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.
Monday, October 19, 2009
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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