死期到!

死期到，死期到，
俊豪将要死翘翘。

真糟糕，不得了，
年龄越大越没料。

学了甚，不知道，
再不学好就打包。

想不通，真烦恼，
不好stress到发高烧。

上大四，搞什么，
学业弄得一团糟。

This should be my last posting for some time.

Passing the light

I recall that during buddhist camps, there would always be an event called passing the light. Participants were given candles and arranged in a circle. A person would have his candle lighted, and he would pass the flame to the next person, who will in turn pass it to his neighbour. It signifies that the light of wisdom being passed to all the participants.

During the previous NTUBS FOC, I noticed that the candle used was lotus shaped, and it was not always easy to light other's candle with it. If your candle's flame is weak, it will be difficult to pass on the flame. The shorter your neighbour's wick, the bigger your flame has to be to light it.

In the same way, unless one is well versed in the dharma, it would be very difficult to convince others to learn from it. The weaker a person's aptitude for receiving the dharma, the better practioner of the dharma you have to be to teach him.

I had a few Buddhism vs Christianity discussions with fellow students in Canada, and many of their questions left me stumped. I was simply unconvincing in my explanations of the dharma. My flame was simply not strong enough for others to recieve it. To me, practising the dharma is not good enough; I have to be able to pass it on.

I shall have to work on that.

Musings

When one is different or acts differently from the norm, his/her actions would usually be interpreted as doing so for self-serving reasons and not altruistic ones. The person might even face resistance and scorn for being different. This is probably because generally everyone's priority is me-first, others-last.

The path called the journey of life

We are all walking down the path called the journey of life. As I observe the friends around me, I see some of them dallying around, not really caring when they are going to take the next step, nor which direction they are going in. Time passes, and when our time comes, we might find ourselves still at same place.

So make haste friends, if you are standing still. Time waits for no one.

However, many of us, I believe, run. We run all the time, and we run furiously.

Why are we running? Do we really know? We run because we have always been running. We run because others are running as well, and if we do not follow, we will fall behind. We run so that we can get past the hilltop, after which another hilltop comes into view. Where are we running to? We run in the direction where signboards are pointing. We run down the well-trodden paths. We run to where we think there's a downward slope after the next corner. Often, many of us run mindlessly, in the direction that the wind whispers into our ear.

I think maybe its best that those who are running take a brief stop now and then. Stop and reflect why are we running. Is there a destination we are going to? Or do we run just for the sake of running?

Stop and reflect where are we running to. The land is vast and stretches out 360 degrees around us. Stop and look clearly before we continue our journey. Signs that were there might be an illusion. The oasis in the middle of the desert might be a mirage after all. Stop at each fork and crossroad before you go. Any changes in the terrain and environment warrants a pause. Even a nook or cranny along the way could provide a clue for our journey, but we often run so fast that we miss them. The more we observe our journey, the clearer our vision becomes.

So stop now, and look closely around you. You might see something you missed. Hopefully, by the end of our journey, we will not find ourselves still in the middle of nowhere.