"When we die, we don't just vanish" - Venerable Choden Rinpoche

A month ago, I befriended a Dharma brother. I asked him about a certain Rinpoche whom I have never met before, and asked him to inform me if this highly realised master is in town.  A few days ago, he emailed me saying that the 77-year-old Venerable Choden Rinpoche would be in KL for teachings in December. Wow.

Although at this moment, it is highly unlikely I would be able to go KL to attend his teachings, it is my wish to meet him at least once in this lifetime to receive his teachings and blessings. May I be able to do so.

Earlier this year in January, I had dreamt of Choden Rinpoche even though I have never met him before in real life. That is why I am very curious about him. I had only seen his photo once with my guru Lama Zopa Rinpoche and that was about it. It was only after this dream that I went to search more information about Choden Rinpoche. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has addressed Choden Rinpoche as Vajradhara, the embodiment of all Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. Vajradhara is the tantric form of Shakyamuni Buddha. Below photos, Zopa Rinpoche both welcoming and sending Choden Rinpoche off from an event. 

In the dream, I was to attend a very grand Dharma event in a modern looking white building with many rooms and auditoriums with high ceilings, each with a huge projection screen. There were many people present, including my whole family and relatives, all scattered around the building. My grandma was following me closely, with a slight limp. There was even one particular room with a mini ferris wheel and some participants were seated in the ferris wheel's cubicles! (On hindsight, that might have been a symbol of a gigantic Dharma Wheel!).  I also sighted a brightly lit room with 2 wooden high throne seats. 

Everyone was talking about a Rinpoche and all I could hear was "Rinpoche...(this and that)..".  Throughout the dream, I did not see any photos of Choden Rinpoche or any altar or Buddha statues or any Sangha. However, his face kept flashing before me as I walked around trying to find a seat. Then, all of a sudden, I saw Choden Rinpoche walking past me very slowly, smiling gently, holding a rosary in his hand. Everyone hushed and bowed down their heads in respect, as he entered the room with the 2 high throne seats. End of dream. 

There are many things in life which we cannot explain. Just as I do not know why I have a dream of someone even though I have not met him in real life before. I can only guess that in my previous life, I might have been a fly or an animal who was sticking around with Choden Rinpoche. :)

Choden Rinpoche is regarded as one of the great masters of the day, and is particularly famed for his pure moral conduct. Born in 1933 in Eastern Tibet, Choden Rinpoche was recognized at age 3 as an important incarnate lama, and ordained at age 6 by the great Pabongka Rinpoche who reportedly said, “I found your name in Gaden Monastery’s Golden Stupa". Choden Rinpoche entered Sera Je Monastery where he mastered all the philosophical teachings required for the highest monastic title of Geshe Lharampa. 

When the Communist Chinese invaded Tibet in 1959, Choden Rinpoche was arrested and jailed for several months. After his release, Rinpoche went into solitary retreat for 19 years. He never left his tiny, dark room in Lhasa for 19 years and was virtually unknown in his monastery for this reason.  In 1985 he was allowed to leave Tibet for India where he finally met up with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  He has since taught for many years to thousands of students at Sera Je monastery in South India. At the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Choden Rinpoche has visited the West and FPMT Centers to give teachings and lead retreats.

His great insight into the Dharma and his peerless and compassionate conduct have inspired many students in the West to follow in his example to take ordination vows.

His words of wisdom, on his 19 years retreat:

"The future life is more important than this life – this life is just like a dream. So if you went and did as the Chinese said, you would get a good house and car, you could enjoy so many things, but this would have caused you to fall to the lower realms, where you would experience sufferings for so many eons. Future lives are much more important than this life. In order to work for the future lives, I stayed inside to practice.

When we die we don’t just vanish. We have to take rebirth, and we don’t have any choice in that birth, only what our karma determines – whether we’re reborn in the lower realms or upper realms. If you’ve done positive things in this life you can take rebirth in the human realm, and you can enjoy the result of these actions. If you do negative actions, the karma does not vanish; even the smallest karma accumulated you have to experience in the future.

The future is very long, many eons. This life is so short, it’s just fiction, just a dream. Your mind continues infinitely, and when you die in the next life, again it doesn’t vanish, and again you continue to the next life, and the next – many lives you have to go through. So all of these are determined by the present actions. You have no choice. So the present action is very important. This life is so short, perhaps only one hundred years – very small compared to the future lives. This is why the future lives are more important than this life".

Giving the benefit of the doubt

Just a couple of days ago, I was at the MRT station. I was using the ATM when a local, very tanned Chinese man probably in his early 50s waved at me from a couple of metres away. He was at the ticketing machine. I thought he needed help in dispensing the EZlink card. When I reached the machine, he showed me 80 cents on his palm, and he said he was short of $2.10. Shocked, I said "huh?" and knew what he wanted. He said he had no money to take transport but he needed to go Jurong for a job interview as he was jobless.

Even though I did not exactly believe him 100%, I took out my coin purse and digged out exactly $2.10 in coins and put them in his palm. Although I did not questioned him, I did not give that friendly an expression either. I think I looked grim or stony.  I walked back to the ATM. From the corner of my eye, I was watching him as he put in the money to buy the card. After like 2 minutes later, he got his card. Before he walked off, he turned and looked at me with a little hesitant look, and said "thank you" in Mandarin. I was a little relieved his purpose was indeed to buy a single-trip ticket. I had earlier on half-expected him to run off with the money without buying any ticket. 

In my mind, I was thinking, if I had ignored his plea (begging) earlier because I was suspicious, I would be feeling a little guilty now for not helping him. At least he was not like one guy previously who begged me for $5, saying he was starving, yet he was puffing and holding a cigarette at the same time.  At least he was not like yet another guy who begged me for $10 to take a cab! Those 2 times were the only times I ignored the "beggars".

In similar situations to this incident, I would always choose to give the person the benefit of the doubt, and just treat it as an act of a little charity. Just as I have received a lot of kindness from others, I should also do the same for others. I choose to believe that maybe he was sent by the Divine Beings to test me.  In this way, I feel better. May the man get a job soon.

"When you give, 

you show your appreciation 

to the source of all things."

- Deepak Chopra

Singapore Tibetan Buddhists do not endorse the unauthentic Panchen Lama, Mr Yeo

I read with astonishment a Straits Times report that our Foreign Minister George Yeo had requested to meet and has met up with Tibet's so-called Panchen Lama on 13 Sept 2010. I am even more appalled to learn that Mr Yeo has extended an invitation to the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama to visit Singapore. Note the comments at the bottom of that article.  Below is my two-cents worth:

1. Before acting without consulting the relevant parties, the Singapore government and authorities should get their facts and history of the Panchen Lama straight.  If they are not aware, the Panchen Lama Mr Yeo met is not the authentic Panchen Lama, and in terms of  pure lineage and incarnation, he is not recognised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The real Panchen Lama has been captured and possibly harmed by the Chinese government.

2. The presence of the representatives from Singapore Buddhist Federation (SBF) in that meeting does NOT represent all Buddhists in Singapore, especially when there is no representative from the Mahayana Tibetan Buddhists in its committee. The community of the Mahayana Tibetan Buddhists in Singapore is growing and is definitely not a small number.  

3. Why is the Singapore Government mixing religion with politics?  Whatever happened to promoting religious harmony, and the Government's objective to keep itself secular and democratic in regards to religion? Mr Yeo should have been more sensitive to Singapore's Tibetan Buddhist community, especially more so when he himself is a Catholic.

4. Singapore always strives to be the Number One in everything. But why does Mr George Yeo wants to be "the FIRST foreign leader known to meet the (fake) Panchen Lama"? 

5. The unbroken lineages of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas, as well as the lineages of the Karmapas and other great Tibetan masters and their traditions are passed down since the Buddha's time. It is very sacred. It is not just like the General Elections in Singapore, whereby you can vote/elect who you like. The Panchen Lama, and possibly the future Dalai Lamas CANNOT "just be elected or appointed" by the China government as and when they dictate due to political reasons. It just does not work that way.

Below is a letter from Tara Melwani, who wrote to SBF and whom I feel aptly represented the views on behalf of the Tibetan Buddhists here in Singapore.

To the President and Executive Committee of the Singapore Buddhist Federation:

I am writing in response to the recent media reports on Foreign Minister George Yeo’s meeting with the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama in Beijing on 14 September 2010. It was reported that SBF members who were present at that meeting had extended an invitation to this Panchen Lama to visit Singapore and meet members of the Singapore Buddhist community. The news report indicates that this invitation came on behalf of all members of the Singapore Buddhist community. This gives the impression that all Buddhists in Singapore welcome this move.

This is the contrary to the view point of Mahayana Tibetan Buddhists following the lineage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is customary in the 500-year old lineage in Tibetan Buddhism for the Panchen Lamas to be chosen and recognised by the Dalai Lamas. It is an important factor to myself and other dharma brothers and sisters that we maintain the purity of our Guru-disciple relationship. You may be unaware that His Holiness the Dalai Lama did not recognise this Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama that you have invited. As a result, we do not encourage this visit and making this karmic connection. We are dismayed that this fundamental view point was not taken into account when you invited the Chinese appointed Panchen Lama to Singapore.

The Declaration of Religious Harmony of Singapore states the importance of and the commitment of Singaporeans towards religious harmony. Since religious harmony is a prominent pillar of our Singapore society and furthermore, is mentioned as one of the main objectives of the SBF, I am curious to know how you have considered this aspect when you proferred this invitation on behalf of the Buddhist community in Singapore.

Please note that I have written this letter in my personal capacity as a practicing Mahayana Tibetan Buddhist and a student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is my greatest wish that the views of all Buddhist traditions in Singapore can be shared and better understood amongst Buddhists and Singaporeans for our mutual benefit and harmony.

With my deepest respect,

Tara Melwani

As a Tibetan Buddhist, I DO NOT ENDORSE any visit by the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama and do not wish to be karmically linked to an unauthentic guru, who is merely chosen by the Chinese government.  We have to be very mindful that by creating the affinity with an unauthentic lama, we directly affect our own karma as well as that of the people in Singapore. I hope the government take into consideration this issue gravely and provide an explanation the soonest possible to the Tibetan Buddhists in Singapore. 

May your Diwali be filled with brightness and happiness

A walk in an old neighbourhood

There are not many old neighbourhoods left in Singapore. I mean the older generation housing estates. As I was in Bendemeer, after my lunch, I took a brisk stroll around the neighbourhood of these one-room flats, the market place and shops. 

What motivated me for this series of shots was, at first I saw an old man sitting outside his ground level flat with an opened umbrella as it was drizzling, and I wonder why he was out there. Wanted so much to steal a shot but it would be too obvious.

I think Singaporeans have the habit of storing and showing off their stuff outside the house. That is called "full utilising" whatever public space you can find outside other than  your own house.

This seems to be a little corner for the residents to take their afternoon snooze, in the open.

They say, we should not air our dirty linen in public, no?

These poles are so old school.

It always bring a tinge of sadness whenever I see old folks sitting alone by themselves beneath HDB flats with no one to talk to.

Not promoting gas, but thought this is quite cute.

Reminds me of Pasir Ris....

The irony... I had wanted to showcase the old signboard in the background "Gay Wah Flower" with the "F" missing.

The designated spot for burning incense paper. I did not know that incense paper offerings for Tua Pek Kong and other deities have to be separated. Erm...

The 'colourful' chair caught my attention outside this house. I guess you know what it is for.... the chair where the deity sits on, through the person who is in trance. It is called Tang Kee.

The corridor of these one room flats on the ground floor, never fails to evoke a very insecure and unsafe feeling.

The old school thang for the rubbish bin. Have not seen this in a long while.

A weird spot for this rubbish chute. 

The behind of a shop, taking pride with pots of flowers outside, amidst all the other rubbish.

Fresh water melons ready to be sold! And they think the water melons will not get stolen, being stored in baskets and tied with strings like this?

How many of us still use the public telephones nowadays, besides the foreign workers who use these to call home?

This old lady rummaging the rubbish, looking for 'valuable' finds to sell ie. used cardboards and soft drink cans.

Sambal Belimbing Pork Belly

There is one particular dish which my mom sometimes cook, and I like it very much. I feel it is pretty unusual as it is seldom found in the menu in restaurants or even in the kopitiam tze char stalls. That is why I would like to introduce it here. I shall name this dish Sambal Belimbing Pork Belly (3-layer meat 三层肉).

The core ingredient used for this dish is a particular fruit called Belimbing. Belimbing means star fruit in Malay. Its English term is called Leatherback Bamboo Tree (or Leatherback acid) and it is a type of fruit that comes from Malaysia and Indonesia. This fruit is small like the size of a thumb and it is rarely eaten fresh because it was too sour. Belimbing is commonly used as a flavor, and as an ingredient of a sauce for vegetables or meat or fish curries, or spicy and sour dishes. It is not that easily available and cannot be found in the supermarkets. My mom buys it from the wet market if they are available, usually she buys 2 small packets.

After removing some core tiny seeds in the center, it is cut into small slices. My mom lightly pounded the crunchy strips and squeezed them to extract some of the juice out. The reason is because, otherwise, it will be very sour. I heard that its juice is very effective for relieving high blood pressure, diabetes and blackouts. In addition it is also effective for treatment of dental pain and acne. For those who suffer from continuous cough, it is advisable to boil the fruit and drink the boiled water every morning and evening.

Mom bought 2 strips of the 3 layer pork, about 700gm. It is washed clean and dry. Then as for the sambal chilli, mom always has some ready paste in the fridge because she made in batches from scratch. The chilli paste usually includes belacan (shrimp paste), small onions, small and big chilli, garlic, candlenuts etc...  Usually she blended the soaked dry chilli, onions, candlenuts and belacan into a fine paste, and with heated oil, fry the pounded ingredients over medium heat till fragrant.

Next she cut the 3 layer pork into slices and marinated them with sesame oil, light soya sauce, pepper, and corn flour, and left for at least an hour or more.  Then it's time to cook the dish!  Frying some minced garlic over heated oil till fragrant, next she added the chilli paste she had prepared beforehand and stir for 1 minute. Then she added the 3 layer pork, making sure to stir till the pork is well coated with the paste. Next she added the Belimbing and salt to taste. Stir well, cover and cook over medium flame, stirring every few minutes. The combination of the pork and belimbing and paste is left to simmer till it is cooked. For 3 layer pork, it is advisable to cook it a little longer so that will be more tender.  Note that you need not put in all the belimbing, but you can gradually increase a little at a time to suit your taste, if you do not like it too sour.

Sambal Belimbing Pork Belly is completed!  Here is a close up. Can you see the pork  and the darkened green belimbing already well mixed into a delicious looking gravy? Serve this with steamed plain rice, it is very appetising, because of the sour and tangy taste from the Belimbing.

This Sambal Belimbing Pork Belly is a very satisfying dish, as you will not feel lemak (too filling) due to its sour gravy. I am always excited and happy when my mom decides to cook this dish.  Maybe next time I will attempt to cook this dish myself.

Murtabak from Mufiz Spice Restaurant

One of the days, I passed by this Indian shop selling all kinds of Indian dishes; Roti Prata (savoury & sweet types), Mee Goreng, Briyani, Indian Rojak, Roti John, Murtabak, Curry Mutton, Thosai, Vadai, Kambing Soup, Indian-style Western food, Tulang Merah, Nasi Lemak etc.... simply too many choices.

As I was alone and it was lunch time, I had a sudden craving for Murtabak. I think I have not had Murtabak for many years, could not even remember when was the last time I ate this.  So I ordered a Chicken Murtabak. When it came, I was a little shocked it was huge!

Accompanying the murtabak are slices of cucumber dribbled with chilli sauce. They usually like to add fresh cucumber on their dishes like murtabak and mee goreng.

Murtabak is a stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread which usually includes minced mutton or chicken, along with garlic, egg, onion, and it is eaten with curry sauce. The top of the roti is a little crisp yet thinly veiled with all the stuffing of the chicken and onions inside.

The way to eat this is simply mixing the Murtabak (roti wrapped with chicken meat fillings), cucumber and soaked with the curry sauce.  The taste of the Murtabak was bursting, piping hot and spicy juicy. It was like spicy chicken pie.

It was rather filling as it was a huge portion. I could not finish the entire Murtabak. I have no complaints. 

The meal went so well with a cuppa hot Teh Tarik (milk tea). In fact I ordered another Teh Halia (Ginger milk tea).  Such a satisfying meal. The place is known as  Mufiz Spice Restaurant. They are located at a row of shops opposite Upper Boon Keng food centre, near Block 16.

伴

What a nice love song '伴' by 黃小琥 and meaningful lyrics too.  Specially dedicated to someone who is getting married soon. To my friend (you know who you are), see.... I told you everything would happen the way you wanted it to be, see the power of prayers (I prayed for you too!) and the protection you have received earlier this year. Please remember to go back to the place to give thanks at the end of this year with some donation. Although I am surprised by your choice of a partner, but I'm glad you have heeded my advice! Hahah! Real happy that you have found your 伴. Really really happy for you, my friend! :D