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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Non-Dominant Hand Journaling

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Have you tried "Non-Dominant Hand Journaling"?
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For most people this means writing with your left hand. Just write anything that comes to mind and keep writing without pausing to think if what you write make sense. Just relax and let your hand do the writing.
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Try that! It's fun and find out what you write.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Bucky Group 12 - Recreation and Activity

This week, we continue to read a page from Charles Handy's book, "Waiting for the Mountain to Move". In it, it speaks about Mr Handy's attending church every Sunday because he wants to, not because he has to, and that church was necessary for him to get to periods of recreation from the activities of daily life. He described his life like a pendulum, oscillating from the extreme hype of activities to the quieter moments of recreation.
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He emphasised on the hyphenation of the word "recreation" into "re-creation", in that we must regularly re-create in our lives.
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I feel that our ability to be inspired and re-create is what essentially sets us apart from animals.
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Discussion:
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Warning: This part 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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Also, while opinions differ, the discussion is carried with mutual respect to everyone and there is definitely no malicious intent among anyone in the group.
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[I have written this as in a dialogue to make it more readable, but it is not necessarily in ad verbatim. Everything here comes from memory, so do point out to me if you (in the discussion) find anything misplaced. Thanks.]
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What's the difference between being religious and being spiritual?
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[Someone else intervened:] Can we hear from those of us here that are religious? I think it would be good to hear from them first.
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Christian 1: I come from a Buddhist family and converted into the Christian faith. I find my peace going to church. There are times when there are conflicts when I meet some narrow minded Christians. For instance, in the recent debate about repealing Act 377A to decriminalise homosexual sex, they were just making fun of gays. I find that disturbing because they are so ignorant.
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But then there are narrow minded people from other religions too. For instance, my mother who is a Buddhist has said that my religion is not thorough enough in that we do not address the process beyond this life. That is, about what happens after you reach heaven and the cycles of samsara that Buddhists believe in.
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One of the significant event I had was when I learned that my son is autistic. I felt guilty in acknowledging the power of being surrounded by dogmatic people, and being repeatedly told a particular interpretation, that I, for a brief period, thought my practicing yoga while pregnant, might have contributed to my beloved son's condition.
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During that time, I felt this warm, loving, nurturing sensation pulsating through my body when I was prayed over. It made me feel that God is not a figment of imagination for the fervent zealots.
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Free thinker 1: Then why do you to continue to go to church, if you have the conflict?
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Christian 1: For my spiritual development.
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Free thinker 1: But you can do that without the church. That is the main reason why we meet here every Saturday morning.
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Christian 1: It is not all 'conflicts' for me. There are very good Christians I have met in the church. Also, there are times when I really felt healed after prayer. It was like a soothing energy coming down to my body and I felt so relieved of whatever problems.
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ME: I do not have a religion and am not saying that your feelings are not true, but this type of healing energy can also be felt in Reiki healing. Basically, it is Love that is doing the healing and it can be found elsewhere outside Christianity.
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Catholic 1: There are Christians who are very open this days. I have been to Buddhist meditation retreats where there were Catholic priests. To them, it doesn't matter what the religion is.
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Free Thinker 1: When it doesn't matter what religion it is and you go to the basics in your spiritual journey, then religion and spirituality are one.
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Free Thinker 2: I know of a guy who has been so traumatised by the church. He has very little formal education and has been converted by some overzealous Christians by fear. And he was also made to donate a significant amount of his salary to the church. Mind you this guy is on minimum wage! How can they do this to him?
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Joo Hwa: I donate all my money to God. I take all my money, throw it to the air... Whatever goes up to heaven, God takes. Whatever comes down, I take! [Amid laughter]
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Catholic 2: I often wish the church can be enlightened. [Laughters]
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Free thinker 1: Then why do you go to church?
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Catholic 2: I continue to go to church because then I am allowed to criticise. [More laughter] If you are not a Catholic, then (in a way) who are you to criticise? You are not inside. What do you know?
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For instance, they criticised about the Taoist worshipping objects, but isn't it the same as the Church worshipping the bone fragments of some saints?
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My own spiritual journey started like this... One day years ago, I was feeling really down. So, I wrote on a piece of paper, "Dear God, Need Help! Please Help!" Then I put it under my pillow.
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After a few days, a friend called and told me about the "Money and You" (business training) programme. Actually, I was not interested, but this friend kept insisting and told me he has already booked a place for me.
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When the day came, I attended the programme and it absolutely blew my mind away. Incidentally, in the programme, Bucky was mentioned. I was very impressed with Bucky's teachings and even more impressed that this man actually has a spiritual belief in 'a force more powerful than men'. And this despite him being a highly scientific person.
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During the programme, Bucky's "Critical Path" was on sale, but I didn't want to buy it. Then, next thing I know, someone passed me the book and say that I can take my time to read it and then return to him when I am ready. So I did. Once again, it blew my mind away!
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Then they were saying, why don't you speak about Bucky to an audience. And so I did.
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Later, I also discovered Anthony di Mello's book called "Awareness". In it, I realised that he spoke about Buddhism, meditation, Krishmurti,...etc. He was so open and embraced everything. And I thought, that is how the Catholic religion should be. (Anthony di Mello is a Catholic priest.)
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Then someone encouraged me to attend RCIA.
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All of Us: What is RCIA?
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Catholic 2: "Roman Catholics In Agony" [Big Grin]. No just kidding! It is "Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults" *phew*
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I agreed to attend RCIA and was waiting for the day to come. I was well armed to shoot whatever criticisms I have about the Roman Catholic Church. All ready to fire!
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Then when the day came, the priest, in his opening sentence said, "We are as sinful as we are holy". That opening disarmed me totally. I was ready to attack, but was touched by the priest truthfulness.
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Free Thinker 1: But looked what happened to those who are truthful? Di Mello got ex-communicated!
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Catholic 1: No he was not ex-communicated, but the church does not encourage the reading of his book.
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Free Thinker 2: Does any one know what "Faith" means?
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Buddhist: Faith is the trust you place in your belief which you do no have evidence of it being true, and which you otherwise would have doubt in the belief.
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I find that the newer churches tend to be more intolerant than the older churches, like the Catholic churches. The newer churches tend to capitalise on the verse that their God is a jealous one and that anything else is bad.
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ME: But the girls are better looking in those new churches. [Laughter]
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Buddhist: Yes, they are great at marketing. It is like a business. These churches own businesses and are very wealthy. Religion is the best business to be in, if you want to make it a business.
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ME: May be my friend who is with us for the first time would like to say something. He has been quiet this whole while.
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Free Thinker 1: But it is ok, if you choose to keep quiet or have nothing to say at this point. Do not feel compelled.
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My Friend: I enjoy the discussion very much and it reminds me of what Mark Twain said about education which I think can be applied here. He said, "I do not allow my schooling to interfere with my education."
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What a powerful thought?!!!
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Applied here, it means "I do not allow my religion to interfere with my spirituality."
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Well said, and with this it more or less wraps up our discussion.
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There was the question of why Adam was created before Eve. Why didn't God thought about her in the first place?
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My take on this is that Adam was created in the image of God. So he (and all humans) is also God. Eve represents the five senses, the Apple represents sex. And once sensual pleasures came to Adam, they realised they are banished from the Garden of Eden.
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Sensual pleasures are bad, but if we do not moderate them and use only our five senses, then we cannot hear God speaking to us. I think the story of Adam and Eve is highly symbolic! Symbols are meant to illustrate deeper meanings for the lay person to understand and not to put forth male chauvinistic views of Creation. Or, at least that is not my intention giving my views above. :)
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Post scriptum
Some other areas which were discussed that might be worthy of inclusion here:-
  • What you clarified about folk religion not being part of Taoism & that I have seen a Christian book comparing the formless Tao with God.
  • Chia Siew/Flip's objection to the church (esp. newer ones) controlling/dictating what/how people should think.
  • Flip's giving up going to church due to the oppression he felt.
  • Maybe a little more about the essay itself, stillness & busyness & busyness even in places of worship.

(I have corrected some errors in the original posts, as suggested by the comment left by Clara.)

Monday, October 15, 2007

Bucky Group 11 - Videos about Bucky

Buckminster Fuller World Game Synergy Anticapatory
Warning: This is a very long monotonous video lasting 55 mins, but do listen out for the gems of information from Bucky's analysis of the Universe.


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I have summarised the video to aid your comprehension:
  • (Very humbly) He is really a demonstration of what an average healthy individual is capable of achieving given the faculties and resources and makes up his mind to face up to various challenges, and not going in the way of what the game of money and politics may bring.
  • By working with nature's design and the evolution of consciousness to bring forth maximum benefits to humanity
  • The discovery of principles requires the use of the mind, not just the brain. The brain is for cloning and case information that are internal and finite. The mind has the capability to discover infinite relationships leading to common principles.
  • Principles have no beginning or end. They are eternal, non-contradicting, inter-accommodating and concurrently operative. To work with these principles is akin to 'design'.
  • The Universe is vast, with chemical abundance enough for everyone, and scarcity is a fallacy.
  • The Earth is a nett importer of energy from the Sun, which has provided us with energy stored in plants and algae now existing below the ground as fossil fuels. Energy changes from one form to another, it never got created or destroyed. Energy is eternally re-generative.
  • Humans and animals consume these vegetation for energy.
  • In order for the Universe to be eternally re-generative, there need to have local sensing of information to solve problems based on universal principles.
  • Our game on Earth is problem solving
  • There is a planetary design priority that includes environmental control like the geodesic dome, which is designed to take snow, hurricane and earthquake loadings.
  • Past design preceives building as fortresses and aeroplanes as weapons.
  • We should move from weaponry to 'living-ry'.
  • There is enough resources and knowledge to get on with such design priorities.
  • There are enough metals above the ground to be recycled to serve our needs, especially considering the advent of new alloys that stand up to higher stresses, therefore doing more with less.
  • Example 1: A quarter tonne satellite dish now functions what is done by 175,000 tonnes of copper cable in telecommunications.
  • Example 2: The Japanese' recycling of the armaments left over by the Americans after World War 2.
  • Due to floods, wars and famines, human kind has wrongly believe in scarcity. That's what all politics is based on - scarcity. So politicians persuade you to join them or elect them so that you come up on top against the others, creating the 'You vs Me' mentality.
  • Now having discovered and knowing that there is enough to go around, that most people are now literate and have access to information and can communicate, politics is now OBSOLETE!
  • Politicians are in such a bind as politics are inherently corruptible, as it is based on the belief of scarcity and involves trickery to tamper with the truth. It has always been like that, but now it is out in the open as the young now does not put up easily with lies and likes to do their own thinking. They have repeatedly hear things told to them proven wrong in front of their own eyes. eg. That it is "impossible to fly", then they see the Wright brothers taking off in the sky.
  • Nations are also based on a 'you' vs 'me' mindset. This is offset by multi-national companies where national sovereignty matters much less. In time, nationalism will make less sense and nations will become irrelevant.
  • Technology will be producing wealth, using less and less of human labour.
  • Mass production would not have been possible without mass distribution, which would not have been possible without mass consumption, which would not have been possible without mass marketing.
  • The fear of machines taking over labour is unfounded. This is due to the conditioning that one has to 'earn for a living', this is again a belief in scarcity. So we had 6-9 year old going to work in the mines in the past, but now thankfully they go for their education. Then they will be automatically included to live in this planet and let the machines do the production and think about how to make the Earth work.
  • Everyone will be put on salary. There are economic models (not communism) that let the citizenry own the means of production. This would have been the status-quo, if we had not started the present unfair accounting system. (For more information read World Game.)
  • But really we don't own anything, as we are already part of this extra-ordinary re-generating system (the Universe).
  • That with broadband cable television and computers, the future university will be one that produces a lot of documentary videos to educate its students that are dispersed all over the country or the world, as they stay in gainful employment. Note that that this video was captured in mid 1974. Fast forward to Year 2007 and doesn't this sound like YouTube? :)

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... about our ability to give everyone a better quality of life by 1985
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... about Bucky's inventions and his life, click here
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... about Bucky's experiment with his own life for 50 years on behalf of humanity
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... building a tensegrity
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... the Dymaxion Car
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... about the Dymaxion Map, click here
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... about sending all the politicians around the world a free ride around the sun

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... an Apple Video that includes Bucky... "Think Different"
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Sunday, October 14, 2007

New Features: Vacuum State Search Engine

I have included a Google powered search engine for Vacuum State on the right. This will help you find the topic you are interested in with less labour.

To date, what you can to do on Vacuum State are to:
1. Search using keywords
2. Tell a friend about a post
3. Add your comments to posts
4. Join our mailing list
5. Skype me
6. Email me
7. Category - click on label and you get posts of the same subject

Last but not least, thank you for visiting Vacuum State.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Rewards 2 - Rewards for Living


I have a friend who says that his vocation is 'to live'. He says that living is the main thing he does. "To really be living is such an important thing that many people busy in a haste forget", he says. Can I call him a "liver"? hehe
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This friend of mine had backpacked the world for four years, and subsequently in the years that follow, work on projects he feels are worthy. These projects are usually unpaid work. Voluntary work that serves human kind.
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It has been nearly a year since I last spoke to him. During that time, he had left for New Zealand and China to do humanitarian and environmental protection work - mostly paid by his personal savings and whatever that comes along. My friend set out with little money, and only with the passion and sincerity of helping others and saving the earth. Money are paid out to him often by people he merely met for a while and having related to them what he has been doing. These near strangers wrote cheques to him because they say they support the work that he is doing.
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Then the other day, as he was going to buy his new laptop, a company paid for it. He got it free!
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I believe all these are Providence to one who truly believes in what he does and fearlessly moves to give the world what he has to make it a better place. I believe once the heart is in the right place, then can resources flow seamlessly to aid the noble objectives that one truly wants to achieve. But for that to happen, Fear has to be packed away, then can Providence flow in.
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Past post: Reward

Friday, October 12, 2007

Tao


[Note: Undergoing typos and grammar checks...]
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This is the first time I listen to a Tao Master. This Master leads a group of Tao cultivators. It is a religion-free talk. Very profound.
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Note: This post is written in the first person, but it is not recorded ad verbatim to what the master spoke. Besides, the Master spoke in Mandarin, and I am writing in English here.
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Let us go through some of the topics that your group had discussed about in your previous session.
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Complaints
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Let's talk about 'complaints'. Does anyone here know why people complain?
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[I said: "Because of dissatisfaction?"]
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There are complaints that are about not having basic necessities, like food, money, jobs...etc. In other words, complaints about what you do not have. Other people are willing to accept such complaints and may even help you.
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There are also complaints due to dissatisfaction with what you already have but that you demand more. These complaints are luxuries. But can they be considered complaints? Yes, they can be considered as complaints, as they are expressions of dissatisfaction. These are complaints other people would not like to listen to or accept. For instance, it could be a complaint even you have a job, or when you have rice to eat and still complain about the taste.
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These complaints are due to a lack of emotional satisfaction and cannot be measured. So others cannot help to fulfill the demands of these types of complaints because your emotions cannot satisfy the heart and vice versa. Such emotional demands are due to an un-peaceful heart. Material alone cannot bring a peaceful heart.
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It is most difficult to satisfy emotional complaints, because emotions are personal feelings that cannot be felt by others. They can't be easily settled.
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So when you want to complain, be aware of what you want to complain. Check if they are emotional complaints. If they are, then it may be unfair to others because they cannot feel your emotions.
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If a complaint is due to money, for instance, they can be satisfied as there will be a sum that when reached will satisfy the need. There is a quantification.
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When there are emotional complaints it is so difficult to live with one another, as they cannot be quantified and resolved.
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Complaints represent the unstable emotions of a person. They are not violent. A person can have an unstable emotion because he is not loved, not respected, not appreciated etc.
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Complaints from people from different environments will be very different. For instance, complaints from Cambodians would be very different from those from Singaporeans. In Cambodia, it would be about basic necessities like food and shelter, whereas in Singapore, it would be about the lack of opportunities to be able to develop one's ambitions.
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Similarly, complaints from Tao cultivators would be very different from lay people.
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Complaints from cultivators would be about ideals, opportunities to manifest their talent...etc. In other words, they are luxury complaints, in contrast with lay-people who would tend to have complaints of basic needs. 'Luxury complaints' cannot be satisfied, as there is no feedback as to how much is being satisfied, as emotions are not quantifiable.
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Therefore, you can raise a complaint only if it can be fulfilled by others, because unsettled complaints will create chaos. A frequent complainant complains because he does not have the ability to manifest what he wants and rely on others by complaining. An able person does not need to complain, as he can easily manifest what he wants. Sometimes, the more you care for a person, the more that person complains to you, which means that this person has become reliant on you.
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Also when you want to raise a complaint, ask yourself if you are voicing a dissatisfaction or are you actually asking for help? If it is the latter, then just for help. Don't complain.
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[I asked: Are unspoken complaints considered complaints?]
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Even when not spoken, they are complaints. Refusal to take prescribed medicine is a way of complaining; refusal to corporate is a way of complaining; or turning to acts of terrorism are also unspoken complaints.
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A peaceful heart will have no complaints. But how do we cultivate a peaceful heart? The answer is to have a correct mindset. When you lose our concept of correct mindset, then we do not have a peaceful heart. In today's world, there are lots o information. Societal values have become too complex. This has misled the concept of mindsets. Concepts are derived from cultures and religion. So we must be careful with what we choose from religions and cultures.
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For instance, Chinese and Indians have different outlook in life due to their respective religions, cultures and teachings. Both races are in pursuit of concepts that can satisfy them.
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For instance,
A poor man pursue God, in the want for consolation from somebody or somewhere;
A rich man pursue God, in the search for a 'guarantee' from somebody or somewhere.
Both are in search of concepts to satisfy themselves.
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"Fang Kwei Si Tong"
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To understand more about Black Box, let us look at "Fang Kwei Si Tong" (FKST), which the group here has interpreted it as "Mutual Exchanges in Reciprocity". It is important for all of us here to have a common understanding of FKST.
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There are many explanations for "Fang Kwei". Nowadays, many of the explanations are expressed from the technical perspectives.
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"Si Tong" means "System". Systems essentially need to have interconnections within itself. Without interconnections, there won't be a system. Take our body for instance, there are subsystems and all of them are connected to form our body system. In our body, blood is pumped out from the heart and returns to the heart. This return flow is a feedback to the source of the flow. Essentially, this blood comes from the source, hence the meaning of "Fang Kwei". In your interpretations, you have used "mutual exchange" - that implies one party sending the energy to another party and vice-versa. In "Fang Kwei", the energy is sent and received by the same source/destination.
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However, blood flowed out is different from that of the return flow.
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Similarly in business, money flowed out (investments) are different in value to the returns (profits). In fact, for everything we do, that is what we want to have a flow out and return flow at higher values. Even Buddhists want a positive return in whatever they do, even if it means just a peaceful heart; even if the peace is realised in the next embodiment.
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But sometimes, we don't get positive returns. For instance, you may invest $10k and get back only $6k. Why? That is because the feedback System has a problem. If you look around, you will also realise that there are many feedback systems that are in chaos. That is because we don't understand the systems.
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Feedback, or feed-back, implies "feed", what we 'eat' or take-in. To "feed" and to "feed me back".
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Universal energy all have feedbacks. The tree takes water and sun and produces oxygen...etc. This works very well.
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However, the human feedback is not working as desirably as other universal systems. We ought to get desirable feedback as we are part of the Universal System.
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Feedbacks can be constructive or destructive. However, why are there more destructive feedbacks than constructive feedbacks. It is system that is having problems, as the objective of the system has not changed, since all human beings want peace. All religions advocate peace but we result in war.
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In the education system, we have a teaching system which is well trained. However, we also have a learning system, which tends to be not well trained. So sometimes, we don't produce good students. University students are well-trained in learning. That is why best students may not have best teachers.
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So a teaching system must be synergistic and complementary to the learning system.When the Buddha teaches, he use a high system of Dhamma to teach the high level consciousness to suit their learning processes; and will use a low level of Dhamma to teach the lower levels of consciousness. Therefore, systems are very important, especially learning systems.
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There are also problems in systems in religions. We all have our own systems and should not impose on others if we have not checked if the system is problematic, or that it cannot be accepted by others. Two different systems from individuals, organisations or entities must match. We can't be egoistic and impose our system on others. We must open up to other systems and become a multi-system system.
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Singaporeans have this concept of multi-system system, as we live in a society of many races, cultures and religions. That is why we adapt well when we go to foreign countries. We adapt well because we don't have a culture. We don't have a culture yet. May be in 50 years' time, Singapore will have its own culture and the language will be Singlish (said in jest)...
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Black Box
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A Black Box is a secret. An unopened message. Secrets exist in government, in companies and in individuals.
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A Black Box has secret activities inside. How do you find out these secrets in your Black Box and in other people's Black Box?
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Everyone has secrets. Some secrets are even not known to ourselves. These secrets are stored in our sub-conscious, some from experiences in our previous embodiments. Through the Chinese Ba-Zhi reading, Face Reading, palm reading, hypnosis,... etc, we can find out about the contents in our Black Box. Our destiny is in our Black Box.
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We can also observe our own behaviours and emotions, record them and we'll know all our own secrets. Knowing how to open Black Boxes can be useful. For instance, if you are a boss at work, you would want to know who are the talented ones for the specified work and who are more loyal ones.
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How do we know that?
We can know by looking at the feedback. So we give the employee a position, the authority and tests, and allow him to operate in freedom.
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In freedom, you observe. Different people will give different feedback. For instance, you can trust a particular person and he will become more trustworthy. He feels obliged to be more trustworthy than he already is, because you trust him totally. However, for another person, as you trust him, he becomes tempted to betray you and then finally he betrays you. Before trusting this second person, you didn't think that he would betray you. More surprisingly, even that person himself did not know that he would ever betray you. So it is a surprise even to that person, as he didn't even know this secret in his own Black Box.
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In other words, you have put things in his Black Box to receive feedback. In the preceding example, you have discovered the secrets of two different persons by trusting two different persons. If trusts were not given, there will be no understanding of their Black Boxes, as Black Boxes can be opened only when there is full freedom.
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We all have total freedom to open our own Black Boxes.
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In history, societies are much controlled. The wayward man will not do evil things. Likewise, the upright man cannot do great things.
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Conversely, look at the United States of America, there are great achievements, but also high crime rates. That is because in the USA, people are given more freedom than elsewhere. With full freedom, Black Boxes are open to realise their potentials.
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Chinese people can tell the destiny of a baby when he is 3 years old or younger. At that age, they are fully spontaneous and don't have a Black Box. When the 3 year old are fully natural, we can tell where his destiny lies. As he grows older, he gradually creates a Black Box.
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So human potential is not fully manifested. Every topic is related to self and your life, from the system of feedback.
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DNA
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DNA are codes carried over from our previous embodiments. They are like memory. These codes are lengthy. Research done to date discover enough DNA code to fill up 40 phone directory size books. Each code, like a phone number in the phone book, forms part of our experiences.
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So if you can pull out the Buddha code, then you can be Buddha now.
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That's why you see some people grew from young to old age, then return to child-like behaviour again. They have pulled some parts of their DNA of childhood.
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Similarly, when we play with children till we are fully immersed in the games, we have pulled out the child-code in us.
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So we can live a cultivated life and pull out the cultivated code.
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For those of you who are about 50 years old in Singapore, you have been in the military service 30 years ago. During that time, you probably listened to Teresa Teng's songs, dance the Ah-Go-Go and other trendy activities during that time. So if you are now exposed all these experiences that you had 30 years ago, that is Teresa Teng's songs, Ah-go-go...etc. It would instantly remind you of your army days. You will feel as if you are there and then.
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That is why some professionals, though live much of their life in their profession, suddenly decided to turn to the monastery and decided to turn to monk hood. Perhaps he had heard chants, seen certain statues, or been to some temples...etc. That is because in his past embodiments, he had ever been a monk and has now pull out the code embedded in his DNA.
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So which DNA code we pull out depends on the environment we are in. So, to change the world, you have to change your practice and change your culture.
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People who change themselves can change others. You would need a new practice to change yourself. Then your future will change.
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For instance, Western societies have changed the lifestyle of Asians; and the West will be changed by Asians philosophies. So we need a conducive environment. One that we can cultivate ourselves and over time, we will change our DNA.
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Ok, it is getting late and I think we should stop here. We have covered only a few terms we want to cover. We shall leave the other terms for the next session. We have only covered terms now. After that we will discuss about whole phrases, then whole books. :)
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Thank you for listening so patiently to what I say. Such topics do need much concentration.
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The talk ended here. It lasted slightly over two hours. I will be back for the next session.
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Thursday, October 11, 2007

Vincent

I started singing this song since I was 16 and never knew it was about Vincent Van Gogh. I even knew the song title, but was oblivious to the true meaning of the lyrics until Joo Hock from the Bucky Group sent me a slide show with his paintings. It is about a man that nobody understood when he was alive and only appreciated after his death.

I have also found two interesting clips on Youtube.


This one re-enacted the last moments of Vincent Van Gogh. Click here

Confucius Birthday Celebration


The oldest temple in Singapore. For more pixs, click here.

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It was Confucius Birthday celebration last Sunday, 7th October 2007 at the Thian Hock Keng Temple, along Telok Ayer Street in Singapore. The event was well attended, with tourists mingling amongst local ethnic Chinese people who brought their children to pray to Confucius so that they will do brilliantly in school... or so that is the belief.

Confucius (551 BCE – 479 BCE) a great sage from 2,500 years ago. [From Wikipedia:] His philosophy emphasised personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. He was a philosopher and thinker, but now, his teachings have become a religion to some.
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Many crowded the temple to pray to him, especially mothers who want their children to do well in school.
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Offerings like these are pre-packed by the temple and sold to devotees to offer to Confucius. How would Confucius need all these food? Are these offered to him or to the devotees themselves?
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Let's see...
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The spring onion (zhung) sounds like 'intelligent' in Mandarin, and are offered to him so that children will be blessed to be intelligent; and bean curd (kwa) sounds like 'government officer' in Hokkien - so that the children will be blessed to become a scholarly officer.
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I think Confucius will be very sad if he knows that his persona has become reason for people to be superstitious - a state of mind which he is strongly against.
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Prayers for 'more' is an acknowledgement of one's 'lack' which pre-occupies the mind with thoughts of 'lack'. Thoughts are energy and will work to attract more 'lack'.
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Prayers of gratitude is an acknowledgement that one is happy and has everything one needs, which will go on to attract everything one needs.
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Of course, prayers have to be sincere and the prayer has to believe absolutely what he prays for. In this case, the belief that he is happy with all he has and grateful for all that has been given to him.
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Naturally, we all love to give more to people who are grateful. Conversely, we won't like to give to people who always ask for more.


In the end, all the fairies left...


...except one


...and the tourists left

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Little Indian Philosophy 2a - Doing Our Part


,,, continued from previous post
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My wise Indian neighbour gave me a further insight into Arjuna's confusion, she emailed me the following...
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"There was a lot of valid reasons why Arjuna was despondent...
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In olden times everyone lived together.. He was one of the best in archery trained and guided by the elders (his relatives) some of them who always wished him well.. they always paid due respect to the elders and held them in high esteem for their knowledge and wisdom and life's experiences.
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It was because of circumstances that those same elders who were paramount in his growth as a person and those who wished him well ended up on the Kauravas' side in the battle (Arjuna was on the Pandavas' side).
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Now that being said it was very difficult for him to kill his own kin in spite of the situation... and that is understandably so.. that's where the Bhagvad Gita comes in.. And Krishna talked to him at length about how one should operate with focus on a 'greater good' in life.. And that is the Bhagavad Gita.. thats what finally made Arjuna do what it took for the greater good.. be it killing your own kin or anything for that matter.
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It's very profound actually."







Past post: Little Indian Philosophy, Little Indian Philosophy 2 - Doing Our Part

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Remembering My Father

Today I visited the shrine where my father's (ancestral) tablet lay rest. He passed away peacefully four years ago - in his sleep.
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My father was a simple man and a man of a few words.
I remember his silence. When we were together, even in silence, I could feel his happiness and contentment.
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Now in silence in the empty hall of the shrine, it is as if I feel his presence again. This silence is moving and powerful.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Bucky Group 10 - Pruning


This week, we read a page from Charles Handy's book, "Waiting for the Mountain to Move". In it, it touched on how branches of chestnut trees fall by itself during autumn and kept itself trim. It is nature's way of pruning the tree to keep it lean. Trees that are pruned also tend to be stronger.
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Taking a leaf from the pruned tree, we can apply that in our lives. If we prune our lives by living simply and with prudence, we too become stronger.
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Discussions
I can't remember how we got to this, but the discussion went from 'pruning' our lives, to investing in the stock market.
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Somebody in the discussion, advocated that we should really be 'living in the NOW'. By that, he meant that since property prices are up, stock market indices are up, commodities prices are up, the economy is doing well, ...etc. NOW is the time to invest in assets and reap the harvest next year.
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I am rather confused with his comment as if we are to live in the 'NOW', wouldn't we be renting instead of buying a house? This is regardless of whether I think renting or buying is better or not. Living in the 'NOW' would essentially mean living for now and not worry about next year, next month, or for that matter if you are going to be a purist, the next second or next instant. Wouldn't it be contradictory if I want to live in the 'now' and yet have to worry (that my investment will deflate) or to hope (that my investment will inflate)?
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The other concern I have is that as stock market, commodity market and property market are zero sum games, wouldn't it mean that for one to win, some (or many) have to lose? So, by investing in these markets, does it mean that we have set our minds to reap profits against those who lose? Expressed more sinisterly, is it to win against the unfortunate ones whom you hope will lose? *grin*
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Of course, the market values of the stocks tend to increase in the long run, but do these increased dollar values necessarily reflect an increase in real value of life supporting wealth as propounded by Bucky? Or are they just increases in paper values?
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Would anyone actually care about life supporting wealth then?
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Some do. For instance, new metal alloys bring more strength per kilogram of metal would be an increase in the value of life supporting wealth, as now we would have the same resources supporting more lives. Another example would be if the electricity grid is to extend beyond souverign boundaries, then it will be possible to supply electricity at cheaper rates to more people, thus supporting more lives.
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In contrast, a stock price of a company going up, measured in dollars, may not always bring about an increase in real wealth for the people. For instance, would the billion dollar market value of a social network portal that encourages frivolous activities amounting to its members 'poking' one another add much value to life supporting wealth? I reckon not.
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Sure there are companies in the market that add real wealth to the society, but unless you have invested in these companies, you have not added to real life supporting wealth and benefited society. Vasu then added that Warren Buffet invests in the value of companies and that is why he is such a successful investor. In my view, investing otherwise amounts to mere speculation and profiteering.
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It is said that in the stock market, 90% of investors lose and 10% win - and win BIG! This 10% tend to be institutional investors with huge capital, research capabilities, clever risk management strategies backed up by clever algorithms, artificial intelligence, statistics, computers and networks. With huge capital, these institutions also hire Ivy league university graduated front line traders/fighters to win.
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I have been challenged by the advocateur, mentioned earlier, of "living in the now by investing", that things will be better in a year's time. It sounds too rational to me. In a market economy, when everyone thinks and acts rationally, then the end results will tend to be irrational, therefore benefiting the contrarian. "Then you will have to be contrarian very fast," as Annabelle said. Professional traders have once told me that when taxi drivers and lay people are talking about buying, it would be time for them to sell. While the market is always efficient it is not always rational.
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I have been put to task to mark this on the blog that investments made now will yield profits one year from now. I think the advocateur has misunderstood the purpose of this blog. Vacuum State is not created to keep empirical scores (other than visitor counts to this blog) of our financial plans and investments in our lives. Instead, it is set up to be mindful of our daily lives. That means to observe, identify, abstract and reflect on the salient points in our lives.
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Specifically in this case, this means truthfully living in the 'NOW' if we say we want to live in the NOW. And for the case of the Bucky Group, to look at Bucky's principles of looking at real wealth and real values instead of being distracted into dollar profits and empirical data.
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By all means make your profits whichever way you want, but do spare some time to reflect, for this I believe is the essence of the Bucky Group. Otherwise, we would be no different from the busy people who are working, speculating investing, worrying and perpetually hoping. And by being mindful, it will lead us to a life well pruned.
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ps. The above are my opinions only. It is not intended to compel you to change your life. Agreeing is not necessary, but I hope you do enjoy the line of thought. :)
Please feel free to leave comments, but be polite ah!
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Past Posts:
Bucky Group 9 - Love
Bucky Group 8 - Self Esteem,
Bucky Group 7 - Thinking Out of the Box,
Bucky Group 6 - Specialisation,
Bucky Group 5 - Independent Thinking,
Bucky Group 4 - Local, Global and Universal-Penang Hill,
Bucky Group 2,Bucky Group,
Usury 2b - World Game,
Usury 2a - World Game,
Usury 2 - World Game,
Usury,

Friday, October 05, 2007

Little Indian Philosophy 2 - Doing Our Part


Had this chat with a few Indians a few nights ago at a Roti Prata joint at Changi Village, in Singapore. This amid the warm tropical breeze with smell of curry in the open air.
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We were saying that as long as everyone do their part in the bigger process, then everything will be alright. This even extends to the soldier in a war. As the war has been decided and started, the role of the soldier is to fight, much as the role of the teacher is to teach. In the midst of war, the soldier cannot lay despondent. He will have to fight until the next stage of the process comes about. If he wouldn't have to fight, that would have been decided before the war, not during the war.
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In the Bhagavad Gita, it says that Ajuna was so despondent to have gone into the battlefield against his relatives, that he said that it was better for the enemy to kill him unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield, and so he cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief. In confusion he started a long conversation with Krisna - a profound and interesting one moving on what I think are symbolic to the dilemmas we face in our lives.
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I shan't speak so much about the Gita now as I am still reading it and trying to understand it. May be more later. :)
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Past post: Little Indian Philosophy

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Vacuum State

Thank you for visiting Vacuum State. This is the tourist statistics as of 2nd October 2007.
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32% UNITED STATES
30% SINGAPORE
11% UNITED KINGDOM
9% INDIA
7% AUSTRALIA
4% NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
2% MALAYSIA
1% TOGO
1% BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
1% SWEDEN
1% AUSTRIA
1% HONG KONG
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