An exciting historic May

An exciting month of May in the history of Singapore politics. Mr Low Thia Kiang and team earned my respect. My salute to Mr Chiam See Tong. Youngsters are learning not to be apathetic towards politics (thanks to social media). Busy preparing some important text materials and hope everything will materialize soon. Discovered the evil of the mouth. Plenty of puja opportunities. Finally, a mandala to call my own. My guru is recuperating well. Niece is down with suspected dengue....

My sum up of May.....

MUNCHING MATCHA

DESSERTS = STRESSED?

ELECTIONS RALLY FEVER

HISTORY WAS MADE

VESAK 2555

BEAUTIFUL SMOKE OFFERING

SUSHI LUNCHIE

MOM'S CURRY

THICK THICK MANGO LASSI

VADAI VADAI!

NEW IDOL :D

REVOLVING MANTRAS

ROYAL MONTE CARLO

MAY GESHE-LA LIVE LONG!

MAN NAPPING WITH PIRATES

CONSTANT CRAVINGS

MUSICAL CHAIRS

GINGERBREAD LOVE

RELAC ONE CORNER

LIGHT OFFERINGS

FAMOUS IKEA CHICKEN WINGS

TEE REMINDER FROM GURU

MANJUSHRI ON MOUNT WUTAI

FALLEN LEAVES 片地满金

GOLDEN TOFU

LOTUS BLOOM (COURTESY OF @OLDBENG)

OUR NEW PRESIDENT??

And that's all they had to eat....

At a food court one day, I was having brunch at about 11.45am. As it was still early, the lunch time crowd has not arrived. I was sitting at a deserted corner of the huge food court.

I noticed in front of me at the next table, there were 2 girls and 2 guys gathering around a table. The girls were in uniform. I guess they were staff working in the food court. The other 2 guys were in casual clothes (afterwards I were to find out they were also staff working there). I think they were all Indonesians.

I gather they were having their early lunch before they were to get busy during lunch peak hour. One of the guys had bought a packet of food in a plastic bag. He went inside the kitchen or staff room and took out an empty bowl. He then split half of whatever that was inside the packet of food into the bowl, and passed to one of the girls. They were sharing the packet of food. The second girl also went into the staff room and after about 10 minutes, emerged with a bowl of hot water and a packet of instant noodles. She emptied the instant noodles into the hot water. She was having instant noodles for lunch. The other guy went off somewhere to one of the stalls in the food court. He came back shortly with a plate of plain steamed rice. The entire plate of rice was drenched with what looked like curry gravy, but there were no dishes at all. They waited for each other before beginning their meal together and chit chatting happily.

Their simple meal humbled me. Obviously, they could not afford to spend even on food in the food court. Or maybe they were just struggling to scrimp and save a penny or two, with our higher standard of living in Singapore. I guess many foreign workers are also in the same situation, especially those with lesser qualifications and education, in the lower rungs of society. Not all foreign workers had it easy when they left their homeland to work here, away from their loved ones. In fact, I would think all of them had to go through certain hardship even though they earn more here than in their own countries. Although most Singaporeans (including myself) are generally not very receptive to some of these foreign workers from China, the Philippines, Myanmar, India.... we need to constantly remind ourselves that they are also the same as us, human beings trying to make a living. We have to be mindful of our own unnecessary excesses (and excuses!), and ultimately try to be more gracious towards our foreign counterparts.

Witnessing this scene that day made me guilty of my "simple" bowl of Ban Mian (soup noodles), 2 pieces of Kueh Pie Tee and a can of soft drink.

The Phoenix who married into a chicken coop

Watching this clip from China Got Talent (中国达人秀) left me in tears.  The husband described his wife as "a Phoenix who married into a chicken coop"..... a simple touching love story....... be sure to finish watching the clip to the end.

Treasure the one who loves you dearly.  

'

Om a ra pa cha na dhih dhih dhih dhih dhih...

My friend captured on her mobile phone and sent me this lovely photo of a huge smiling Manjushri 文殊菩薩 from Mount Wutai 五台山, where she was on a pilgrimage.

Mount Wutai (literally the "Five Plateau Mountain"), situated in the province of Shanxi China, is the home of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri or 文殊菩薩. Mount Wutai also has an enduring relationship with Tibetan Buddhism. Manjushri was said to bestow spectacular visionary experiences to those on selected mountain peaks and caves there. Hundreds of Buddhist monasteries, temples and shrines were built on the mountain from the 1st century AD to the early 20th century.

Mount Wutai is the only one mountain in China mentioned by Buddhist scriptures, and appeared in many Buddhist books as well. According to a holy Buddhist text, "Manjushri resides on a clear, cold mountain in the northeast," identified as Mount Wutai. The legend said that Manjushri stayed on the mountain and frequently manifested himself as ordinary pilgrims, monks, or even unusual five-colored clouds.

Manjushri is often portrayed as a young man holding a vajra double-edged sword in his right hand and the Prajna Paramita Sutra (ie. Perfection of Wisdom - teaching on Emptiness) in his left hand. Manjushri's most dynamic attribute is his sword, the vajra sword of discriminating wisdom. The sword cuts through ignorance and the entanglements of conceptual views. It cuts away ego and self-created obstacles. Sometimes the sword is in flames, which can represent light or transformation.

We can develop a clear, sharp and profound mind through the practice of Manjushri who embodies transcendental wisdom. Wisdom is a virtuous intelligent mind that functions to understand meaningful objects such as the existence of past and future lives, karma and emptiness. Understanding these objects brings great meaning to this life and countless future lives. Worldly intelligence is deceptive but wisdom will never deceive us.

Manjushri mantra is very easy to chant: Om A Ra Pa Cha Na Dhīh

The mantra is believed to enhance wisdom and improve one's skills in debating, memory, writing, and so on. "Dhih" is the seed syllable of the mantra and is chanted with greater emphasis.  Sometimes when we recite the mantra "om a ra pa cha na dhih..." we continue with a few "dhih dhih dhih dhih dhih dhih dhih dhih...". According to one Manjushri sadhana, we repeat the DHIH as often as possible in the one, same breath while visualizing a golden-orange DHIH on our tongue from which millions of other DHIHs spring, to be swallowed and fill the body purifying all negative energy and stains, especially the shadow of ignorance.

Thanks to my friend who sent me this photo. Definitely with a special connection to Manjushri in a certain way, may I be able to see Manjushri in any of his forms one day.  May I be able to attain the qualities of Manjushri in my practice. 

Eating fish soup in the Library?!

Singapore National Library

A couple of days back, in between appointments, as I was in the Bugis area, I thought I had visit the National Library so I could do some work before my next meeting.  Also, to escape from the mad heat wave outside.  I managed to find the Study Lounge where many tertiary students were mugging.  I could plug my laptop as there were power points available. Little did I expect what I was about to witness within that short 30-minute break. 

Study Lounge (photo credits: gohsteven.blogspot.com)

While the desks were all occupied with young people busy studying or working on their laptops, I saw a couple of individuals, mostly older guys (between age 45-55), lazing around in the lounge where the sofa seats were.  One guy probably in his late 40s was busy fiddling with his laptop, and kept turning the pages of the numerous books he had with him. Nothing unusual, but somehow, you know he was not really doing anything constructive.  Somehow, you know these odd-ones-out were just doing nothing. Their actions convinced me.

There was this guy in his late 40s, bald, wearing a striped polo tshirt and bermudas and track shoes. He was sitting restlessly on the sofa, right in front of me. He had with him a can of Coke and an empty bottle. Turned out he wanted to transfer his Coke into that empty bottle. He finally did, making a wet mess on the coffee table. Then he took out his laptop, but his attention was hardly on the screen. His eyes were furtively looking at the young girls who were walking past, or often staring into space, as if his thoughts were far away. Then he got even more relaxed. He removed his track shoes. I was quesy as he aired his feet with only socks on.  There were a couple of holes in the worn out socks and they were very loose (obviously elasticity was already lost). I would have gone ballistic if I had smelled hong kong foot from him at this point. To me, this is a public enclosed place, we have to be mindful of our manners, especially where everyone can see. 

Then, that guy left. Another guy in white t-shirt, long black pants and slippers immediately took the previous guy's seat, the same spot on the sofa.  Nothing unusual, until I noticed him opening a small plastic bag, obviously food inside. The sign at the study lounge mentioned that food is allowed only in the study lounge. Even though there was a vending machine for drinks and snacks like peanuts and sandwiches, I noticed some people brought snacks and bread from outside. Nothing unusual, until I saw the contents of the guy's plastic bag. He was slowly opening a packet of plain rice, and a plastic bowl of soup. Obviously it was fish soup! Then, to my horror, he started eating his rice and slurping on fish soup on the sofa of the study lounge (with an opened pack of chilli padi and light soya sauce no less!), in full view of all the students who were studying.  I could not believe my eyes. One by one, some people noticed him as the smell of his food filled that corner of the room. Some rolled their eyes, some stifled a giggle, some stared at him with disbelief. I was totally stumped as the guy was eating right in front of me. Pretty appalled and disgusted. 

Although "FOOD" is allowed in the study lounge, I think the Library needs to put a disclaimer to the type kind of food that is allowed in the lounge. Otherwise, we are going to see people eating chicken rice, and perhaps Nandos' chicken next. And I think we need a campaign to teach the public on social etiquette, please.

Remember my previous post  about the elderly lady sleeping on the floor of the Library ?

The "Keenu Reeves" in Turkey

A tweet friend, Mellissa (@melpig), just came back from a vacation to Turkey. While browsing through her photos, I chanced upon this sales guy (man on the right) in Turkey.  He looked so familiar. I went to check my own Turkey photo album.  

I found the guy I was looking for (man on the left). Do you think both of them looked alike?  Are they the same person?  Or do Turkish guys all look alike?  The nose, the eyes, the mouth shape, the ears and even the hairlines are similar! 

I was in Turkey more than a decade ago. When we saw this young guy at the pottery factory, we had to chat him up and take a photo. Such a talented chap. The guys there were so friendly. We nicknamed him a young "Keenu Reeves".  

$2 breakfast in Singapore

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal to kickstart the day. Usually I try to source for my first meal of the day that is delicious and more importantly, value-for-money. Also it has to be quick. Unless you are eating at home or grabbing a bun or bread, It is pretty difficult to find cheap breakfast in fast-paced Singapore, as the standard of living is at an all-time high. Sometimes, I settle for brunch, killing two birds with one stone and hence, save some penny.  

Here are some of my $2 finds for breakfast:

Lontong. This is from a Muslim stall in Marine Parade and my all-time favourite for breakfast or lunch.  I love the combination of rice cakes, begedil (mashed potato, hard boiled egh, long beans and cabbage topped with coconut and delish gravy, all for $2. 

Lo Mai Kai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken) and Siew Mai.  These were from a stall in Bendemeer market.  They are very generous with the chicken and mushroom. Actually I just like glutinous rice with the juicy mushroom, minus the chicken.  Dipping them in a sour spicy chilli sauce was the bomb. Only $2.

Black carrot cake.  I love this fried carrot cake from the market in an old neighbourhood in Sims Drive. If I am nearby, and everytime I am there, I would definitely order Kim Lee's black carrot cake.  They put lots of chopped garlic, making it a fragrant combination with tender carrot cake and egg that melts in your mouth. I usually order the $2 portion.

Economy Char Bee Hoon (fried vermicelli).  Another favourite for breakfast is Char Bee Hoon, be it the dark or fair versions. My favourite is a mix of dark yellow noodles and vermicelli and topped with deep fried bean curd skins. You can add a piece of wu xiang or luncheon meat or sausage. Together with cut green chilli or chilli sauce, it is a filling meal for only $2.

Kaya Toast set.  A local favourite - this combination of kaya toast with soft boiled eggs and coffee is very popular with Singaporeans. This is from a coffeeshop and costs only $2. The more popular shops like Ya Kun, Toast Box and Wang, are selling the set at more than $3.

English Scone.  Once in a while, I indulge in english raisin scones. Each scone costs $2.  Applying jam on top a warm scone makes for a heartening simple breakfast.

Epok Epok and Coffee.  Actually it is TWO epok epok (curry puff) and a cup of coffee for $2. These epok epoks are the Malay version for curry puff, often with filling like sardine and kentang (potato). I love epok epok with its crunchy pastry!

Chee Cheong Fun. These are thin rolls made from rice flour. It goes with black sweet sauce and chilli sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is like eating noodles in a different way.

Gingerbread cookie.  Bought these for niece and nephew to bring to school to eat during recess time. I think they were $2 or less, I could not remember.  I did not have the heart to eat these lovely pretty cookies.

Pork Congee.  My all time favourite - congee cooked with pork, liver, minced meat, egg and topped with you tiao.  I do not know why the stall holder charged me $2 for this bowl of congee. It is usually $3.  Thank you, uncle!  Yummy!

If you can find $2 breakfast, do share.  

How to stop gossiping and creating drama

Sometimes, on and off, I am perturbed by the going-ons around me. Life is not so simple in our daily interaction with the people whom we know, the people who are strangers, the people who love us, the people who do not have a good impression of us, the people whom we do not like, the people whom we like, anyone who manage to crawl into our minds and turn our thoughts topsy turvy. 

What causes harm for others as well as ourselves is merely malicious words; those we speak, those others speak, and those we hear.  Partaking in an innocent conversation easily turn to idle talk, or gossip. We become our very own culprit of committing an  non-virtuous act. Creating negative action crept upon us quietly in mere seconds, while it takes such a long time to accumulate merits.  

How do we stop gossiping ourselves and about others? 

Below excerpts from Tiny Buddha website, a contribution by Shanti Sosienski.

I realized that the ritualistic practice we had all been engaging in is most commonly referred to as “gossip” and it’s not a good habit. Today I decided it’s time to create a new practice in my life when I find myself engaging in conversation which waivers dangerously toward the “g” word.

1. When you find yourself repeating a name over and over again in a story, stop after the second repeat (even if it’s a different story) and ask yourself how bringing this up is bettering the world.

2. If you are repeating a story about someone, pause for a moment and take some time to think about that person. What is at the root of the problem there? Could you be so annoyed by it because it’s familiar to you and might be a practice you are guilty of, too?

3. If you find that someone is constantly challenging your world in a way that doesn’t feel positive to you, can you remove that person from your life? If it’s your mother-in-law maybe not, but how can you work through or around this challenge?

4. If this person is someone who is going to continue to be in your life for a very long time it’s important that you don’t let the stories become just that—stories. Tell them over and over and they morph and grow more fantastic with time. Look at what’s important in that moment, focus on that, and let the gossip roll away.

5. If you absolutely must talk about this person, give yourself a time limit. Look at a clock on the wall. Tell the story in 1-2 minutes. Wrap it up. Change the topic.

Doesn’t that feel good just thinking about it?

“If you propose to speak, always ask yourself, is it true, is it necessary, is it kind.” 

– The Buddha

Let's stop gossiping and creating drama.  Create dharma instead.