LEGO: There are no cars or houses

By Wakeupnow, on 30th June, 2009

LEGO, the famous toy that kids around the world played with, is a very interesting toy that I grew up with.  In its simpler earlier form, it comprises of identical building blocks, differing only in color and sizes.

The human figures were also modular, meaning that the head-gears, head, upper torso, lower torso were interchangeable. You could have a figure with yellow face and brown hands and any colored legs.  The really adventurous can even swap the limbs, but that would make this article PG-13, so we’ll leave that for another article! ;)

To those who know, LEGO is written LEGO, and not lego, or Lego.  It is officially trademarked as LEGO.  But there is more to the name as well.  According to wikipedia,

The company name Lego was coined by Christiansen from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means “play well”. The name could also be interpreted as “I put together” and “I assemble” in Latin, though this would be a somewhat forced application of the general sense “I collect; I gather; I learn”; the word is most used in the derived sense “I read”. The cognate Greek verb λέγω (lego) also means . . . → Read More: LEGO: There are no cars or houses

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Applying meditation skills to daily encounters

By Wakeupnow, on 18th January, 2009

Hi all,

Hope the new year is treating you well.  I just came back from a three month retreat and thought I’ll share something here.  (Strictly speaking, because of immigration requirements and some talk engagements I committed to, it was not a full three months! ;) )

Below is an email excerpt I sent to fellow buddhist on meditation.  Thought I’ll share it here as it may be useful for some of us trying out meditation. 1.  Feeling frustrated the day after meditation Hmmm …. that’s an interesting one.  Before I jump to any conclusion, maybe some clarifications:

+ How long do you meditate per session? + How many times per day? + Do you do walking meditation with the sitting? + How many times do you meditate per week?

While it is true that improper postures can cause some discomfort, it usually occur under some specific conditions.  Shed some light as above and we go from there. 2.  Becoming more sensitive to our surroundings and people Becoming more aware and sensitive is always better.  So good start there! :) What we do with this new awareness and sensitivity is a different . . . → Read More: Applying meditation skills to daily encounters

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A bowl of delicious laksa … 8′)

By Wakeupnow, on 21st October, 2006

If there’s such a thing as writer’s block, this is it. I inserted this entry like weeks ago in the hope of pushing myself to pen down my thoughts about emptiness via the illustration of a bowl of delicious laksa, and yet as I sat here weeks later, there is just no impetus to write anything. hmmm ….

I think I’ll just write down what I explained during my workshop about the laksa, instead of making it into a proper article.

So back in August and October, I conducted two four-day workshops on the Heart Sutra. It was mooted by the Youth Ministry of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery during one of the informal “Dharma discussions”. While the heart sutra is famous for its “form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form; form is emptiness, emptiness is form” verse, apparently many books on this sutra were incorrect or misguided to say the least. Consequently, many people also had a somewhat tinted idea of what this sutra is about. Hence the Heart Sutra workshop.

. . . → Read More: A bowl of delicious laksa … 8′)

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