Dorje Shugden in Bodhgaya

I posted this on the dorjeshugden.com forum a few months ago and I recently rediscovered it on the forum and I thought I blog about this as well to keep it for posterity sake. I might do something like this in Singapore... well discreetly-la! 

For New Years 2013 this year, I went on a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya, the land of Buddha's enlightenment. Just prior to flying, I had just received a whole shipment of Dorje Shugden comic books from the eShop. At the stupa, I managed to make a lot of offerings, prayers, prostrations and mantras at the Stupa. While circumambulating, I had a sudden thought. 

I went back and discreetly brought the comics along with me and went on a distribution round by quietly offering the comic books to some of the pilgrims there. I even managed to capture the couple, reading the comic book right after they finished their meditation. On top of that, I managed to perform a whole Dorje Shugden puja every time I went to the Stupa. I love coming to Bodhgaya and would from time to time travel to Bodhgaya with some friends for pilgrimage.

PS: If you are the person in the picture, do drop a message to let me know if you read the comic or not. ; ) Thank you. 

Qing Ming - All Soul's Day

Over the weekend, I followed my parents back to Malaysia to visit the grave site of my dad's ancestors in Kuala Lumpur. I don't normally follow but I had some time to kill so I followed and to also see my Malaysian relatives, which I have not seen in the longest time.

Qing Ming is quite a popular practice of visiting and paying respects at the grave site of a patriarch or matriarch of the family. We did it early in the morning and it took a longest time to reach the grave site which was out of Kuala Lumpur. I can't remember the name right now but all I remember it took the longest time to reach. We took some time to clean up the weeds and then placed some colored notes on top of the tomb, which was held down by a stone. Then, we had a sort of picnic with the dead. The only thing was only the dead ate and the rest of us just drank Yeo's packet drinks to keep hydrated.

I didn't manage to take pictures but I saw some really cool vintage photos on the Straits Times website, which I thought I shared here. These were photos taken during the 1950s and were done in lavish style in the earlier days.

I am guessing this was a funerary procession for a rich family towards a family grave.

A modest Chinese family tombstone.

Now, this is a rich man's tomb that is big enough to accommodate family members.

This is the only picture I had and well, it was not really nice because it's a shot of my aunties behinds. Hehe! 

Dorje Shugden practitioners not allowed into Gaden Tripa's teaching!

The current 102nd Gaden Tripa Kyabje Rizong Sras Rinpoche is coming to Malaysia at the end of next month to lead a Lamrim retreat. A colleague of mine emailed me this interesting flyer a few days back. I have always wanted to engage in a Lamrim retreat and well, a lamrim teaching beforehand of course. So, I got a little excited about this proposition and everything was fine until I read the fine print of the rules and regulations. Guess what I saw?....

Dorje Shugden practitioners are not allowed to participate. 

I can't believe my eyes! I read about this happening within the Tibetan community in India but I would not think that they would actually do this in this part of the world! This is the first time for me and I must say I am very disappointed. This is clearly discrimination of the highest order and they have no right to enforce this. After all, this is the Gaden Tri Rinpoche and not the Dalai Lama. WHY do they need to enforce such an stupid ban? On what basis do they have the right to enforce this ban?

You know, the Gaden Tripa is such an eminent master, shouldn't they allow everybody in including practitioners of Dorje Shugden. If Gaden Tripa recites prayers and dedicates to all sentient being, I am a sentient being too, right? I should be allowed to receive teachings because the spirits and ghosts are allowed in to be blessed by the lama and the teachings. Why not me and others like me? If Dorje Shugden practice is so bad and evil, shouldn't we be allowed in even more? Shouldn't we be showed even more compassion? 

It would be cool if I could go and protest right in front of the teaching but it wouldn't be powerful if its just me alone and I am Singaporean. I am not sure if the Malaysian police would be too happy if I did that. 

PS: The above line was taken from the registration information and rules column of their website:-

http://bodhilamrim.org/activities/2013-lamrim-meditation-retreat-registration-information/

Rap song on Dorje Shugden?

This is one real cool rap on Dorje Shugden that was probably created by a fan of Dorje Shugden and is now on YouTube. I am not sure if this is sacrilegious but I find it really cool. After all, rap is just a modern take on poetry. Didn't the old pandits and scholars of ancient India and Tibet composed praise and poems of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. I don't see how different this can be but I do like the fact that this is the only one of its kind on Dorje Shugden. I am not even sure if they did it for other lamas and Buddhas but there is one for Dorje Shugden. This is real cool and here's the lyrics for you to check it out:-

It's the D-O-R-J-E, Shugden / (Dorje-Shugden)

You know how he gets it all under his control

Peace in the place where we be livin' in

Don't worry he'll be there in a little bit

Yo, I'm not here to try bring out dysfunction

I've got peace in my heart and I'm feeling one with

Dorje Shugden not an ordinary man

It's a surprise to see what Dorje Shugden can

So many years ago Dorje Shugden came here

Protector of Nagarjuna's Middle view, yeah

It matters to me coz he's so sincere

I see him walking by and I don't have no fear

If I'm having trouble on the double he'll come in

Opposing oppositions makes a loss into a win

Next thing you know, he's gone with the wind

Then I wonder if I'll ever see him again

Connecting me with my brothers, we're here for each other

Spiritual and the physical there is no other

He can help us avoid things that try to keep us down

And turn a smile from what used to be a frown

You know how he gets it all under his control

Peace in the place where we be livin' in

Don't worry he'll be there in a little bit (x2)   

Images of Bruce Lee

I have always been a fan of Bruce Lee since I was a kid. He is damn famous, everybody knows him and has since become a sort of screen legend for his nationalistic portrayal of the Chinese in a few Hollywood flicks. I can't remember how many times I have watched Enter the Dragon and all the vintage episodes of the Green Hornet. I saw the recent remake of the Green Hornet last year but I must say Jay Chou was such a disappointment. He is nothing like Bruce Lee and his hair was pretty weird, almost like a helmet. 

I did martial arts in school but not Jeet Kune Do. I did Korean Taekwando till I was brown belt till I got distracted by other aspects of college life. I have always wanted to own one of those nunchakus. I am not sure what they are called in Chinese though. However, these days, the only martial arts I do these days are Body Combat classes at the gym, which is a far cry from the real deal but enough to keep my body in shape. 

Here's the classic martial arts movie Enter The Dragon:-

Dorje Shugden is HERE!!!

I just received this package in the mail today. My mum received the package for me while I was at work. She didn't know what it was of course! I was expecting it but I didn't think it would arrive so soon. I had an exceptionally stressful time at work today with team members that were playing silly games with each other. I had to settle that and I came home totally exhausted. This was truly a sight for sore eyes.  

Thank Buddha, Dorje Shugden was all intact with no missing parts. Isn't he just gorgeous? I never thought I would be this excited for a Buddha statue. The finishing is just fantastic and I just love the antique finishing. Thank you dorjeshugden.com for making this available for all of us to invite and be the object of our prayers. 

This is my little altar in my room with a printout of Trijang Rinpoche, a stupa and some offerings of crystals, tealights and Tibetan incense. I love Tibetan incense and what a perfect offering to Dorje Shugden. I did a small puja to Dorje Shugden to welcome him into my life. I took these pictures to share with the world. I dedicate this statue to Trijang Rinpoche (may I be able to have the honor to meet you and gain a blessing directly from His Holiness), my parents,colleagues, friends and ex relationships. May they be happy always and gain the blessings and assistance of wrathful Manjushri. 

Om Benza Wiki Bitana Soha!

Executive-focused society in Singapore 'is bizarre'

 

Yeah right! Tell that to your traditional Chinese parents and all the nasty relatives during Chinese New Year's and family gatherings. Imagine me telling my mum that I wanna be a high-paying bus driver or a carpanter. This is ridiculous. This development is inevitable considering the high expectations and social pressure. I guess, it ain't so bad if I was a sales assistant in a posh Sincere Watch Boutique or a waiter at a nice Italian restaurant at Holland Village. Come on!

What am I talking about?

Read this....

and have a good laugh...


( http://news.asiaone.com/A1Business/News/Story/A1Story20130325-411027.html )

Joy Fang 
My Paper 
Monday, Mar 25, 2013

SINGAPORE - Singapore is too fixated on producing professional, managerial, executive and technician (PMET) jobs for Singaporeans, and this mindset creates a problem, said economics professor Linda Lim yesterday at a population-policy forum.

Prof Lim,
who is a University of Michigan business-school professor, said that if so much emphasis is placed on such high-skilled jobs, the prestige of lower-skilled occupations, such as bus drivers and carpenters, would be low.

So, citizens would typically not take up these jobs, as is the case, with foreigners filling in instead.

"It is bizarre to have a society where we have only PMETs and everyone wants to be a PMET. If you have that kind of society, of course you would need foreigners," she said.

Pointing out a sentence in the Government's January Population White Paper, which said that Singaporeans "aspire to be in higher-skilled and more rewarding work", Prof Lim said that this is already a value judgment by the authorities.

It suggests that being a bus driver is low-skilled, unrewarding and a job for foreigners, she said.

"Why is it only us who cannot do our own low-skilled work?'

She further questioned why it was that only Singaporeans considered these jobs low-skilled and not deserving of good pay or respect.

The forum was organised by the University of Michigan Alumni in Singapore. Held at The American Club, it was attended by 120 academics, business owners and alumni members.
Prof Lim noted that Singapore currently sets a maximum-growth target and works towards that, pumping in foreigners when the country comes up short on labour. But she questioned why there was a need to set "unrealistic" growth targets and try to attain them.

On Singapore's fertility issues, demography expert and former chief statistician Paul Cheung, who also spoke, said it is vital to tackle it by starting with the perceptions of Singaporeans first.
He said: "People in Singapore may be too caught up with their own careers and the trappings of urban living. I think they have forgotten about certain basic elements, such as human relationships and family values. We need to go back to the basics."