A Buddhist's Refuge Prayer

As a beginner in Buddhism, I like this prayer of refuge by Thich Nhat-Hanh. I am sharing this Refuge Prayer with readers of this blog. Kindly take note that, this is not an attempt to preach Buddhism here. It is merely an attempt to share a beautiful and meaningful prayer. Kindly ignore this posting if it offended your religious sensitivity. However, if you like this beautiful Refuge prayer, kindly share it with your friends and associates to spread the message of love. For further explanatory note on Buddhism, you can also visit Kalachakranet or BuddhaNet.

A Buddhist's Refuge Prayer
by Thich Nhat-Hanh

At the foot of the Bodhi tree,
beautifully seated, peaceful and smiling,
the living source of understanding and compassion,
to the Buddha I go for refuge.

The path of mindful living,
leading to healing, joy, and enlightenment,
the way of peace,
to the Dhamma I go for refuge.

The loving and supportive community of practice,
realizing harmony, awareness, and liberation,
to the Sangha I go for refuge.

I am aware that the Three Gems are within my heart,
I vow to realize them.
I vow to practice mindful breathing and smiling,
looking deeply into things.
I vow to understand living beings and their suffering,
to cultivate compassion and loving kindness,
and to practice joy and equanimity.

I vow to offer joy to one person in the morning
and to help relieve the grief of one person in the afternoon.
I vow to live simply and sanely,
content with just a few possessions,
and to keep my body healthy.

I vow to let go of all worry and anxiety
in order to be light and free.

I am aware that
I owe so much to my parents,
teachers, friends and all beings.
I vow to be worthy of their trust,
to practice wholeheartedly,
so that understanding and compassion will flower,
and I can help living beings
be free from their suffering.

May the Buddha,
the Dhamma,
and the Sangha
support my efforts.

( Note : Sincerely, no insensitivity is intended by this posting to any "religiously" inclined people or religions. And, hopefully, today is not a day of any religious significant that may rendered this posting to be religiously offensive and insensitive. If you felt offended by this posting, please take your nasi lemak's apology and grievance seeking elsewhere !!! )

It is OFFENSIVE to Joke on APril Fool's Day ?

The posting, "An Official Apology", was posted on April 1st 2007. It was meant as an April Fool's jokes to satirically looking at groups of people with different perceptions and expectation of country-to country relationship. The posting on April 1st 2007 made no reference to, or intended to insult any religion, country, or person. It was intended as a NON RELIGIOUS humor. Period.

This morning, it was highlighted to me that, April 1st 2007, is also the birthday of a leader of a religious moment. Again, out of sensitivity, I am refraining from naming the name of the religion. A blogger claimed that I offended his religious sensitivity with the April Fool's day posting. I would like to tell it to him once and for all that, it is not my intention to insult or offend any religions. I have great respect for all religions, and as well as to people who do not believe in any religion. I would like to advise the blogger to refrain from using the name of his religion to initiate emotional argument with me. Because, I have no interest and see no neccessity to enggage in any argument involving with the used of good name of religions. Therefore, kindly refrained from reading between the line to distort the original intention of the posting !

I find it OFFENSIVE for people to use the name of religions to initiate dangerous emotional arguments. I also find it OFFENSIVE for people to make racial slurs and racist remarks. I do not wish to make any further comments on their intentions and as well as uncalled for personal attacks. I leave it to them to assess their own morality and righteousness.

I do not wish to be made use by any person using my blog content to achieve their own objectives. I also do not wish any of my posting to be deliberately misquoted to cause unnecessary emotional arguments on religion. I am removing the April 1st 2007's posting to protect the integrity of this blog being intentionally abuse by narrow minded people.

( Note : Sincerely, no insensitivity is intended by this posting to any "religiously" inclined people or religions. And, hopefully, today is not a day of any religious significant that may rendered this posting to be religiously offensive and insensitive. If you felt offended by this posting, please take your nasi lemak's apology and grievance seeking elsewhere !!! )

We apologized !!!

The original content of this posting was deliberately misquoted and words added to instigate religious hatred by a blogger who also personally attacked me with his racist remarks. I am replacing the content of this post with a Buddhist Prayer and a picture of Jesus Christ carrying the Cross to remind him the good deeds of Jesus Christ and the wholesome goodness of Buddhism to mankinds.

I have my highest respect for Christianity and also happened to believe that, Buddhism is the most peaceful religion on earth. Do I need to apologize to those who believe otherwise ? But anyway, just to satisfy some grievance seekers' perpetual insatiation for grievances, this is an offcial apology if any of the posting offended your super sensitivity. Nah !

Metta Karuna Prayer

Oneness of Life and Light,
Entrusting in your Great Compassion,
May you shed the foolishness in myself,
Transforming me into a conduit of Love.
May I be a medicine for the sick and weary,
Nursing their afflictions until they are cured;
May I become food and drink,

During time of famine,
May I protect the helpless and the poor,
May I be a lamp,

For those who need your Light,
May I be a bed for those who need rest,
and guide all seekers to the Other Shore.
May all find happiness through my actions,
and let no one suffer because of me.
Whether they love or hate me,
Whether they hurt or wrong me,
May they all realize true entrusting,
Through Other Power,
and realize Supreme Nirvana.
Namo Amida Buddha

( Note : Sincerely, no insensitivity is intended by this posting to any "religiously" inclined people or religions. And, hopefully, today is not a day of any religious significant that may rendered this posting to be religiously offensive and insensitive. If you felt offended by this posting, please take your nasi lemak's apology and grievance seeking elsewhere !!! )

We will, we will blog you.....

Oddly enough, bloggers had been subjected to a lot of indirect pressure to "behave" recently. The issues of bloggers was even brought out in parliament! There has been too many uncultured references and remarks by mainstream medias and politicians against bloggers. I do find this indiscriminate discharged of urinary statements against bloggers and the displayed of narrow mindednes a bit irritating and uncalled for. I do agreed, web log should never be used as a license by bloggers to say anything or everything they fancied. But let's not mistaken the balls between our legs as brain and our rear orifice as mouth to assert immoral excuse to directly or indirectly inhibit freedom of expression to curtail everyone's burning desires to uncover and present truths.

These anti blogging peole remind me of the song by the Queen, here goes the lyric, I hope I got the lyric right......

Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Meddling in the blogsphere
ain't gonna make you a big man some day
You got mud on your face
You big disgrace
Kickin your own ass all over the wrong place

We will we will BLOG you
We will we will BLOG you

Buddy you're a young man with no balls
Shoutin stupidities in the blogsphere
ain't gonna made you a man today
You got blood on yo face
You big disgrace
Wavin your banner all over the WRONG place

We will we will BLOG you
We will we will BLOG you

Buddy youre an old man with no dickey
Pleadin with your eyes
gonna make you some peace some day
You got mud on your face
blood on your ass and shit in your mouth
You big disgrace

Somebody better put you back in your place
We will we will BLOG you
We will we will BLOG you...................


Now, back to my rantings. We are living in a time where media and control of information are no longer the privilege commodities of selected few. This is a positive poltical and social evolution from draconian habitat. In the past, news and opinions can only be obtained from printed media, television, and radio, and there are practically no avenue for average people to voice their disagreements and alternative opinions in these controlled medias. However, the mass accessibility of Internet technology has altered this information delivery landscape. Information Technology savvy people, like bloggers, now has easy accessibility and capability to present their own observations and alternative perceptions of issues. Those privileged few who used to have the luxuries to control the free flow of information must now learn to accept these new political and social realities. Gone are the days where information can be negatively massaged, manipulated, and biasedly presented to stir misplaced angers and emotions, or solicit support of the masses to perpetuate the immoral sustainability of power for selected few.

The fact is, people are generally more educated and would like to receive information in a factual, truthful, and honest manner with alternative perspectives. Bloggers have, in one way or another, filled that vacuum. Majority of people resort to read blogs, not neccessarily accept the credibility of the contents of the blogs. But, they want varieties of information in a more truthful and less contaminated manners. So, if the mainstream medias are losing readerships, I guess it would be more appropriate for the mainstream medias to revamp their editorial policies and contents. Masking in indirect attacks to discredit bloggers are not going to bring back the readerships ! If the politicians are losing support from the people, they should relook into the way they conduct themselves. Blaming the bloggers for highlighting issues related to them are not going to sustain their popularity.

If a blogger disagreed with certain national policy, highlighting and criticize the policy does not necessarily means the blogger is unpatriotic or attempt to sabotage the implementation of the policy. The fact is, as citizens, we can be against many things, disagreed with many policies, or courageously criticize the government or politicians, but these actions are all mutually exclusive to individual noble intention of loyalty to the country. In fact, the rights to criticize and disagree should be jealously encouraged to create a culture of transparency, nobility, and excellence. Can a country progress and be a great nation, if all the citizens need permission from the "Dear and beloved" leaders to voice the opinions and disagreements or parroting the uniformed political propaganda in unison ? Sincerely, do we need guidelines from these misguided "Dear and Beloved leaders" when come to expressing ourselves ? I for one, is not that type of submissive pervert ! Are you ?
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I am not deluded to think that, with blogging, I can say anything I want at anytime and in anywhere I like. But from my heart, I do sincerely believe, if anybody disagreed with or felt injured by my blog contents, by all means, please present your honest and truthful opinions and observations in the comment section to dispute my blog contents. I hate to subject myself in an atmosphere where I fear the risks and consequences of persecutions, harassments, fines, imprisonment, etc. for speaking out my perceptions against certain issues. If you used your temporary power to silence me because you don't like what you read, you are directly and dangerously curtailing the sacred freedom of expressions guaranteed by God. Think of the future consequences and impacts of your actions on the future wellbeing of your children and grandchildren. Would you want them to live in an environment of fears, no freedoms of expressions, and under emotional slavery ? The choice is yours ! Be responsible for your action Today !

To all the selected fews who has limited appreciation for freedom of expressions, my advise is, the world has changed and slowly progressed into a more transparent and open society. You can not turn back the clock now, and you definitely can not control and manipulate the free flow of information. Accept and embrace these new realities, conduct yourselves in a honest manners and be transparent in accepting criticisms and differing opinions. And, most important of all, respect human rights and have the decency of not trying to make life difficult for others in order to protect your own selfish interests.

I understand, political hooligans and elitists used to control what they want others to read, it is indeed scary for them to lose control of the dissemination of information ! But, let's face it, in the first place, these misguided souls have no bloody business to control the free flow of information. Discrediting the bloggers to protect their image and sustainability ? What does that make them ? A statesman ? A national leader ? a torch bearer of rights and morality ? Honestly, I would prefer you not be a pariah of your own ignorances and stupidities.....

That flower of Life....

I wondered into the small garden,
the morning air is indeed refreshing.
I see you waltzing in the gentle morning breeze.
"Sir, am I beautiful this morning", you said.
Yes indeed you are !

On this small pot you made your stand.
In silent you endured my previous scorns,
while you struggle to grow.
Finally, you have blossomed,
no words can described my delights.

But for how long will this fragile blossom last ?
Would you consider one week an eternity ?
I admired your enthusiasm and spirit.
Despite the expectation of short cycle of life,
you displayed splendid radiance, and beautiful colours,
against the morning sun,
to please and be appreciated.

As I gently touch your soft petals,
the essence of your fragrance
touched my heart.

Life is such a splendour seasonality.
In anticipation of end to life,
you celebrated life to come.
You displayed gritty beauty in simplicity.

With tears in my eyes,
I now understand the meaning of life.