Back in 2004, I was a typical teenager, one who loved to rebel, who thought the world was always against me and thus I should go against the world. I attended Sunday school, an obligation made by my mother and wouldn't dare to say that I benefited much from it. The wisdom I had was nowhere sufficient to interpret the lessons from Buddha's life on my own.
I joined both June and December CEP in 2004. I learnt of the significance of Buddhism in my daily life, I learnt how Buddhism could be applied in every little moment of my everyday life. It need not entail meditating for hours nor speaking the wisest words, but the mindfulness of my every thought, speech and action. Then, I joined SBM Youth.
There, I found refuge. I found peace. I experienced mindfulness. I learnt, truly, what was, the present.
From 2004 to 2005, I barely missed a single sharing session. There was so much to know, so much to find out about Buddhism, about Buddha and definitely, about myself. In 2005, I was a group leader for CEP for the first time. The fruits of my labour, seeing the campers learn and enjoy. I felt the bliss of spreading the Dharma to others. I learnt to appreciate the hard work put in by my previous GLs, Melon, Felicia Teo, Zeyan, Pearly.
In 2006, I lost my direction. I was blinded. I couldn't find my objective. I left myself to cool down. I talked to Lawrence and he told me: Don't worry, I believe that you can find your direction and I have faith that you will come back. True enough, I did.
Down to 2007, it was O level's year. To fight for my dream as a speech therapist, I studied. Studied. Studied. I didn't attend camps, because I was in Thailand.
Then to 2008, although I've been missing out so much, setting my foot into the premise of SBM still engulfs me with a sense of belonging, a sense of awareness that the Buddha is always there to impart his knowledge to me, together with my brothers and sisters in the Dharma. The year was a rough patch for the group. Together with Hangqi, we took up the role of Camp Master and Camp Mistress. It was tiring, I had so many (and too many) commitments, but everyone did their part to keep me going. Their energy, their vigor, their encouragement pushed me on. They'd insist that I study hard for my Promotional examinations and refused to assign me any work. We pulled the show off. The camp brought me so much closer to these brothers and sisters, I could sense the motivation in each and everyone of them to propogate the Dhamma.
Back to now, 2009, once more, I would be mugging like nobody's business. Together with commitments like YMCA, Hi-Y, Awwa, Special O's, and dragon boating, this bunch of people are still together with me, helping me along the way, people in Marcomm like Andrina, Felicia, Yuanyi, Zhenyu. The crazy guys like Hangqi, Kevin, Kaiwen, Vicky, Xiaohei, Ernest, Zhenglin. The older ones who's always ready to guide me whenever I need, Shixiong, Zeming, Zekui, Pearly, Zeyan, Alvin. The little ones who never fail to bring a smile to my face, diana, Shaun, Cleonn. The girls who are my hardcore mugging partners, Evelyn, Xinyi, Cherngshing.
And to every one else in Singapore Buddhist Mission (Youth), it's you, that have allowed me to very proudly tell the rest of the world:
I'm A Buddhist!!
Thank you Mable, for all the good times you have shared with us and for standing with the group through the bad times too. May you continue to grow in wisdom and compassion under the guidance of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, as you will play a vital part with the group in trying our best to achieve our mission: Bringing Joy through the Triple Gems!
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