Actively Shaping Our Destiny

We have reached the end of the year 2008 and I am sure you will agree with me a lot of things and events have happened to us over the past 12 months. If I may say, it was indeed, a very challenging year, me including. Even on a national as well as global level, 2008 has been a rather difficult year for almost everyone. We have seen major changes in our domestic front, both politically as well as economically. It is the same at the international level. Many people were out of job this year and more will be the next year. Even I myself had been affected by these job uncertainties. Through these uncertainties, I have learned that it is we ourselves that shape our own destinies. Our destinies are definitely not carved into our dates of birth or the stars and planets. These are only rough guidelines and we should rightfully be actively shaping our destinies. And not let these overwhelm us. It is important for me to say this because the forecasts in the horoscopes I have read for next year is not too good. If you read too much into horoscopes, you will not be able to sleep peacefully at night, because every year seems to be bad anyway… at least for me, it seems that way.

So, every new year, people would go for “Phor Oon”, or activities that increase blessings. Last year, I was in Thailand and I noticed that the Thai Buddhists make offerings to Sangha during new year (1st January). It is their way of ‘phor oon”. I think that is a very good practice, at least I think it’s better than making offerings for some paper figurines and paper money at a Chinese temple and the person (I’m not even sure if he is a monk or not) would just recite “Li Po Li Po Di, ….” (which I can also recite) a few times over your head and ring the bell and then give you some paper talisman to wear or burn to drink.

Anyway, I hope that people would not be negatively affected by the much doom and gloom forecasted for next year. Karma is not carved into solid steel. Even steel can be melt and re-shaped, right? We can actively create new karma and change our way of thinking and our negative behaviours or habits. Even if you were to go to the Buddha for blessings, it is useless if you do not change your negative actions, negative speech and negative thinking. If we are still remain greedy and still makes 50-100% profit during these economic bad times, don’t you think we are generating a lot of bad karma? When petrol prices increase, people justify increase in their prices due to increase in transportation and fuel prices. The chain effect causes overall prices to go up. However, why is it that the reverse chain effect does not happen when petrol prices go down? Transportation and fuel prices do not go down. The probable answer: human ignorance and greed to sustain their high prices. As a person who knows costing, I know the real cost for example, fried eggs at economy rice food stall. Eggs now cost about 35sen an egg. Add oil and gas and allocation of a fraction of stall rental, it will come to 50sen. They sell at 80sen to RM1.00. That means a 60% - 100% profit margin. This is just an example. You can calculate yourself why things are ridiculously way too expensive beyond their actual costs. I am not saying they should be making losses. No. In bad times, if you have the power to decide the prices of the goods that you are selling and you do not reduce them for the welfare of the people, then that will incur a lot of negative karma. Top management and directors of public-listed companies have even heavier negative karma if they have mismanaged and caused the loss of wealth of their public shareholders. So, be careful if you are selling products to the public or have a public fiduciary duty. If we are involved in the manufacture of un-substandard products intentionally, involved in bribery or corruption, willful mismanagement of the company and wasting shareholder’s funds, then the karma will be very heavy. We may escape punishment in this life but when this human life is over, such persons who have been irresponsible to the public in their duties will be hauled to the chambers of hell. In that place, there is no court of appeal or slick lawyers who can get away with nonsense such as “it looked like me, talked like me, sounded like me …but not me”. You can try that on King Yama and the officers of hell and see what you get! It’s far better to admit your fault while you still can, in this life as a human, and start repenting.

The reverse is also true as told to us in the classic story of Liao Fan. He managed to increase his blessings by very much (and by that, he changed his ‘destiny’ too) by reducing taxes on the citizens. Even reducing by 1% is able to affect so many people. So much happiness is generated. Actually it does not have to be taxes. Your raw materials may be more expensive now, but if you can absorb the higher costs and still make a profit, even though less than you used to, or by maintaining your prices instead of passing the higher costs to the consumers, then you will make huge blessings. In economics we study the chain effects of one price on another item. In Buddhism, this is like the working of dependent arising, where one factor causes another factor to arise. By this example that I give, we can see how our Buddhist teachings of Dependent Arising and Karma happen in our daily life as well as in all aspects of our life (such as economics). Many ordinary Buddhists do not understand this simple point on how to increase their blessings (or ‘phor oon’), and so I try to stress a little bit on this.

So, if you hope to change your destiny in the future, please consider what I have written here, which is just my 2 cents worth of opinion. Sometimes people wonder where they get all the bad karma from. Indeed, it does not necessarily have to be from their past life, which they cannot see. Sometimes it does seem like Buddhists are talking about something that cannot be verified, right? Wrong. Unless you are born with that defect or disease, in most cases, you can reflect on what you have done wrong in this life. And as I have explained, we can see the working of karma and dependent arising in all aspects of our life. And if you can see these as working in this life, then you can be assured that they do not stop working when you die. They continue to work into your next life and thereafter, until you attain release from samsara.

If you feel down and miserable, pick yourself up and have faith in the Triple Gem. Sakyamuni Buddha endured suffering for 3 great eons in order to perfect every single quality and virtue before becoming a Buddha. Because he is free from suffering, he is the only one who can truly help us. Others can merely assist. Therefore, have confidence in the Buddha.

So far I have said much about increasing blessings the Buddhist way, and also driving our own destiny, instead of being controlled by it, which I hope there will be at least one person who finds it useful. In closing this year, I take this opportunity to thank my Guru-Triple Gem for the excellent blessings, my dharma protectors who had done a wonderful job, and to wish everyone a Happy New Year and urge everyone to actively shape their karma for a better tomorrow!

Gompa burned in fire

This Information from a friend's friend in the US on the fire at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, an FPMT centre in Pomaia, Italy.

The gompa of ILTK was completely destroyed by fire this morning 26 December 2008. Most fortunately no one was hurt. Being Christmas there were very few people in the Institute. Petr and Cinzia, whose room is in the corridor facing the gompa, woke at about 7:30 AM to the smell of smoke. They opened the door of their room to find the corridor filled with smoke. They woke up the few people in the building and called the firemen. Several people stood outside the doors of the gompa and were able to contain the fire with fire estiguishers until the firemen arrived. The fire did not spread but the gompa is completely destroyed, as well as all statues and tangkas (as you can see from the photo). The firemen closed the entire wing of the building down to and including Shine's premises due to being worried about the floor of the gompa collapsing. Dagri Rinpoche arrived during the day and said to everyone that there is no great monastery that has not had big problems and that the fire should be taken as a sign that it is necessary to go ahead with the building of a new gompa. The Italian Buddhist Union has made an appeal for funding to rebuild and the news has been on national television. I myself am in Canada and heard the news from Ven. Raffaello Longo and our housemanager Petr Zon, who found the fire. It is thought that it was caused by a shortcircuit, perhaps in the Christmas lights (there were no candles buring at the time).

Please keep the institute in your prayers.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5650C259E0FAEBD5

Before it burned, it looked like this:
http://www.iltk.it/images/avi/gompa%20sfera.mov

More photos of the ILTK:
http://www.iltk.it/en/L0_S0_03_photogallery.htm#3

To make a donation using Pay Pal, go to:

http://www.iltk.it/en/L1_homepage.htm

and click on the PayPal button near the bottom of the page

Bruce Lee, the reincarnation of Alexander The Great?

pic from historyof macedonia.org & actortracker.com

What do these two persons have in common, other than being heroic icons? One was a kungfu legend without parallel in the last century. The other, a world conqueror (indeed, he would fit the Buddhist term as a wheel turning emperor) who was born in the ancient Greece in 356 BC. Both died at the young age of 32. Both reached the lofty goals they set for themselves. Both of them left such a major impact to the world. Both are my iconic heroes.

Suddenly a family member asked me, "Could it be that Bruce Lee was an incarnation of Alexander the Great?" Hmm, I think that's highly possible given the similarities of their characteristics such as perseverance, pride and stubbornness. See the pictures above - don't they look uncannily similar? Hahaha, or, is it just my imagination...? If he was, then I think he must have had very terrible karma to die at age 32 in every human rebirth. Bruce Lee was great because his martial expertise was genuine, unlike nowadays you see most chinese actors and actresses of the kungfu genre, who had not fought a real opponent before. All the flying and swordsplay we se in the movies and TV drama series are only a figment of the chinese imagination nowadays. No one could do that in real life. However, whatever we see Bruce Lee did in the film, you can bet he can do exactly that in real life, or even better. And I adored Alexander the Great because of his far-sightedness, determination and sheer strength of his leadership -ingredients that are also present in great leaders of today such as Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.


Some facts on Bruce Lee from wiki:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee

And some facts on Alexander:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great


One conquered the martial arts world, and the other conquered most of the known world then. However, they could not conquer death, and they ended up losing the precious human rebirth they had got. How pitiful!

Still, I do adore these 2 persons because of what they had accomplished in such a short time. On that note, I would like to wish my readers a Merry Christmas. Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!

2 Important Events today

I guess I have to go back on my word to stop posting on Buddhist things and come back only next year. Looks like the Buddhas keep coming back. Hahahaha! Anyway, I have to post this.

“O-Guru Triple Gem! I seek your blessings!
Quickly, quickly… come now!
Please, please…I beg of You!”

2 things happened today that made me rejoice.

First, referring to the last paragraph of the "desperate supplication" prayer... well, today I received an important sms. Guess what? Guru is indeed coming! Hahahaha! It's a culmination of everyone who had put in their sincere prayer for this to come true. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that he'll make it to Malaysia after Singapore. :)

Second, a bird that was most likely going to die because everyone else had given up hope of rescuing it so that it could fly out of the building. It had somehow flown into a high rise building thru an opened window and could not get out. Poor thing was flying here and there and always banging into the transparent glass window. The bird could not distinguish between a glass window and an open window. Reminds me of the suffering nature of being animals. And it was only yesterday that someone told me she like to be a bird because it can fly so freely out there. "Yeah! Be a bird and see what happens now?!"

And when it sees the bright flourescent lamp, it thought it was sun light and flew into it only to find it is not what it had thought it was. It was getting desperate. After so many banging, and flying into hot flourescent lamps, its whole body and head had been hurt badly. Still, it never gave up. It persevered, but could not find a way out. It thought me some important lessons beyond just determination.

Without the guidance of Buddhas in the form of our Gurus, who can guide us "out" from out trap, no matter how much we try, without blessings from Guru-Triple Gem, nothing will come to be. There won't be any spiritual progress.

It was only when I cornered it into a "hole" where it could not escape, that I can go in and take it out with my hands. Still it thought I was a monster trying to harm it, as it fluttered desperately for its life. It didnot know I was going to rescue it. Not harm it. But after sensing it could not get out from its "hole" no matter what it tries, it stopped struggling. It's like that with spiritual struggle, I think. We stop struggling after knowing our worldly efforts are all futile without faith in the Triple Gem.

So, the bird decided to put its faith in me. I held it by the end of the body, and took it out of the "hole" and went near the window. Then at that moment before I let go of it, I thought, "If I let go of it, will the bird just drop down...maybe after so much body pain, and getting trapped in the "hole", it may have some problems flapping its wings". And so I didnot just let it off the open window of the high rise building. Instead I took it to a window with some ledge outside it, and put it there. Thankfully it didnot have any problems flying and it flew away immediately. I am sure it must be relieved. It got another chance to live. And I hope it heard the mantra I recited softly for it all the while as I was coaxing it to go near the window. The bird definitely had good karma. As for me, I have to thank the bird for being my Guru for the day. I learned another important lesson in understanding animal liberation as well as lesson on faith in the Guru. There is also the lesson of never abandoning sentient beings. If we ever hope to be Buddhas one day, that's what is expected of us to do. I was hoping to go home early today, but ended up going back late because of this bird. It took quite a while, but it's worth the wait. Don't you think so?

E MA HO! MAY ALL BE WELL AND HAPPY!

RAIN

Drops of water from high above
Gather and congregate
Coming from all directions
On free ticket sponsored by Mother Wind
Listening carefully, the drops form a carpet of white cloud
As Father Sun speaks…and speaks
One, two hours go by
More drops of water meet, and they form more layers of cloud
Soon five hours of fiery speech
By Father Sun …till one drop of water decided
Enough is enough
And walk out of the hall…
Father Sun sees that and goes into rage
And sends bolts of lightning
Faces go black with fear
And each drop of water goes helter-skelter
With assistance by Mother Wind,
They fly at stormy speed.

Meanwhile down on Earth…
Little Eugene got his first drop of water on his head
“Mother…rain’s coming!” he shouts
And runs inside his house.

written on 22 November 2002

MAHATHIR – THE WIND, THE SUN, THE SEA

The caressing wind moves in
Constant perpetuation.
The bright sun shines in
Eternal brightness.
The waving sea shifts in
Patterned curves.
You, Dr. Mahathir –
Are just the same…
You are like the wind
Moving around the globe
Speaking your mind without fear.
You are like the sun
Bringing the light of prosperity
To our beloved Malaysia.
You are like the sea
Shifting our mindset and
Nudging our senses where necessary.
You, Dr. Mahathir –
Are free like the wind,
Are visionary like the sun,
And magnanimous like the sea.
Thank you, my dear Prime Minister!

written: 11 Oct, 2003

Need More Hands?

I am thinking of giving my Buddhist blog a rest. Perhaps I might post some of those non-Buddhist things I have written, and get back on the Buddhist part later. I am not sure. However there is more to the "My Water Bowl" story actually. But I cannot as yet write it or reveal it clearly. I might be able to write Part 3 only probably sometime next year... because I have to wait for "it" to unfold. Slowly, slowly the picture is clearer. But we'll see how it goes, and in the meantime, I keep my fingers crossed that everything will be okay and goes as "planned".

I am going to leave you with some parting "chat" with Guru- Chenrezig as below (and let you figure out for yourself what this is all about) :-

Human life may be short, but bodhisattvas have got 3 great kalpas to go before achieving Final Buddhahood... unless he uses a consort to achieve clear light. Our Great Victor - Je Tsongkhapa didnot want to resort to using any consort for fear it may give people of this degenerate age some wrong thinking about this practice, so he waited till his physical death before manifesting into clear light using the bardo method.

For me, it certainly looks like I have a long, long, long time to go.... and I certainly can do with more than a pair of hands.

My very dearest Guru-Chenrezig, can I borrow some of your hands?
Guru Chenrezig answers, "I don't mind lending, but I hope they fit into your body."
Yes, Yes,... let me check. Oops, they don't fit yet. I need more bodhicitta.
Guru Chenrezig re-assures," When you have more of those, then I will gladly lend you more of my many hands. So, develop those well".
Ok, I will. Love you, Guru-Chenrezig! I really do.

Tibetan Muslims

From the below wikipedia information, we can conclude that generally the Buddhists in Tibet under the Dalai Lama administration took very good care of the muslims... until the China invasion in 1959. So, judge for yourself, whether it was better for Tibet to come under China rule or maintain its own rule. No one should have any reason to suspect the Dalai Lama has come under the influence of the West in his fight for Tibet. The Tibetan Buddhists have produced great mind training techiniques for many centuries and the high lamas are unable to smile and lie at the same time fior sustained periods of time. If you have any knowledge on Tibetan Buddhism, you will know that the Tibetan Buddhist masters, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, can be taken at face value, i.e. they mean what they say. They have been given this great mind training and human relationship practices since very young. So, if anyone thinks the Dalai Lama could even be a puppet for the West, it is the result of their own convulated thinking. There is really nothing wrong with the Dalai Lama's motivation to fight for more religious freedom for the Tibetans.

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tibetan mosque in Lhasa
The Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Kachee (Kache), form a small minority in Tibet. Despite being Muslim, they are classified as Tibetans, unlike the Hui Muslims, who are also known as the Kyangsha or Gya Kachee (Chinese Muslims). The Tibetan word Kachee literally means Kashmiri and Kashmir was known as Kachee Yul (Yul = Country).

Owing to their small population, the Tibetan Muslims are scattered throughout Tibet, much of whom can be found in Lhasa and Shigatse. If those not living in the Tibet Autonomous Region are not excluded, ethnic groups such as the Balti and Burig, who are also of Tibetan origin and consider themselves to be ethnically Tibetan, are Muslims as well. These groups, however, are predominantly found in the Indian-controlled Ladakh and the Pakistani-controlled Baltistan.

Ancestry
Generally speaking, the Tibetan Muslims are unique in the fact that they are largely of Kashmiri and Persian/Arab/Turkic descent through the patrilineal lineage and also often descendants of native Tibetans through the matrilineal lineage, although the reverse is not uncommon. Thus, many of them display a mixture of Aryan and indigenous Tibetan features.
Owing to Tibetan influence, they have adopted Tibetan names while retaining Persian or Urdu surnames. However, this is not as common as those among the Burig and Balti. In Baltistan or Baltiyul as the natives call it, youngster Muslims have started naming themselves in local Tibetan language like Ali Tsering, Sengge Thsering, Wangchen, Namgyal, Shesrab, Mutik, Mayoor, Gyalmo, Odzer, Lobsang, Odchen, Rinchen, Anchan, and so forth. Among Khaches, although the majority uses Tibetan for daily communication, Urdu or Arabic are used for religious services.

After the Chinese invasion of Tibet, Muslims were granted Indian citizenship by the Indian Government, which considered the Tibetan Muslims Kashmiris, and thus Indian citizens, unlike the other Tibetan refugees, who carry Refugee Satus Certificates.

History
The appearance of the first Muslims in Tibet has been lost in the mists of time, although variants of the names of Tibet can be found in Arabic history books.

During the reign of the Ummayad Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz, a delegation from Tibet and China requested him to send Islamic missionaries to their countries, and Salah bin Abdullah Hanafi was sent to Tibet. Between the eighth and ninth centuries, the Abbasid rulers of Baghdad maintained relations with Tibet. However, there was little proselytisation among the missionaries at first, although many of them decided to settle in Tibet and marry Tibetan women. In 710-720,during the reign of Mes-ag-tshoms the Arabs, who now had more of a presence in China, started to appear in Tibet and were allied with them along with the Eastern Turks against the Chinese. During the reign of the Sadnalegs (799-815), under Tride Songtsän (Khri lde srong brtsan - generally known as Sadnalegs) there was a protracted war with Arab powers to the West. It appears that Tibetans captured a number of Arab troops and pressed them into service on the Eastern frontier in 801. Tibetans were active as far West as Samarkand and Kabul. Arab forces began to gain the upper hand, and the Tibetan governor of Kabul submitted to the Arabs and became a Muslim about 812 or 815.

The 12th century witnessed a large scale migration of Muslim traders from Kashmir and the Persian Empire to Tibet, most notable was the community that they established in Lhasa. Like their Arab predecessors, these men settled down and married Tibetan women, who followed their husbands' religion. Proselytisation of Islam first took place in Baltistan and the Suru Valley from the 14th to the 16th centuries, which converted the vast majority of the Tibetan Burig and Balti communities.

Especially under the reign of Lozang Gyatso, the Tibetan Muslims led a relatively carefree life, and were given special privileges, in the sense that they were exempted from observing certain Buddhist religious customs. In the 17th century a small community of Muslims flourished in Lhasa working there mainly as butchers.

However, with the influx of Kashmiri immigrants to Ladakh and forced conversions of Buddhists to Islam, isolated conflicts between the Buddhists and Muslims were frequent, especially in Leh. There were even cases when members of the Soma Gompa and Jama Masjid came out to fight, thus resulting in tensions between Buddhist and Muslim members of the same family.
After the invasion of Tibet in 1959 a group of Tibetan Muslims made a case for Indian nationality based on their historic roots to Kashmir and the Indian government declared all Tibetan Muslims Indian citizens later on that year.

Culture
As of today, most of the 99% of Tibetan Muslims are followers of the Sunni denomination.[citation needed] Despite the factor of their religion, the Tibetan Muslims have comfortably assimilated into the Tibetan community, while following Islamic traditions. On the other hand, the Balti and Burig have partially adopted Afghan customs. The Balti and Burig peoples mostly follow Shi'ism and/or Sufism.
Especially in music, the Tibetan Muslims have made contributions to Tibetan culture. The Nangma, also known as Naghma in Urdu which means melody, are high-pitched tilting songs that have been popular among all Tibetans. They have also adopted Tibetan customs, especially in the field of marriage, although they have strictly maintained their Islamic customs at the same time.

Tibetan Muslims have unique architectural styles, and this is most notable among the Ladakhi. Mosques, for instance, are built in a quaint blend of Persian and Tibetan styles. This is evidenced in its beautifully decorated walls, sloping walls designed to withstand earthquakes, and even Kada scarfs being hanged at the doorway of the mosques.
Another interesting feature of Tibetan Muslim architecture is that their mosques encompass the Imambara, a small artefact surmounted on the domes of metal sheets.

Special privileges before Communist rule
The Tibetan Muslims had their own mosques in Lhasa and Shigatse, and plots of land were given to bury their ancestors. They were also exempted from taking vegetarian meals, on Buddha's birthday, which is mandatory for all followers of Tibetan Buddhism, and this practice upon the followers of Bön was not excluded. A Ponj (from Urdu/Hindi Pancch meaning village committee or Panchayat) was elected to take care of the affairs within the Tibetan Muslim community.
In addition, Muslims were even exempted from removing their caps to Lamas during a period in a year, when the Iron pole Lamas held sway over the town. Muslims were also granted the Mina Dronbo, a status that invited all Tibetans, irrespective of religion, to commemorate the assumption of spiritual and temporal authority by Lozang Gyatso, the fifth Dalai Lama. However, these special privileges ended with the beginning of the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959.

Take a good look and be afraid...very afraid!

These are scenes in the hell where the bodies are cut up into pieces.










This is the hell where offenders are hung upside down and toast alive. It is supposed to be for persons who like to barbeque their food, catching fish and cook it alive.

This is supposed to be a scene in hell where the offenders' eyes are gorged out mercilessly due to their own previous karma.

Actually this is supposed to be one type of hungry ghost where their mouth spews fire whenever they try to eat something. The food gets burnt and they end up eating nothing.

This is supposed to be a scene of Hell of Filth where all sorts of filthy "shit" and worms and gnats crawl all over and inside your body. And not to mention extremely smelly.

This is supposed to be one of the presiding kings (sometimes referred to as judges) in charge of this hell. Did I tell you I had a strange dream once in which I stood next to the throne of the king (but the king and the entire place there was empty except for one red haired strange looking security guard holding one long weapon standing near the entrance)?

If you do your Lam Rim contemplations properly especially when you come to the part where you visualise the sufferings of hell, you may experience terrible nightmares and wake up screaming, But don't worry, it is only to be expected. It means your contemplations are starting to sink in. If you donot experience it even after contemplating it for a long time, it means there's probably something wrong with how you do it. So, take the scenes above as a guide.

GOOD LUCK!

Thank you, Guru Buddha!

Dearest Guru Buddha,

I offer my sincerest heartfelt supplication to you for your long life. May You live for many many years and May Your dharma activities flourish!

I am here to thank You (representing all my Gurus past and present). I am not sure what happened that culminated in this latest miracle. Thank you for hearing my call. You certainly sent a tide of blessings.

I am happy yet worried. The next 2 years will be crucial. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Buddha's will will prevail despite some ill omens. Looks like I am sinking deeper into samsara , but sometimes things may turn out differently than we think. I put my trust in You, Guru Buddha!

Therefore, I pray that the Buddha qualities in me and others will quickly arise! Please also congratulate on my behalf the extraordinary candidate who managed to successfully enter the "mandala of Chenrezig" recently and met his consort. I can't wait to see the result of their union in bliss and emptiness! E MA HO! May Guru Buddha be praised!

With much humble prostrations,
Your son and student.

updated 14 Dec 2008:
Last Thursday was really a scare because my wife compliant of stomach pains and wanted to see the doctor. Thank goodness, I recited the Great Compassion Mantra (i.e. I recited the sanskrit version of the traditional chinese one commonly propagated by Mahayana masters such as the late Master Hsuan Hua). I also recited the praises to Kuan Yin, an extyract of the Lotus Sutra (Pu Men Pin). Thankfully the pain ceased after that. I pray that my prayers will always work.E MA HO! May Thousand Arms be praised!

updated 18 Dec 2008:
My wife had been having some problems with constipation and doctors could not do anything, except tell her to eat more fiber, more fruits/vege, etc. They cannot precribed any medicine because of her "certain condition" that cannot be mentioned here yet. It come to that stage where she felt hopeless and desperate and asked me to think of something to help her. She was worried her constipation may affect her "other body". I also do not know what to do but I took out my mala, that I usually use to recite a certain mantra. I dip the mala 3 times into a glass of luke warm water, and mentally think of the mantra deity for blessing, and asked her to drink it. Within one hour, she could go to the toilet. You may think maybe that was because my mala was dirty and caused diarrhea immediately. Well, if you want to think it that way, I leave it to you. Even though its only a little bit that came out from her "system", she felt a lot relieved of her tension. She have managed to put a smile back to her face, and that is what mattered, even though it is not a permanent cure. It may not work for another person, and may not work a second time. But that thing I did certainly worked the first time for that person. I am happy with that. So, even this is not a serious illness, still nonetheless she is a suffering sentient being. As Buddhists, we must be able to help in such cases to alleviate suffering where we can. We don't have to be major enlightened arhats or bodhisattvas to be able to do what I did. We only need to have some skill in our daily practice.This story is only a small example of many examples I know that actual sufferings have been relieved by using and understanding the dharma. Yes, we may not be fully enlightened Buddhas yet and cannot help in an ultimate sense but slowly, slowly we try to do what we can within our constraints.

Calling the Guru-Triple Gem from Afar

That is the alternative of the name of the prayer in the previous blog entitled, "A Desperate Supplication to the Guru-Triple Gem". It is an SOS to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. To prevent further distortions in understanding, this is the explanation offered by the writer.

The first paragraph is alluding to this paragraph in Lama Tsongkhapa’s Foundation of All Good Qualities:

Seeking samsaric pleasures is the door to all sufferings:
They are uncertain and cannot be relied upon.
Recognizing these shortcomings,
Please bless me to generate the strong wish for the bliss of liberation.

Buddhists also should know that the term “Lion’s Throne” is referring to the state of mind of a fully enlightened Buddha. It’s not a physical throne where anyone can sit. And to explain further, this whole prayer is really about the first principle aspect of the path, i.e. Renunciation. Many Buddhists “jumped the gun” without first developing the mind of renunciation. Without renunciation firmly established in the mind, there will not be any bodhicitta, which is the mind of enlightenment.

It’s importance is well documented by all great masters such as Milarepa, Atisha, Lama Tsongkhapa and others.

Lama Tsongkhapa said:

Those with bodies are bound by the craving of existence.
Without pure renunciation, there is no way to still
The attraction to the pleasures of samsara:
Thus, from the outset, seek renunciation.

It is a strong state of mind that needs to be realized. And how do we know we have achieved the mind of renunciation? Lama Tsongkhapa offered an answer:

Contemplating this, when you donot for an instant
Wish the pleasures of samsara,
And day and night remain intent on liberation
You have then produced renunciation.

Even if it is not consistently demonstrated in your daily behaviour, somehow your mind will be forever subtlely restless, even in periods of samsaric happiness. There is no room for faking such a mind of renunciation. It’s either you have it or you do not. It’s stated that:

“Great Compassion (or mind of enlightenment) is a state of mind where you can absolutely no longer bear to see other beings tormented by the sufferings of life; there’s no way you can achieve it as long as your concern about the way of life torments you yourself is so feeble that it couldn’t blow down a single upright hair. As the famous verse of The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life says:

If people like these have never before
Even in the dreams they dream
Felt such a wish just for themselves,
Then how can it come to them for others?

So, this mind of renunciation must be demonstrated in some ways. Of course when we see the negative violence and deaths and illneses that’s happening around the world, we think it is renunciation. But the moment you step into your office, you have forgotten about renunciation. It’s not reflected in the actions you do in your office. Your so-called renunciation has flown out of the window. That's just an example.

Bye, bye renunciation! See you next when I read the newspaper or turn on the TV. :)

updated: 5 Dec '08
So, we all should seek to develop renunciation properly first.

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Just when I am learning my renunciation, it looks like I am sinking even deeper into samsara. I got "news" on Thursday about 2pm... a happy but yet "disturbing news" from the spiritual sense. To a worldly person, it would conventionally be considered happy news but for a person who's trying to renounce the world, it's not. However, I hope this "news" will result in benefitting sentient beings and I cannot and should not stop it. I hope it will not bring any negative consequences...although I fear "something". One Indian professor said to me that there will be events in my life that even I am unable to control, try as I may. He also said certain things about me that I cannot reveal here. Well, I can only pray that it will turn out well for everyone. This "news" also confirms my suspicion that something is about to happen, esp. after my water bowl incident. Cannot say much of what it is until I get the full "picture".

A Desperate Supplication

This Supplication is dedicated to the end of violence and chaos in Mumbai, Bangkok, and everywhere else in the world... Dedicated to the longlife of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and also to all my precious Gurus of the past, present and future, as well as to all other Masters inseparable from the Buddhas. May You all continue to live on in samsara and turn the Dharma Wheel for us, otherwise hopeless sentient beings! Ultimately, dedicating it to swift attainment of Buddhahood for all sentient beings!

In the struggle to pursue enlightenment, this sentient being has found it hopelessly embroiled in his own internal conflicts as well as struggling to prioritise between pursuing his worldly and spiritual goals. In his mind, he wished that he was like Prince Siddharta who left the life of comfort in the palace. He was sure it must had been difficult for Prince Siddharta. But why is it so difficult for him now? Is it his own karma that he has to make a worldly living and develop a family like others are doing? Or, is it his own lack of determination? He realised that he can only do it bit by bit and need the blessings from the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in the form of the Spiritual Guru. Since the precious human rebirth may end anytime, he knows that "practising bit by bit" is not the ideal way to go. But reluctantly he has to accept it from lack of better alternatives. Hence, he feels hopeless and seeks blessings and guidance. He screams ...and wants the blessings of the Triple Gem (i.e. his hope) now. He desperately wants some blessings right now. In essence, he is expressing his mind of renunciation. Nowadays, many people can talk about bodhicitta, but what they donot know is that they have to develop the mind of renunciation first, before any true bodhicitta (the mind of enlightenment) can develop. These are mentioned by Lama Tsongkhapa in the teachings on The Three Principle Aspects of The Path.

In order to appreciate the intensity of this supplication, you need to internalise the desperation reflected in each line as your own struggle too! Is this the struggle you are in too?

A Desperate Supplication to the Guru-Triple Gem
cries by a drowning sentient being

Why in the world would I need to wake up,
And face the dreaded world?
Why in the world would I need to work,
And deal with all the craziness in the world?
Why in the world would I need to sleep
Only to wake up again?
Why not sit on the Lion’s Throne and enjoy bliss after bliss instead?

Why do I feel trapped in this body?
This flesh and bone prison.
Why do I feel trapped in this mind?
This mental prison is even harder to break.
Why do I feel trapped in a “self”?
This eternal prison, as yet, I have not seen its emptiness.
When can I achieve my freedom?

Why do I generate so much desire?
Cursed attachments that stick like glue.
Why do I generate so much anger and hatred?
This “fire” inside keeps burning.
Why do I generate so much delusion?
They just keep coming uncontrollably.
What can I do to generate only bliss?

Why do I have to go from birth to birth?
This house builder seems destined never to die.
Why do I have to bear so much pain?
Dependently arising, pain is empty, but alas, it’s still painful!
Why do I keep creating so much karma?
Stop it, stop it! I am telling myself.
How do I listen to myself?

Why do I still continue living in a world full of crazy people,
Senseless activities abound, this non-stop daily madness?
Why do I still need to make a worldly living to feed myself and others,
Fueling the engine of continued samsaric rebirths?
Why do I still prioritise worldly attainments and affairs,
And only “when I have the time”, do I pursue some dharma?
Very soon this precious human rebirth will end,
All the madness in this world will not save me from the fires of hell waiting,
Or the furs and tail that are going to grow on my body,
Or the hunger that is going to besiege me like forever,
Where is my priority?

Arrgh...! Where is my hope?

Drowning in samsara’s wide ocean,
Hands desperately grappling for Liberation,
This sentient being feels hopeless.
He cries out in desperation:

“O-Guru Triple Gem! I seek your blessings!
Quickly, quickly… come now!
Please, please…I beg of You!”

written on 28 Nov. 2008. 5.50pm, re-edited at 11.57pm. Re-edietd at about 8.30am and 9.40pm on 30 Nov. 08.

My Water Bowls, Part 2

Referring to this previous post:

http://buddha-and-me.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-water-bowl.html

I waited and waited, day after day for one week for the bubbles to disappear but they won't. So, I shifted the bowls from the altar to a side table. And it was only then that the bubbles started to disappear. It seemed as long as the bowls were on my altar, the bubbles will still be there. Anyway, I did my own divination and asked Guru-Chenrezig whether I could clear the water bowls. The answer was a clear "No" for about 2 weeks. It was only after the bubbles completely disappeared that the answered turned out a clear "Yes". Strange, huh? So, I changed the water and cleaned the bowls on about 17th Novermber, about Monday. Until today, the tiny little crystal-like bubbles never re-appeared.

What caused them to appear in the first place? I have no idea. I donot think I will ever have a clear answer to that.

Now devotees wearing shoes can enter Bodh Gaya temple complex

IANS, November 20, 2008
Patna, India -- The decades-old ban on entering the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bihar’s Bodh Gaya while wearing shoes has been lifted, an official said Thursday.The move was welcomed and lauded by Buddhist devotees, mostly Tibetans and tourists visiting Bodh Gaya temple, Buddhism’s holiest shrine.

However, shoes will not be allowed within the temple’s sanctum sanctorum.

The Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BGTMC) took the decision to lift the ban on entering the temples while wearing shoes.

“The BGTMC decided to lift the ban early this week in the wake of repeated demand made by devotees and tourists to allow them to enter the temple with shoes on,” said Nandji Dorjee, secretary, BGTMC.

Hundreds of Buddhist devotees and tourists, particularly foreigners, are now being allowed to enter the temple with shoes on, a big relief during winter and summer months.

Time and again, devotees and tourists complained to the officials about the discomfort they faced while walking bare feet within the temple complex.

“Bare foot entry to temple poses threat to health in chilly winter, particularly during early hours and hot summer season,” said another BGTMC official.

In winter, considered a tourist season, temperatures come down to as low as 2 - 4 degrees Celsius. During winter, bare feet entry to the temple to offer prayers was difficult.

The Tibetan Buddhists have been demanding the right to temple entry with boots on, as per their traditions. They do not see anything wrong in entering the temple with boots on.

In 2001 Ugyen Trinle Dorje, the teenaged chief of the Karmapa sect of Tibetan Buddhists defied the ban on temple entry with shoes on. Dorje entered the Mahabodhi temple sanctum with heavy boots, inviting loud protests from the neo-Buddhists.

The neo-Buddhists demanded the invoking of the penal clause in Mahabodhi temple management act, which says that a fine has to be imposed on anybody who entered the buddhist shrine with shoes on.

Then, Dorje made a bare feet entry to the temple to offer prayers.

The 1,500-year-old temple stands behind the sacred Bodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment 2,550 years ago.

The Mahabodhi Temple, declared a World Heritage Site in 2002 by Unesco, is visited annually by thousands of tourists, especially from countries where there is a strong Buddhist community.

My comments:
I remember one of my good Singaporean friend's shoes got locked up in the shop where the shoes were kept. That was because our group got out late from the temple compound after doing the lights offering and the shop was already closed. My goodness! We thought he would have to go back without shoes, or have to buy a new pair of slippers/shoes from the sundry shops outside the temple compound. However, in the end, one of the security guards/temple official managed to contact the shop owner and he returned to open his shop. My friend was so relieved that he got his shoes back.

Actually I donot mind taking my shoes off, the only problem is during the early mornings and evenings during winter time, it can get so cold, my feet would be sore and "harden". I needed to massage my feet many times as I go round the temples doing circumambulation. I think those of us who had been to Bodhgaya during winter time will know what I am saying. It is difficult even with the socks on, unless you wear thick socks. And in the afternoon, the ground can be very hot. But it's okay... the holiness of the site transcends any petty pain we may have, right? Nevertheless, the ground is still cold during winter and hot during summer and mid-day. Now anyone can walk in with their shoes on until just outside the main shrine! Don't have to be distracted by the heat and cold of your feet, so can concentrate on our prayers and circumambulation. That's good, right?

Inside the sanctum santorum, we definitely must take off our shoes. No problem inside as it is sheltered from the cold and heat.

The Buddha's Descend from Heaven Pt 3

REJOICE! REJOICE! REJOICE!

On the Great Invitation (pavarana) day, the Buddha descends from Tavatimsa heaven via stairways of jewels, gold and silver

This picture shows the Buddha descending from the deva realm, from Tavatimsa heaven, after having spent the rains retreat there in order to teach the Dhamma to his mother. The day of his descent was the day of "leaving the rains retreat." The town that he descended to was Sankasa, and he descended right to the gates of the city. The place where the Buddha first stepped onto the earth later became known as the "acalacetiya," or in ordinary terms a "Buddha's footprint." This is one place, according to the legend, where a Buddha's footprint was made.

Before the Buddha's descent, Indra, king of the devas, conjured up three stairways for the purpose: a gold stairway, a silver stairway and a jewel stairway. The gold stairway, for the devas, was on the right. The silver stairway, on the left, was for the Brahmas. The jewel stairway, in the center, was for the Buddha. The top of each of the stairways rested on the summit of Mount Sumeru, while the foot of the stairways rested at the city gates of Sankasa.
The people on the Buddha's right in the picture are devas. They are the devas who descended with the Buddha. On the Buddha's left, holding the ceremonial umbrella, is a Brahma. Carrying the Buddha's bowl and walking just in front of the Buddha is Indra. Playing the lute and singing is the deva Pancasinkhara, on his right is Matuli Devaputta, who is strewing celestial flowers on the path as the Buddha descends.

The Buddha was a visuddhi deva, a deity on account of his purity. Later generations of Buddhist writers gave him the honorific name "Devatideva," meaning "Deva among devas." The various devas worshipped by the people of India in ancient times, such as Indra and Maha Brahma, are made into "supporting actors" as disciples of the Buddha.

Thai Buddhists believe that the day of leaving the rains retreat is another important Buddhist day. On that day they make a special offering in honor of the day the Buddha descended from the Tavatimsa heaven. The alms giving performed on this day is called "tak bhat devo," from the word "devorohana," meaning alms offering given on the day of the Buddha's coming down from the deva realm.

Source: Mahidol University

The Buddha's descend from Heaven Pt 2

The Buddha opens all the worlds, enabling the devas, hell beings and humans to see each other

On the day that the Buddha descended from Tavatimsa he performed another miracle. While he was standing on the jewel stairway, he looked upwards and the worlds of the devas (devaloka) and the Brahmas (Brahmaloka) were revealed. Then he looked downward, and the hell realms were revealed. At that time the celestial realms, the hell realms and the human realms throughout the universe were all visible to each other.

The scene shown here is from the time the Buddha descended from Tavatimsa. The event is the Buddha's "opening of the worlds." The worlds that he opened at that time were the three worlds of heaven (devaloka), hell (yamaloka) and earth (manussaloka).

Devaloka is all the worlds from the Brahmaloka down to all the celestial realms. Manussaloka is the world of human beings. Yamaloka is the lower realms, all the levels of hell down to the lowest hell, avici.

When the Buddha was descending from heaven, he looked upwards and all the worlds from the human world up to the highest heavenly realm were illuminated. As he looked around in each direction of the universe it became clear and unobstructed. And when he looked downwards, the illumination continued down to the hell realms.

At that instant the beings living in these three realms could all see each other. The human beings saw the devas, the devas saw the humans, the humans and the devas saw the hell beings, and the hell beings saw the devas and humans. And all could see the Buddha descending from Tavatimsa gloriously.

The Dhammapada commentary, composed by Buddhaghosa, states that "On this day when the beings of all realms saw each other, there was not one who did not want to be the Buddha." The Pathamasambodhi goes even further, saying; "At that time, of all the devas, humans and beasts, even down to the tiniest red or black ant, who saw the Buddha, there was not one among them who did not desire Buddhahood."

Buddhahood is the state of being a Buddha. If we were to make the story of the Buddha opening up all the worlds so that the beings could all see each other more mundane, we may interpret it to mean that on that day the Buddha gave a teaching to which people came to listen in great number, and from which people could sees the results of good and bad deeds: the result of bad being suffering, which is hell, and the result of good being happiness, which is heaven, and the possession of morality is what differentiates people from the animals.

Note: In Pali it is spelled “Tavatimsa”, In Sanskrit, “Trayatrimsa”. Both referring to the same God of Thirty Three Heaven.

Source: mahidol university

The Buddha's descend from Heaven Pt 1

By Wei Lin

3 June, 1998

The Buddha Shakyamuni was a great teacher, and his life was a paradigm of the enlightenment process. Numerous episodes of the Buddha's life are described in Buddhist literature. Among them, the eight great events are the most common, and their representations remain a favorite theme in Buddhist art. The narrative scene depicted in this wood-block print represents one of the life events, namely, the descent from the Trayastrimsha heaven.

When Shakyamuni's mother dies, she is reborn as a deva in the Trayastrimsha heaven which is presided over by the Brahmanical god, Indra. After the Buddha attains enlightenment, he goes to Trayastrimsha to teach the Abhidharma to his mother and other celestial beings. After the three months of teaching in Trayastrimsha, the Buddha decides to return to his disciples and lay followers. His descent from the heaven takes place at Sankashya in modern Uttar Pradesh, India.

The Dhammapada-Atthakatha records that when the Buddha is ready to return, Indra makes three ladders for the Buddha's descent. The ladders connect the summit of Mount Meru, where the Trayastrimsha heaven is located, and the earthly human sphere, near Sankashya city. The ladder, made of jewels, in the middle is used by the Buddha; the right ladder of gold is used by Indra; and the left ladder of silver is used by Brahma (Burlingame, 53). Indra and Brahma are depicted as the Buddha's attendants in the SAMA print.

The most important message that the Descent from the Trayastrimsha has come to represent occurs with the Buddha's arrival at Sankashya. Crowds of people gather there eagerly awaiting the Buddha's return. Everyone wants to greet the great teacher. According to the narratives of the Chinese travelers Faxuan and Xuanzang, there is a nun called Utpali, who vows that she would be the first person to greet the Buddha when he descends from the stairs. However, a simple nun cannot compete against the powerful kings and princes with their elaborate entourages occupying the best spots near the ladders. Yet, as a result of Utpali's devotion, she is transformed into a universal monarch, accompanied by seven treasures and the most elaborate troops, and thus she is able to secure the best position to fulfill her vow. She is the first to greet the Buddha, upon which she reverts back to her original appearance. Recognizing Utpali's devotion, the Buddha predicts her future enlightenment (legge, 49; Beal, 205). As such, the event represents the archetypal prediction of one's enlightenment by a Buddha.

The story, represented in the print, begins from the right top corner. The Buddha is shown here preaching in Trayastrimsha heaven. He is seated in a cross-legged manner, with his right hand in the varada, or bestowal, gesture while his left hand is in the vitarka, or teaching, gesture. There are four figures kneeling before him, listening to his teachings.

Below the heaven, Mount Meru is depicted rising from the center of the great ocean. The mountain is divided into four terraces. The first terrace is the home of the pitchers of water; the second one is the home of the bearers of flower garland; the third one is the home of those always intoxicated; and the fourth, or the highest one, is the home of four guardian kings of the four cardinal directions. This does not depict a physical structure, however, it suggests a sacred place in ones own heart-mind. The sacred place is defined by water, decorated by flowers, and then gathered around by ecstatic practitioners and guardian kings. This is exactly the process that one needs to go through in Buddhist rituals.

In the center of the print is the Buddha descending down from the heaven with Indra and Brahma. The Buddha makes the varada, or bestowal, gesture with his proper right hand. His left hand makes the vitarka, or teaching, gesture. The three-headed Brahma (my own note: this is a mistake - should be four-headed) seen on the left of the painting, and he carries a chauri, or a fly-whisk. Indra, on the right, carries an umbrella. Figures who carry chauris or umbrellas usually serve as servants or attendants to high ranking persons (Huntington, Susan, 53; Huntington, Susan & John, 132). The appearance of Indra and Brahma as the Buddha's attendants demonstrates the supremacy of the Buddha over the Brahmanical gods. The other lesser attendants hold various other offerings, including a chakra, a conch, food offerings, and lotus flowers. In the top left corner of the print, three flying celestial beings are shown pouring offerings, celebrating the Buddha's descent. Numerous treasures appear in the sky to mark this auspicious moment.

At the base of the triple stairs, a group of ten people are shown awaiting the Buddha's return. The figure in very front of the stairs is most probably the nun Utpali. She wears royal garb and rich ornaments. Her right hand holds lotus flowers, and her left hand extends to greet the Buddha. Other figures, waiting to greet the Buddha, hold various offerings including an umbrella, a fan, a chakra, a gem, a cymbal, lotus flowers, and a plate of fruit. Two elephants, probably belonging to a royal entourage, are shown beside these figures.

In the bottom center of the print is a stupa on a lotus base. The stupa bears triple stairs on it, commemorating this great moment, and honoring the sacred site of Sankashya. Numerous offering are placed on either side of the stupa, suggesting the peoples' veneration of this holy place. In the lower right corner of the print is an image of a Buddha seated on a pedestal. Both of the Buddha's hands display the varada, or bestowal, gesture. Two figures kneel before him and hold up their offerings. The shaven-headed figure in monastic robe is undoubtedly the nun Utpali who has returned to her original form. The scene depicts the moment when nun Utpali receives the prediction of enlightenment by the Buddha. This indicates the promise of enlightenment for every Buddhist devotee, even a woman (Huntington, John, 62).

A stupa with the three-faced, eight-armed figure of Ushnishavijaya is shown above the prediction scene. Her primary right hand makes the varada, or bestowal, gesture and the primary left hand displays the abhaya, or fear not, gesture. She also holds an arrow, a rosary in her middle and upper right hands, and a vase, a bow, a water pot in her lower, middle and upper left hands. Ushnishavijaya is the "Victorious Ushnisha," and she is shown here as the mother of all Buddhas.

References:
Beal, Samuel, tran. Si-Yu-Ki. Buddhist Records of the Western World. London: Trubner & Co. Ltd, 1884; reprint, Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corp., 1969.
Burlingame, Eugene Watson, tran. Buddhist Legends, Part III. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1921.
Legge, James, tran. A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886; reprint, New York: Dover Publications Inc.,1965.
Huntington, John C. "Pilgrimage as Image: The Cult of the Astamahapratiharya, Part II," Orientation Vol. 18, No. 8 (1987):55-68.
Huntington, Susan L & John C. Leaves from the Bodhi Tree. Dayton, Ohio: The Dayton Art Institute, 1990.
Huntington, Susan L. The Art of Ancient India. New York & Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1985.
source: http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/exhib/sama/Essays/WL91.001.017DsctTrst.html

Why Request for Buddhas to stay?

... and why perform long life pujas to our Gurus? The article below from Mahidol university will clarify these questions. The story below is the exact reason why the Mahayana (inclusive of Vajrayana) tradition have taken the cue from this story to perform longlife pujas for their gurus and why there is so much emphasis on Guru devotion. If the guru gives you a cue (may not be a direct instruction such as in the story below) to do something, you must be quick to understand what needs to be done even though you may need to guess what he is trying to indicate to you. Venerable Ananda did not understand the Buddha even though he had been the Buddha's close attendant. Are you sure you understand your Guru's actions? Are you sure you are smarter than Ven. Ananda? Maybe by the time you understand, it will be too late, just like what happened to Ven. Ananda.

You need to also think what is the significance of the Buddha accepting Mara's invitation, even though he knew Mara is evil? Does it mean evil has a role to play in the grand design of things (whatever this design or scheme is)?

Read on and reflect deeply. This blog is not just for your reading pleasure!








Notice Mara's hologram-like image in front of the Buddha?




On the full moon of the third month of the Buddha's 45th rains retreat, Mara approached the Buddha and invited him to pass away; the Buddha accepted the invitation.

The Buddha traveled spreading his teaching around various countries and towns for 45 years, counting from the day of his enlightenment. The 45th rains retreat was thus the Buddha's last rains retreat, and at that time the Buddha was 80 years old.

During the last rains retreat the Buddha stayed at Velugama in the state of the town of Vesali. During that rains the Buddha was seriously ill and almost passed away. All the monks who were still unenlightened, even Ananda, the Buddha's personal attendant, felt very ill at ease seeing the Buddha so ill. The Buddha told Ananda that now his body was very old, like an old worn out carriage held together with bamboo.

The Buddha recovered from that illness and after the rains retreat went with Ananda to stay under a tree at the Pavala cetiya in the area of Vesali. During the day the Buddha gave an obhasa nimitta to Ananda that one who had fully developed the four pathways to success (iddhipada) could extend his life for a considerable time.
An obhasa nimitta is in general terms "sign language". The Buddha's life was going to end that very year, so the Buddha was intimating to Ananda that he could invite him to extend his life for a further time, but Ananda did not invite him, even though the Buddha made his statement about the iddhipada three times.

The Pathamasambodhi states that since Ananda didn't catch on, the Buddha sent him off to sit at another tree nearby. It was then that Mara approached the Buddha and invited him to pass away (nibbana). The Buddha accepted his invitation and mentally renounced his life.

To say he "renounced his life" means that he appointed the day of his death. That day was the full moon of the third lunar month. The Buddha said that three months from that day (in the middle of the sixth month) he would pass away at the town of Kusinara.

The Buddha announces to Ananda that he has renounced his life and in three months will pass away

When the Buddha renounced his life, that is, announced the date of his passing away three months in advance, an earthquake occurred. When people heard it their hair stood on end. The Pathamasambodhi states that magical drums resounded through the heavens to announce the event. Ananda, seeing the miraculous events, came out from the foot of the tree he was staying at and approached the Buddha, asking him the reason for the miraculous earthquake. The Buddha told Ananda that there were eight reasons for an earthquake, as follows:

1. Winds [geological factors]
2. Psychic powers
3. A Bodhisatta has come down from heaven to take birth in the human world
4. A Bodhisatta has been born
5. A Buddha has been enlightened
6. A Buddha gives his first sermon
7. A Buddha renounces his life
8. A Buddha passes away

The Buddha told Ananda that the earthquake on that day was a result of him renouncing the rest of his life. Hearing this, Ananda realized what the Buddha had been saying to him earlier in the day, how one who fully developed the four conditions called iddhipada, which are zeal, effort, application and investigation, if he so desired, could extend his life beyond the designated time of its expiry.

Realizing this, Ananda formally invited the Buddha to use the four iddhipada to extend his life, but the Buddha refused. This happened three times. The Buddha explained that he had given the obhasa nimitta (intimations) to Ananda to invite him to extend his life many times, and in many places, and if Ananda had been mindful and invited him then he would have accepted the invitation. In ordinary terms, the Buddha was telling Ananda that it was "too late," because the Buddha has already declared that he had renounced the remainder of his life and would pass away.

Buddhist perspective on sexuality issues

In the Sannoga Sutta, the Buddha talks about dwelling on sexual identity and links it to bondage.

The Blessed One said: "A woman attends inwardly to her feminine faculties, her feminine gestures, her feminine manners, feminine poise, feminine desires, feminine voice, feminine charms. She is excited by that, delighted by that. Being excited & delighted by that, she attends outwardly to masculine faculties, masculine gestures, masculine manners, masculine poise, masculine desires, masculine voices, masculine charms. She is excited by that, delighted by that. Being excited & delighted by that, she wants to be bonded to what is outside her, wants whatever pleasure & happiness that arise based on that bond. Delighting, caught up in her femininity, a woman goes into bondage with reference to men. This is how a woman does not transcend her femininity."

A man attends inwardly to his masculine faculties, masculine gestures, masculine manners, masculine poise, masculine desires, masculine voice, masculine charms. He is excited by that, delighted by that. Being excited & delighted by that, he attends outwardly to feminine faculties, feminine gestures, feminine manners, feminine poise, feminine desires, feminine voices, feminine charms. He is excited by that, delighted by that. Being excited & delighted by that, he wants to be bonded to what is outside him, wants whatever pleasure & happiness that arise based on that bond. Delighting, caught up in his masculinity, a man goes into bondage with reference to women. This is how a man does not transcend his masculinity."

On transgender, according to this monk, it seemed this issue was mentioned in the Vinaya Pitaka. Here’s a text message of Ven. Dr Rahula.

The Vinaya Pitaka, the ancient Buddhist texts that define the rules for Buddhist monks and nuns, record two incidences of sex change that a monk and a nun had gone through. A group of monks and nuns bring the two incidences to the Buddha’s notice. The Buddha accepts their changed status. He allows the former male disciple who became a female to live with female disciples, and the former female disciple to live with males. These episodes indicate the Buddha’s open-mindedness toward transsexual persons. He accepted their bodily changes even though some in his society attributed such changes to the influence of bad Karmas. Some of the sections in the Vinaya Pitaka are obviously later additions, which do not represent the Buddha’s true voice. There is every reason to believe that the Buddha accepted all kinds of people irrespective of any differences they had undergone. The Buddha’s statement that one becomes a noble person not by birth but by one’s behavior confirms this conclusion. “Birth” means wealth, social status, and physical appearance including the gender of a particular person. Change of a certain person’s gender has no connection to the evaluation of that person. Only wholesome behavior—wholesome words, actions, and thoughts—makes a person noble. - Bhante Rahula Basnagoda, PhD

And this are my thoughts on gays and lesbians and transexuals:

By reenforcing our attachment to our genders, it will create karmic imprints that will potentially result in us being reborn in future lives as the gender that we are attached to, in many, many lifetimes. Or, sometimes it happens the opposite way. We might be reborn itno the gender that we hate so much. This is something to consider. Be careful.

All things are ultimately empty of inherent existence , including our concepts of sexuality. If anyone has too much attachment to gender or sexuality, I would strongly advice the person to study Emptiness... especially the Madhyamika school of emptiness. In the end, we will arrive at the conclusion that there is no such thing as inherently gay or lesbian or even heterosexual in anyone. These are just concepts that persons impute on themselves. Don't take my word for it, check it out, study Nagarjuna's, Chandrakirti's and Tsongkhapa's texts on the subject.

"Trapped" within Emptiness

I was studying the LRCM yesterday, particularly the chapter on dependent arising and emptiness. From this chapter, I realized that it is because things are empty of inherent existence, that there is so much suffering in this world. In other words, it is due to emptiness, everything in this world arise. How do things arise? From causes and conditions, i.e. dependent upon its parts and sub-parts that come together. That’s why it’s called “dependent arising”. It depends on other factors and conditions to arise. Otherwise, nothing can arise, from aggregates, self, and all inner and outer phenomena. Our bodies arise, for example, due to the union of our fathers and mothers. Our minds arise due to the five aggregates. From these, we create the causes of suffering. Then when the time comes, we suffer from its result - i.e. pain. And it is also because of causes and conditions that it is possible for suffering to end and uproot the causes, and finally attaining nirvana. It, then dawns on me, that if this is the case, then it will be difficult for us to get out of “emptiness”, i.e. duality of samsara and nirvana. Wouldn’t it?

It is only from here that I understand why the monotheistic religions are so appealing. It’s because they create in their minds a self-existing, or inherently existing Eternal God, that creates everything else, except itself. If there is such an entity, then it would mean, there will not be any suffering. The only ones who suffer will be the subjects that he had created and willed to suffer. However, these subjects cannot and will never become God, but they could become souls “in the image of God” because God breathe its spirit into the soul. Some variants of these religions talk about possibility of union with God. All these are based on the belief in existence of a “self”. Buddhism is the only one talking about non-self and emptiness. Does that mean we are hopelessly “trapped” in emptiness? It is like trapped in the Tai Chi circle of Yin-Yang. That was what I thought when I went to sleep last night.

Then this morning, something came to my mind. The Lotus Sutra and other sutras do talk about the Eternal Life Tathagata. This concept is also mirrored in the concept of “Amitayus” – translated as Buddha of Infinite Life. It is said in one of the books I have read that this “Eternal Life Tathagata” is so important that it is the central message of the Mahayana tradition, and it is the primary message of the Lotus Sutra. Is it similar to the God-concept, then? Hmm, let’s think about it. The eternal life tathagata is the Dharmakaya. I think it means it lives within the body of knowledge. It is referring to the Buddha living within Dharma. Remember that the Buddha said, “He who sees the Dharma sees me”? And in the Sanghata Sutra, it is mentioned that, “The Sanghata Sutra is the Tathagata”. And since dharma is knowledge, i.e. nothing compounded. Things that are not compounded, like space, are not subject to impermanence and suffering. Hence, it is beyond existence and non-existence. As mentioned in the Heart Sutra – “…beyond Nirvana!” , others translate as "...beyond error, end point of Nirvana", another translate as "...beyond the bounds of sorrow". It is like the shatterring of the Tai-Chi of Ying and Yang. Then we are no longer controlled by it. The Arhats may have attained Nirvana but they are not beyond Nirvana yet. That is why attaining Arhatship is not the end of the journey yet according to the Mahayanists. Do you understand now? The Eternal Life Tathagata gives hope to Buddhists of being free from all dualistic trappings, and yet it is not the same as the inherently existing God-concept of other religions. The Eternal Life Tathagata is the Dharmakaya aspect of the Buddha.









The word – beyond – is so important, yet I have missed it all the time until lately. I am sure many other Buddhists have missed that word, and just read as “attaining Nirvana”. So, there is yet hope for sentient beings. Great! Now I don’t have to convert to other religions. He! He! He! …I am just joking. I have never thought of doing so. Do all these make any sense to anyone? If it does not, please ignore. :)

The Buddha's saving powers

The Day our Lord Buddha descended from Tushita Heaven is coming soon. It’s one of the most special Buddhist days every year. It’s the day I reaffirm my faith and gratitude in the triple gem and rejoice in the deeds of the Buddha and all his emanations in the past, present and future times. I have many, many, many reasons to thank the Buddha for. There are several occasions when I know my life had been saved by the Buddha, and many other occasions when I may not necessarily know it is due to the Buddha’s blessing, but nonetheless it is still due to the Buddha’s blessing.


One such occasion that I know is due to the Buddha is when I was walking back from tuition many years ago. As a school boy, at that time my body size was really shorter and smaller. As I nearly reach my house, I suddenly realized there was this huge black dog (I think it is greyhound or something, with thin waist) trailing me. I did not do anything to him or disturbed him, just walking slowly. When it turned fierce suddenly, I walked a bit faster. Suddenly I noticed the dog was also faster coming towards me. My heart was beating very fast, and I walked even faster. I don’t really know what to do... I wanted to walk into somebody’s house but all the gates were not opened. Then I started to almost-like- running-but-not-running because I knew if I ran, it will be worst. However, the dog started chasing after me even though I was not running. It was doing a 100m dash towards me. In my mind, I thought I was finished. I was going to be dog meat. The dog started to jump and leap towards me….In that split second, thank goodness, 2 persons came to my thoughts: first, Sakyamuni Buddha, second, Bhagavan Sai Baba. At that time, I did not have any formal Buddhist monk-teacher yet even though I had started studying Budhist teachings already. I did a quick mental prayer and … I did not know why I did that but I thought I put my palms together and turned towards the dog. I did not know what happened, but the dog immediately did an "emergency brake"... or fell down or something ...and made a quivering sound, very quickly it turned around and ran away even faster.

Phew! That was very close to being dog meat. Can you imagine how scared I was at that time? I think even now if I see a big dog, I will still be as frightened. Upon reaching home, I did many rounds of the mantra “Tayatha Om Muni Muni …”. After that, I never saw the dog again.

So, was it Sakyamuni Buddha who saved me? Or, was it Bhagavan Sai Baba (who was not even physically there)? What made the fierce dog suddenly turn around so quickly and dash off, like a dharma protector had suddenly appeared before it? I guess I will never know but one thing is for sure, is that I have many reasons to thank the Buddha. Sure I do!

This is just one occasion that I want to share with you and hopefully inspire some faith in the power of the Triple Gems. DO NOT DOUBT THE BUDDHA'S WISDOM AND COMPASSION FOR US! I am sure you guys have your stories too. So, I rejoice with you all in the Triple Gem on the ocasion of the Buddha's descend from Tushita Heaven, as well as regret if I have done or said something wrong to anybody.

Buddham Saranam gacchami
Dhammam saranam gacchami
Sangham Saranam gacchami x3