The universe may one day perish, yet my vows are eternal

The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen let go of his physical body and left behind great compassion and great vows in this world:

What I am unable to accomplish in this lifetime,

I vow to push forward through countless future lives;

What I am unable to accomplish personally,

I pray for everyone to join forces to promote

Busy with nothing, growing old.

Within emptiness, weeping, laughing.

Intrinsically, there is no "I."

Life and death, thus cast aside. ~ Venerable Master Sheng Yen.

The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain, passed away at 4:04pm of the afternoon of 3 February, 2009, at the age of 80.

The Master has dedicated his whole life in promoting the idea of "uplifting the character of humanity and building a pure land on earth" through the manifestations of his own physical body and actions. The Sangha community and followers of Dharma Drum Mountain around the world will uphold and fulfill the Master's wishes so that great compassion and great vows will continue in this world.

The Most Venerable Master, who humbly called himself "a monk amidst the rain and snow", was voted as one of Taiwan's fifty most influential people in the last four hundred years. A review of the Master's life depicted a life of drifting from place to place, facing endless trials and dramatic turnarounds. As a child the Master was always sick and frail. After receiving monastic ordination in Wolf Hill, Jiangsu Province, China, and throughout the period of performing chanting rites for the deceased, serving in the military, studying in Japan for his PhD degree, propagating the Dharma in the United States of America, the founding and establishment of Dharma Drum Mountain, the Master always found a way out of all difficulties. In times of hardship we can witness his compassion, through his unswerving determination we can witness his wisdom through Chan practice. To the Master, life is a journey of practicing the Dharma.

In 2004, the Master, well aware of his poor health, made a will and instructed that after he passed away; instead of a traditional funeral ceremony, a Buddhist memorial rite should be held. It should be simple, solemn and economical, all flowers and wreaths are to be declined, just the chanting of "NAN MO A MI TUO FO" (Homage to Amitabha Buddha) so that we will all be joined in the Pure Land. Since he fell sick, the Master's attitude to life and death is not to wait for death, fear death or seek death. Instead he followed his vow "The universe may one day perish, yet my vows are eternal" and continued to lead everyone forward on the path of building a pure land on earth.

In September 2006, the Master handed over the position of Abbot President to his disciple Venerable Guo Dong, symbolizing the transmission of the Dharma Drum Mountain lineage from generation to generation. In regard to the issue of selecting the Abbot President, the Master had clearly stated that regardless of whether a bihikkshu or bhikshuni was elected from within Dharma Drum Mountain or engaged from outside, when the person takes up the position of Abbot President, he/she also receives the transmission of the Dharma Drum Mountain lineage and will not abandon the vision and direction of Dharma Drum Mountain.

Under the leadership of Abbot President, Venerable Guo Dong, the Sangha community and followers of Dharma Drum Mountain throughout the world will inherit the past and continue forward in carrying out the practice of "Four Insistence" - to insist upon the ideas of Dharma Drum Mountain, to insist upon the Three Types of Education, to insist upon the Four Kinds of Environmentalism and to insist upon the practice of orthodox Chinese Buddhism – to support the vision of Dharma Drum Mountain as they had done in the past and to jointly fulfill the will of the Master in the building of the Dharma Drum University.

In accordance with the Master's will, his ashes will be returned to the earth and buried in the Life Memorial Garden.

The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen once said, "Where there is life, there must be death. If one cannot face this reality it will become one’s greatest barrier in life, if one can regard death merely as a fraction within the eternal time and space then death is not an end to life but the beginning of the next."

Extracted from http://www.ddm.org.tw/

Australian Open 2009 - Dawn of A New Era of 2 Champions!

The curtains finally closed on the stage of Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park for the first Grand Slam of the New Year aka The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific - Australian Open 2009. It was my first time chasing after any tennis competition. Maybe it is cos I just returned from backpacking in Australia?!! haha. Another possible reason is cos I am waiting (or hoping?!) to see if Roger Federer can have a good start to this year and regain his World No 1 title?

What a final! One can only experience it by watching it Live! Current World No 1, Rafael Nadal, persevered to win in a 5 set thriller: 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 over World No 2, Roger Federer (who was World No 1 till August 2008) in 4 hrs and 23 mins. And just one day plus ago, he was being pushed by an on form countryman, Fernando Verdasco (seeded 14th) till the wee hours! This man is really made of steel (just look at his bulging muscles)! On a separate note, gosh! tennis is a tiring game!

As you can deduce from above, I am for Federer but as I continued to watch, I could not help but feel worried for him as he was being stretched by Nadal. After all, before this match, he was 6-12 against Nadal! Then these thoughts came to my mind: to be a real champion or regain his World No 1, he must overcome all odds. Even his nemesis -Rafael Nadal. Otherwise, he does not deserved the title.

The match could go either way eventually. Federer entertained with his brillant skills while Nadal, not wanting to be left behind, countered with his speed, strength and accuracy. But Nadal was the more consistent one with Federer making a lot of unnecessary errors. I applaused when Nadal won as he fought hard with determination. The rest of the tennis players (the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray) still have quite some way to go to catch up with them. In the past, the tennis era belonged to Federer but now, it belongs to Federer AND Nadal (with Nadal having the upper hand now). May the best man win! Cheers!

ABT Part II - First Stop: Melbourne City

I did ZERO planning for this backpacking trip except for getting the air tics and borrowing a Lonely Planet Guidebook from the library. And I'm going alone. Brave or just pure recklessness?!! This is of course due to my busy work schedule and ... some laziness... haha. I spent abt half a day doing planning whenever I reached a new destination and as such, I'd say I wasted some precious time. However there are really interesting attractions which I discovered at their Visitors' Centre, listed outside the guidebook. Thus even if one does planned beforehand, be prepared to change some of your itinerary along the way=)

I paid about S$1500 for the air tics. It's considered ex as january is still Australia's holiday season. Not to mention I got it quite last min too. Lesson No 1 learnt: Book way in advance! You can also look out for special deals but usually condition like "2 to go" is applicable to enjoy the discount (I saw one at abt S$800. Almost half the price!!).

I took Qantas. I like to try different airlines to have different inflight experience. I'm proud to say that Singapore Airlines still ranks top on my list (but it can be more ex...). I definitely felt quite "special" sitting among the ang mos as I was the minority on the plane. This was also my first trip to a Caucasian country. So excited! Maybe with some luck, I can bring a Caucasian gf home!!! haha

The timing of the plane was quite nice in that it was an overnight flight. When it landed in Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport after about 7hrs (gosh! tiring...), it was morning and Melbourne was all ready for me to explore! Except for a problem: I did not book any accomodation in advance! Luckily I found a saviour in Rob Hussey! (he's the hot guy right in front in the photo).

Meditation Retreat 15/12/08 - 29/12/08

This is really a long overdue blog that I should have written even before my Australia Backpacking Trip (which unfortunately is still stuck...). However I really got interested and committed to starting a blog only after my Australia trip, so well...

I usually try to go for a meditation retreat at the end of every year to reflect as well as revigorate myself to prepare for the coming new year. In 2007, I opted for a trip to Hanoi to visit my friend who was working there instead. It was quite an experience but I did not exactly like Hanoi, not to mention I had serious diarrhoea while out in the sea at Halong Bay! So in 2008, I told myself I must resume my annual retreat practice at the end of the year.

I usually like to go for mediation retreat alone (or at most just a few) as compared to going together with a group of people I know because I feel I would be more focused with no familiar faces around. Maybe a wrong view? But this is just a personal preference=)

This time round, I decided to go to Bhaddekaratta Hermitage (http://www.bhaddekaratta.org/index.html) which is located at Batu Pahat in the state of Johor in West Malaysia, about 2 hours by car from Singapore, after hearing good feedback from friends who have been there. As I got no car, I have to get there by public transport. I contacted the Hermitage for direction instructions and was extremely lucky to find out that another Dhamma friend from Singapore, John, would be going there on the same day. As he was a regular there, I basically just followed him=) For those who are keen to go, you can look up the relevant contact at the website and called to enquire about availability of hermitage (there may not be enough lodgings due to overwhelming number of yogis) as well as instructions to get there.

It's been quite a way, so I cannot remember the full details. I remembered meeting John at Clementi MRT station platform at 6+am (...) and we proceeded to Kranji station where we took a bus to the customs and subsequently to Larkin Bus Terminal in Johor Bahru. From there, we got tickets through another bus company to Batu Pahat. As there was still some available time, we grabbed a quick breakfast and kopi=) The journey took about 1.5 hours or 2? Cannot exactly remember. We alighted at a bus stop outside the Japanese company, Sharp Roxy and John gave a call to his wife who was helping out at the Hermitage on a long term basis. We were picked up and drove through an oil palm plantation to eventually arrive at the Hermitage.

When we arrived at 11.30am, we were just right for lunch (this was calculated precisely by John). Then I was given a kuti as my resting place for the next 14 days. I took some time to clean the place as it was quite dirty. Then it was to start my meditation practice as according to the timetable. My retreat has officially started!

Retreat Timetable 禅修时间表
04:00 AM
Rising & Walking meditation
起身和行禅
05:00 AM
Sitting meditation
坐禅
06:30 AM
Breakfast & Hermitage's chores
早餐,禅院义务
08:30 AM
Walking meditation
行禅
09:30 AM
Sitting meditation
坐禅
11:30 AM
Meal, Clean Dining Hall/Kitchen & Others
用餐,清理食堂
01:00 PM
Walking meditation
行禅
02:00 PM
Sitting meditation
坐禅
03:00 PM
Walking meditation
行禅
04:00 PM
Sitting meditation
坐禅
05:30 PM
Meditation Discussion
禅修报告
06:30 PM
Walking meditation
行禅
07:30 PM
Sitting meditation
坐禅
08:30 PM
Chanting (group or personal)
诵经

AND I almost "died" there!!! hahaha. I woke up at 3.30am in the morning to wash up before starting my meditation practice of anapanasati (awareness of in breath and out breath). At first, I got difficulty pulling myself out of bed (who wouldn't??!). As I haven't been meditating at home, my mind was all over the place except the one place it should be ie my breath and it was a "torture" sitting cross-legged even for 15 mins. It was especially hard to pass the stretch in the afternoon of 4 hours. Ok what have I got myself in this time?

Pls follow closely as to how my practice progressed as the days passed. To be continued...=)

Australia Backpacking Trip 8/1/09 - 23/1/09 (Part I)

This was my first backpacking trip and it was really quite an experience! Here's a summary of the hits and misses:

Hits: Visit Melbourne city and its attractions (eg Queen Victoria Market), Make new international friends, Experience backpacking lifestyle, Know more about Australia culture, See kite surfing at St Kilda, Visit The Dandenongs and sit in Puffy Billy, Visit Phillip Island, See the Penguin Parade, Feed kangaroos, See koala bears sleeping (they sleep 20hrs a day!), Cycle round the island, Watch seals colony, Stay at Torquay (Gateway to Great Ocean Road), Visit Great Ocean Road (eg Twelve Apostles), Try surfing, Visit Sydney and its attractions (eg Museum of Sydney, Paddy's Market), Watch Circus at Sydney Opera House, Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge, See a Dugong! at Sydney Aquarium, Visit Blue Mountains (eg The Three Sisters), Try abseiling and canyoning, Try caving at Jenolan Caves, Do some bushwalking etc

Misses: Catch a match of Australian Open in Melbourne (damn!), Cuddle a Koala, Watch dolphins swimming in the sea, Sky diving, White water rafting, Hot air ballooning, Visit a Buddhist Temple, Visit a nude beach!, Know more about Aboriginal culture in Australia, Do a Farm Stay etc

It can be quite lonely travelling alone and I was fortunate to make new international friends PLUS bump into a Singapore friend and her colleague who are working there!