I won't give up..(My take on desire)

Okay I was trying to write like this lady who thinks she's not stunning but she actually is! But obviously I am not her hence I can't write so beautifully. I'll just go with the flow like how I do as always.

Have you heard of people saying 'desire kills'? Well I hear it all the time but yet these people still go on and on with their mundane lives chasing after all things beautiful, or so they speak. I am guilty too! I'm sure we all have items that we love and want. Most of the times, we would do anything just to obtain that particular item even though it may cost nothing at all. But because we want it so badly, we pay a price which breaks every record in the world. Just so to satisfy our desire.

Is this our human nature? Well in the Buddhist context, as the stunning Jamie mentioned in her blog post, we are living in the 'desire realm'. And we are bound to return over and over again if we do not do anything about it right now...

I won't go deep but every time we desire for something, in actuality we are creating the cause for us not to obtain that something. Even if we have it, we might not anymore in the next life because of our desirous nature. In fact, in the next life we might even be worse off, hence enhancing our desire.

For example, if I have a beautiful face and I would give up my live just so I can protect my face (to look good in my coffin), what do you think will happen if I am born ugly in my next life? Wouldn't I be dead furious and sad? I will be definitely, and I am sure I'll do anything to change my ugly face...plastic surgery, bomoh...and if I can't change it, I kill all the gorgeous looking people out there..again just to satisfy my desire.

Is that really what we want? Isn't the essence of life to be happy?

Some say those desirous moments only last for a while and then it is back to normal. I don't agree...I say we are desiring for something every moment, but we're so used to it, we just don't realise it. Desire haunts us as much as we think we are safe.

Even when we no longer desire for something, it will continue to haunt us because we already created a karmic connection with it. It is like after we did something really nasty ie killing someone, we try very hard to forget it but it will never leave our mindstreams. Not this life (we'll still continue to be bothered by the thoughts) and hell definitely not our next lives either (negative karma).

Well, is there a cure to this? Or are we to repeat this for the next say...1000 lifetimes?

There is a cure to this of course. The cure is to let go. Letting go not meaning we should give up totally the life we live in but let go of what we perceive as beautiful, ugly, nice, comfortable and just accept our situation as it is and move on. This will open our minds to many things that are truly beautiful and incredible (for me, the Dharma) and from there, we improve tremendously in one way or another. Sometimes, when we least expect something to happen, it does. Same for this. Because we are so blinded by our desires and delusions, we miss out so much in life.

The essence of happiness in life is to care for others, to live a life for others. Well, think about it, when you managed to help someone, doesn't that put a smile on your face? Of course it is not as simple as that but it is a good start for the greater things to come for sure.

Well guys, I've let go of my little desire of sleep and doing nothing to write this blog post. What do you think?

A BLOG that changed my definition of LIFE

Many times in the past, I wake up from bed asking myself, 'What is the meaning of life?', literally. I had massive dreams of being successful but I felt even if I had success eventually, then what's next? How does that define life?

Don't get me wrong, I still have that drive to succeed. But the success I wish to gain is not based on MYSELF anymore. Very simply, I want to succeed not for myself but for the countless of beings out there who are suffering. My success would be determined not by how much suffering I manage to alleviate but by how much suffering of others I take in and am willing to take in. This is life.

I realized whatever I do for myself, the 'happiness' I experienced dies off too quickly. BUT when I based my success on taking in other people's sufferings, the 'happiness' I experienced not only last for a long time, it also spreads! Which would mean, through my actions, more people come to understand the true meaning of success, happiness and eventually life.


What changed my definitions of success, happiness and gave me a new meaning to life?

A BLOG

More specifically, a blog by a Great Teacher.

To be honest, I did not believe it myself because I was thinking, how could a blog actually change my life? This was about a year and a half ago. But right now, I am 101% convinced of the power of this particular BLOG OF LIFE.

Let's go back to some history. A year and half ago, I chanced upon an organization by the name of Kechara. I was curious of its works hence I googled it up which led me to this weird blog that had articles ranging from pets to Buddhas to aliens, AND about MADONNA! What really caught my attention though was that this blog is own by a MONK. Although I am not very old, but for the life time I have lived, I never came across any monks who owns a blog! It was a huge shock definitely. But an interesting one.

You see, it is things like that which really captures my attention. Hence I read and read and read the blog asking myself, would a monk actually write such things? As I read, something magical happened. I realised the articles I read had messages in it. And as I contemplate further, these messages are actually answering my questions to life!! I then became more curious and interested.

I spent a couple of months going through every single posts in the blog. But I could never catch up as once I completed a post, a few more will appear. I thought to myself, what a hard working and tech savvy monk this is! I was not wrong, as after joining this organisation, I was told that this monk spends hours working on the blog, not to find fame for himself but writes in hope to alleviate the suffering of others. I also got to know this monk actually dislikes technology! But he does it still as he knows it will be of benefit to many people.

Then it hit me again, YES! Every single posts that I read had a message in it. Not any ordinary message but messages that will lead us to eternal happiness. I started to contemplate and kept this messages in my mind. Through this blog, I understood that life does not end when we die. It is just a beginning of a new life we choose to pursue. A life which will lead us to eternal happiness or a life that will bring us more suffering than we are already experiencing now. It is in our hands to decide which life we want to live. As our actions and motivations create the causes for us to either live a better life or fall deeper into our illusions.

This monk has now become my Spiritual Master, or in short, my Guru. With all due respect, His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche is the most compassionate person I have ever met. He is the person who taught me the meaning of life through a portal I am familiar with, technology. He teaches in ways suitable for the people of this generation. His messages are short and simple yet has a whole lot of meaning in it, and I dare say captivating. What is more important is, He writes not to deceive nor to create disharmony but to create opportunities for us whose knowledge of life is so vague. An opportunity of many lifetimes to live life the right way...to live FOR OTHERS.

I introduce you to my life...

click on the logo to enter the blog

Pray for Gabriel

Dear friends,

Every day, like it or not, we will hear of devastating news of someone falling ill if not dying or dead. Yes, that's the reality. That's the fact of life to put it simple. We will never know when we are to leave this 'beautiful' place. It might be 50 years later, a year later and heck perhaps even an hour later. BUT EACH AND EVERY DAY WE STILL WASTE TIME ON THINGS THAT WILL ONLY BRING US DOWN FURTHER. 


We focus on things that will not get us anywhere, sometimes  no matter how hard we try we still end up the same. We spend time playing, clubbing, having sex, racing, 'lepaking', dreaming the impossible, working to make end meets...really, where does all these bring us to? What do we gain by doing all these? Think about it..

No one likes to be called stupid, but the very fact is that we're all so foolish as to believe the world revolves around us. Time after time, we tell ourselves 'it'll be okay. tomorrow will be a better day, i will succeed!' But when tomorrow comes, everything goes awry and we become devastated. The whole process goes on and on without a solution and end. Exactly like the wheel of life.

For all I've mentioned above, I am guilty myself. But I am taking the measures to correct it. I realized to be happy, I don't have to keep myself entertained. To be successful, I don't have to count the dollars every day. To be free, I don't have to venture aimlessly. All I have to do is FOCUS OUT.

The more time I spend helping others, bringing hope to others, getting involved charitable acts, the happier I become. To witness a smile on the face of a person I have helped is not only heart warming, it is enlightening! It makes me feel there is hope in life.

Today I hope you can feel the same by doing something meaningful.

Little Gabriel is a 8 year old boy who is now in coma fighting hard for another chance to live. For the good life that we have had till this day, think about Gabriel who have not the chance to go through the good times we have enjoyed. Read more about Gabriel here.

We don't know when he will wake up, but we, in our own faiths can pray for this little boy. Prayers in all forms are very beneficial. Don't think your prayers are of no results. Praying for the betterment of someone is a noble act. Hence, whether or not we can see it, the results will be there.


So lets all pray and dedicate our prayers to this little boy who deserves a chance to live. Your prayer alone might not be enough so join us all in praying for Gabriel, let's gather 5000 people for this meaningful cause! Enough is enough for the times we have spent focusing on ourselves. Let us now gather force to help Gabriel.

JOIN OUR CAUSE!

A mentor, a great inspiration!

Its 3 in the morning..I was about to sleep but many thoughts came to my mind. A feeling so strong I don't know how else to express but write..

You know for all my life, I've been saying I want to do this, I want to achieve that, I want I want I want...all words no action because I never dared take that one step that will bring me to success.

But a year plus ago, I took a big leap. I took a big step that I will never forget. A step that has led me to a fantastic and memorable journey. One that I will treasure for life. On that day, I met many beautiful people that have now become my good friends and mentors. That was the day I stepped into Kechara. (Read about it here)

It's been quite some time since the first day I stepped into Kechara. Thinking back, I cannot imagine how far I have gone in this journey. There are so many people I owe my gratitude to who have tirelessly helped me through my journey.

One person who I especially wish to thank is Su Ming. She has been a great mentor and she has given me so many opportunities to do Dharma work and be close to Rinpoche. Su Ming is a great inspiration to many people in Kechara. She is one person who never sleeps, never give up and would do anything for Rinpoche and the Dharma. She cares for all, from silly human beings like me to the poor dogs on the streets. A truly compassionate lady who has dedicated her life to spread the teachings of the Buddha.

To be very honest, the first time I met Su Ming I did not think she was all that I mentioned above. She looked like an ordinary lady out there who works just for a paycheck. But I was terribly wrong. Yes she is an ordinary lady but one with a heart of gold. She looks normal on the outside but her attitude, passion and compassion shines through her heart sincerely. I am very fortunate to be connected to Su Ming who has in turn gave me a very precious gift, to do more Dharma and be close to Rinpoche.

Su Ming is always smiling and laughing. The only times I saw her frowning was when Rinpoche was ill. I could tell she was dead worried. I could tell and still can tell she loves Rinpoche very very much.

Last year, Su Ming sponsored my trip to Nepal and brought me along to India and Singapore. There is nothing I can do to repay her kindness for giving me such precious gifts. I learned and gained a lot from my trips. The only way I can repay is to share whatever I have learned because I know that is the only thing she would want from me, to help spread Rinpoche's teachings. For all those times, all I could see in her eyes was her passion for the spread of Rinpoche's teachings that will benefits countless of beings.

Thank you Su Ming for everything you have done for Rinpoche, myself and everyone else!

The group who went to Nepal

"What you are today, is the choice you made yesterday." ~ Tsem Tulku Rinpoche