Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Avatar Movie

I watched the Avatar movie over the Christmas holidays. I must say I liked the whole plot and storyline. Not forgetting to mention that the entire movie was also beautifully crafted, again with alot of subtle threads linking their imaginary world into our own world. I just wanted to share what I got out of it.

Mankind has discovered a very valuable mineral (read worth alot of cash) on the beautiful lush green (again more puns of money growing on trees) world of Pandora. Tempted by greed, humans have encroached into the homeland of the Navis in an attempt to reclaim these very expensive and valuable mineral, even to the extent of destroying the very home that these folks lived in (kind of reminds me of elves living in their tree homes). Their home is this HUGE GIGANTIC tree that literally housed the entire tribe (like Yggdrasil, the world tree in Norse mythology).

The Navis believed that everything is linked to one another (Eywa is the mother of all things on Pandora, in the movie Sigourney Weaver's character said that all the plants and trees on Pandora were linked via a network of roots that is even more complicated then the human brain). That all come from the energy. Such energy is only borrowed (all living things on Pandora). Eventually that energy would have to be returned (death, and the Navis bury their dead under the roots of their home tree).

In the movies, there were these little floating jellyfish like creatures. Neytiri (the main female charater of the Navi, and Jake Scully's love interest) describes these creatures as very pure spirits, seedlings from the mother tree (sounds like their translation of the devas in our world, they even look a little like them if you have ever seen them before in photos). So anyways, I doubt I should go on any further for the benefit of those who have not seen the movie. For the practitioners of Buddhism, it is not too hard to see the links at this point. In Buddhist teachings, we have been told that we all come from the same thing, and will return to it someday (when we realise our ONE TRUE SELF). That we are all one, therefore we should not differentiate, but treat each one equally for we are one and the same. That is also why all things are transient (forever changing) and hence empty (not real; we may think that it is real because we were conditioned to think thus. Just like when one is sleeping and having a dream, everything in the dream would be real to the dreamer, once the dreamer awakens, he/she will realise that it was a dream. Just like how Jake Scully becomes his Navi Avatar in the beginning). Thus, the life we lead now is empty. It is not too difficult to see that if we are empty, and everything we can see and touch is empty, why do we then insist on accumulating even more stuff that is also empty. When we pass on, we cannot bring any of it into the after life (or next life, depending on how you look at it).

However, this is not to say that you should give up everything immediately. If you do decide to do that, you would have achieved alot of what most people cannot (of course all the Buddhas and Boddhsattvas of the 10 directions of incalculable realms of existence will rain down blessings on you, if you could do that) . There is still the responsibility to others around us. We must always keep that in mind when we act. We may strive to achieve spiritual greatness, but we should also strive to not affect negatively of others around us (this is why greed is bad, becoz greed tempts people to accumulate what they want irregardless of the consequences to others. This is illustrated very well in the whole movie).

Before I end this post, I would just like to add that when the outlook of things look bad, everything looks bleak, all hope is loss, and you feel hopeless. It may not be a bad idea to just quiet yourself down and pray (to whatever God, Diety, Boddisattva, or Buddha) tell them of the problems, and what you will need help in. Your prayers might just be answered in the most unexpected ways, you will just have to be patient. From my own personal experience, if your prayers were of unselfish motives, the answer will definitely come. If you feel that your prayers may not be answered, there is still no harm in trying. What you gain is a moment of peace, what you lost is just a few minutes of your lives. (Just like what Jake Scully did in the movie, despite what Neytiri said about Eywa, his prayers were answered) These loving spirits who watches over us are closer then you think they are.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

2012 The Movie

So I watch the movie 2012 a few weeks ago. It was exactly what I had expected it to be, alot of "action" and "drama". The movie did a pretty good job of weaving all the little pieces of factual information peppered all over the world about the "end of the mayan calendar", into an action packed tale. Hopefully, the good intentioned message for the entire movie was not lost amongst all the drama and special effects.The underlying message was that we all need to abandon all our masks, and pretenses. No matter how rich, or how powerful you are; at the very basic level we are all still human, one of the same kind, both weak and frail in comparison to the wrath of mother nature. And when we are near the end, none of that really matters. When we are stripped down to our basics, and bare necessities, we are all nothing, and all we will have is each other, and possibly the clothes on our backs to keep us all decent. Time to repent, shed all our prejudices, pretenses, masks, and arrogance. Embrace our humanity as we should have done right from the start, like we are all equal and from the same family.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

About Gossip and Idle Talk

Ever since I was young, the bigger people around me are always saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." To an extent, it is true. Sticks and stones will inflict physical harm, but words will never inflict any physical harm. Whoever coined that phrase must have been a very smart person to use those words to console another who felt hurt by words from another.

I did say "hurt" by words didn't I? Yes they do hurt! I am sure most of us have heard of the saying that "the pen is mightier then the sword." Words do hurt, and they cut deeper then sticks and stones. The physical wounds that sticks and stones inflict, if they do not kill you, will heal over time albeit with some scarring. The severity of the scar, and the time taken for the physical wounds to heal will depend on how severe the physical damage was. Obviously, the more severe the damage the longer it will take to heal, and the deeper the scars will be.

However, the damage words inflict are emotional. They are hidden from plain sight, no one will know you are bleeding inside, figuratively speaking. None outside will know the severity of this bleeding with just a look. This bleeding could last for days, weeks, months, years, even decades. Yes, that is how severe this kind of injury can be. The emotional hurt inflicted by words can be immeasurable. Sometimes it can even be contagious and the people around the person hurt might also feel hurt, like a disease. This bleeding can sometimes manifest itself as depression, very commonly, and at other times manifests itself as other forms of mental disorders like personality disorders, abnormal behaviours, etc. The ironic thing about all this is that it can be started with just a single sentence, a small phrase, or a word. For example, a father telling a child that he/she is worthless, or a child calling another insecure kid that he/she is fat, etc. This does not only happens to children, it happens to adolescents and adults too. One need not look far to see examples of this.

Have a gentle survey of the office at which you work at, keep your keen ears out for idle talk and gossips going round. Or in a school environment in areas where people tend to gather, one is bound to catch wind of some "juicy" gossip or a little idle talk. Most people think that this kind of talk is harmless. In some cases it is, in others it is NOT. The scary part is, none knows when the talk is harmful or harmless.

When idle talk, or gossip, harms someone, the Universal Law of Cause and Effect goes into play. The creator of any harmful talk starts accruing karmic debt for all the harm the talk has harmed. Propagators of such talk also accrues karmic debt, and the original creator of the talk also accrues debt again for causing the propagators to accrue debt. As the talk starts to inflict hurt on the people around surrounding the subject of the talk, debt mounts on the propagators, and the creator yet again. As this carry on, it is not hard to see that the creator of such talk starts to accrue karmic debt many fold as the idle talk spreads. The bottom line is all this karmic debt will have to be repaid some day. And the only the owners of the debt can repay the debt, none will be able to help.

Let all be warned when you feel like talking about something related to someone, especially if you are not sure if it is true or not. Even if it was true, do you have any business discussing someone else's business with someone else, if it was not for the purpose of therapy?

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Halloween

The celebration of Halloween has its roots back in the days when the Celts still lived in Ireland. This was over 2000 years ago. It was a celebration for the beginning of their new year, which starts on the 1st of November. The Celts believed that on the eve of the new year, the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead becomes blurred. The ghosts and spirits of the dead returned to the world of the living to wreak some havoc. They also believed that it is easier for their Celtic priests and Druids to make their prediction on this day. Thus, they build huge sacred bonfires where people would gather to make offerings to the Celtic dieties. During the celebration, the celts also dressed themselves up to go around attempting to make predictions about each others' futures.

Eventually, the celts were conquered by the Romans. Their traditions and practices were also assimilated into the Roman culture. Over the course of time, this festive day became the way it is today.

The Chinese also have a similar "celebration" known as the Hungry ghost festival. However, it does not fall on the same day as Halloween, and it does not last for one day but one month. The Chinese believed that on the 7th month of the Lunar Calendar all ghosts in Hell are given a month of vacation from their suffering. These ghosts return to earth to be amongst the living to do as they will. In order to appease these playful and sometimes destructive spirits, peace offerings are made to them.

Anyways, by now most of you will be wondering where am I going with all this talk about spirits, ghosts, and the other world/s. The intent is two fold; first and foremost is the hope that you will enjoy the festivities to the best of your understanding. Second, is to not discount things we are not able to perceive with our sense as fairy tales and make believes. It has been scientifically proven that our humanly 5 senses has limits. Dogs and cats can hear sounds beyound our normal hearing range. Dogs can smell things we cannot smell. Bats can navigate their surrounding by just using sounds.

With that, have a Happy Halloween everyone, and be safe.

Monday, October 19, 2009

A Simple Story

I read this story sometime ago, I apologize for not remembering the source. What I do remember though is that the story was from a source talking about Buddhist teachings. It is a very simple story that holds some meaningful and thoughtful lessons.

A man fell off the edge of the cliff, but was able to stop his fall by hanging onto some roots that was protruding out of the face of the cliff. However, he was not able to climb up the cliff because it was too steep, and the way down was just NOT an option either. With no where to go, he started praying to the Buddha for help. Then he heard a loud booming voice, "let go of the root that you are hanging on to and I will catch you with the palm of my hand." The man looked down but could not see anything below him, except the ground which he will probably land with a loud "splat" if he were to let go. The man replied "but I don't see your hand below me at all." To this, the Buddha replied "if you let go I will be able to catch you with my hand." The man replied "but how can I be sure that you will catch me if I let go?" The Buddha said "if you don't let go I will not be able to catch you." Again, the man said "but how can I be sure that you are not lying to me?" The Buddha said, "if you don't let go, you will never know!"

The moral of the story here is, sometimes we just need to have a little blind faith in order to experience something new. Only then are we able to learn what the new experience has to offer us, thus allowing us to decide for ourselves if the new experience is for us and if we want to continue with it.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

End of days 2012 (edited)

I've been reading alot on the web about the 2012 end of days stuff. I have compared that to what I know about the things I know about 2012. Thus, I thought I might write something about it in hopes of dispelling some of the doom and gloom atmosphere surrounding the topic.

The Mayan Calendar ends on Dec. 21st 2012. It does NOT MARK in anyways end of the world. No, judgement day will not be happening then, as far as christianity is concerned. This date just marks the end of the cycle that they used for their calendar. The Incans called this day end of their Pachacuti. I recall reading somewhere that when the Spanish invaded them it was also at the end of another Pachacuti; and Earth still exists today, so it is NOT the end of the world.

One thing for sure that will happen is that for the first time in several thousands of years, the Earth, Sun, and the center of the Milky Way Galaxy will be aligned. Scientifically speaking, those are just the facts. Spiritually speaking, it may have other implications. I've read somewhere also that the magnetic poles will be realigned. I've also read that Shambala (if it exists) will be realigned. Again, when we start venturing into the occult and sprituality, there will not be any proof of anything until it actually happens and you can verify it for yourself (if you are able to percieve it, in the first place).

The Incans also believed that Dec 21st 2012 also marks a new beginning for all of Mankind. It marks the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. We are currently in the Age of Pisces. This new age would mean changes will happen for all of us. Changes that will pervade many facets of our life. The Age of Aquarius is supposed to be the Golden Age of Mankind, where mankind becomes more enlightened. I am sure I mentioned some of these things in a previous post, hence I shall not dwell on it more.

Dec 21st 2012 coming to pass is a GOOD thing. I personally cannot wait for it to happen, and wish that it would come sooner. We should not fear what will be coming on that day. We fear because we are attached to all the materialistic wealth we possess. We fear not knowing what will happen to all of it when the day comes. If you stop and think about it some, that is a little silly.

Lets just assume for a minute that "all the continental plates will move 1 meter in a direction." Yes, that is going to cause an Earthquake everywhere and no place is safe. So if this Earthquake is going to tear down everyone's house, or open a sink hole 10m deep and 20m wide on your property, can you do anything about it ? Its still going to happen wether you worry about it now, or then. So why spend so much energy worrying over something that is going to happen in the future, even then we are not sure if it will happen. Direct that energy somewhere where is more well deserved, like being kind to someone, or make someone else happy everyday. That way, even if you really have to die on that day, you'd die knowing that you have made so many people happy before that fateful day. Move on and maybe meet them again in your next life. And maybe then its their turn to make you happy, after all a good turn deserves another. Or like the Buddhist say, "you reap what you sow."

In summary, there is no need to worry about whats coming up. Live an enlightened life now, so you would not regret later, come what may. Let time itself worry about time.

Edit : A little message from Reverend Jing Kung
Our environment is a reflection of our heart (inner self). If we think about bad things, bad things will happen. If we think about good things, good things will happen. Thus, if we keep thinking that bad calamities will happen in the year 2012, then bad calamities will happen then. Alternatively, if we all think and hope of good things to happen then, it will happen. So the lesson here is to quieten our minds, and still our hearts. Let time take care of itself, and we strive to quieten ourselves to discipline our minds. Our environment is a manifestation of the state of our mind.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Meaningful Hidden Message in Anime

I just finished an entire series of Anime that I thoroughly enjoyed, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn of an actually meaningful message within the series. I appreciate the fact that the creators did a huge amount of research to come up with such a story. Embellished with all the trademarks of Japanese Animation creativity, characteristic artwork, the usual robotic element but with a twist to it, yet still have a story that is relevant to our timeline, and quite possibly even beyound our time.

The title of the anime is called Aquarion, and the story is about the war between 2 races of beings - Humans and the Shadow Angels. The humans live on Earth that has been devastated by the war that is going on, while the Shadow Angels live in a sort of a parallel dimension where the Tree of Life grows bearing beautiful flowers but no fruits. Just in case some of you are planning on watching the anime, I shall not go too much into the plot and the story. Suffice to say that both factions were so intent of annihilating each other at one point that they forget that they both share a common goal. That goal is to preserve the life of their respective races.

You see, even though both races were fighting for their race's survival, the Tree of Life is the root of all life for both races. The Tree started to wither in the midst of their war, when the tree dies both their worlds will be destroyed. This phenomenon was oblivious to all parties involved in the fight - blinded by their hatred, and craving for vengeance. When it was brought to light what was going on, with great effort did they put aside their differences to save the Tree, and thus save the earth. In order to do that they must see past their differences to unite with compassionate love, and understanding.

The entire story did strike a chord within me. Sometimes we are so busy with ourselves that we totally miss the obvious. It also echos with the current situation the whole world is facing. There is literature out on the web that says we are entering the Age of Aquarius, the golden age of Humanity where we will see each other with compassionate love, understanding, and respect. But before that age can come about, we must learn to get past all our materialistic attachments, and learn to be more kind, loving, understanding, forgiving, and respectful of everyone.

This is such a good message that is sort of rare in the entertainment media. Hats off to the creators of the series for being able to bring forth such a message. I hope more stuff doing this same sort of thing would appear for all to enjoy, and to contemplate on.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Authoritarian Personality

I read something about Authoritarian Personality while I was studying for my exams, that I thought it was pretty informative and I'd share it with everyone. It was a section talking about Prejudice. The excerpt below is taken from Buskist, William., Carlson, Neil R. & Martin G Neil. (2007) Psychology (3rd ed) Massachusetts, USA : Peason Education Limited.

"Because prejudice is repugnant and can have such appalling effects, such as genocide, prejudice is often traced to individual differences and personality attributes. One of the most widely promulgated theories of prejudice is the authoritarian personality (Adorno et al., 1950). Children who are brought up in families where their parents use harsh disciplinarian methods to secure love and dependence develop a love-hate relationship with their parents, which is endurably stressful. The stress is resolved by idealizing their parents and all authority figures and redirecting their hatred onto weaker others. This resolution becomes a deep-seated and immutable personality syndrome, authoritarianism, which frames relations for the rest of the person’s life. It predisposes people to be prejudiced. Another personality explanation has been proposed by Rokeach(1948), who argues that some people, for whatever reason, have a general cognitive style that is prejudiced because they strive for a rigidly stratified social world, are resistant to belief change in the light of contradictory evidence, and are inclined to ground their beliefs in authority and orthodox belief systems."

Future parents to be take heed of the above when parenting. For some others, I hope this would shine a little light onto your present disposition. As for the rest, may this serve as a little piece of illumination.

Monday, October 5, 2009

The insignificant self

Most of us are so busy with our lives that we do not usually ever pause to consider the bigger picture. We are always rushing to get somewhere, or get something done. Too many things to do with too little time to complete it - our busy lives.

Consider this, zoom out a little, and we have the area we live in, the house, and the neighborhood we live in. A step further out some, and we get the city. Further out, we have the state, the country, the planet earth, solar system, galaxy, etc. What is happening to all of them, what is going on out there? That is when we start to realize how small and insignificant we are when compared to the whole. We are like atoms in the pen we use for writing on a piece of paper.We have been preoccupied with ourselves that we have forgotten the bigger picture, and have in some sense neglected it. We are so into living our lives and making it more comfortable, that we have forgotten that we are part of the bigger whole. Some may even argue that our modern society has become narcissistic.

The important thing is we are part of a community, that is part of the earth, which is part of the cosmos. Everything we do affects them all. Just as the existence of a collection of atoms in a particular formation that makes up the pen we use for writing. A single atom that is out of place, or lost, makes it less of a pen now. We do not know, nor claim to know, what would happen to a normal pen if it suddenly lost one of its atom, we can only guess at what will happen.

However, the point is, our lives are intimately intertwined with the grander scale of things, some of which are beyond our comprehension. Everything that we do, has a consequence somewhere, or sometime down the time line. Thanks to the mass media on global warming, I am sure most of us are already aware of that as one of the consequences of our actions. I am not trying to put anyone down, but merely pointing out that we should all stop living a selfish life. A life based around our own self, and start thinking about being more conscious of all around us, the environment, your neighbour, friends, the old man down the street which you do not know the name of, etc. Spare a thought for them, see if you can make a difference in their lives. It does not mean that we have to go out of our way to make a difference, just make some changes in the way you think about them. That can make a difference in their lives. The simple act of greeting someone you meet on the street can make a change in someone’s day. It all starts from the thought. When the opportunity arises, see if you can be off any service, or help, to them. Another example is recycling your waste (eg. recycling paper), it helps the environment. These are just examples of making a difference without going out of your way, or breaking a sweat. You will be surprise at how easy it is.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

1st Post, and first time blogger


Today is the official day I will be starting this blog. It just so happens that today is also the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month - Mid Autumn Festival, or also better known as Lantern Festival. My main purposes in setting up this blog was to record and share the little lessons that I had experienced in my life. Most of them were things I usually do not notice, until someone brings it up. Ofcourse, I only recently found out that most of us do this sort of thing, and its not by our own choice; but that we are genetically predisposed to do this sort of thing. It is our way of conserving energy by paying attention to more novel stimulus, and ignoring less novel ones. This process is termed "habituation" in some Psychology text books. I suppose, this can be a good thing when you are trying to ignore the incessant barking of your neighbour's dog while you are trying to study. Comes in especially useful when trying to ignore parents' (particularly, and almost always the mother's) nagging. Anyways, I hope that those of you reading this blog will take away with you some wisdom. Thank you, and time to bring out the lanterns and sparklers to celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival.