By Wakeupnow, on 29th September, 2008 “Just because of the good that one has done, let us not turn a blind eye on the wrong made.
Just because of the wrong made, let us not wipe out all the good that was done.
Seeing both rightly, let us help each other face up, do penance, right the wrong and develop further the goodness.
Only then can we grow together fruitfully.”
We hear it all so frequently. The staff who rather not do anything than make a mistake. We also hear of that boss who quicker forget than forgive — forget your effort and contributions and not forgive your single mistakes, that is.
In today’s society, are we becoming one that has no more room for forgiveness? In our law-conforming country, is there room for pardon, or should we remove these words from our vocabulary and just go by the book? Or have we removed these words already? Are there stipulations for wrongs doers to be given a slap on the wrist and nothing more? Or is that where human interpretation should lie?
Ignoring Judicial systems for now, let’s look at workplaces. A common trend for some employees is to . . . → Read More: Making mistakes and forgiving
By Wakeupnow, on 20th September, 2008 People wear rings for various reasons. Some rings are ornamental while others are decorative. A wedding ring or wedding band, is supposed to symbolise the love or feelings between two person. Similarly, rings may be given to others in exchange to celebrate or cement mutual feelings for each other.
What was equally interesting is that while the rings are meant to celebrate a happy emotion or link between two, these rings can often be stressful. Ever misplaced your ring? Dropped it somewhere? In the pool? While washing the dishes etc? If you have, you would know how stressful it can be. How we can become flustered and panicky all so suddenly. Why, even as you read this article, you may find yourself reaching out for your finger, just to be sure it is there. We are worried because it means something to us. We also worry because of the inevitable conflict that may arise when your other half start asking about it. The very thing that symbolises love and happiness can become a source of stress and panic.
Now consider yourself on the other side of the counter. If your love one loses the wedding band or a special ring . . . → Read More: A Ring
By Wakeupnow, on 28th May, 2008 The one place you would not expect to find demand of “Human Rights” would be in a college, a Buddhist College I mean. One would think that 1) a Buddhist College would be extolling values above and beyond mere human rights and 2) students (monks in this case) would not really care much about human rights (HR). Afterall, Buddhism as a whole seem to point towards an attitude of non-attachment and non-self (no-self or not-self if you will!), it seem strange that they while working towards these ideals, would be so concerned with human rights. After all, without a self, who is to enjoy the rights or suffer their absence?
But this article is not about that. This article is about what I think Human Rights is and its place in an Asian society vs the role of Human Responsibilities.
. . . → Read More: Human Rights vs Human Responsibilities
By Wakeupnow, on 22nd January, 2008 When I first learnt about Probability Theory in secondary school, I went nuts! I fell in love with it, as it seemed almost magical that we could somehow synthesize or calculate the probability of something happening! I feel like I’m a psychic! Boy, was it fun finding out that the chance of a ’1′ occurring from an unbiased dice was 1/6 or 0.1666666… 6667… or that the chance of even numbers occurring was 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 or 3/6 or 1/2. Ok, it is intuitive to arrive at 0.5 or half, but the maths behind it is the marvel.
The other thing that was fun about probability was that there were the card games. It seem like many math teachers are very into card games as many questions revolves around the probability “of drawing the next Ace from the deck, given a certain hand that was already played”. I half guess that this obsession with cards might have stem from the poor financial status of teachers in general. Literature and linguistic teachers will poke fun at the social rich strata while the mathematicians will dream about striking it rich by winning at this weekend’s poker game or blackjack! Of . . . → Read More: The Mathematics of Happiness
By Wakeupnow, on 2nd January, 2008 Here’s an article I would like to share with you all. While the ‘princess’ in the blog is a lady, the lesson from it applies equally to all, men and women alike.
awomanagainstfeminism.blogspot.com
An extract below … complete post after the break below
I’ve made some profound changes in my life since then. First and foremost, I stopped blaming everyone else for my own problems. This was the hardest. For my entire life I was told – and I believed – that as a woman, I could do no wrong, that I was not responsible, that I was always the victim in some way. Over and over I had to tell myself that only I am responsible for my happiness.
Once I learned to stop blaming the world, I taught myself to be pleasant and nice. This was hard as well. I had always mistaken pleasantness for weakness. This is not the case. A new colleague at work – a woman from the South – showed me very clearly it’s quite easy to be nice and be strong at the same time.
. . . → Read More: A Middle-Aged Princess Grows Up
By Wakeupnow, on 12th December, 2007 Today is not Mother’s day, nor is it Father’s day. It is also not my parent’s birthday. Least of all, it’s also not my birthday. Today, they accompanied me to run an errand to Funan. (Yes, sometimes monks also need stuffs … *grin*)
Here I am back in the monastery, after a meditation class/session with NUSBS in FuHai Monastery, reflecting about the day, thinking about how my parents accompanied me to run an errand to Funan at a short notice. Color me silly, but I found myself teary just reflecting over it.
I just sent them an sms and thought I would share with you all here:
Thanks Mom and Dad! For accompanying me to Funan today at such a short notice. For giving me your time, incessant care and love since my birth! For giving me this precious human life! For bringing me into Buddhism and giving me away to the Buddha! Thank you! THANK YOU! Thank you! 
Before this day ends and we rest for the day, do take the time to reflect over the day. Ponder on the kindness, love and care that our parents had . . . → Read More: To my Mom and Dad! …
By Wakeupnow, on 11th December, 2007 A few thousand moons ago, 30612+ moons ago, or 2551+ years ago, to be exact. … That was how long ago when Buddha was in India, walking the land, going on alms, teaching the Dharma, meditating under trees, in the caves, couselling the monks, enlightening the seekers of Truths. And last two weeks, we went and spent some time at Bodhgaya under the novice retreat programme.
It was pretty amazing, to say the least, to see constant throngs of people coming to Maha Bodhi to pray, to chant, to prostrate, to meditate, to be where the Buddha attained enlightenment! … and of course, not forgetting to take some pictures for posterity. What really touched me was to see people of various nationalities & religion, speaking different languages and dialects, inter-mingling there, like old friends coming back for a reunion!
The other interesting thing that struck me was how “un-strucked” I was about India as a whole. It seemed almost just normal to see it the way it is/was, that I didn’t felt awed, surprised or shocked, as some would put it. It was my first trip to India, but in a strange way, I just . . . → Read More: Back from India … the land that Buddha walked on moons ago
By Wakeupnow, on 15th November, 2007 Anywhere you go, if you dig hard enough, you will find dirt.
… from yours truly …
By Wakeupnow, on 19th June, 2007 Dear Friends,
If you have any thoughts, comments or questions, please leave them here.
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All messages are assumed to be public unless you indicate otherwise.
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May you be Well and Happy!
Well in the Body, Happy in the Mind.
By Wakeupnow, on 18th June, 2007 The Buddha said “The Highest Gift of all is the the Gift of Dhamma”.
For most lay people, Dana, the practice of giving, means giving material support. This includes giving Robes, Food, Lodging and Medicine, the four requisites. Some communities provide avenues for lay people to offer food on a daily basis before noon. Others also put up their phone and utilities bill for voluntary offerings. All these requisites support existing sangha members in their monastic life, so that they can focus on their learning and practice of the Buddha’s teachings.
. . . → Read More: How much would you give?
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