One-day meditation retreat @FGS

Not meditating in the best form today. Reason should have been due to lack of sleep (3hrs)and also due to culture difference as compared to previous experience.FGS focus tremendously in stuff like etiquette and attitude.

Its good especially for new beginners and someone tat needs discipline. To me, it seems to post some restrictions and needs some adjustment on practice. At first I do feel uncomfortable but trying hard to get use to it. Might be due to the rites, it makes me hard to focus and I also forgot to apply some technique I preferred. I managed to feel better only after half the session is gone.

But I still learned a lot especially on the new meditation technique as well as the talk by ven. Manko. I would say she's one of most intellectually inclined master that I came across.

Candle Light

Someone told me whether I believe in black magic. I said I do believe in the possibilities of having. Black magic is often heard being used for bewitching and causing harm to the intended individual.

My reply for the friend is to have a mind like a well lit candle. Guard the lit candle well and make sure the windows are closed to prevent the strong from coming in.

In this instance, the candle is the clear mind. The window is the sense door. I believe we should follow and carry out the 5 precepts and the noble 8 fold path laid down by Buddha closely to prevent unwholesome thoughts to get into our mind just like how we guard the candlelight.

丹霞燒佛

丹霞老和尚在一個寒冷的冬夜將寺廟內的佛像拿來燃燒取暖。

「丹霞，你怎麼可以把神像拿來燒，這可是佛祖的神像啊！你真是太可惡了，你將佛祖的教誨放到哪裡去了？」另外一個老和尚發現丹霞老和尚的行徑，不禁破口大罵。 「我想看看這樣能不能燒出舍利子來。」

「你真的瘋了。這樣怎麼可以燒出舍利子來呢，你燒他個八天八夜也不可能。」「喔，難怪我一個子兒都看不見，既然如此，另外那幾尊佛像也拿來燒一燒吧。」

「佛經上並沒有談到我們要如何敬拜佛像，佛的道理是存在人心中，雖然我的眼中沒有佛，但是我的心中有佛啊，你又何必這麼介意我把佛像燒了來取暖呢？」

There was a case in Afghanistan where the Muslim terrorist blasted down two giant Buddha Statute at the borders just along the silk road. I still remember vividly that my Theravada meditation teacher just lamented on why two pieces or historical artifacts which might even be more ancient than Islam, were destroyed. And interestingly is everyone in the class is laughing over it!!

Buddha founded Buddhism not calling his religion Buddhism or did any praying artifacts. Human mind is weak and thus needs an object of concentration. Just like we need to have several trial runs before the actual marathon. But to attach to a thing, person, knowledge, feelings or actions lead to suffering and troubled mind.

In meditation, we start by focusing on our breathe which leads to observing our mind and mind matter.....but eventually all this has to be discarded.本来无一物，何处惹尘埃。

Religion is from fear

Watched a christian film recently thru a christian fellowship lunch......Its jus another example of fear at work.....and in fact the religious figures that's approving this film knows that they are using fear.

Fear of insecurity, diseases, death and sufferings. There's no mistake tat pple turn into religion naturally due to fear. In fact if thats the way pple feels, then their methods are jus perfectly fine. But that kind of remedy doesn't fits me i guess. Its jus like eating panadol. It doesn't cure u. It jus minimise the pain.

To recover from the ailments, you must be aware how does the pain come from. If you can't built a better immune system yourself and jus rely on external drugs, the drug will kill you. How does this relates?? One must recognise and accept that fears is normal due to desires. Since its very hard to dump all the fears, sufferings are there to stay.

Rather than sourcing for external help, seeking refuge and working to get the favour of a more powerful being, why not grow the wisdom that relief oneself from sufferings. If the promise of a better after life is to be in the eye of tat being, isn't that what we hate to do in our present life.

War and suffering comes from power. Power comes from likes and dislike. Like and dislike rose from differences. Any idea that will cause differences in treatment, disparity in classes and element of power, wars and struggles sets in. If moarchy and anarchy system is so good and an idea of kingdom is lasting, why not adopting it now.

Worst outcome is to settle in "another place" and still find sufferings around.

Dialogue with a JW.

JW: Have you ever wonder where does life comes from?
N: (Smile+knod)
JW: In this book is says that God created life including you and I.
N: I prefer to believe in interdependent origination.
JW: (Eyes big big)
N: It says that all things arises due to many different factors.
JW: Lets look at this train, have you ever wander how this sophisticated train come about?
N: Its here because engineer design and built it. Technician maintained it. Staff operates it and all the raw material that builds it. Just by looking at the train, we know that its impossible that a single effort makes it.
JW: How about we assume there is a supreme God that is possible to create it.
N: Jus like a plant needs water, nutrition, soil, sunlight and air to thrive.
N: Even if we were to assume there is an omnipotent God. For him to create life he needs something to create something.
JW: We shall meet again.