Environment 3 - Flowers vs Weeds

Frangipani or Plumeria rubra, origin: Tropical America(Pasir Ris Park, Singapore)

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I have captured some pixs of flowers on the way to the bus stop or to the neighbourhood coffee shop recently and am amazed to find so many beautiful flowers, once I open my eyes to them. Credit to the ones who planted them and also the ones who nurture them now.

[Note: I am a novice with flowers. If you know the names and properties of any of the flowers, please do let me know. Thanks.

The National Park Singapore has an excellent website and flora index. Click here]

Pink Frangipani (Pasir Ris, below a block of HDB flats, Singapore)

Orchids at home


Ipomoea tricolor, aka "Morning Glory", but not the common ones (origins: Mexico, Central & South America ) (pix taken at: Haw Par Villa, Singapore)
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(Outside the MacRitchie Treetop Walk, Singapore )


Pink Hibiscus, overhanging from someone's garden, West Coast Road, Singapore

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Hibiscus blooms in different colours according to the PH of the ground. Purple for acidic and pink for alkaline.

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The following flowers are roadside flowers, cultivated by National Parks Singapore, by West Coast Road
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The following pixs are captured outside by the pavement of a private estate at Pasir Panjang

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Heliconia psittacorum 'Lady Di' (origin: Tropical America), along Victoria Street, Singapore


Lily, aka Crinum asiaticum, at Singapore Management University

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Barringtonia asiatica flower, origin: Madagascar to pacific, seaside tree

East Coast Park, Singapore

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Bougainvillea, outside my neighbourhood coffeeshop

Along the fence of my house

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Lotus



'Weeds' or are they?

... I wonder why certain plants are called 'weeds'. Someone once defined them as plants whose virtues are not discovered or understood yet.

This is a rare sight in organised and developed Singapore.

The creeper bears fruits similar to that of a passion fruit. Birds love them.

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Close up of the fruit

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If I were to have a wild flower mini-expedition in my neighbourhood, I will see what I can bring back to grow. One of them could be the morning glory (Argyreia nervosa, origin: India). I will have them weave around the railings of my balcony. Then I will have the purple corollas in the morning and just green vines in the afternoon on.
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At one time, morning glories were common sight in Singapore. However with rapid development and much land turned into residence or carefully nutured gardens, these wild flowers now are almost rarely found.

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I would also like to have a mimosa patch, so that children can keep themselves busy when they visit my place. Or for that matter, I can keep myself busy touching them and watching the leaves rapidly closing in instantly. It can be very therapeutic! :)

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[Note: Surprising this humble plant has its origins in Brazil and its called Mimosa pudica. A foreign talent! Read here. ]

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This is a small wild flower by the fence. Looks very pretty to me, so I wonder why certain plants are called 'weeds'. Someone once defined them as a plant whose virtues are not found or understood yet. I am thinking if the same philosophy applies to people too, as many are judged and rejected all too soon! :)

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Flower or weed, both of them contribute as much to the ecology and harmony in nature. No one is more or less. In the book, "A Course in Miracles", page 293, para 2, line 7, says, "The miracle is one thing you can do that transcends order, being based not on differences but on equality." That means there are no 'big miracle' or 'small miracle'. Weeds and flowers alike are miracles of equal extent.

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I ought to get a new and better camera with a powerful zoom, so that I can capture the parakeets that fly to my area every morning. They are so happy after their breakfast of oil palm seeds every morning. These birds are offsprings of escaped pets. These birds are native to Mexico Australia and Central America south to northern Nicaragua.

.Yesterday, a tiny bird came and sat on the balcony railing. It has a thin long curve beak to suck the nectar in the flowers, but it is not a humming bird. I have seen a humming bird before in my place, they are tiny like a big bee and their wings oscillates like those of one.

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Bucky Group 18 - The Power of the Dream

This week we sang the song "The Power of the Dreams" by Celine Dion
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Deep within each heart
There lies a magic spark
That lights the fire of our imagination
And since the dawn of man
The strength of just "I can"
Has brought together people of all nations
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There’s nothing ordinary in the living of each day
There’s a special part
Every one of us will play
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Feel the flame forever burn teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
As the world gives us its best
To stand apart from all the rest
It is the power of the dream that brings us here
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Your mind will take you far
The rest is just pure heart
You’ll find your fate is all your own creation
Every boy and girl
As they come into this world
They bring the gift of hope and inspiration
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Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here
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There’s so much strength in all of us
Every woman child and man
It’s the moment that you think you can’t
You’ll discover that you can
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Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here
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Feel the flame forever burn
Teaching lessons we must learn
To bring us closer to the power of the dream
The world unites in hope and peace
We pray that it will always be
It is the power of the dream that brings us here
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The power of the dream
The faith in things unseen
The courage to embrace your fear
No matter where you are
To reach for your own star
To realize the power of the dream
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Discussion
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I wish that more people will realise that 'deep inside each of their heart, there lies their magic spark'. Depressed people forgets that they have this spark inside them. So overwhelmed by their depressive thoughts, this spark gets buried. I hope they would rediscover it to light up their lives again. To depressed people, it is the chemicals in their body that is causing their depression, not their mind. But aren't the chemicals created by their thoughts? Is it possible to spark up their lives on their own and change the chemicals?

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Johnson brought out that in the Nazi camps, it was those who were not sent to the gas chambers and who survived, are those who had hope of living. Kong interjected that while hope is important, 'hope' is also a dangerous emotion used by conmen and religious cult. It is because of the hope of money or a purported messiah coming to save them that they get conned. So hope has to be threaded on carefully. Perhaps, more than hope, there should be a purpose. When there is a purpose to survive, people will stay alive for the purpose.

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Hinlan added that ultimately there must be action. Without action, hope and purpose will not manifest to the results we want.

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Elaine brought out a true story during the war when the Japanese were gathering Chinese men up the truck to be brought on a 'journey of no return' (death). The Chinese men were all seated and gathered on the ground waiting for the trucks to come and ferry them. Then when it came to this particular man, feeling totally despondent and resigned to die, he was about to stand up to go up the truck when a Japanese man came and touched him on his shoulders and indicated to him not to move. He then looked at the Japanese man, connected instantly and had hope and trust suddenly. He trusted the Japanese so much suddenly, he did not go up the truck. And that was the last truck. There were no more trucks coming back. He survived. The rest of them who went up the truck were never seen again! So, listen to your heart and trust.

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Joo Hwa interjected and asked, "If you were put in such a situation, what would you do to escape?"

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[No answer. We are all very wary of Joo Hwa's questions. Usually there is a catch somewhere! :) So, it was better not to answer! :)]

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So he continued, "by asking that you need to go to the toilet! Usually that will work. I tried it so many times!" and illustrated by raising his hands up high, as if asking the platoon commander on the spot.

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Clara brought up the issue of expectations. When she cleaned up after her son, in the first round, she is ok (patient and unperturbed). However, if she has to do it third and fourth time, then she started to get frustrated, as she would start to develop expectations of her son. Then she realised that it is her expectations that then got frustrated.

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Johnson raised the question of hope further. In a scenario of a fight between the samurai and the soldiers, the samurai seemingly had hope and charged forward against the brandishing machine guns and got shot dead. So does hope work?

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I commented that it depends of what he means by hope. Hope to win or hope to be matyred. Did they know they are going to die? May be they think it was still a better chance to win, by charging forward rather than waiting for the machine guns to shoot them, thereby they will definitely die. So they will rather try than do nothing and die.

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Chin Soon added that it depends on what we mean by winning. In the end, the soldiers all came down to pay their respects to the samurai for his bravery. So the samurai still won. He won the respect of the solidiers.

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Someone brought out that he likes the part where it says:

"It’s the moment that you think you can’t You’ll discover that you can "

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However, Flip disagrees with that part. He would be more inclined to believe what Henry Ford said about "If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you are right too!"

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I think it all depends on the context. Sometimes, when you think you can't, you 'gave up' and let go of everything. It is not so much the giving up, but more of 'letting go' that you discover you can do it.

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Joo Hock brought out the example of contestants in the American Idol. When they were told that they could not make it, but asked to sing again, they did it so much better. Then they have let go of everything and give their best.

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Also brought up that it is important to "Feel the flame forever burn". As we go on with our daily lives we meet problems and can get bogged down to forget to keep the flame burning. That is why we come to the Bucky Group sessions. This is called "Re-creation". That is to re-create ourselves regularly to keep the flame burning. Click here

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The session was moving towards the end and many are feeling restless. I wanted to share something, but couldn't get past saying, "I would like to say something...", as there immediately, came more chatter. I then repeated that I wanted to say something, but yet more chatter. So, I had to force my way to say what I wanted to say. That is, that many people had commented that I could recall with amazing detail of our Bucky session discussions and had asked me how I could remember so much, since they don't see me taking any notes.

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The secret lies in simply 'listening'. I actually listen very intently during the sessions. Many I have observed, chose to talk when others are talking and therefore cannot capture the same clarity and detail. I feel it is important to listen while others are talking, and when we do, will discover the richness of what the speaker says.

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Announcements made:

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1. A few of us in the Group went to Tanjung Sutera Resort recently. It was wonderfully peaceful and close to Singapore. Definitely worth going. Rather inexpensive too.

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2. My blog post, "The Green Temple" was noticed by a reader and listed on blog aggregator, tomorrow.sg. The reporter from the local New Paper also contacted me to quote a part of my post. Subsequently, Channel News Asia did a documentary on the temple. There is a visit planned by a group this coming 6 March 2008. However, not many spaces are available, so we may arrange another trip just for the Bucky Group.

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3. My House warming - on the 2 March 2008. The event will start at 4pm. There will be a screening of the movie "Osama". Poh Piah and Kueh Lapis will be served.

Reiki 3 - Connecting

I am a Reiki healer. After attunement, I got off a rapid start to witness the healing of people. I helped friends, relatives and even strangers. During that time, my psychic abilities and intuition also progressed rapidly.

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I was able to feel the symptoms of the person who was being healed even when he was not in my physical presence. He could be miles away, in another country. I could feel the vibes going off my palms very evidently. The persons I healed were equally amazed and thank me lots for helping them.

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Then as the gratitude and praises came pouring in consistently and frequently, sub-consciously, I get to believe that I am different and a powerful healer. Slowly by slowly, I believed that I am the one doing the healing. Then, as I believed (sub-consciously) that I was the healer, the psychic abilities dwindled rapidly. Many people would remark that the heavens have taken back the powers, but I think what I have done was that I have shut off myself to channel the Reiki Energies but believing I am the one doing the healing.

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This remark is therefore a wake-up call for me. It is a surprising wake-up call as we have been taught in Reiki class that the healing energies come from the cosmos and that they do the healing not us. Though this is in my conscious mind, I had let my sub-conscious mind believed otherwise..Instantly, I suggested and reminded myself that I am only a channeler of the energies. And indeed, I could feel the energy flow instantly

Bucky Group 17 - Precession

We continue in "Utopia or Oblivion" and read about 'precession' - the effect of bodies in motion on other bodies in motion. Such as when we stretch a rubber band longitudinally, we would expect the thickness of the band to become thinner. Conversely, when we exert inward (compressive) longitudinal force on a cylinder, the body of the cylinder is going to botch out. As shown:

The longitudinal forces effected a inward or outward radiating forces. These forces are predictable. In another example, when a man jumps from the stern of one boat onto another, both the bow draw towards each other. This is also predictable. See diagram...

Discussion:

Are all situations in a precession predictable? Guess not all. For instance if there had been a tsunami, then the boats won't have come together.

From there, the discussion strayed to the predictability and the defining of God. And that why we define God as such, since we don't know who God is. Basically, stemming from the Buddhist concept of "we don't know what we don't know".

I found such discussions futile. Why would I care about the definition of God. No matter how it will only be in words. It will not be able to encapsulate God with mere words. And for those who know God, do you think there is any point of explaining what God is. It reminds me of a Teochew saying... "If I tell you, you won't understand; and if I would bring you tell, it is too far!" :)

A Course in Miracles - 4

This posting is based on what I have learned from the "A Course in Miracles" seminar on the 16th and 17th of February 2008 in Singapore by Dr Aaron Lim. This is fourth of a six weekend lecture series occurring once every two months. The notes is written as in the first-person for easy reading, but it is not an ad-verbatim recording of what Dr Lim speaks during the seminar.
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Warning: This posting contains opinions that may be considered unacceptable by some people. If you are easily offended by unconventional views about religion and spiritualism, then DO NOT READ FURTHER THAN HERE. If you do, then do it at your own risk! If you do not agree with the views expressed below, it does not mean that you have not 'arrived', rather it just mean that you 'do not agree'. Meanwhile, try to be open. There are lots to discover about ourselves when we are open. Do feel free to leave comments. BELIEVING IS NOT NECESSARY!
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[To keep the text lean here, I will not include subjects that were covered in the previous ACIM lectures. If you want to read about those subjects, you may refer to the notes in the previous posts. You can use the 'Search' facility in this blog.]

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[Day 1]

It is in the quiet of our life that 'things' begin to happen. For instance, during Winter the plant already began to grow, but you cannot see it until the results of Spring. For us, inner work must start before results show, and we can start it anytime.

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For those of you who are new in ACIM, you may find some of that it reads like a Christian book, as it has Christian-like words. You may be uncomfortable with some of the words for some reason. It may be because you may have suffered in your previous embodiment. It could well be that you have been in the opposite side of the Christian Crusade. You may have remembered symbols that are unattractive to you now. For instance, when my daughter sees Jesus Christ on the Cross with head down and blood, she will turn pale and could almost faint.

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If you have a problem with some symbols, this is time to overcome them now. If you are uncomfortable with the word 'God', the you may like to substitute it with 'Nature' or any other equivalent you are comfortable with. Everywere, there is nothing that Nature is not.

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Also, if you are from a religion that perceives God to be outside of yourself, then you may be uncomfortable or guilty if you learn in ACIM that You are God. Me? God? How can it be?

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We all exist in ideas.

"I am a man", is an idea.

"I am a business man", is an idea.

"I am a dharma teacher", is an idea.

But whatever you are "I am" remains the same.

So, by changing your idea, you change you.

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For instance, I can change, "I am a Chinese man" to "I am a universal consciousness", and I change myself instantly. Now I celebrate all festivals and cultures including the Chinese culture.
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This morning on the way to this place, I passed by the nearby Kuan Yin Temple. I saw some devotees praying inside the temple, some outside, some holding incense, some not holding incense, some facing towards the temple, some facing outwards from the temple...etc. They may pray in different ways, but they are all asking for blessings. I find it sad, that these devotees do not know that blessings come from ourselves. "Asking" may help to a small extent, but only in a very limited way and it would be temporary. You can't rely on a power 'outside' you!

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For instance, I am afraid of heights. When there is a staircase without a wall or railing, I dare not climb up. I will feel as if I am still but the surrounding is moving. Once, I came to a staircase without railing but has a adjoining wall. As I walked up the stairs, I had to have one hand touching the wall to make me feel stable. Touching the wall (without a handrail) while walking up wouldn't help, but it made me feel better. This is the same as those devotees at the temple asking for blessings.

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If you know what you want is 'possible' why ask (beg) for it? By praying to the gods for more, it shows you have a 'lack mentality' and you will get more 'lack'. So just express gratitude in your prayers that you have enough and more will be given to you.

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The Universe will give you the love you gave out. So, go head on against your fears.

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But don't be like Baskin Robins. He made so much money selling ice-cream. Then one day, he realised that sugar was bad for the body and felt that he shouldn't have all those money. So he took his money to the top of a tower and threw them down onto the streets. That is silly! He probably forgot that only lots of sugar is bad for the body and that his ice-cream had probably bonded families together whilst they enjoy eating it.

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You can take any idea and turn it into whichever way you want - to serve or harm. Same as a business. You can spiritualise your business. I would only not do certain business that are harmful like drugs (narcotics). [However, I feel that such drugs used correctly serve to relieve pain. eg. morphine.]

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There are some businesses that focus a lot on form, but it is up to you to make it spiritual. Spiritualise your business. People will go to where love is. I am starting a spa and beauty salon to teach about skincare. In the process, I will teach about who they are, and make them feel better about themselves. The body too has its purpose.

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Religions teach that the body is not important. If it is not, then why does a smile give so much? Can't do that without a body!

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[My Q: How about high-end boutique? Isn't it more difficult to spiritualise?]

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The higher end the better, as these people have money to spend, and to give to worthy causes that you may organise for. There are many who are also very lonely. There are much you can do to help them too.

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The body exists in time and space. As such, we can go back and correct the errors we make in our life. Hence the saying, "my body is my temple". The body has great power to you and to others.

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So live long to be useful. If you are so fedup with yourself, you are of no use to others.

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Remember, whatever you want to be is just an "IDEA". "Buddha' is an idea, "Allah" is an idea, "God" is an idea...etc. So choose the idea that will help you (gain a higher consciousness). When your idea matches the idea of God or Nature, then "Your Father and I are ONE". There will be no boundaries in your life.

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God is omni-present, omniscience (all knowing, as even the grass knows how to grow), and omnipotent (all powerful). Even if we burn the planet down, it will grow again.

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[Q: How do we know we are well aligned?]

Your emotions. Are they loving? Or are you busy worrying about money...etc.

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However, enjoy your 'Idea' (what you want to be), but don't get attached to it. It is up to us to make it a heaven or a hell. Hell and heaven are also different to different people. For instance, I brought my elder brother for lunch in a nice restaurant thinking that it will be heaven for him, but it was hell to him. I found it out one day when I overheard him telling my sister that I brought him somewhere where the fried rice has all these green colors and red colors...etc (capsicum and green peas). He never had fried rice like these before. "How to eat?" he said. And he also said that it was so cold (strong air-condition). So heaven to me in a high class restaurant is hell to him.

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What you choose to do, may not also be seen in the same light by others. For instance, many must have thought Buddha was mad. He was a prince in India, married with a wife and baby and choose to leave the parents to sit under a tree! Siao bo siao? (Hokkien: "Mad or not mad?").

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So, no need to care about what others think of you. All you have to do is to ask yourself, "Am I doing this out of love or fear?" "Is this about abundance or lack?" "Am I 'serving' or 'working'?"

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Fear exists only in our minds and it begets a 'lack' mentality.

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So be grateful, trust and be yourself.

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The grass doesn't want to be a durain tree. Things in nature exists happily as themselves, whilst many human beings want to be someone else except themselves.

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Some people can show you their abundance and they are in peace. Some can show you nothing and be in peace. Both of them are in peace because they don't have attachments.

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Everyone has the consciousness to be an amazing creator. Human beings are said to have used only 1-5% of their mind. Many are conditioned to thinking doing 'A' or 'B', not 'A' and 'B'. We limit ourselves. Nature, however, has no limits or boundaries. And all of what Nature does requires the same difficulty. The ability or difficulty for Nature to create a rambutan, a durain, or a blade of grass is the same. For instance, if I am in the beauty business, can't I also be in construction? Or, can I be a businessman and still be a spiritual person?

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I wouldn't hire someone who doesn't know how to play, or doesn't know how to smile. I am going to play until I die, and then play without a body. There are wonderful things about having a body, but there are also wonderful things being without a body. Then you can be anywhere at an instant.

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What seem so real to you at one time, may no longer be so. Those who pray at the Kuan Yin Temple nearby will one day realise that they are the creator of their own lives, as they evolve spiritually. All we have to do is to frequently ask ourselves, "Is this the most loving thing you can do?"

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When that happens, then shouldn't everyday be like Valentine's Day? Or everyday a Father's Day, Mother's Day...etc. There is no day and night in the Universe. Day and night are there because of the Earth's rotation. So, Valentine's Day (as we see today) are created by businessmen. Nothing wrong with that. They provide the customer what the latter would consider as 'value'. We can go ahead and enjoy Valentine's Day, Father's Day and Mother's Day - no problem, as long as we go in aware and are not manipulated. So go have the romantic dinner, fire crackers...etc. It's only a game. Just don't get seduced into believed what the commercialists are telling you. Be in the world, not of the world.

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So no need to look for the happiness 'outside', as the happiness is 'inside'.

[My comment: However, as a person evolves, eventually, he will realise there is no 'inside' or 'outside'.]

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So it is no point looking for a 'soul-mate' or 'twin-flame', as doing so implies that you are not complete by yourself. Sometimes we hear people introducing their partner as 'my better half'. What kind of thought is that ('my better half')??!! You mean to say, without that person you are not complete or whole? You mean "1+1=half"??

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You are already whole and marriage should make you more than you are.

So in marriage, 1 + 1 = more than 2. So at least, 2/2 = 1.

1 + 1 should be = much more than 2.

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Spiritual life

= I AM WHOLE

= I AM THAT I AM ( an idea of what I wish to manifest)

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Being 'Special' or 'Holy' are ideas. The former excludes and the latter includes (which gives you more).

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'Committed relationships' are different from 'Special relationships'. 'Committed Relationships' are by agreement of an ideal that is greater than oneself. It is a union of the mind, not the body. Only minds can be joined, bodies can't. Minds have infinite visions. The soul needs soul food, not chemical food. The (chemical) body needs chemical food. There is a limit to what the body can do. How many houses can you live in? How many cars? How many children?...etc.

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I have known someone when she was 18 years old. Very charming lady. Her idea of marriage is to stay at home to cook and serve the husband...etc. Then after many years, the husband strayed and found another woman who is more exciting. When he is home after work, the dinner is ready, then while he is having dinner, she will be preparing the bath (and not with him)...etc, so it must have gotten too predictable and boring for the husband.

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See, so bodies and the physical side of marriages have their limits. It is very pleasant to have everything served, but after many decades, it has become stale.

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By all means, enjoy all the physical comforts of the world. Holiness does not mean you have to renunciate all and live in a cave. Holiness means that the soul wants to know if there is love.

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About education

School teachers teaches 'lack'. They don't teach abundance. Eventually students grow up believing that they should exchange time for money.

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We hear sayings inculcated in kids like:

"Zho gu Zho beh" (Hokkien: "Be a horse and be a cow", ie. be a beast of burden);

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"Chari makan" (Malay: "Earn to eat")

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We should tell our children they go to school to learn to be more valuable, not to make money. The more value you give, the more you will receive.

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So if you have a dream and great plan, don't tell it to your parents, or your girlfriend/boyfriend, or teacher...etc.

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Few can see the divinity in you and know you can make it.

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[My comment: My mother is a typical Chinese mother. She used to discourage everything I told her I wanted to do. She would even add that I would never make it, as nothing was that easy. Then when somebody else's kids achieve something (to me they were even mediocre), she would exaggerate them and praised how smart other people's kids are. Implying that her own children are not. However, even as a kid, I knew I could make it. I have always believed in myself. In addition, I have always the cheekiness to prove my mother wrong! And time and again, I did. So the moral of the story is to believe in yourself, despite what others (esply those closest to you) say.

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To readers who are not Chinese (or those not Chinese enough): This is not to say my mother doesn't love me. She loves me dearly. It is this traditional Chinese fallacy of false humility and protection over their kids - that is to discourage the kids just in case they bite off something too big for themselves to chew. Thankfully, as a strong headed kid, I love those discouragements, and took them as targets to prove her wrong!]

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Many people put their own fears in you. We sometimes love someone so much that we make them small.

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Highly enlightened people won't ask you what you are doing, but who you are and your expressions of who you are.

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Mix around with people you want to be.

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About Healed Healers and Unhealed Healers

When a society gets richer, like in Singapore, there emerges many healers. Some are healed healers, whilst others are unhealed healers.

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A healed healer knows that it is not really their work, but part of the energy. Conversely, a unhealed healer believes that he has special powers that others don't.

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[My comment: I am a Reiki healer. Read my story here. pertinent to being a healed healer. ]

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Only you can heal you. Doctors are there to assist you to heal. It is the spirituality that helps the person, not the religiousness.

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There is a Buddhist teaching that teaches that all things in the Universe are created in your mind, and you and only you, can be the master of your life. So, there is no need for lotus flowers, incense, mantras...etc. What begin in your head, ends in your head.

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God is self-realisation.

The five precepts can't get you there. They are only comforting.

When your mind is free from all things (including religion), can only you be free, and you can be all things.

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Do what you are comfortable with, and over time, even that will change.

I have people asks me questions like if they can remove the alter. I asked them if they believe in the alter and if they say 'yes', then I would advise them to keep the alter.

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So if you can't drop any beliefs now, don't drop. Wait until you are ready. Then one day, all of a sudden, you would reflect strongly on it, then a big puff of breath, and you drop it all. Just like that instantly, you change just as quickly.

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For highly spiritual persons, it is all the same to them. All they do is to love you, no matter what you believe in.

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[End of Day 1]

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[Day 2]

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Love recognises itself. You can try that: when you see a pack of stray dogs, get friendly with one. It will come to you. Then as you stroke and caress it, it'll like to stay longer, then the others will likewise come. And they will remember you. They too will respond to love.

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[My comment: This reminds me of the checkpoint and customs sniffer dog going after Ajahn Brahm because it could sense his compassion and love. He wasn't carrying any drugs.]

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Those who know God, does not talk about God.

Those who talk about God, does not know God. - Lao Tze.

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[My comment: The mention of this saying was timely, as I had just come from the Bucky Group session where we were trying to define what God is. read here]

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We all gravitate towards love. Haven't you experience seeing someone in the distance and having the natural inclinations to avoid that person? There is something unloving in that person and you have picked it up instantly.

[Q: Doesn't that mean that the person need more love?]

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Yes, it does, but you may not be able to handle him. If you are a Buddha, or a highly enlightened person, then yes, you will be unaffected, otherwise, your instinct will tell you to stay away.

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We know it at the first instinct. For instance, every marriage with a problem already had the problem before the marriage. There was a moment of doubt but you kept on due to fear and started to logic it out.

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[Q: So when do we know?]

You need to be very sharp and listen to the very first voice. Short and sharp, and not to be distracted and overcome by desires. In a sense, it is like listening to your own vibrations.

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[Q: How about some people whom I didn't like first time, but grew to be my best friend?]

This is due to your previous connection with someone else of a similar look, ethnic group, gender...etc. For instance, there was a girl who was raped by her Oriental gynaecologist and was traumatised. So, when she met me, it reminded her of the rape and she was very uncomfortable with me.

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[Q: page 40, para 2: What does this mean: "All your difficulties stem from the fact that you do not recognise yourself, your brother or God..."]

Here 'brother' means someone else, and not literally your biological brother. The sentence mean to say that you do not recognise the 'I' in the other person. To the 'I' the other person is just a 'you'. Or it implies the inability to recognise the divinity in another person.

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[Q: page 40 para 4, line 1: "True vision is the natural perception of spiritual sight, but it is still a correction rather than a fact."]

Here 'spiritual sight' is the 'third eye'. This is often not taught in religion as many of the religious leaders are afraid that the followers will then not need the temple, mosque or church. The spiritual sight is the unity in vision, from duality to unity.

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[Q: page 45, para 5, line 6: "Ingenuity is totally divorced from knowledge, because knowledge does not require ingenuity".]

That means take the truth as the truth, it doesn't need ingenuity. That sets you free. eg. "Change is the only constant in the Universe", is a truth. Accept that and it will set you free.

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[Q: page 45, para 6: "Prayer is a way of asking for something. It is the medium of miracles. But the only meaningful prayer is for forgiveness, because those who have been forgiven have everything. Once forgiveness has been accepted, prayer in the usual sense becomes utterly meaningless..."]

What it means here is that many pray to get something, which reflects a lack in their life, forgetting that whatever they want is already given. Instead they should take prayer as a form of expression of gratitude and ask for forgiveness to have lived life in duality. Once we have accepted the unity, the 'old way' of praying to get becomes meaningless.

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To forgive, first you have to forgive yourself. If you can't forgive yourself for some of the things you have done, you cannot forgive others.

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It is only when you can forgive all that you become free. Those who are not free will be those who will serve others who are free.

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Eventually, you will stop the old way of prayer. You will learn that miracles are everyday occurence. You yourself is a miracle of God. Isn't so that our body is a miracle with some many cells working towards the whole body? In an upside down world, we tend to think of miracles of rare occurences. To the contrary, miracles happen all the time. Any expression of love is a miracle.

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If you want to pray, pray not for something, but you can pray like these:

1. As an expression of gratitude.

2. Ask for the healing of the mind.

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Example:

Dear God

Heal my mind. My fears are from my inability to understand these. I'm feeling unloved, heal my mind...

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You can't heal someone at the level of the body. It has to be in the mind. Some of you may have noticed that I have been hobbling during these two days in Singapore. My leg tendons are hurting. Now what does that mean? Legs are for walking. Could it mean that I don't want to walk? Don't want to come here to Singapore?

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On Friday while in Malacca, I really didn't feel like coming to Singapore this weekend, but I have made my commitment for ACIM and I have to keep my end of my promise. You are supposed to read the book and ask questions in class, but I know many of you did not read. I kept my end of the promise but you haven't. This is not fair and I didn't want to come to Singapore, that's why my body refused to move by giving me the tendon pains. But once I realised this, I have to work on my mind, and the pain will go away.

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When you sympathise with someone, you make the other person small. Empathy is different from sympathy.

[Comment from audience: Someone came to me to pour out his problems to me. I didn't sympathise with him but just listened. Later, he came back to me and thank me for not sympathising him, and because of that he felt better.]

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[Q: page 86 Time and Eternity

"God in His knowledge is not waiting, but His Kingdom is bereft while you wait. All the Sons of God are waiting for your return, just as you are waiting for theirs. Delay does not matter in eternity, but it is tragic in time. You have elected to be in time rather than in eternity, and therefore believe you are in time. Yet your election is both free and alterable. You do not belong in time. Your place is only in eternity, where God Himself placed you forever."]

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[Q: page 293, para 2, line 7: The miracle is one thing you can do that transcends order, being based not on differences but on equality."]

This means that all expressions of love are maximal (and therefore equal). There is no such thing as 'big love' and 'small love'.

[Q: So what does it mean when we hear people saying, "You don't love me enough"?]

This is not our business. We only need to love. There is no big love and small love. By worrying about what the other person is feeling we enter into a caretaker and co-dependent relationship. People who change the world are not caretakers.

[Q: So how if a child in school doesn't want to study? Let it be? It won't be acceptable!]

Who can't accept? You? May be you have to accept, as you don't know what the child's potential is in other things.

[My comment: There is this girl Julian Lynn who can't sit still in class in the UK and was brought to the attention of the parents. She was then brought to a specialist who recommended that she was brought to a dance school and later got into the prestigious Royal Ballet School. Today, she has cheorographed Cats and Phantom of the Opera, two of Andrew Lloyd Webbers musicals, has a fabulously creative career and is a multi-millionaire.]

Parents need to understand they cannot control their children. The children have their own life. Parents can only guide their children.

We are all god manifested in different forms crossing each other paths in the universe. So we all walk our own paths. Sometimes it means to walk the path alone. So, do what you really want and die fulfilled.

[Q: Page 293, para 2, line 6: "The miracle, therefore, has a unique function, and is motivated by a unique Teacher Who brings the laws of another world to this one." What does 'another world' refers to here?]

'Another world' here referst to teachings different from what you have been taught previously. So seek out that teacher. "Another one will come", as told in every religion, another one greater that all before. In Islam, it is called Iman Mahdi; in Buddhism, Lord Matreya. The Christians speaks about the coming of the 'anti-Christ'. Some will come to prepare the ground.

[Q: Who? People like Mother Teresa?]

Don't names, but why Mother Teresa? Why not you? You are god too.

Jesus had 12 disciples. Buddha had 5 disciples. Mohammed had a few slaves. Then the numbers grew. Then be prepared for opposition to your teachers. It will be a long journey.

When I was young, I had a Malay girl friend from Negri Sembilan. A Menangkerbau girl. In their culture, the woman is the boss. Anyway, she is Muslim and that means I will have to convert. I told my mother about having to change religions (potentially), and was very surprised to hear her say, "Don't worry. God is One". She is not educated and a staunch Buddhist devotee. Yet she knew, "God is One".

The power is in your emptiness. If you want more, empty out more. Free of opinions of other people.

[End of lecture]

Tao 3 - Wealth and Love

The following is what I learned from a Tao lecture...

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About Wealth

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During the days of the legendary Emperors in China, successors to the throne were not chosen based on bloodlines, but rather that the person had attained Tao. In old China, an Emperor was one who had the mandate from Heaven to rule. Heavens will bestow all the wealth of the land to the man who has attained Tao, as he will have the compassion and wisdom to manage the wealth for his people.

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However, as time went, due to the greed of humankind, successors to the throne became the sons of the Emperors, and sometimes the son who managed to survive the fights and assasinations.

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So if we want to seek wealth, we should only seek the wealth that is within. When we have attained Tao within, wealth will come, as we will then be wise and responsible enough to manage the resources to the highest good of humankind.

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In the Bible, it is said that "... those who have it, more will be added to you, and those who do not have it, more will be taken away from you...". This does correlate well with this Tao teaching.

About Motherly Love

Once upon a time in a village in Singapore where the Tao master used to live in, there was a mentally insane woman. Her husband had left her and she was alone to take care of her two kids. Her mind was so deranged that she would use the planks of her wall of her hut for the fire for cooking. Isn't that mad?

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However, while she was mad, she remained a fantastic mother. She knew how to feed the kids, care for and protect her kids. This is because loving her children and motherly love is an instinct, and not an action for calculated returns. If it is one of calculated returns, then all mothers will be running at a huge loss, as such repayments can never be fulfilled no matter how much the children would want to pay.

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The children of this mother were also teased in school. The other kids called them mad children, but that didn't upset them, because they were very young and at that age, their mother is the greatest person in the world - the one who love and cared for them most.

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Babies and very young children also would not say that their mother is ugly, even if she is deformed, untidy and unpresentable to many people. To them, there is no such thing as an ugly mother. The mother they know of is the most beautiful person in the world. When they are bullied by other children, they will run to their mother, no matter how ugly other people would perceive her to be.

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It is perhaps later when children 'grow up' and are subjected to external influences that they gradually feel ashame of their mother. Ashamed when they turn up in their college, or work place, since some mothers, by then, would have grown old and even haggard. By then, sadly, these children would have forgotten that it was their 'ugly mother' who loves them so much and brought them up. In short, these children have forgotten about their true nature, their instinct, which is to love their mother and love them unconditionally.

Environment 2 - The Green Temple

I visited the Poh Ern Shih (Thanksgiving Temple) in Singapore on the 2nd February 2008, together with an informal group that calls itself the "Ground Up Initiative", in contrast to the prevalent government top-down initiative.

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The temple is sited on a gentle hill in Pasir Panjang. Back in the old days, the area was mainly a Chinese and a Malay Kampung (village). See the history here. Today, it is a high class residential area.

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We are attracted to this temple because it is the first 'green temple' in Singapore, that will use solar energy, wind energy, micro-hydro turbines from the rain water, use purified rain water for drinking, and use as much natural daylight and natural ventilation as possible. For a summary of the design highlights of the temple, click here

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The temple is currently going through a reconstruction. This is an artist impression of the completed temple.

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This is where the construction is at the moment.

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The hill where the temple is sited is called Chwee Hua San.

These statues are sited by the entrance of the temple walkway...

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The entire temple is designed to be wheel chair accessible. This is because the temple committee has learned that more and more devotees above the age of 65 years old are feeling the fatigue and exhaustion of climbing up to the temple. With the whole place accessible, someday old folks who cannot walk can come in electrically powered wheelchair and need not depend on their able-bodied relations. Old folks need to learn to be independent, because nowadays, they have far fewer children to support them, due to Singapore's "Stop at Two (children)" policy in the 1970s, of family planning to having fewer kids.

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In Canada, the old folks don't want to depend on their kids, they would ask their children to live away and lead their own independent lives, while they enjoy their own old age. Asian old folks in contrast, want their children to serve them and pamper them. The temple currently conducts courses to change such mindsets among the old folks to prepare them to be independent.
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This is Mr Lee, the Chairman of the Temple Committee. In this temple, they have only one full-time worker. The rest of the workers are volunteers, managed by a Board of Directors who are not allowed to draw salary nor to benefit directly or indirectly from the temple finances. This is set in the constitution of the temple at its inception by its late founder, Mr Lee Choon Seng, also the founder of OCBC Bank (Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation) in Singapore.

One can easily sense the enthusiasm and love in Mr Lee as he introduced the temple's intention to go green right from 1995. It took him five years to repeatedly appeal to the government to allow him to put the wind and solar energy back into the national electricity grid, instead of storing them in batteries. This suggestion was rejected. The reason was not given, but our guess is that the government linked Singapore Power was reluctant to give up its monopoly for power generation in Singapore. Besides, during that time, they were producing 75% surplus of electricity. I wonder why. Wouldn't it be easy to cut down and match the power generation with demand, instead of wastefully producing too much?

There is so much that the bureaucracy has to learn and update themselves with the rapidly changing world. I told Mr Lee that I am also a returnee to Singapore after 20 years of living overseas and have given up trying to change anything here. Mr Lee then advised me not to give up as the younger generation coming up will be in-charged and they are much more open minded.

Mr Lee lived in Canada for 35 years and have now come back with the alternative energy generation and saving techniques and forward thinking knowledge he has learned there and now implements them in Singapore.

I must admit that in the last five years, the government's attitude has improved and they are more willing to listen, but I am afraid it is a bit too little too late. As a small nation, we must change fast to excel or otherwise we will be easily left behind.

Anyway, we should put the past behind us now. The way forward is that all the generated electricity will be put into the grid and the temple has a reverse meter for the electricity generated. This is much better than storing them in batteries, which will over time deteriorate and require environmentally safe disposal.

The solar energy is used to power all the lights in the temple in the evenings. There are no air-conditioners in most parts of the temple and the new architecture includes ventilation holes to allow light and breeze in to cool the place.

These are the ventilation holes by the side walls of the meditation halls. By the way, their meditation halls can be booked by anyone wanting to hold retreats in Singapore. So far they have bookings from Hindus, Muslim and Buddhist groups. There are no Christian groups as yet.

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This central opening at the top enables light and convection current to circulate.

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This pagoda originally has opaque tiles, but this is now changed to glass tiles with solar panels built in. Nowadays, modern building materials can have embedded solar panels and come in different colours and contours to match the architecture of the building.

These are the roof top solar panels that generate 13.5MWh for 10 months. Mr Lee deliberately uses three different types of panels as a study to find which ones have the best overall performance. He will log all data and share them with any interested party.

This is the sole windmill turbine they use. I guess there is too little wind in Singapore to use wind in a big way.

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These are still horizontal axis windmills. The new ones are vertical axis and plastered with solar panels.

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This is the monitoring station of the solar panels.

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Every month, students from the nearby Singapore Polytechnic will come to download the data from here for their research and development.

In the new construction, there will be a water tank to store rain water. These rain water will be reticulated by gravity through tiny nozzles and straight to micro-hydro turbines to generate electricity. Part of the rain water will be used for irrigation of the temple gardens whilst the rest will be purified into drinking water via reverse osmosis (RO).

I then cautioned that RO will remove all the minerals in the water and it will be dangerous to drink them regularly. As this will only be their standby alternative as drinking water, it won't be as bad, but Mr Lee says that now that he knows, he is going to find ways to add minerals into the water.

I was then thinking of room-temperature plasma purification. This will be yet another improvement as it will not take away the minerals and will also use much less electricity.

I also suggested to Mr Lee to look at Tamura Water, which de-ionises the water and the temple can eliminate the use of detergents. He says he is open to that and asked me to send him further information. In fact, he asked all of us to inform him of new energy saving or sustainable renewable energy technologies whenever we discover new ones.

With the solar panels, it will take the temple 25 years to reach a break-even of costs. However, Senoko power station is willing to buy the carbon credits that the temple gets as a result of using alternative energies at a premium, which will then cut the return-on-investment (ROI) to 15 years.

Michael and Philip (with us in the group) mentioned that there are solar panels in R&D stages that operates at 45% efficiency, compared to the current 10%. Perhaps someday, with this improved efficiencies, the ROI can be reduced to less than 10 years. When that happens, then I think solar panels will become ubiquitous.

This will be a typical room of where nuns will live in. These bed units are modular and each square exists independently. It is made of bamboo and not wood. Bamboo exists in abundance and grows very quickly to replace itself. As such, the temple will not buy timber furniture from now on.

In this module, the board can be lifted for the legs and the nuns can use their laptop extended table from the shelf (will be installed later) against the wall.
.This one is a table extended from one of the units. The rest of the modules are used as storage cupboards.
. These floor cushion seats are made of natural jute material.
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The toilets are all wheel chair friendly. There are two types of basins. One very low for wheel chair bound users whilst the other is for old folks who are not wheel chair bound but finds it difficult to bend themselves low to use the basin.

All the taps are activated by motion sensors, as a requirement by the government, in order to prevent water wastage. However, old folks will have problems as they would need one hand to hold on to the basin (for support) and only one hand to wash up. The temple has not succeeded in persuading the authorities to waive this requirement for the temple.

This is a wheel chair friendly toilet. The door opens outwards, so that any old folk who faints will not block the door. The two arm bars next to the toilet seat is meant for the user to lift themselves from the wheelchair to the seat. Note that the mirror inclines downwards so that the wheelchair user can see himself.

In the same cubicle is also a shower, so that old folks need not dislodge themselves twice on and off the wheelchair to use the toilet and shower.

These features are meant to keep the old folks independent despite their ailing limbs and strength. Due to the family planning policies of stopping at two children, there are now far fewer young people to support the old folks. Each married couple immediately inherits four old folks. and probably two or more children to take care of.

Temple kitchens are also going to designed to be old folk friendly. There will be sections of the table top that can be lowered such that the old folks can help in the preparation of food. In this way, they (the old folks) can express their love for the younger ones by cooking for them.

This is the insignia of the temple.

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Note that there is lots of ventilation vents for this staircase?

This is the chanting hall of the temple for people who wants to chant for their physically ailing relatives or friends. The temple offer chanting free of charge to anyone. Any priest who charges a fee for the services will not be allowed to use their hall.

There is another hall in the basement that will be used for old nuns living out their last days. It will be their resting place before they leave this incarnation. As there will soon be 2,000 old people dying everyday, crematoriums and cemetries may not have enough facilities to handle them swiftly enough in the near future. This hall in the basement may then become a transit area while waiting for the body to be cremated.

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We were about to take a picture of the miniature model of the temple when this very regal looking cat jumped on top of the glass top and rest in front of all of us. Mr Lee says that this cat take the role of mother to all the stray kittens brought into the temple. So, it seems that even the cat is enlightened in this temple. :)

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This thin green strip in land-scarce Singapore adjoining the neighbours will be turned into a butterfly park. Mr Lee is learning from the people in Alexandra Hospital on how they attract butterflies and keep them. The temple is situated in an idyllic surrounding. It is on freehold land in tiny Singapore. New temples will not be allowed to be built in this area and older temples on lease holds will not have their leases renewed. This is because the East Coast and West Coast of Singapore have been gazetted as Christian Zones for churches only.

To me, Poh Ern Shih Temple is a shining example that looks at life in more universal manner. That we all live in an environment that we have to be part of and that we should do our best to take care of, even way into the future that looks into the mobility problems of the old folks and the burdens of their offsprings.