Difference Between You and I

Question: What are the differences between you and I?
Answer: You and I are the differences.

Simple Bear 26.12.2014.

Progression or Regression?

Progression or Regression?

"While we may perceived that we had progressed as a society; paradoxically, we may have also at the same time, regressed as humanity."
Simple Bear 18.12.2014.

Patience is a gift

Patience is a gift

Rainy morning didn't dampen my mood. In fact, it added another contemplative dimension.

On my way to volunteer at a camp for children with special needs, hoping to bring a little sunshine to them. No matter how heavy is the rain, there is always sunlight at the end of the dark clouds; we all need patience, a gift of joy and happiness, to wait out the rain and for the sunlight.

Patience, as a gift to oneself and others
 
Patience, to understand one and other's pain;
 
Patience, to empathise with each other;
 
Patience, to protect oneself and others from anger and sadness;

Patience, to protect oneself and others from each other's ego 

Patience, to be patient with oneself and others

I may not be contactable for the next few days so please I seek your kind understanding that my replies to your messages and posts may be delayed till late Sunday.

Have a good week and weekend everyone smile emoticon

In the meanwhile, be patient with the rain and you will appreciate the sunlight better later.

May all be well and happy.

Love,
Simple Bear

Suffering, which awakens

"It is suffering that awakens you."
Ajahn Chah
(as mentioned by Ajahn Sumedho)

The phrase which struck a chord in me. A very good, humorous, straight forward Dharma talk by Ajahn Sumedho on his reflections on Ajahn Chah, on his experiences living with him.

Thank you Bro Richmond Tan for sharing.

To all my fellow brothers and sisters in suffering, aging, sickness and death, may everyone have the conditions to be awaken, may all have the conditions to be free from those ropes which binds us to Samsara.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2toDDXdKUg&feature=youtu.be
 

Wasn't Ready for the End

I wasn't ready for the end

Was feeling bouts of giddiness after dinner yesterday night. As I was struggling to keep myself steady on the road and in the MRT, this thought arises, if it is time for me to go, I am ready. There was no fear of death, just worries over those I may leave behind.

The dizziness got progressively worse as I got home, I decided to sleep it off and that is when it all went downhill. As I lie on the bed, the whole world spins around me. I was experiencing vertigo (and I think I can understand the song by U2 better). I quickly sat up, fear arose in me, the fear of losing control over my world, the fear of having the world spins so fast around me that my existence seems unreal.

After a few hours, the feeling of losing control progressively got worse, the dizziness was consuming me and I decided to check myself in the Accident and Emergency department of Singapore General Hospital. At the hospital, the nurses were persistent in asking me to be on the wheelchair. They saw me struggling to keep myself from falling over, I relented in the end, and was ushered in the doctor fairly quickly. Blood tests were conducted. My blood pressure was measured again and again, for consistency. And I was eventually put on the drip and under observation for hours.

In the hours that followed, I was falling in and out of sleep, and I was aware that the thoughts which arises in the moments that I was awake were the work in office that I have not finished, the budget which I was supposed to submit, the plans for the camps, activities that I am supposed to conduct for the next few days. And also, if anything serious was to happen to me, the implications I have on my family.

I wasn't afraid of death, but I wasn't able to let go of the commitments that I have, the promises that I made, the people that I love. I wasn't ready for the end just yet. Fortunately for me, the results of the blood tests didn't show any abnormalities, and the doctor told me that it was just a more serious case of viral infection and I should be taking more rest. I was discharged from the hospital.

The episode lead to this reflection, perhaps I was ready for death itself but I wasn't ready to let go of the many things which binds me to this world. There are still much work to be done before I can truly be free from, those which binds.

In the meanwhile, I need to sleep.

Apologies to my friends who had to take over my duties over my commitments for today and the weekend at work, school and my volunteering activities. Thank you for being so understanding. And for those who had messaged me to ask after me, I am truly appreciative of the care and concern.

May all be well, healthy and happy.
With Love
Simple Bear 17.10.2014.

Maybe they won't but I will

Maybe they won't notice but I did

In life, we often underestimate the impact of, at first glance, insignificant thoughts, actions which later proved to be significant to our lives.

I was rushing from the Institute of Mental Health today, where I had a volunteer retreat just moments, to my next appointment when I discovered I had a marker in my pocket. The marker was used to write down thoughts during the retreat and it belongs to the facilitation organization which was hired to run the retreat.

I was in a moral dilemma. I was already quite a distance away from the venue where they held the retreat and I was in a rush for time. I deliberated between the thought of going back to return the marker and run the risk of being late for my appointment or just continue on with my appointment without returning the marker.

"They won't even notice it." this was the rationalising thought in my mind If I am going to not return the marker.

"But I did." it was the thought of my conscience. In the moment, this contemplation arises, "if I allowed myself to indulge in this seemingly harmless act, the act may pave the way for other similar acts, this little act may become a habitual tendency and this tendency may become my personality and this personality, my fate." By this seemingly little harmless act of indulgence, I had opened the door to hell, to sufferings.

I returned the marker back to the facilitators and they were surprised that I would come all the way back just to return the marker but I was glad. Glad that I didn't take what is not given and for the contemplation which arises in response. We have overestimated our moral strength and underestimate that little act of indulgence. Another good example is dieting. We allowed ourselves more cheat meals in a give time period, thinking that such small acts won't impact the dieting plan and before we know it, we had fallen to the army of greed.

I began to look at other habitual tendencies and seemingly harmless thoughts or acts that I have and hopefully have the conditions and strength to change them little by little, thought by thought, act by act.

By a drop of water at a time, the ocean is filled.

May all be well and happy.

How could I?

"How could you let her talk to you like this."

A stranger was feeling a whole lot of negative emotions from the perceived injustice that he saw, directed towards me.

"It is alright." I smiled, "Everyone is stressed, thank you."

Just a few seconds ago, an angry volunteer was demanding a goodie bag that she felt she was entitled to but was not given to her. Her tone and choice of words, were well not exactly pleasant. Her fellow volunteers were a little embarrassed at her verbal expression.

I smiled and gave her the bag.

The stranger saw the situation unfolding and perhaps felt that the tone from the volunteer could be much better. I am grateful for his empathy for me.

Anger, is like an infectious disease which turns one into a monster. If I had reacted in similar fashion to the anger from her then, I would have been 'infected' by the dark disease. I love myself and there is no need to subject myself to the sufferings of anger.

In the very moment, I felt a slight tingle of sadness for her. Volunteering may have brought happiness to her, but in the single moment of self-interest, happiness had left her. She had 'squandered' her 'emotional wealth' away and was ridden with 'emotional debt'. And the least I could do for her and myself is not to enhance the intensity of the negative emotions. I would want to keep my 'balance sheet' healthy.

Some may think I am a pushover. I guess it really depends on how you define pushover. If I allow her negativity to affect me then to me, I really allowed her to 'push me over' to the side of sufferings. I have a choice and I choose to not, allow her negativity to affect me and hopefully brings a little moment of respite from the negativity for her.

A frustrating morning at work but was grateful to her, the stranger for allowing me to feel a few moments of peace in the midst of the emotional chaos.

May all be well and happy.

Happiness can only be shared if we have it ourselves

"We can only bring happiness to others when we are happy ourselves; we can't give to others what we don't have."
Simple Bear 27.08.2014.

Lesson from a snail

Lesson from a snail

No I didn't meet a snail sage neither do I speak 'snail'. The snail was a salient condition in that moment of time for my reflection.

I was walking towards the MRT after work when I saw a snail on its shell on the road. As I was preparing to pick it up and put it near the grass away from the rumbling shoes of humans, there was a lady who was walking briskly towards the snail. I stopped the lady before she reaches the snail, told her there was a snail in her path and her reaction sparked my reflection.

She showed disgust on seeing the snail in her path, gave me a cold stare and walked away. In that moment, I noticed the arising, in me, of irritation at her apathetic reaction. I picked up the snail, put it away from walking path and lamented at the apathy that I had witnessed. I took a moment to focus on my breath and this thought arose, I should be empathetic towards her and others like her, if I don't show empathy towards her, there is no difference between us.

If there are already many who are apathetic to the sufferings of others, we should not become one of them by showing apathy towards them. Compassion should not have a limiting criteria on the subjects who are the recipient.

If we think that the human race is doomed due to our egos and apathy then we should play our part and make a difference by being empathetic and compassionate. If we become apathetic as a result of other' apathy, maybe just maybe a lot of them are like us, they become apathetic because they didn't receive any empathy and compassion from others. By being empathetic and compassionate towards them, we may be the condition which engenders the empathy and compassion in them.

Even at the end of the day, it didn't make a difference to them, at least it made a difference to ourselves. At least today, it made a difference to the snail and myself. I am grateful for the conditions including the snail and the lady.

May all give rise to compassion within; may all be well and happy.

With love and compassion
Simple Bear 29.07.2014.

P.S. It's raining these few days, be careful when walking at night, don't step on the poor snails, insects or other small animals who crossed the path. A little awareness may just save a life.

Why am I a Buddhist?

Why am I a Buddhist?

This is the question I asked myself repeatedly for the past few years. For me, the motivation behind me being a Buddhist is a drive for happiness, which in my limited understanding of my own humanity, is the basic and most important goal of being a human. In other words, being a Buddhist, to me, is being human. There is nothing mystical, just the wish to be happy.

For the better part of my life, I had been a free thinker interested in spirituality and had spent the most part of my teenage and young adulthood, surfing through different religions. Instinctively, I knew the journey to happiness had started when I encountered Buddhism in my late twenties. It is not as if I didn’t encountered Buddhism or the syncretic form of it in my younger days. In the past, I had perhaps assumed a normative perspective of Buddhism as a religion, with its focus on ritualism (or so, I had assumed at that point of time) and that, didn’t appeal to the spiritual self.

I spent the first few years as a Buddhist, learning the Dharma (teachings of the Buddha) in its philosophical form, without much practice and although, I had knowledge but that knowledge didn’t translate into spiritual growth when I encountered setbacks in my life. I began to reflect on my understanding of the Dharma and discovered that at the end of the day, the prevalent reason for my lack of spiritual growth was due to my lack of practice. It was this lack of experiencing the Dharma through practice that was impairing my spiritual growth. To be a Buddhist is to be happy, to be a better individual of benefit to oneself and the world. If I wasn’t experiencing any of the positive effects of being a Buddhist, I need to evaluate myself.

The reason that I discovered for myself through months of reflection was a glaring ‘truth’. It was a lack of practice. I was ‘experiencing’ the Dharma intellectually but beyond intellectual understanding, I wasn’t experiencing it. That revelation led me to find ways to experience the Dharma in my life, practicing both in the conventional and unconventional sense of the word. The Buddha had mentioned that there are 84,000 ways to enlightenment and of course, the term, 84,000 is a metaphorical figure for infinite. I believe that non-conventional and interactive ways such as games and performing arts such as singing, dance and theatre arts can complement the conventional methods such as Dharma classes and meditation in our understanding of the Dharma, leading us to progress on the path towards happiness.

Someone asked the great Dharma teacher, Ajahn Chah, “What is Dhamma?” and he answered “Nothing isn’t.” This had become a guiding principle for my own practice. The Buddha had always encouraged his disciples to experience the Dharma for themselves, embodied in the Buddhist concept of ehipassiko which mean “come and see for yourself.” When I encountered an issue in my life, or experience an episode in my life, it is an opportunity for me to practice. Instead of reacting habitually in anger at issues and situations which sends warning signals to my ego to respond, I am aware of the detrimental thoughts and negative emotions, and made a conscious choice to react instead with compassion and loving-kindness. Instead of letting my greed get the better of me in situations in which I find the opportunity to exploit for my own gain, I respond with gratitude for others’ kindness and contentment. Of course, this doesn’t happen overnight and I am still learning, experiencing the Dharma in my life moment by moment. There are times that I made mistakes, but it doesn’t mean that I should beat myself up or cut myself too much slack. A mistake is a mistake; there is no argument over it. The importance lies in understanding why did we make the mistake and how to avoid making it again in future.

I don’t profess to be a well-practiced Buddhist. I am just on the road, the journey towards happiness and I think the road to happiness should be fun. In my humble opinion, as a Buddhist, I want to make experiencing the Dharma in our lives fun. Practicing the Dharma involves more than just sitting down on the meditation cushion. The Buddha had mentioned to Venerable Ananda in the Upaddha Sutta that spiritual friendship is the whole of the spiritual life. It is with the objective of sharing happiness in a fun, interactive way through interactive games, performing arts and the fostering of spiritual friendships that I had joined the youth group. I hope we can walk together on the fun path towards happiness. 

[This post was written as part of publicity material for a youth group as a member of the committee. Don't think it would be published but then again, I thought I should post it here as reflection of sort]

Suffering is one's task

"When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering, he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place . His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden."
Viktor E. Frankl

One of the more interesting lines that I read in his book, Man's Search For Meaning especially the part on our responsibility for our own suffering and happiness "No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place."

Now excuse me while I get back to my task.

Utilization of Knowledge

"Being knowledgeable doesn't make you a better man; using the knowledge for the good of others does."
Simple Bear 02.07.2014.

Doomed to Die

Doomed to Die

Walked along the road yesterday morning and saw a moth lying by the side of the walkway, dead with both wings flattened and later on another moth with a broken wing, struggling to move ahead, away from the army of shoes that are trampling everything on the path toward it.

The moment I saw the second moth, this thought came to me, it was doomed to die. I was feeling sad that I can't do much to help it, as one of its wings had been broken off by quite a bit; flight was impossible for it any longer and it could only wait for the eventuality. The next thought took me by surprise (Yes I was surprised by my own thoughts, the expression of the unconsciousness which indicates at how little we know and are aware of ourselves), we were too, doomed to die and we are struggling to move ahead, to survive and hope to live another moment, and to experience the sunlight, of life another day.

And we lie to ourselves, constantly with the falsehood of immortality. We act as if we live forever, but our actions betrayed us, the subconscious fear of our vulnerability of eventuality. We know the reality of death, which comes to all but we can't accept the reality of it.

I constantly reflects on death. I know people may find it morbid, really uncomfortable to discuss or reflect upon the issue of our own eventuality but avoiding the eventuality until you have no way to run isn't going to help. We were never truly be living if we choose to immerse ourselves in the escapades of sensual indulgences.

And when it is time, we just die without truly living.

We should embrace the fire like the moth, living our lives in the passions, not of sensuality, but of spirituality and we lived and died like the fire which burns with the wind and gone with the wind.

May all find the fire of our lives and live with dignity, and with compassion for all.

May all be well and happy.

With Metta
Simple Bear 27.06.2014.

Positivity in the air.

Positivity in the air.

Meeting friends who are happily married, seeing friends getting married, knowing friends getting engaged, and friends getting attached.

Happy for everyone.

要幸福哦! — feeling wonderful.

The Minds Which Reads, Thinks.

"Reading is only the first step, what follows the mind which reads, like a shadow in the light of knowledge, is thinking."
Simple Bear 21.06.2014.

Reorganizing In Progress

Warning: The following post contain negativity.

Shock! I think I can't find a better word to describe my feelings right now after getting my examination results. Missed out on the little details which amount to a mistake in my course of studies. Now I have to figure out how to take four modules without killing myself in the midst of my crazy schedule or take another semester to compensate for my mistake. Four years and I had to make this stupid mistake now.

Need to reevaluate my priorities.

No doubt, a costly but good learning experience.

I need a drink now

每个人

听了朋友的故事, 有所感触。

每个人都有个人做事情的立场, 要好好的看注自己。不管他是对还是错, 要问自己用意善否; 每个决定后都有个理由, 问自己理由善否。不管结果顺意否, 它是顺缘的。要问自己的心善否, 尽力了, 就让它去吧。若心不善, 改! 若心善, 那就随缘去吧。事成必有它的因缘, 事不成也必有它的因缘。不需留恋, 缘起缘灭。要担心的, 是自己的因, 自己的心。

愿大家心善无怨, 心静无浪, 心悟无量。

阿弥陀佛 — feeling peaceful.

原来

原来

走过千里路 心仍在远处
停下回头悟 见雾不见路
云里走万步 心仍在原处
无中寻出路 见心终归属

简单熊 12.06.2014.

We are all Maleficent

We are all Maleficent

Just watched Maleficent, the twist to the classic Disney story, Sleeping Beauty, on the big screen just now. The story was interesting and it engendered some thoughts about it, especially with regards to its relevancy to my life.

*Warning: There maybe spoilers ahead. Continue if only if it is your own choice.

The Chinese classical text for children's education, the 三字经 starts with the verse, "人之初 性本善", kindness (or goodness) is man's original nature (pardon my limited English for the poor translation) and I find the verse expressed in the storyline, Maleficent was originally a kind, gentle young girl who wanted to do her best to protect her people (the Moors) against the greedy humans and then, as she grew up, she encountered Stefan, and love grew inside her, along with love's companion, expectations. And although, she was bitter with hatred and anger, she soften, returning bit by bit to her original nature of being the kind Maleficent that she once was because of the kindness and love of Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent's original nature was obstructed by the hatred and anger, just like us and (at least to me), the compassion and kindness of others can be inspirational and perhaps, essential for slowly tearing us away from the shadows of ignorance which blind us to our own compassion and kindness. I remembered the days of ignorant dependency on others for my happiness, and it is through the kindness of others shown to me and given to others which slowly brought me closer to myself. After being at the receiving end of others' kindness, can we too, be the condition which brings people closer to their original nature of goodness through expressions of our own goodness?

There is a Buddhist saying which I had used for as a constant reminder for myself, "不怕无明起，只怕觉照迟", fear, not the arising of ignorance, but the delayed awareness of it. Maleficent wasn't aware of the potential and actual hurt on Aurora and others, whom she loved until regrets set in as she was unable to reverse her own curse (which was in accordance with her intention when she cursed Aurora as an infant). Many-times, we get angry, frustrated at people, but are we able to catch ourselves in those moments of negativity and prevent ourselves from saying or doing anything, which we will regret later on in life. Like the curse by Maleficent, the consequences of our actions and speech are not reversible. I remembered there are a lot of times when I get angry and say or do things, of which I am immediately regretful once the awareness of the consequences set in. I can't take away the hurt that I caused, but I can prevent hurt to others in the future by training myself to be aware of it earlier, to catch myself in those early moments of stupidity. Do we want to continue, delaying our awareness of our follies and being regretful later on, through our lives?

Saw a friend's posting of a Buddhist saying on Facebook and it led me to the story, "一把无明火，烧掉功德林，一念瞋心起，八万障门开", a fire, born of ignorance, burns the forest of merits, a thought of anger, engenders the barriers (pardon my limited English and understanding). Maleficent, in her moment of anger, had 'burned' the past goodness that she had cultivated in the forest with the Moors and like the barriers of thorns which grew out of her anger, prevented her from experiencing happiness. A lot of times, we remember the moments in which a person is angry and does something foolish and perhaps, despite of his or her past deeds of kindness, those few moments of anger are more salient especially when you are at the receiving end of the anger. This moment of anger perhaps led to even more unhappiness, both in the person who was angry and the people who was at the receiving end of that anger. I remembered those times of anger and depression, which destroyed friendships and potential for happiness for myself and my friends was greatly diminished, as the effects of those angry moments lingered for quite a while later, accompanied by regrets and frustrations in those moments which followed. Do we want to experience those moments again, hurting ourself and others that we cared, due to this moment of anger, which we failed to be aware of?

Maleficent is just like us and we, are just like Maleficent. We made mistakes and we learn on this journey to happiness. As with most Disney stories, Maleficent and Aurora lived happily ever after. Maybe for me, I may not be able to live happily ever after, but I think if I continue to seek to improve myself, and maybe in this life, I maybe closer to the classic Disney ending than I am now.

Have a good night everyone. May all live happily ever after.

With Love
Simple Bear 02.06.2014. 

Are we all monsters?

Are we all monsters?

Two news over the past few days brought sadness to my heart. Two young men went on a killing spree, one to avenge unfulfilled desires in the States and another, to fulfill his deep, dark desire in Taiwan. The frightening part of the news for me was that both men 'planned' for the 'murder' of their fellow roommates, citizens, spending time to acquire weapons and planning their 'routes of murder'. What drove them to this route of destruction and despair for themselves and the people that they hurt? Are the seeds of darkness prevalent within all of us? Waiting for the right conditions to 'ripen' and turning us into monsters, perhaps as reflections of the societies that we live in.

Elliot Rodger, the son of a Hollywood director, had killed 5 individuals, including two young women with semi-automatic guns in Santa-Barbara, California last Friday. He left a Youtube video, explaining his misogynistic reasons for his killing spree and suicide. His actions led to the Hollywood film industry taking a lot of heat for perpetuating the notion of sexual conquests as a norm of young college life, as a epitome of youth in the States. The feeling of inadequacies led to Rodger's actions, perhaps as in the superficial sense, revenge for his 'sad' life, I think on a deeper level of psyche, he was trying to make amendments for his perceived inadequacies as a man, in an effort to restore his 'dignity' as a man in the sexist, Hollywood environment, which he grew up in. What is worrying is perhaps, the number of men who may have similar misogynistic experiences and the possibility of the copycat effect.

Cheng Chieh, a college student, had killed 4 individuals and injured 20 others in a knife attack on the Taiwanese subway last Wednesday. He was quoted as saying that it was his long-term dream to kill people on the subway and he had planned to do it earlier. His indulgence in violence-themed video games had led to criticisms on whether such games which perhaps, 'normalized' the actions of killing strangers should be banned. Critics also condemned the video games 'glorifying' the action, making violence as an part of an essential aspect of masculinity. However, this is only an inference from his lifestyle and perhaps, there are even more salient reasons for his actions, which may not be understood from the superficial details of the case as of now. What is worrying is the number of people, who had posted on social media, of their intentions to follow in his footsteps.

Both cases, in my limited experience, is just the tip of the iceberg. It engenders fear. I began to ask whether I had faced the same issues as Elliot Rodger, I guess in my younger days, I did but do I consider myself as misogynistic? I had lamented the 'nerd' in me and my 'lack of prospects in the market' but I guess, on the whole, it was a feeling of low self-esteem. I didn't regress into a misogynist. As for the case of Cheng Chieh, I think I can relate to violence as an aspect of masculinity in my younger days, always looking for an opportunity to prove my masculinity by showing my fists but then again, to have the idea of killing people as a dream, I was perhaps again lucky not to have this thought but low self-esteem does play a part in perpetuating this image of violence. Low self-esteem does play a part in both cases, if I may infer. If that's the case, then the next question is whether do I have the 'potentiality of evilness'.

Reflecting on my past experiences of anger, perhaps, most of us do but then again, are we all monsters-in-the-making? I am a non-believer in fatalism and I believe for such things to happen, there must be the aggregation of conditions which led to this horrible result and although things may be calm on the surface for us right now, if we don't deal with our inner issues such as low self-esteem and anger, when the conditions aligned themselves, terrible things may just happen to you and others. Let me just illustrate it by using a metaphor. It is just like the mirror image of the moon in the water, the image of the moon, if the water is calm, remains clear and beautiful but once a ripple is created by the drop of stone, the image of the moon in the water is distorted and ugly.

The question now is how do we keep the water calm? Love, compassion and kindness.

With Love and Kindness

Simple Bear 29.05.2014.

The Procrastination of Happiness

"Happy is a difficult word. How many people are happy? Perhaps we are most happy when we are not aware of it."
Neil Hughes, in the PBS programme, 56 UP. 

The above words from a participant, Neil Hughes, in the PBS programme, 56 UP caught my attention; 56 UP is a very interesting documentary on the lives of ordinary people from different walks of life, the changes in their expectations as they grew with the passing of time.

Although Neil was serving in the religious and secular communities by the time he was 56, he lament the lack of conditions to realize his ambition of being a writer. He was struggling, perhaps, to walk out of his homelessness past, and a life of low self-esteem and loneliness. His idea of happiness is something really simple, a gathering with friends etc. We all have expectations and of course, that includes expectations of happiness, how do we conceptualize happiness, the personal and social constitutions of happiness and the perspective discrepancies in the ideal concept and perceived reality.

As I mentioned to a friend yesterday night, everyone of us craves for happiness but we have different ideas with regards to the conditions which constitute happiness. The feeling of happiness is perhaps, similar to all but the antecedents which preludes happiness is perceptively different for all. We forgo happiness, in the process of achieving happiness. Such is the irony of life! How many times do we see people who worked to gain power and power, and sacrifices their intimate interpersonal relations, in the name of happiness in the future, to regret later at their death beds. Although the ironic examples are many, the normative idea that money and power e.g. living the high life, as the ultimate goal in life is still prevalent. Of course, by advocating less emphasis on money and power for happiness, I am not saying that we should all renounce our possessions and stay in the mountains in search of spiritual happiness. Power, in the process of advocating happiness for all e.g. creation of conducive conditions for the engendering of happiness for all, is necessary. Money, in the process of 'purchase' of happiness for all e.g. purchase of material conditions for the engendering of happiness for all, is necessary. What I am advocating is the awareness that, while in the pursuit of happiness or the conditions which lead to our normative perception of happiness, we should not neglect the possibility of happiness in the moments in the process.

In my limited experience, I think that happiness should not be delayed. The procrastination of happiness is perhaps, something that we need to constantly be aware of. We should not take our time in this world for granted.

May all have the conditions to be aware, treasure our loved ones, and realize our dreams to be happy and the conditions, especially the intentions, to bring happiness to all.

Love
Simple Bear 27.05.2014.

This pain, this pain which wouldn't go away

This pain, this pain which wouldn't go away.

Met an old lady in the shopping mall just now. I was on my way to the MRT station when I saw her; she was walking really slowly in the midst of crowds of people. I had this sudden feeling of pain and suffering which ran through me when I saw her back view. My instincts tells me that she needs help. But I was skeptical, was I just being overly sensitive? So I observed her for a while to assess whether am I in a position to help. She approach a lady who was a staff at the supermarket and the lady directed her to a food outlet. The poor lady slowly walk towards the fast food outlet.

I went up to her and asked whether she needs any help. She told me that she is looking for food and the expression on her face makes me think that she must be starving for a while so I gave her some money and brought her lunch at the nearest food court because of her mobility difficulties. She was embarrassed at taking my money and also having me buy her lunch and she kept wanting to return me my money but I think she will benefit more from the money so I kept saying to her that I am treating her coffee and it is ok to take the money from me. She kept thanking me and with every word, I felt my heart sunk in deeper, tears were threatening to gush out. As I looked at her, I felt as if I could feel her pain, the suffering that she went through. It was unbearable and I had to leave.

Before I left, I asked a young lady to keep an eye on her during her meal just in case she has any difficulties.

Now in the train on the way to my next appointment, there are lots of thoughts in my mind, the image of her walking so slowly, so painfully through the crowd and no one stop to ask whether she is ok pains me. What if she was our family? Can you imagine that? Where was her family?

Sometimes, it takes courage to do what it is right, to do what seems to be out of the norm but what I learnt today is really to follow my heart, let it guide me and empowers me with confidence and courage.

I hope that she will have the conditions to be happy in the future and there will be people who will be around to help her if she needs help.

If there is any merit from doing this deed, let it be shared to her and to all who are suffering. May all be well and happy. May all find the strength to face difficulties in life; may all find the courage to be kind and compassionate; may all find the heart to love.

I am grateful to the old lady. Thank you for teaching me, thank you for reminding me of the possibility of going beyond myself.

I am feeling the pain right now but at the same time, I am feeling love 

Have a loving weekend everyone.

With love
Simple Bear 24.05.2014.

The Electro Syndrome

The Electro Syndrome

American song-writer James Taylor once said that the motivation of an artist is to seek attention of some kind. In my humble opinion, I think the motivation of an artist in the words of James Taylor is a reflection of the primitive psychology of humanity. Most of us may or may not agree that most of us are constantly seeking attention of some kind and perhaps by posting this entry on Facebook, I am too, seeking attention.

What had brought the issue of attention to my attention is the movie, Spiderman 2. I had just watched Spiderman 2. It wasn't Peter Parker and his hero alter-ego in the red suit but it was the villain, Electro who caught my attention. There was this scene where Maxwell Dillion, the ex-human form of Electro, was hyping himself up for his birthday by imagining that Spiderman considered him as a friend and was going to celebrate his birthday for him although in reality, Spiderman only spoken to him once and didn't really remembered his name. In Dillion's mind, the many years of being neglected and treated by everyone around him as 'invisible' or insignificant had a detrimental psychological impact on him; he was craving or more appropriately, starving for attention and the starvation manifested itself into imagination of friendship and attention, acceptance to protect himself, to save his almost non-existence self-esteem and as affirmation for his existence.

Does the self-esteem issues faced by Dillion strike a chord in some of us?

For me, the chord vibrates with memories. I was reminded of my younger days, when I was constantly striving to be in the limelight, to command the attention of all around me. In retrospect, all the cravings didn't bring me any happiness, it only brought me frustrations. It is perfectly normal to want to feel wanted, accepted and acknowledged by others but I guess the personal crisis comes when the expected attention and acceptance doesn't happen accordingly in perceived reality.In intimate relationships with loved ones, we expected them to give us their affirmation and attention when we need it and appreciation when we think we deserve it. In interpersonal relationships with others, we expect to have the limelight in social situations, to have the fame, glory and appreciation; and attention, is the reward that we seek. And when we don't get the satisfaction of our expectations for attention, we suffer both emotionally and mentally. I called this, the Electro Syndrome. We are doomed to suffer if we continue to stake our self-esteem and our conceptualization of ourselves on the attention of others.

For some of my friends, it is this craving for attention that got them into relationships and it is this very craving for attention which destroys the relationships. And for me, I have to admit, it is this craving for attention and appreciation which lead to the failure of my last few relationships. We have to admit it, we feel good when others that we like pay attention to us and attends to our needs. And even for others, who feel extremely confident of themselves, attention and recognition from others is the oil that they run their feel-good-machinery on. Is humanity doomed to be slaves to our own desires?

I am not advocating that attention is bad and we should focus on forsaking attention. I think we should be more aware of our desires especially for attention and recognition and don't let this impedes our potential for empathy and compassion for everyone. From my limited experience, I think the first step to break the shackles of slavery is to develop self-confidence, based on our awareness of our strengths and weaknesses, acceptance of our strengths and weakness and also, the potentiality of humans to excel and transcend the current self; and not on the attention and affirmation from others. And the second step is to have dreams, dreams that are realistic for us to work towards and excel at. The third step is to encourage feedback from others, without any expectations of affirmation. If there is compliments and positive attention, then, be grateful and thankful; if there is criticism and negative feedback, then evaluate ourselves based on the feedback and work on them if they are true Have the courage to admit them if they are true, and the the resolution to transcend beyond them. And the fourth step is to repeat the steps and continue to work on the betterment of ourselves. We are not perfect but we have the potential to be as perfect as we can.

It is difficult to get ourselves away from the habitual tendencies of wanting attention,
the awareness of the habit is a good start.

May all be well and happy.

Simple Bear 21.05.2014. 

被疼爱是种幸福

听了一位朋友的故事, 突然觉得好心痛; 被疼爱是种幸福, 怕失去疼爱是种苦, 被疼而不爱是种苦, 渴望被疼爱也是种苦。也许是因为我也曾经走过那些心路, 深感身受。

学会爱自己, 就要学会对自己诚实, 别骗自己。也许我和她一样, 都太不老实了。习惯在谎言中自乐, 忘了真相的可贵; 我们都沉浸在谎言的习性中, 看不清眼前的真相。 慢慢的, 随着谎言一天天的堆积在我们的心里, 真相就退进了影子里, 而我们就住进了黑暗里。

希望我们都有清醒的一天, 希望我们都有幸福的一天, 加油吧! 朋友。

Learning for Lifetime

A: "it is quite difficult isn't it, to be over 30 and still studying for your degree."
Simple Bear: "I am so lucky."
A: o_O 

I am not going to 'expound' on gratitude based on downward social comparisons; not everyone gets to study what they want to study, and for this, I am really grateful, even if I don't adhere to the normative stage of a human's life in a capitalist society and doesn't really have the ascribed social status expected, it doesn't define my life. I am the one who defines my life, I am the one who really knows what is important in my life, what is essential for me to have a good life and I define what is a good life.
Life is good. And I don't think I would want to change that.

And I am grateful that I am eccentric enough to be myself.

Have a good Sunday everyone.

Kindness, Not Granted.

Kindness, Not Granted. 

The novelist, Henry James once said, “three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.”

And today, I had taken my kindness for granted.

I passed by an old uncle, who was busking near the passageway between Clementi Mall and Clementi MRT station during lunch time; as usual, I would make a donation and talked to him a little bit before going my way. I will bring him his favourite hot milo sometimes but today, although I had the intention to buy him milo, there was this nagging thought in my mind, “would he take my gesture of bringing him milo for granted.” He didn’t ask for it and I went on my way but the thought didn’t go away. The thoughts that followed were filled with guilt, my ‘kindness’ to him was tainted; tainted with the thought of the possibility of him taking me for granted.

A brief reflection on the thought had me realized that a while ago, the topic of individuals receiving kindness and taking it for granted was in one of my conversation with a new friend. And subconsciously it hit a raw nerve. Although I am lucky that most of the time, most people that I helped are grateful and those handful, who had taken me for granted don’t really bothered me, I didn’t realized that this negativity had grown its roots deep inside me. I had expected him to be grateful and not take me for granted. And kindness with expectations isn’t kindness but a transaction.

That realization gave rise to guilt within. If I am to eradicate this negativity within, I need to start now. I went back to the uncle, brought him his milo and chatted a while with him. He was expressing his gratitude to me profusely and with every moment, the shame that I had within grew. Slowly, a sense of gratitude replaced the shame and guilt I had inside. I had taken the conditions, the intention and motivation for my act of ‘kindness’ for granted; the old uncle is a wise teacher who had taught me true kindness, I am grateful to him.

Being kind is a miracle.

For one to have kind thoughts and motivation to express them in acts of kindness, it is a miraculous aggregation of conditions. For me to express the kind intention with the right motivation, my frame of mind must be right, I must be in the exact space-time to encounter the old uncle, prior experience must be conducive.
There are so many possibilities that may hinder ‘kindness’; if I was preoccupied with thoughts of negativity before I met the uncle, e.g. I had an argument with a shop assistant, the intention and motivation of buying milo for the uncle won’t arise. If I hadn’t had prior experience of receiving kindness from others, learning from others in the act of kindness prior, the possibility for the experiential conditions for the arising of the intention and motivation may not be optimal. If the uncle wasn’t there today, I won’t have the situational conditions for the arising of the intention and motivation. I could go on and on but the important point is that even if you want to be kind, the conditions may not be right for you to be kind. And for the optimal conditions that we experienced in our daily lives when we are trying to be kind to others, we should be grateful.

I am grateful for the optimal conditions; I am grateful to the uncle for being there, I am grateful to myself and I am grateful for the many others who brought this realization to me.

It is so difficult to be kind and we should rejoice if any thoughts of kindness arise, any motivation to act out of kindness arises, any expression of kindness arises.
Kindness is a treasure and I shall end this entry with a quote from the French novelist, Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin: “Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.”

May all the conditions be right for kindness to arise and ripen for all.

Simple Bear 02.04.2014.

Stomping

"I am going to STOMP you!"

That was the dominant thought in my mind for a split second. Anger was spreading through my entire body, the tensions in the muscles. I was ready to tear the bus driver to bits.

And then, as suddenly as it came, the anger stopped.

I went up a crowded bus filled with foreigners, on the way to attend a gathering on Saturday. As I was trying to get my ez-link card to the reader, the bus driver shouted 噢! at me in a very angry tone, as if to tell me that don't try to cheat on the bus fares. The passengers at the front of the bus were staring at me, I was embarrassed and I was ready to take my revenge on the driver, to take a picture of him, send the picture to STOMP and a complaint letter to SBS Transit.

"I will make sure he disappear!"

Then it all stopped. I looked around and saw a lot of migrant workers around me. These thoughts came to me, (a) did the migrant workers suffer the same discriminatory tone that was delivered to me all the time? (b) did the bus driver suffered a built-up of frustration during his duration of work that lead to his behavior?

I turned my attention inwards (a) was my reaction to the driver's speech discriminatory in nature, because he was also a foreigner (b) was my embarrassment and the angry thoughts that followed due to my perception that I was 'superior' to them?

If happiness was the end in which all aspired to. Who would want to be angry? Who will feel good, directing their anger to others?

A warm feeling came over me. The emotional monster of anger had disappeared without traces. The tension in my body disappeared. The negative thoughts in my mind disappeared. Replacing them was a feeling of empathy and thoughts of guilt at my previous thoughts and thoughts of compassion for the bus-driver's frustration.

If I had expressed my anger in my behavior, I would have added on to the suffering of the driver and to mine. I would have cultivated not, compassionate thoughts but discriminatory thoughts, and the growth of my ego without any awareness. If I had unleashed my anger on him, the frustrations that he was already feeling would have multiplied in strength and that may had translated into sufferings for others too.

I took a deep breath and smiled.

May they be well and happy. May they be free from ill will. May they be free from suffering.

Grateful for this lesson of humility. That monster of ego is still strong within me and sometimes, when we indulged in thoughts of perceived self-righteousness, we are unable to see our sufferings and those, of others. There is no room for compassion and love in the ego.

If we aspire to be happy, happiness can't be achieved by giving anger and sadness to others; it can be achieved by sharing and giving happiness to others.

May all be well and happy.

Love
Simple Bear 28.04.2014.

Illusion of Happiness

"Sometimes, under the illusion that happiness is to be pursued, we focus on the attainment of external conditions which makes us happy but we forget to work on understanding and reducing the intrinsic conditions which makes us unhappy."
Simple Bear 11.04.2014.

Habitual Lying

I have to confess. I am a habitual liar; I lie to myself quite frequently. I lie to myself in times of procrastination that there is still time for things to be done when in fact time is slipping away. I lie to myself that I am feeling alright although I am overwhelmed with emotions. I lie to myself that I am good in my perceived strengths when in reality I am still a long way from it. I lie to myself that I am inferior and weak, dependent on others when in reality I can stand firm on my two feet if I want to. My lies become who I perceived myself to be when I believed in them. I even gave my lies a name, I called it rationalization.

I need to stop. I need to stop lying.

路

路

路过 经过 却从没停过
哭过 笑过 却从没爱过
疯过 争过 却从没有过
生过 死过 却从没活过

难道这就是路吗? 

蝴蝶从花边飞过 我们却不曾想过。

简单熊 06.03.2014.

死胖子

“死胖子”

The three abusive words flew at me after I received a hard hit on the arm from her. Passengers on the bus around me were shocked and my classmate was afraid that I may just unleash the bear on my assailant. In the midst of the shouting, I turned to face my assailant and the next moment was laughing with my classmate, who was more surprised by my reaction than the strange assault earlier on, which she was a witness to.

“It is my lucky day. I should go buy lottery tomorrow.” I said to my classmate, of my experience.

I explained to my classmate on the bus journey home that the person who hurled physical and verbal abuse at me was having a difficult time and she was expressing her emotions in the way that she was accustomed to. We may think that her behavior wasn’t socially acceptable but even if we explain to her, she really may not understand our perspective, just as we don’t understand hers either.

I began to reflect on my experience earlier.

When I was facing her, to say the truth, I wasn’t really concerned with her identity but my physiological, emotional and mental reactions to her actions; mindfully searching for signs of anger arising.

I am glad I didn’t find any disturbing signs. The beast was sleeping still.

Anger is anger, there is no difference between she and us and although we may react differently in the expression of the affect, perhaps we too, like her, ignorant of the impact of our expression of anger on the people around us.

Are we aware of the hurt that we bring to others and ourselves when we are angry? Even if we are aware, do we really care about who we hurt as long we unleash the negative emotions?

Although I am not able to do anything to alleviate her suffering but the very least I can do is not to increase hers by reacting negatively, that perhaps is compassion in action, in a non-action way.

I filled my mind with thoughts of hope, for her alleviation of suffering and may she experience better conditions in the future to come.

May all be free from anger, be well and happy always.

With Loving-kindness

Simple Bear 26.02.2014.

Pursuit of Happiness

"Sometimes, in the pursuit of happiness, we focus too much on what we want to be happy but forget what we need to be happy."
Simple Bear 22.02.2014.

Right

"When we indulge in our desire to be perceived as right, we cease to be right."

Simple Bear 30.01.2014.

Advice

"A well-intended advice realises its wholesome potential when it is asked for; not when it is perceived to be needed by."

Simple Bear 21.01.2014.

Understanding Self

"I am the only person capable of fully understanding myself; and I am, the only person capable of being fully understood by myself."
Simple Bear 14.01.2014.

Responsible for Dreams

"We all have dreams but do we have the courage and tenacity to be responsible for them? It is a question for now."

Simple Bear 13.01.2013.

动

动

缘起缘灭 随心而动
天晴无风 仁者心动
外处八风 不为所动
仁心不灭 心随心动

简单熊 11.01.2014.

Embracing Vulnerability

Embracing Vulnerability

“Remember: the time you feel lonely is the time you most need to be by yourself. Life's cruelest irony.”
Douglas Coupland

The words of Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland rings in my mind. How well do we embrace the possibilities of physical, emotional and mental solitude? Does acknowledging loneliness make us emotionally and mentally vulnerable? Is there a part of us that attempts to deny this vulnerability of ours?

A few messages from a friend set my mind on contemplation of loneliness, my attitude towards this human conceptualization of solitude. Previously, I wrote quite a fair bit on being alone but not lonely, about breaking free from this social demand of companionship as an essential component of happiness; one can be lonely when accompanied and not lonely when alone.

Did I really embraced that notion of contentment in solitude? Was there any possibilities that there is a small part of me, of my heart that is still vulnerable to this social notion of loneliness? I began to reflect on the recent past, was there any subconscious signs of frustration and discontentment, indicative of a yearning to fulfill this social norm of companionship?

And the result? Yes I did.

I wasn't disappointed or angry at myself for having those human emotions of pain and dissatisfaction. To say the truth, I was glad that I had felt this way. I wasn't 'emotionally disconnected'. The experiencing of the emotions have their utility, first, they are an indication of there are really perhaps certain memories, aspects of myself which led to the engendering of these emotions that I wasn't aware of, and second, these are areas which I need to work on, on the road to having happiness in the sea of change.

I embraced the emotions, the possibilities of the arising and cessation of the emotions. And the embracing and acknowledgement of these emotions induced by the social conception of loneliness does make me feel vulnerable but this is what makes us human, isn't it? There is no need to deny these emotions but there is also no need to indulge in them. Acknowledging our vulnerabilities doesn't make us become lamb chops to the wolves, in contrast the awareness of those vulnerabilities is a first step to becoming stronger both emotionally and mentally through understanding ourselves, the reasons for our vulnerabilities and having the awareness and strength to work through them, to become stronger with time.

Some of us feel lonely and attempt to satisfy this 'hungry' condition of ours by placing expectations on others. What we often get in return for our dependency and expectations are disappointments and the worsening of the condition. Indulge in satisfying loneliness is like trying to fill a black hole, you understand nothing about it and eventually, you are decimated by loneliness itself.

And for some of us, we attempt to deny the existence of loneliness and and attempt to hide behind rationality, theories and like the hydra, you cut off one head with the sword of rationality and two more hideous heads grow from the wound that we cut off. To destroy the 'hydra', we need to understand its Achilles heel, the reasons for vulnerability that are within us. Unless we have the courage to descend into the Tartarus of our mind and deal with the hellish horrors, we can never experience the bliss of the light. And the hydra will always be waiting, for an opportunity to rear one of its ugly heads and drag you into the darkness.

And as for me, I am dealing with it in my Simple Bear way, smiling at the dreadful past, the pain and tears, bringing little pockets of light slowly into the darkness of the abyss. I am clearer about my priorities, the life I am going to live, well at least momentarily.

There is nothing to fear about loneliness, about feeling vulnerable; what is to be feared is the lack of awareness and understanding of the causality of loneliness within us.

With awareness and understanding, it is as if we have the thread of Ariadne in the Cretan Labyrinth; without awareness and understanding, it is as if we are trapped in the Cretan Labyrinth, waiting with fear for the Minotaur of Loneliness to devour us.

Well of course, having said all of the above, what do I know of loneliness? I know nothing. These are just my opinions. It is up to us to experience and understand it ourselves.

May all be well and happy. May all have peace in their hearts.

With Love and Kindness
Simple Bear 10.01.2014.

寻

寻

星海浩瀚 子期难寻
琴轩美音 凡无明心
伯牙破琴 悲何欢去
火无苗迹 心往心去

简单熊 07.01.2014.

Knowing Nothing

Knowing Nothing.

Friend: You seems to know everything.
Simple Bear: That is an illusion. I don't know anything.
Friend: Then what are those things that you just said.
Simple Bear: Those are opinions. A lot of us have opinions on everything but know nothing.
Friend: -_-!

I know I can be a very eccentric bear

缺点

"我的缺点很多, 优点却只有一个; 优点就是认知我的许多缺点。若连这基本的认知也没了, 无优点可言。要时时精进, 方才有此优点。"
简单熊 20.12.2013.

觉照

"不怕无明起, 只怕觉照迟。"

这句话也许反映了我心里的现状; 我认知我的不完美, 无畏我的不完美, 只怕在变化无穷的生活中忘了往觉之心, 观照之识。

庸人自扰之

"天下本无事, 庸人自扰之 。"

叹 庸者不识庸 五十笑百步
自扰不觉悟 不知何为苦。

龙楼凤阙不肯住，飞腾直欲天台去

" 龙楼凤阙不肯住，飞腾直欲天台去。"

看纪录片时, 听到了李白的诗句, 有所感触。

在霓虹灯下的我, 向往着夜里的星空。

Disappointments...

"Our disappointments with the world isn't of the world, the world is it is as it is; we are disappointed with our unfulfilled expectations of the world."

Simple Bear 05.11.2013.

Suffering Is Essential

"The experiencing of suffering is essential for the experiencing of happiness. "

Simple Bear 23.10.2013.

Bali Trip Reflections 3

Reflection on a thunderstorm

I was trying to sleep on the plane back to Singapore when flashes of light outside the plane window kept me awake. I looked outside and saw flashes of lightning among the clouds not too far away. It was a beautiful sight to behold and then this thought came to my mind, would I have thought the same if I was caught in the storm clouds.

The people watching the storm unfolding in the distance won't be able to experience the experience of being caught in the storm in the same moment. Perhaps, we all have experience of being caught in the storm but every moment is different, we are not in it now.

The people caught in the storm right now won't be able to experience the storm from the perspective of the people in the plane watching it from a distance in the same moment. Even if they may have prior experience of watching the storm from a distance but in this very moment, this experiential memory is not being retrieved.

Use this analogy on empathy, and perhaps we can be more empathetic; when we say we understand, we basically mean we may have experienced similar situations before but never the same experience as the person who is experiencing the situation now. We may have the tendency to think we do but in reality we don't. The differences in past experiences of the individual, the salient cognitions and affect of the individual in the experience now is different from we, when we experience similar situations.

Perhaps our empathy when used in understanding others can be enhanced by understanding this difference; we can be more sensitive to the current experience of the individual. The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus once said, "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." No matter how similar in terms of past experiences, personality of the person experiencing the situation now and we, it cannot be the same. The experience of the storm is also different for two persons experience the storm side by side, much less someone who had experienced a storm, but not the storm.

Empathy or the vicarious experiencing of the cognitions, affect and behavior of another individual, the adoption of the others' perspectives are based on much assumptions. The assumptions of 'how we think' the other is feeling, thinking right now based on 'what we experienced'. When we assume, the possibilities of semantics increases in our communication, and we need to be aware and take note of it in our interpersonal communications.

Being mindful of this difference may allow us to be better communicators and enhances our empathetic ability, by placing less emphasis on one's own experiences and more, on the other, who is experiencing the experience right now. The experiencing of empathy allows for the arising of compassion, volitional action to alleviate the perceived sufferings of others. This is a topic for another day, I think I better get back to my academic assignment.

May we all learn to be better at empathy, and in the process, be better individuals.

With Metta
Simple Bear 04.02.2014.

P.S. The above are all just random thoughts that came through my mind when I was watching the thunderstorm unfolding from my plane's window. I maybe wrong but at least it is a start.

Bali Trip Reflection 2

Contemplation on fear and gratitude for conditions

Decided to take a walk from the shopping mall back to my accommodation yesterday. Didn't expected it to take hours but I guess it was worth it. Without any maps or network, I can only depend on my spatial memory of the area when the cab took me to the mall earlier. I was aware of fear which arose due to unfamiliarity of the area, language; and my timid nature didn't help in alleviating the fear. We fear what we don't know and I decided to challenge myself.

What brought me comfort initially was the familiar signs of food outlets on the streets like Starbucks and MacDonald I guess it reduces the unfamiliarity of the place a little. The statues of Buddha that I saw along the road also help to alleviate my fear.

As I walked on through abandoned sites dominated by wild vegetation. I saw a sign that captured my attention; it read 'Vihara Buddha Dharma Buddhayana Temple'. Right in front of me is a deserted deviation from the main road and there is a Buddhist temple along the small road. I told myself conditions must be right for me and walked into the small road.

Surrounded by construction sites and a river or canal flowing in front, the Mahayana Buddhist temple had an aura of serenity. My fears were alleviated and I went in to do my postrations and offerings.

I was filled with elation at the opportunity to do Dana and offerings in a foreign land. Then this thought dawned on me, did I have the same elation when I did Dana and offerings back at home?

The scarcity of this opportunity is what made it so perceptually precious and joy inspiring. then this thought came to my mind, to have know the Dharma itself is rare, the chance to do offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattva are rare, to have experience the Dharma is rare, I am a lucky bear and yet I don't always readily realise that in everyday life in Singapore.

As I sat in my room in contemplation, this thought came to me, I have taken for granted what is indeed rare, an aggregation of the right conditions to know the Buddha, encounter the Dharma and understanding of the Dharma through learning from the Sangha. This mentality serves as an impediment to the practice and the remedy is gratitude.

May I be grateful and rejoice in the good conditions that brought me to the Triple Gems and experience the Dharma in my life.

May we all be well and happy.

With Metta
Simple Bear 03.02.2014.

Bali Trip Reflections 1

Second day in Bali.

My accommodation is far away from the beaches, bars that Bali is famous for. Went walking around the local estate and town area, the salient scene that struck me wasn't the spas, villas but the stark, in-your-face contrast on the streets.

Personal villas, hotels with swimming pools, spas with tubs filled with roses are side by side along uneven roads with demolished, abandoned buildings. Some of the locals sitting at the roadside staring in a direction, in space. It seems as if their dreams found their resting place in the sands which others had dreamt of.

I wonder while we, the tourists enjoyed the sun, and the great hospitality of the Bali people, how many of us stop and reflect on the reality of the place, a snapshot of life itself.

Happiness, or in this case, hedonic happiness is just across the street from sufferings in our mind. Sometimes we choose to engage in pleasures and ignore the possible sufferings induced from our intentional ignorance of reality.

Seriously, I should take a break and stop being so serious about everything. Please forgive me as I go back to sipping my green tea and cheesecake.

小熊出游记

小熊出游记

新年快乐!!! 希望大家在新的一年幸福安康。

活到这把年纪了, 第一次一个人出国。很多情, 思绪; 期待和自己出去走走。也许很多人会在想我是不是疯了, 一个人去巴厘岛。也许我在人们的眼里是个怪人, 疯子, 但如果我规规矩矩, 顺着社会的常理做事, 我这只简单的小熊就不复存在了吧。

想乘这次的旅行来好好的检讨, 反省, 整理一下自己的心。希望我迈进人生的第三十一个年头时, 有了对人生, 对幸福更清楚的方向, 更清晰的认知。我们只活那么一次, 人生没有重来, 我不想糊里糊涂的过。

希望大家在这新的一年里更清楚的了解自己的心, 一步一步在幸福的道路上迈向心福的终点。

"幸福不是偶然; 有心, 幸福是自然。"
简单熊 01.02.2014.