagination cannot easily transcend the boundaries of the present, and one reason for this is that it must borrow machinery that is owned by perception. Daniel Gilbert.