Posts
Giving you four update nuggets: -
1. Understanding how rebirth happens. On early morning (1.20am) of Friday 17 June 2022, while doing Vipassana meditation before I go to sleep, I thought I finally understood how rebirth can take place in spite of there being no self. Usually people believe that it is the alaya vijnana/ consciousness that goes to another birth. But the problem with this believe is that you will fall into the wrong idea of a “self”. If you believe in this idea, then the alaya becomes your “self” and that is NOT correct according to the concept of Anatta. Understanding it on our own, intuitively, is very much difference from theoretical understanding, particularly when theoretical understanding is impossible. It is very much like the Zen koans whereby theoretical understanding is impossible and even senseless to do so. Having read the Maha Satipatthana commentaries as well as Dhamma books by Theravadan monks, it helps in gaining this understanding on the rebirth process. This realisation is just a realisation; not an attainment. There is nothing special in it. I did not obtain anything too. It is a knowledge that is already there, but obscured by ignorance.
2. Gyalwa Gyatso initiation. On 13 and 14 June 2022, I obtained the Avalokiteshvara Jinasagara (another name for "Gyalwa Gyatso") initiation from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. But from my side it is imperfect because of 2 reasons. One, I obtained it through the online Youtube channel, not physical presence. So, all the objects used during the ceremony did not get passed to me, not touched by me. I was also not blindfolded not did I obtain the small white-coloured leaf that we are supposed to wear it on the head. I was also late for the 2nd day initiation. Furthermore I was also not aware of the details of the tantric vows. Hahaha…. I was like just blindly following. I did not have much choice as this is an initiation that was said by one Rinpoche that is suitable for me. I had been waiting for roughly 16 long years for Gyalwa Gyatso highest yoga tantra. I never take any other HYT, not do I intent to. Only Gyalwa Gyatso initiation for me. But I tried my best to follow and regard it as received. I did use some dried stalks (used for cleaning or dusting) and cut it out to place under my pillow and under my mattress. His Holiness advised audience to observe their dreams whether it is auspicious dream or not. This is a typical initiation process. He said that if you dream of the deity or Guru, then it is auspicious. Or, if you dream of climbing up something, then it is also auspicious. But if you dream of something and after that you feel tired or nervous (i.e. all these negative feelings), then it is inauspicious. I dreamed of attempting to climb over a big chair which was against a huge wall. I was stretching my hand out to those people who already climbed over to help me pull over. And I was also afraid I may fall down, instead of climbing over. But nobody seems wanted to help me. In the end, someone did. But in the dream, I was told that in actual fact I was never at risk of falling down. The reason is, if I put down my feet, I can touch the ground. It wasn’t really that high anyway. In other words, I was only frightening myself. I can actually push myself a little harder and I can climb over. Hmmm…. That is some piece of advice for me! Something for me to think over and digest. If you are interested in the ceremony, you should note that the ceremony was recorded in Youtube in two videos.
3. Bodhisattva Vows. I also took the Bodhisattva Vows from Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen. This was done virtually on Tuesday 14 June 2022. I was getting nervous due to I was short of internet data and the session was getting longer and longer. It was wrong of me to want to end it faster. So, this is my public apology. I realised that other than our karma, the Bodhisattva vows are the only things we can take with us after we die. The vows also serve as our protection in the after life. So, I have no regrets taking it. Thank you, Khenchen-la for giving us the Vows. He used a Drikung Kagyu text entitled “The Lion’s Fountain”, composed by His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Tinle Lhundup. Essentially, we are going over and recommitting to the Four Great Vows in Mahayana Buddhism.
4. Tableau & Data Visualisation. I have also been busy prepping for the Data Visualisation Challenge that was on 15 June 2022. I after a few months of learning data analytics visualisation with storytelling using Tableau, I am glad I did better than expected. I didn’t expect to get so much positive comments as I was nervous during my presentation. Also there are other candidates who already had prior skill in Tableau. They are much better in using Tableau. But the judges said I did the data cleaning very well. I uncovered quite a number of data errors. Mind you, we were provided with actual data from one of the clients of the organiser. I had been very busy with this challenge lately and had little time to update my blog. Anyway, glad I did well and hope to put this to good use in my job hunting. Perhaps one day I will use this Tableau to do some in-depth analysis of profile of Buddhist meditators as well as their meditation methods employed.
So, that’s all my updates for now.
