"Dreams are beyond just dreams if you dare to dream."
Simple Bear 15.01.2013.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Green Tea and a Shirt
Green Tea and a Shirt
“Sorry
I am so sorry.” A lady in pants and shirt apologized profusely to me
when she realized the green tea that she tried to throw away in the
field beside hit me and my shirt was stained with the leftover green tea
in the bottle.
“Never
mind, it is ok.” I walked away, much to her relief (I think). I was
more interested in the thoughts and emotions in response to the episode.
Was there anger? Was there pain? Were there thoughts of ‘revenge’?
Yes,
there was anger and revengeful thoughts for a split second. Yes there
was pain. What was perhaps salient in the mind in the moments that
followed were thoughts of Karuna (compassion); the lady
was suffering from (a) anger, judging from the way she threw the bottle,
it was as if she was venting off some negative emotions or thoughts and
(b) fear, judging from her facial and body expressions when she
realized she had hit me with the bottle. I may not be able to alleviate
her suffering from anger but at least I can alleviate her suffering from
fear as I walked away from her after the incident. Next were thoughts
of Metta (loving-kindness); I hope she will be well and
happy although I won’t be able to alleviate her suffering from anger, I
hope she will find her way to be free from anger.
Then
I turn the focus towards myself; where was the anger coming from? Where the anger
went to? In the split second of anger that I was aware of, I was
clinging on to the idea that the body is me, the shirt is mine; the act
of hitting me with the bottle, spilling green tea on my shirt is an act
of aggression towards this identity of me, an act of transgression on my
property (shirt). The anger came from my mind not the mind and it
ceases as it arises. The anger arises from this perceived assumed
permanent existence which we call ‘I’. As long as 'I' exist, anger exists.
In the midst of the momentary experience, 'I' arose and ceased; so if 'I' is a
phenomena which is subjected to arising and cessation; then do 'I' really
exist as a permanent identity?; if anger, greed and the multitude of
thoughts is 'I', then 'I', as with all those phenomenon, is impermanent (Annica).
If the self, the thoughts and affect is forever in a state of flux, what is there permanent to cling on to?
May all be well and happy.
With Metta,
Simple Bear 11.01.2013.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Happiness or Unhappiness
Retrospection: 2012
Retrospection: 2012
If there is one word I would use to describe my 2012, it would be
‘growth’. It has been a very happening year; I started the year with a
few months of hibernation which I felt were one of the best few months
of my life in a long time. For once, I felt I was in fact living with
myself, mindful and peaceful. Towards the mid of the year, I restarted
my hectic lifestyle again, with
projects, studies and camps until the end of the year. Perhaps, one of
the major events that happened last year was my grandma’s death in late
September which forced me to face my own Mara which I had been running
away from, my own ego, anger and delusions.
Overall, it has been a good year in terms of spiritual, academic and personal growth; going into 2013, as I stepped into my 30s, I am more confident of my path towards my spiritual and personal goals and dreams, more confident of the value of the potential sacrifices that I may need to make in the future to come to accomplish my goals and dreams. In 2013, I will strive to make more progress along the path towards my goals and dreams.
Thank you everyone for making a difference in my life. I seek for your forgiveness if I had done or said anything that is inappropriate or insensitive, which may have unintentionally hurt you in the past. Please do continue to give me your guidance and let me know if I have done anything wrong. I am truly blessed and grateful to meet people who inspired me to work harder through their kind encouragement and exemplary behavior. May we all have the optimal conditions to be inspired and inspire everyone towards happiness; may all be well and happy always.
May all be blessed and have the good conditions for the fulfillment of wholesome aspirations and dreams in 2013.
With Metta,
Simple Bear
Overall, it has been a good year in terms of spiritual, academic and personal growth; going into 2013, as I stepped into my 30s, I am more confident of my path towards my spiritual and personal goals and dreams, more confident of the value of the potential sacrifices that I may need to make in the future to come to accomplish my goals and dreams. In 2013, I will strive to make more progress along the path towards my goals and dreams.
Thank you everyone for making a difference in my life. I seek for your forgiveness if I had done or said anything that is inappropriate or insensitive, which may have unintentionally hurt you in the past. Please do continue to give me your guidance and let me know if I have done anything wrong. I am truly blessed and grateful to meet people who inspired me to work harder through their kind encouragement and exemplary behavior. May we all have the optimal conditions to be inspired and inspire everyone towards happiness; may all be well and happy always.
May all be blessed and have the good conditions for the fulfillment of wholesome aspirations and dreams in 2013.
With Metta,
Simple Bear
曾经的那份爱
曾经,爱
溺爱
P.S. I wrote this half a year ago. Grateful for the experience which made me a better bear.
溺爱
一年过去了.
还记得和你分手的那一夜, 你我都没哭. 我们心里都清楚的知道, 我们的缘分已到了尽头.
回想起当时的我, 多么的傻, 明知道我们是不可能, 却紧握着可能的那一丝希望.
总觉得如果我的爱, 象海一般的深, 一定能冲走我们之间的一切障碍.
一心只想把幸福给你, 自己却因而溺死在那一厢情愿的爱海里.
我错了.
这样的爱情里, 我们只会痛苦, 不会幸福.
对不起, 我放弃了我当初想占领你心中的那座城池的梦. 我太自大, 太不知量力.
我输了.
但我却一点也没后悔.
只因我曾疯狂地独自在溺人的爱海中, 惊涛骇浪间, 翱翔.
谢谢你
祝福你幸福.
简单熊
P.S. I wrote this half a year ago. Grateful for the experience which made me a better bear.
I am weak
I am weak.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
Aristotle
We,
perhaps are the only ones who is capable of understanding ourselves
better than anyone else and if we don’t know or understand ourselves,
who does? And if we do know ourselves, then what exactly is the wisdom
that Aristotle is referring to in his quote. In my own opinion, perhaps,
the wisdom refers to mundane wisdom, the avoidance of potential
pitfalls engendered by habitual tendencies in everyday life, the social
interactions and responses to the changing stimuli that we encounter in
our socio-cultural environment.
If
we know ourselves, the strengths and weaknesses, the blind spots that
we are previously unaware of, perhaps we are able to live a happier life
through the mastery of our self-mind. The issue now is how much do we
exactly know about ourselves. Maybe we spent too much of our time trying
to understand the externals, the phenomenon in this amalgamated world.
Although the nature of reality is such that we are ever changing and it
is perhaps impossible to know everything about ourselves momentarily but
since we assumes the self to be a permanent concept which exist
inherently, comprising of dispositions or habitual tendencies; just how
much do we know about these dispositions. If we are unaware of
ourselves, how can we manage our lives?
“He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.”
Lao Tzu
If
we don’t know our weaknesses, how can we ever conquer ourselves and be
the master of our own lives. Perhaps, the first step to knowing oneself
is to have the courage to attempt to discover, acknowledge and
understand one’s weaknesses. One can improves oneself by attending to
the eradication of one’s weaknesses especially negative habitual
tendencies. Have the courage to face up to oneself.
“Don’t fear knowing one’s weaknesses, fear not knowing.”
Simple Bear 28.11.2012.
May we all have the mindfulness and courage to venture into our minds, to understand and conquer ourselves.
May all be well and happy.
With Metta,
Simple Bear 29.11.2012.
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