Smile

Smile is the most contagious disease. One person smiles then the whole group of people smile. People use to ask how come I look so young. I don’t look young at all but I often dress myself with a smile.

On my recent trip to Bhutan, I went with a friend. When our guide Karma asked how old are we? Of course we let him guess. At the end we had to tell him our age. I was so surprise that my friend said she frequently feels like she is 80 years old and yet she is much younger than me. I felt sorry that she felt that way. I am a bit shy to admit I feel like I am still a 16 year old on the inside. I have to laugh out loud. Sigh…

In Bhutan, I have seen many beautiful smiles from the young to old generation of this country. They don’t look well off but they seem happy. Karma told us: “This country promotes inner happiness, not being materialistic.” I also observed people in Vietnam. They don’t smile. Instead their faces express sadness, anxious, stress and unfriendliness. I remembered back in 2008 I went to Vietnam with a group of Westerners. One commented how come he said hello and smile to the Vietnamese’s, and they didn’t say hello and smile back to him. He had culture shock because he didn’t receive a smile from people. I asked him to understand the hardship people live in that country. They just could not smile. I asked a Taxi driver why people are so unhappy. He said because they want too much and they are never satisfied. In comparison Vietnam is much advance and well off than Bhutan but their people are not as happy as the Bhutanese. Hmmm… This makes us think ….

People call me little sunshine
'cause I often wear a smile
I smile first thing in the morning
'cause it is good to be alive
I smile in any situation
'cause I know good or bad still will pass

It is a disease
It is contagious
Once it gets start, it spreads
It travels fast
It travels wide
A single smile like mine
Could reach any corner of the world
Please start with a smile today
To infect this unhappy world. (To bring hope into this unhappy world)

Looking for Superpower

During my second Vipassana retreat in 2014 at day 4th I had an extraordinary experience. At that time my mind was as calm and tranquil as it could be. Suddenly I felt a hot boiling feeling which began from the top of my head running down to the tips of my toes. It felt as if my whole body was in sauna. I observed my sensation, moved on and did not pay too much attention to it. It again happened the next day at the similar time. I was puzzled and thought: “Hmmm… strange! Is this some sort of special power?” I requested a time to see the teacher. I reported this sensation of mine to her. She looked at me and asked: “How old are you?” I said I am 51 years old. She smiled and said this is a hot flash during menopause. I burst into laughter. I told her that I thought I had some sought of superpower. We both laughed out loud. I am still laughing while I am typing this. As a worldly people we all love to have superpower, don’t we?

The password to unlock the wisdom within

I am not sure about other people, but for myself to get into deep meditation (a complete quiet mind) is not easy. If I can keep my mind silent for more than 30 minutes, I will be over joy. I have asked many people who have practised meditation for at least more than three years. They all said their mind is still chattering inside. I attended a 10 days meditation retreat in 2014. It took me three to four days to calm my mind down to a minimum level of noise. If you have never tried meditating then you won’t know how nosy it is inside our mind. We are constantly talking to ourselves without us knowing it. That is why we are tired; we are stressed; one minute we are happy; next minute we are sad. We spend a vast amount of energy in self-chattering. We constantly torture ourselves with all the past events; we grasp on the present moments and we dream the future. It is quite interesting to observe these thoughts arise and pass away in our mind. Although during the retreat we have taught not to react to these thoughts but at the end of the day we are still exhausted.

In my recent Thien Bat Nha I course, I have learnt a technique to use two words: “Don’t talk”. These two words are similar to an order. When I said “Don’t talk” in my mind, I could get a complete silence quicker than I use the breathing technique. After I practised for couple of days, I have improved the time to keep my mind silence. If I continuously practise in this way then I have the ability to order my brain when I need it to be silence. It is like a trigger. When I want it to be silence then it ought to be silence.

These two words are as the password to open our purest awareness (the wordless cognitive awareness area) in our brain. Why do we want to achieve this? This helps us to reach the realization of Nibbana (Atakkāvacara).

A glance of the truth of Nature (真如实相/ Chân Như Thực Tướng)

Since birth till now, we have been taught how to label all things that we have contacted. When we are brought into this world, straight away we receive a name from our parents. They have already labelled us in such a way. We have been taught this is our mother, father, sister, food, tree, flower, etc.etc. We see things not as what they are but as what we have defined them in our world. We contact the world through our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and our skins. Through these senses we see not what we truly see; we hear not what we truly hear; we feel not what we truly feel; we cognise not what we cognise. Instead we contact with the world subjectively. This is how we brought up and we have forgotten how to look at the world around us objectively.

For example during Thien Can Ban, we had congee for lunch. When we see a bowl of congee, straight away in our mind we will say: “How come this congee is so loose. After we have this congee, we might go to toilet many times.” So we label this is a loose congee and will make us go to toilet. We have not even eaten this bowl of congee but in our chattering mind we have concluded this loose congee will make us go to the toilet. In this way how can we see the true nature of this bowl of congee?

This reminds me Bhikkhu Dae In’s talk at Shravasti the Korean temple. He actually wanted to point out to us the truth of nature. He used a flower as an example. He said we have named this is a rose, an orchid, a lily and so on. But have these flowers said they are roses, orchid, lily and so forth. Have they said they are yellow, red or white? Have they said they are big or small? All these names that we have given to the world around us are so limited and yet we think we are always right. Because of these labelling and differentiation we have conflicts therefore we cannot see the true nature of these flowers. We like roses and dislike lilies base on our subjective chattering mind. Bhikkhu Dae In also said Silence is the best Dharma.

At that time I thought Silence gives us the opportunity to reflect upon ourselves in a serene and silent tone. I can now understand further what he meant by this after attended the Bat Nha I Thien course conducted by Ni Su Triet Nhu. This silence is to give up labelling. This silence in our mind is a MUST for us to be able to see the world in an objective way - without prejudgement, bias and preference. Silence means no self-dialogue inside our mind. Ni Su Triet Nhu gave talk on Bāhiya Sutta: “In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In reference to the cognized, only the cognized. That is how you should train yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized, then, Bāhiya, there is no you in connection with that. When there is no you in connection with that, there is no you there. When there is no you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just this, is the end of stress.” (translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu)

If we can see ‘This, just this’ then we have seen the truth nature of the phenomena. If we can see ourselves as ‘this, just this’ (as such) in our purest awareness then we have seen the truth nature of us. The truth nature of the phenomena and the truth nature of us are one. ‘This, just this’ has no beginning and ending, nor it has less or more, nor it is impure or pure. It is everywhere. That is why Buddha taught us to practise to see the insight of things as they are (Yathābhūtaṃ), not as what we want them to be then we can experience the truth of nature.

Happy Birthday

Our tour guide Bao-Hong said: “Today is someone’s birthday and we are going to have a Birthday Party.” We all sung happy birthday songs for this happy fella.  After I sung the Chinese happy birthday song, AC asked me: “Is this truly happy?” I said: “Why not? I know that we are one step closer to our grave yard but we should not be sad!” I know that birthdays mark us one year less in our life. But please think in this way, we are one year closer to reborn/transmigration. In Buddhism we believe our body is just like a piece of clothing that we have put on and the day reborn/ transmigration means we can pick new clothes to wear. Although we don’t know what kind of clothes we can have but there is always a hope. Hope for a better one!

So happy birthday to him! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to everyone!

Please note: To be able to pick a nice beautiful clothe, we have to:

Avoid do all the evil acts;

Should do all the good and kind acts and

Purify our mind.

Good luck to all!

Superstitious

There are many superstitious things that Buddhist believes in. Things that they can collect merits such as burning a lot of incenses, asking or monk’s blessing, getting merits by visiting Buddhist holy sites and so forth. To my understanding, burn incense is to remind us of our virtue. Do we have any virtue? Fruit offer is to remind us whether we have cultivated our self or not? Flower offer is to remind us phenomenon is impermanent. There won’t be any merit to collect if we don’t use these to reflect on ourselves.

During the trip to Sri Lanka, our tour guide BH offered some incenses to me. I said no thank you. I have my own incense, right inside me to offer to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. She also gave me a plate of flowers so that I could offer it to the Buddha at the Tooth temple. She insisted that I must have this. I could not go in with empty hands. Sigh. Someone in the group asked: “How come some plates have lotus flowers and my plate has none?” I asked: “Does it matter?” Does a lotus flower awaken you to enlightenment?

Our group seemed to enjoy the blessings from the monks. They requested the Thai monks in Thailand to bless them. When we were at the Sri Dalada Maligawa Tooth temple at Kandy, they got the blessing from various head monks. AC asked why I didn’t ask for blessing. I said thank you very much, I have my own blessing. I don’t dare to take up anyone’s blessing from now on. I have learnt my lesson back in the year 2013 India trip. 

I walked around the Bodhi tree at the Kelaniya temple. AC asked: “Why did you walk around the tree? Are you asking for any merit?” I said: “No, I am not asking any merit. I walk around the tree because I see this tree as I see Buddha. I see Buddha’s teachings. I see impermanence. I see a great man who stroke for liberation not for himself but for all human beings. I pay respect to my great teacher.” Why on earth would I ask for merit in this way?

Buddha taught us in The Kalama sutta:
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

Wat Yannawa (Relics temple)

This temple houses many golden monk statues and various monks’ relics including Buddha’s top 10 disciples such as Ananda and Maha Kassapa. I burst into tears when I saw not one but many monks who practised and liberated from this Samsara. Their great effort moved me; I prostrated with my gratitude to the patriarchs from all over the world who showed us the way; who carried the light of Wisdom and passed it onto us.

Let me pay my gratitude
To all patriarchs around the world
Your ascetic, self-cultivation, preach Dharma
Vowed to leave us
Your body relics
To show us the right path
Keep the sangha in order
All these virtues are endless merit
Please let me show my respect
With all my heart
Prostrate in front of you
Thanks for your great effort!