Psychological Gardening

Yesterday my lecturer said something that struck a cord :

"Our mind is like a garden. Without psychological gardening, we will be continuously infested with weeds of negativity.

Only when we continuously take care of these weeds and clear our minds will we be able to stay positive and clear-headed."

Have you guys been doing your psychological gardening?

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Hello Everybody!

How have you people been doing? Collecting enough angpows and eating enough bakwas and pineapple tarts over there?

CNY over here is equivalent to normal day around life, except for the fact that we can't pack four season's roasted duck home to eat :(

Living here is like living around a retreat center, where it gets dark before 5pm, streets get deserted, and all around is peace and quiet. (Maybe not so peaceful outside the house, since it's kinda dangerous.)

If not for Jelicia entertaining me with cereal prawns, ondeh ondeh, and Ernest tempting me with the infamous ahlian beehoon, life here would be like a retreat. (Yes, our director of welfare services is extending her services and love all the way to Hertfordshire with the assistance of whatsapp).

I'm not saying it's that bad, because there's no reason to procrastinate. It's the perfect day to walk down the path where trees are bare, where squirrels fly around and apples fill the floor. The weather is never too hot, and the radiator is never too warm. Everyday I walk down the streets looking at the scenery.

My friends commented that the blue-ness of the sky here is a lot nicer than Singapore's, and another commented that we don't even take note of the sky in singapore, which is very true. How many times have we slowed down to look at the awesomeness around us?

There's a dedicated room in school for meditation, though for now doing it in my room provides me with good conditions. AThere's literally nothing to distract me/give me reason to procrastinate. I'm looking forward to attending the Buddhist service on Thursday, although in the photo i see lots of white hair. Let's go surprise them with some youngster walking in :)

It's so peaceful down here, and I'm enjoying this slow motion pretty much :) (But there's still this part of me that's waiting for Amy to come over soon so I can hop around town with her. Sorry zeming!)

Don't worry, all is good here. And how are you guys?

Relics of CEP

 

Post-Spring Cleaning. Relics of Singapore Buddhist Mission (Youth). Will post the camp booklet from the inaugural Camp Ehi-Passiko 1997, of which yours truly was only a young and innocent 12 years old boy.

Above are documents from the planning of Camp Ehi-Passiko Dec 2004 and June 2005.

Celebrating 30 Years of Dhamma Propagation

 

Singapore Buddhist Mission may be a small and humble Buddhist centre but it has been influential and innovative in the spread of the Buddha’s teachings here in Singapore. It is the first Buddhist organisation in Singapore to publish Dhamma books and conduct classes and talks to the general public in the English language. In recent years, the Mission is also the creator of one of the world’s first Buddhist application on iPhone and iPad, the pocket Pali Chanting.

To celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Mission’s founding, members of the Maha Sangha, devotees and friends of Singapore Buddhist Mission come together on 3 December 2011 for a Gala Dinner

 A ten-course vegetarian dinner was accompanied with a variety of song and dance performances put up by youth members. The audiences were treated to a candle light procession to the tune of Chattavimana Gatha, a flash-mob dance performance, Buddhist hymn singing and Buddhist rock songs performed by our very own youth members. SBM also had the honour of having Messengers of Dhamma, a popular Buddhist choir group in Malaysia, to perform a number of original Buddhist hymns.

The Singapore Buddhist Mission has been a family to all its members and friends because of the hard work and effort of its spiritual advisors, members and volunteers. May we also applaud and appreciate the efforts of all who have contributed to the Mission in one way or another. The Mission will not be what it is today without you. As the spiritual journey of the Mission continues, may it continue to grow in faith, wisdom and compassion and continue to be a family to all its devotees.

 

30th anniversary has been such a spiritual uplifting journey to see how SBM has grown from a simple mission to what we are today. To see how the young and old are able to celebrate as one together with the Sangha evokes a sense of belonging not only to SBM but to the greater mission of serving the Buddhist community. It has been my pleasure to organise such a joyous event. 
-   Kerwin Kwek Zeming. Chief Organiser, 30^th Anniversary Gala Dinner.

Every member of the audience was also entitled to an exclusive door gift; a tote bag specially designed by youth member, Liew Yuanyi for the event. Yuanyi is inspired by the love and compassion of the Buddha and aspires to express her faith within her artworks.

Newly revamped Tri-Monthly Newsletter!

The newly revamped tri-montly newsletter of SBM is the brainchild of Kassapa House of Communication! Thank you Team for the great job. Refreshing to see a new design. Cheers to Comms. Director Png Zhenyu and House Advisor Ryan Lee!

CEP Post Camp Activities

Camp Ehi-Passiko 2011 Videos

Camp Ehi-Passiko 2011 - Old School from zenhora on Vimeo.

A post to remind us on the benefits and goals of meditation

Do Buddhists meditate to “reach God through silence”?

BY SHI CHUANGUAN, ON 10TH JANUARY, 2012
Source: buddhavacana.net

This morning started off as Tuesdays do for me since 2009 September. My Dharma brother Cheng Soon and I would meet at the Buddhist Library and we would do translation of the Buddhist teachings, from Chinese to English. Today was no different. Except when I read the sms from a friend about the Straits Times article "Quiet contemplation on common ground" by review editor Chua Mui Hoong.

Over the last weekend (7th & 8th January 2012), representatives from various faiths came together for a seminar on "The Contemplative Dimension of Faith". The theme and title was "common ground", representing the contemplative practice (meditation) that is common in many religions.

As I read the article before lunch today, a line grabbed my attention.

"… they are all engaged in a practice both unique to their tradition, and common to all faiths: reaching God through silence."

I reread the article and line a few times but did not seem to figure out how came about. I've posted the picture below on my facebook wall to highlight that it is either a misrepresentation or misinterpretation of Buddhist meditation shared during the seminar.

In my article in the handout given during the seminar, I explicitly highlighted that "Buddhists have no belief in a creator God". This almost did not survive the final edition due to … a space constraint … but made it to print after the organising team managed to resolve it. I'm glad I insisted because even with that clear assertion and my session where I pointed out the clear path, fruits and goal of Buddhist meditation, Ms Chua unfortunately went away from the seminar with the wrong understanding.

Buddhists do not meditate to reach God through silence.

Simply put, Buddhists meditate to cultivate Samadhi (Concentration) and Prajna (Wisdom). This wisdom culminates in Nirvana, i.e. complete Cessation of Suffering, attaining the fruit of Arahanthood or Buddhahood. This is not communion with god/God(s).

There are some Buddhists and moderate theistic person who may wonder why this monk need to highlight this. After all, isn't a common ground more meaningful for peace and harmony than picking on the details? As they say, the devil is in the details.

By highlighting this in the handout, talk, on fb and here, I'm clarifying what is and is not Buddhism. If this remains unmentioned, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike may start to think that Buddhists also pray to God, just using different names, when in fact we do not.

Further, by highlighting this here, and especially during Geylang Serai Inter-Racial And Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) and other dialogues in Singapore, I am trying to promote understanding and not mere 'feel good, we are the world, hands together' homogenised world religion type of understanding.

Common ground is a very noble and beautiful effort by the Christian community towards interfaith harmony and understanding. Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) and its members supported this seminar precisely because of that. But common ground was not meant to and should not lead to homogenisation. Homogenisation can and I believe has lead to the exact opposite: Fundamentalism.

As I mention in numerous talks, Buddhists do not have a belief in God (boys and girls, how many times have I mentioned this? Sunk in yet?), but this does not make theistic believers our enemy nor us yours. And that is very important moving forward, both in peace and harmony, but also nurturing in-depth understanding amongst faiths.

In parting, I believe that as Sister Theresa communicated to me through sms, Ms Chua was sharing her personal experience in good faith. But I believe it would serve the readers and public better if her sharing reflect what is reality.

Manjusri Secondary Sch Sec 1 Orientation

First project of 2012: helping with Manjusri Secondary School's Secondary 1 Orientation. Spearheaded by Manjusri's Buddhist Interact Club (BIC). Thank you Mrs. Cheng for always giving us the opportunity to serve!