Ashley with her funny stunts

My Little Shrine

My heartfelt gratitude to ChyeChye and Sukandar for accompanying me to buy this Buddha statue from Evergreen. It has been with me for 8 years, watching me grow up and witnessing my countless cycles of ups and downs.

Lord Buddha, My Teacher, My Guidance in life.

Happy Vesak 2008!

Happy Vesak 2008.

I spent a simple pre-vesak celebration with several Dharma sis/bros at HuiSuo, lead by Ven Kaizhao. As emphasized by shifu, parts of the world are now in crisis with the aftermaths of the China quakes and Myammar cyclones. We should channel our resources to help in relieving the sufferings there, instead of spending too much unnecessarily on celebrations.

The evening was no doubt a quiet but meaningful one. We did chantings and offerings to the triple gems. We had another dana session the next morning. I cant help but feel guilty for being absent from there for so long. Some of the Dharma friends and even Shifu commented that they have not seen me for so long. Shifu also remarked that i am getting overweight. Indeed, i have been spending most of my fridays and saturdays at buffets and indulging in great food. I have stopped attending the Dharma sessions (be it at huisuo or CMC) for so long. I am really feeling very happy to see so many of my Dharma bro/sis at the HuiSuo (Kenny Lam, MeiBei, Katrine, Riki, Pearlyn, Jolin, KeePang, KinSong, Teddy, Kairine, Waitu, Gaik Hong and her canadian husband!), in addition to the regulars from HuFaYuan.

Vesak is (supposed to be) a very important day to all Buddhists. It may carry different meanings to different individual, and I regard it as a special day for me to remind myself how slack and lazy i have been in practising the Dharma, as it also recharges and reinforces my faith in Buddhism. Last evening at PKS was just as crowded. As i squeezed through the crowds, i saw past images of myself running up and down in the compound, be it as a tour guide, manning booth selling stuffs, or just as a visitor. The number of familiar faces i see each year are getting less, but at least i am still seeing some. As i see the various activities participated by the thousands of folks, i also see the different kinds of needs & wants that each individual is seeking from Buddhism. Its true that we should not judge these activities, but at least as a buddhist with some basic foundations, we should be looking at stuffs which can help to uplift or upgrade ourselves spiritually.

May the Buddha blesses you, Dharma guides you, and Sangha protects you. Happy Vesak!

She has grown up

Bears bears everywhere ...

Probably this is the first time there is a gal in my family, my parents (yeah both of them) spare no time in flooding my house with soft-toys - ever since my niece start to appreciate the first bear given to her. When i was a kid, my room was full of toy cars.

Kids are really fun, especially when they start knowing how to respond to you. From teaching her how to crawl, followed by how to walk, now i am teaching her how to talk. I can foresee that very soon, she will start to argue with me, hahaha.