Calamities

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ca•lam•ity noun [C, U] (pl. -ies) an event that causes great damage to people’s lives, property, etc. disaster

This morning read about a friend's colleague's tragic death:
GM dies in freak accident and my friend who was there was traumatised. Later, another friend was unhappy and stressed. Later in the afternoon, found out that a friend will probably be sued in court.

Anyway, I can't help in the first case, probably can only pray for him. For the second and third, I recommended Tara :) . So I am a Tara fan today (proud to be one too!). It's enlightening to find out on the net that the Sanskrit root târ- means "to traverse" or "cross over" as in using a bridge to ford a stream. I just hope that they will be able to traverse the sea of calamities.

At this point, I recalled the mail forwarded to me this morning entitled Contentment.


CONTENTMENT

Read the following story... it may change your views about life: After a conversation with one of my friends, he told me despite taking 2 jobs, he brings back barely above 1K per month, he is happy as he is. I wonder how he can be as happy as he is considering he has to skimp his life with the low pay to support a pair of old parents, in-laws, a wife, 2 daughters and the many bills of a household. He explained that it was through one incident that he saw in India ... that happened a few years ago when he was really feeling low and touring India after a major setback.

He said that right in front of his very eyes he saw an Indian mother chop off her child's right hand with a chopper. The helplessness in the mother's eyes, the scream of pain from the innocent 4-year-old child haunted him until today. You may ask why did the mother do so; had the child been naughty, had the child's hand been infected?? No, it was done for two simple words- - -TO BEG! The desperate mother deliberately caused the child to be handicapped so that the child could go out to the streets to beg.

Taken aback by the scene, he dropped a piece of bread he was eating half-way. And almost instantly, flock 5 or 6 children swamped towards this small piece of bread which was covered with sand, robbing bits from one another. The natural reaction of hunger. Stricken by the happenings, he instructed his guide to drive him to the nearest bakery. He arrived at two bakeries and bought every single loaf of bread he found in the bakeries. The owner was dumbfounded but willingly sold everything. He spent less than $100 to obtain about 400 loaves of bread (this is less than $0.25 per loaf) and spent another $100 to get daily necessities. Off he went in the truck full of bread into the streets. As he distributed the bread and necessities to the children (mostly handicapped) and a few adults, he received cheers and bows from these unfortunate.

For the first time in his life he wondered how people can give up their dignity for a loaf of bread which cost less than $0.25. He began to tell himself how fortunate he is. How fortunate he is to be able to have a complete body, have a job, have a family, have the chance to complain what food is nice and what isn't nice, have the chance to be clothed, have the many things that these people in front of him are deprived of...

Now I begin to think and feel it too! Was my life really that bad? Perhaps... no, I should not feel bad at all... What about you? Maybe the next time you think you are, think about the child who lost one hand to beg on the streets.

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want; it is the realization of how much you already have." When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.


Food & Friendship

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YES! After 2 nights of Italian food (nice food & nice company) , I couldn't control my urge and went to have a big bowl of spicy sour hot Tomyum for lunch with my partner-in-crime Mistyjoanne.

*those are my fingers there waiting to 'dig in'* :)

*satisfied grin after the meal*(unsuitable to be displayed on this blog hehe)

I am glad that in my life, there are two things that I never lack: good food and good friends :)

Somehow, 'food' has brought me something more than stuff to fill my stomach. It brought something to fill my heart (friendship) and head (dharma) too :) !

For one, I got to know WM, my precioussssss (Trying to impersonate Gollum :P) dharma friend I would have no valid/ logical idea to be a friend to. I contacted him just to find out about the whereabouts of my friend Mark. Who would know that this would lead to foodcrawls, getting to know more friends and eventually KH.

And I guess my 'merits' accumulated from:

a) circumambulating 1 Utama with my friend
Mistyjoanne (our common passion = good food ) looking for dinner OR

b) driving a few rounds ( I was lost!) near KH trying to get to the restaurant for the foodcrawl organised by WM


actually paid off, haha!

For a) I actually saw a poster of Dzambala Mystical Treasures which I thought I should visit one day to check out some dharma stuff. (This was BEFORE I even know about KH)
* Went there last night and bought a nice White Tara pendant :)
- Thanks JT, you are such a nice person :)
- Mr thanks for bringing me there :)

For b) I finally get to visit KH after WM lured me by offering me free dinner at Melinda's (we went there for dessert during the foodcrawl). They say the way to a man's [ & a woman's too!] heart is through the stomach, no doubt about that!

Rejoice! For good food (what, I am from Penang what, food food food :P) and good friends :) !!


Back in the netherworld of 9 to 6

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Tuesday morning.. I am back in the 9 to 6 "work work work till you are fed-up and get in the jam to go home" routine. Last night was so mentally exhausted that I slept from 7pm till 8am this morning. Yes, it happened again! I guess I will see more of that soon with my workload. There will be more work to come as I might have to travel in mid April to Thang Long again. It's a nice city, but I am not going there to have a holiday :( !

Read this from Tsem Article:

Dear friends, we see how ants work so hard to drag crumbs, dig and build ant holes, jostle to mate with female and then maybe ‘securely’ die. In between, someone may step on the anthill, it rains and myriads of other incidences to arise to take away the hard earned security. Our life’s like that but just longer and the gods, even longer. But no matter where, there is NO security in samsara. As long as we continue to work towards that we will become disillusioned, depressed and tumble down no matter how ‘high’ we get. No matter how much we build towards that it will be constantly threatened, taken away, or we lose it in the end. Our bad karma and its results is the pursuit of that. And our sufferings arises in the strong habituated belief that THERE IS SECURITY.

It's sad that I have to succumb to a lifestyle that will build this "false sense of security" at the moment. I need to clear my debt & loans & pay the bills :(

I really need to work harder in samsara (at the moment) and also dharma :)

*listening to manjushri mantra now in the office while working*

May all who are stuck in the world of multi-tasking, endless meetings, "battling" behind their cluttered desk in front of a PC... I offer every happiness and benefit to all of you. Ok, I am not that "holy" to take upon myself all your harmful actions and suffering yet :P

But I do pity you who do not have broadband to surf the internet and 'legally' able to use IM to chat in the office, plus Harman Kardon speakers to listen to your favourite tunes at work :P (Ok, I should not show off or they will be taken away from me :P)

For those who are 'blessed' with speakers/headphone at work, do listen to Imee here: IMM Music. Hope it will temporarily relieve you from the mundane office atmosphere with all the harmful gossips and politics ! (yucks!)

May every slave worker in the corporate offices get promoted, get an increment, get a good 'social' life, able to have lunch NOT with their colleagues, able to escape the jams through shortcuts and reach home safely everyday to hit the sack after watching their favourite programme on Astro!

Ok gotta get back to work or I will lose even this false sense of security!


Humbling day :)

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Today went for dharma class. Interesting talk/discussion about obstacles for practice etc. It is difficult when one's parents do not understand or support what one wants to do. I rejoice because my parents never stop me from what I want to do, in fact, they would start nagging me when I was 'lazy'. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that encourages dharma and compassion and practice. Rejoice!

Two guests (Rinpoche & Geshe) from Ganden Shartse Monastic College also answered a lot of questions that were 'fundamental' but we didn't know the answers to. We also got to know how the daily schedule of a monk is like. Ain't that easy ok and more hectic than those working in the Big 4 and no high salary :P ! And we complain about working from 9 to 5. Inspiring session. Thanks to Mr. Molk's for his translation too.

Later WM invited me to 'visit' a project that he's participating at Rumah Ozaman, an orphanage in PJ Old Town. Bunch of very nice kids :) Sometimes it takes being in a situation like this to remind ourselves how lucky we are compared to some other people. Rejoice! WM, Kaz and all the volunteers are such kind people :) (*bow*)

I miss my parents... I want my mummy and papa :*( (haha... ok I cannot believe I actually said that *embarassed*) Dunno if I get to see them soon though :(

Ok tiring day.. gonna hit the sack... I am so exhausted... Partly because of the stomach discomfort I got from last night till now :(

Praise for volunteers all over the world who are doing work out of kindness and sacrificing their time and energy for the benefit of others. The true spirit of altruism!







I have been to so many weddings these few years because my friends and I are of the 'suitable' age to get married and have kids before it's too late :P. I begin to wonder how should a wedding banquet be? Should it be grand, as much as one can afford and throw a party that will leave an impression for a lifetime (not to mention how long it would take to pay off your credit card haha!) Should it be mediocre, a Chinese 8-course banquet with powerpoint presentation? Should it be small and just the 'no fuss' way?

I attended a small scale wedding dinner of 4 tables this evening at a Chinese restaurant. No powerpoint presentation, no loud theme song for food presentation borrowed from Mission Impossible, Starwars or Kitaro or some box office hit, no 'bride changing dresses for at least 3 times throughout the dinner' thing. Very simple to the extent that I guess other guests of the restaurant wouldn't know that it was a wedding banquet. The bride looked as gorgeous with minimal make-up (and exhausted as most brides do; who would not as MARRIAGE was given a 50 points score in a stress test, when BEING FIRED FROM WORK scores only 47 points :P ). She wore a simple white blouse and trousers (no dress even!) but the couple looked as happy as any other bride and bridegroom I've met during countless dinners.

I've attended too many fancy weddings that I was surprise by how cosy I felt at a simple and 'down to earth' wedding tonight. I actually get to talk to the bride and groom the whole evening and had a few drinks and laughed with them, and even went mamak with them afterwards :D! Compared to those fancy weddings where you only get to see your 'friend' (bride/ groom) for a few seconds when you pass them the red envelope or at the end of the banquet when you shake his/her hand before you quickly rush to your car to avoid the jam out of the parking at the hotel, oh not forgetting how costly it is to park at a hotel :( !

And the whole cost of the banquet this evening? Let's just say I can afford this banquet if I don't go shopping for 2 months ;)

Well, there will be more weddings to attend this year... More theme songs and powerpoint presentations :P *yawn* I wonder (if I ever get married) how people would react if I played Powerpuff Girls theme song for my wedding dinner haha!

♪ Blossom, commander and the leader
Bubbles, she is the joy and the laughter
Buttercup, she's the toughest fighter
Powerpuffs save the day...
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the Powerpuff Girls ♪


Rejoice!

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Nope, not promoting a certain brand of shampoo, but rather what I felt and should feel last night.I went to a Tsok Offering and a dharma talk was given pre-tsok. The Tsok or Tsog offering consists of prayers to proceed with cultivation of proper motivation, visualizing the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, various deities, lineage teachers and so forth, as well as consecration of the offering and the dedication. They are an excellent method for accumulating merit, purifying negativity and receiving blessings.

Twice a month, based on the lunar calendar, the practice of tsok offering is done. It is a commitment for those practicing tantra to restore and reaffirm their vows and pledges. Rinpoche was very compassionate in allowing non-tantric practitioners (like me, ahem ahem) to attend tsok to get the blessings. He also gave a good talk about transforming our mind, as always. I rejoice because it is the wonderful dharma that will liberate not only ourselves but all other mother sentient beings as well. Although my legs won't rejoice a bit after sitting from 8pm to 1am , haha :P Stupid legs!


Tiesto F1 Pit Party Videos

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Thanks to the technology of video recording from mobile phones and the 'kindness' of tonnes of people who took the effort to record Tiesto [Thanks a million for your effort !], below are some 'cun' videos ...

FYI, I was too busy 'doof doof doof doof'-ing away to record anything :P

Warning: The audio quality might not be so good (c'mon la, how good can a phone mic be, camcorders are not allowed ok :P)

The opening act is fantastic (better than a new year countdown!) by blogger Shaolin Tiger (good work!) Check out the Chinese 24 season drummers around the console




The hit Traffic and fireworks
I missed this :( ! The miss is not "to discover the absence or loss of" but rather the "fail to attend" miss. I went home oredi :~ (



The hit Love Comes Again



Check out the Indian dance with Tiesto's music
Do you think people from Temple of Fine Arts might wanna try some 'alternative' music? :P




Conclusion : It was the best-est, cun-est rave. I wonder if people on the plane waiting to land at KLIA could actually see the thousands of people dancing away with fireworks and flashing lasers. I heard that ticket sales was more than 20,000. I dunno if I will ever live long enough to go to a Tiesto rave again. Well, he might do a gig or two in Zouk KL as he did during the Heineken Thirst Tour in 2004. But I want fresh air! The last time Paul Van Dyk played at Zouk KL I actually had to go out for half an hour to 'breathe fresh air' :( When will we have more 'open air' gigs with all these great DJs minus the suffocating smoke from smoke machine and ciggies?


T-T-T-Tiesto was a blast!

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The event I had been waiting for :



After weeks of waiting:



It was one good rave party with Tiesto! World Class DJ, amazing lighting, console with psychedelic lights, lasers and fireworks! Not forgetting Lion dance, Dragon Dance, Kompang, and Bharanatyam performance with Tiesto's music! It's a new fusion haha...

It's always good to listen to masters like Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk and Armin Van Buuren and there's nothing like listening to them LIVE!!! So much energy radiates from the music (not forgetting the blasting speakers) and the sight of thousands of hot sweating bodies moving to a rhythm. It was said that we could trace trance music back to religious roots emanating from a spiritual state of mind reminiscent of shamanism and elements of buddhism. Interesting history. No wonder trance music is like a 'religion' of its own with its 'followers'. Tiesto is famous for his sell out of a solo stadium event for 25, 000 people in Amsterdam. That's a huge "cult" on its own :P

I wonder if people will start switching to Tiesto when they meditate instead of Zen and meditation CDs? :D


About me

  • I'm Yeshe D
  • From Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Just a simple being in samsara who seeks happiness and tries to avoid suffering.. no more, no less
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