Every day, do find some time
to stop and think:

Is it OK – to live on like this?

If so,
keep on going
but never stop questioning.

If not -
find the courage,
and seek out the Way!

Considering,
the world that is now on fire.

I pray that you find
the path that you seek,
and

live a life,
worth living.

… Buddhism.

Is it a religion? is it a way of life? is it a spiritual point of reference, a life-philosophy? is it a mystic cult?

To me, to be a Buddhist is to walk the Noble Path. Simply because those who walked on this path will end up living a noble life.

Mind you, a noble life does not necessarily means a life that is free from discomfort – nor does it guarantee excessive and abundant wealth. It is simply a live that is filled with courage, strength, compassion, appreciation, fulfilment, contentment, happiness, and many, many , many other positive values that can not be listed here in full, simply because there are so many.

How wonderful it is to live like that. If everyone walks this path, then SURELY the world will be a much better place?

Indeed it will be. But sadly for us, it is very difficult to find this path, let alone to walk it. Despite all of the treasures of life that can be found along the path – one could be lead to it, offered to walk it, and still not have the desire to go through it .

So really, what compels an individual to walk this path?

Hm…

The Noble Path is really  no different from the path one follows when studying a form of art. It could be the art of painting, the art of war, the performing art, the art of combat, the art of team building, and so on. Any path where deliberate practice is required for continuous improvement is similar in concept to the noble path. But it is not the noble path.

So what is it? In my opinion, the Noble Path is the path of enlightenment – the deliberate study to be better at the art of living. Through it you can unlock potentials that will be useful in any other path you walk on. This is because the Noble Path is a quest for universal truth and wisdom. Universal truth and wisdom applies to everything. Otherwise, they won’t be universal.

Pretty cool, isn’t it? So coming back to the Noble Path question – how does one walks this path exactly?

Well, Buddhism is one obvious way. But I don’t think it is the only way.

Walking the noble path is perhaps similar to climbing up a mountain to see the sunrise from the very summit of that mountain. And from there many other ways that leads to the summit can be clearly seen – the big picture can be perceived as clear as day, not to mention the warm and fuzzy feeling attained, what a  bonus indeed.

There are many routes to reach the summit: Some are hard, some are easy. Some goes through the bushes and the natural landscape, some goes through well-traversed road, some focuses on speed, some offers flexibility but less speed, and so on.

From this multitude of ways, which one is right for you? The answer lies in your own heart. Whatever it is that you feel is right for you, is right for you. This is because we are all different. Some of us like adventure. Some of us like learning. Some of us like to switch between the two depending on the mood, and so on. You must find what is right for you.

To enforce what you think is right upon others is to be ignorant. I like spicy, you may not like spicy food. We all love good food and we go about to find it in our own way, at our own pace. So take it easy.

However, one does not climb a mountain unless one cultivates the spirit of adventure and the desire to climb the mountain in the first place. So despite all of this awesome talk, we still haven’t solved the most important question: coming back to the Noble Path question – what compels an individual to walk this path and reap the awesome reward of .. well, an awesome life?

Actually, I think it all depends on the individual. A lot of people seek the Noble Path after they have encountered many, many sufferings. I know a lot of Buddhist in their 40s or 50s, even 60s who have only discovered this path. That is because, when they were young, they live in a state of mind that discourage them from seeking this path (it’s “uncool”). Only when they have opened their heart and mind, did they welcome this idea of traversing the path. And then they try it. And then they got hooked

Some are born into this path. I, for one, was born into a Buddhist family – and yet learning about the path, talking about the path is different from walking it. uttering the lyrics from a song and following the melody is not the same as singing the song.

I do not truly walk this path until a few years back – Similar to my fellow Buddhist friends, I only start to walk this path when my heart and mind is open to it – when I welcome the idea of trying this out.

But a theme can be seen here -  basically it comes down to this thing called the ‘Seeking Spirit’: The spirit of a human being who longs to transcend their suffering. To be more than they are, to be a part of something much, much greater than themselves.

This spirit is universal, it is within us all. When you have heard the calling, it is impossible to ignore it. And you will seek, and continue to search for this path, until you have found it.

Whether that be from the study of literature, poetry, zen meditation, music; whether that be from living in isolation, or in interaction with the social community; whether that be caused from curiosity, or fear of failure, pursuit of success, or in search of a cure – you will only find the path when your heart searches for it.

Do you have the seeking heart?

I did the above sketch around September last year on exactly this topic.

We adjust our character in accordance to our audience, so that it is easier for the target audience to accept us.  However, this pose an interesting dilemma: How far to alter our own image to fit the audience vs how much identity to retain?

Especially on the internet, any person can craft an online ‘mask’ that is totally different from his/her true identify. Also In real life, we mingle with various groups of people. People in the workplace, strangers in the streets, and so on.  I’ve discussed this phenomena once with my fellow buddhist friends a few months ago – we finaly agreed that this ‘mask’ is actually a form of hypocrisy.

Definition – Hypocrisy:
# insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have

Hypocrisy is inherently based on the act of lying to others and oneself.

The mask we put is what the audience see – those without the perceiving eye will see only the mask, and will perceive the mask as ourselves. It is an act – we want the audience to think that the mask is the real deal, and we have to act the mask out to make it come alive.

The opposite of hypocrisy is self-respect. A person with absolute self-respect will not be capable of lying to oneself. “Why should we be a different individual other than our own self?” This is what it means to live as a person of absolute integrity.

But of course, we all know how difficult this is – And yet we also know how liberating this must be, to have NO Mask to wear – no make-up nor persona to maintain, to just be you through and through in all circumstances, with all audience.

The first question is this: How far to alter our own image to fit the audience vs how much individuality to retain?

Unfortunately, the mask does not come for free. It come with a price. It took a lot of energy to maintain the appearance to a mask, because each mask needs a certain level of acting to make it come live. And the mask – based on hypocrisy – will at some level present inconsistencies with our own character

If there are zero inconsistencies, then the mask will be an exact replica of our own self, in which case there is no mask needed!

This begs yet another the question: What is the price of maintaining all that mask?

The more insecure a person is, the more layers of mask that person will wear. The more audience/group the person interacts with, the more variety each mask will have. The purpose of the mask is to hide the self. But only if there is a self to hide. Remember that the longer the mask is worn, the more it will chip away your genuine self.

In today’s society, I would say it is IMPOSSIBLE for a person to not have a mask, unless he/she embarks on deliberate practice to attain that character of absolute integrity. I consider it to be one of the key aspect of attaining enlightenment (from a buddhist perspective).

Buddhas in the past, present, and in the future never appear as one persona for one audience and then another persona for another audience. He remains a buddha, through and through, in face of adversity, calamity, as well as in joyous occasion.

This quality of absolute integrity and purity is succinctly expressed in a poem I stumbled upon many many months ago (from this page) by the Zen monk DOGEN.

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water.
The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.

Although its light is wide and great,
The moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide.

The whole moon and the entire sky
Are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

- Dogen

And so, we arrive at the final question to ponder: in Dogen’s poem – and do think about this closely – what quality is possessed by the one tiny dewdrop that enables it to reflect the majestic beauty of ‘the whole moon and the entire sky’ ??

In the most joyous occasion
He is to be seen.

Like a fisherman,
who is found amongst
a school of fish in the sea

He walks
among those who are blind,
enticed by joy and beauty.

O seeker of eternal happiness -

Do not waste your life walking
the round road of pain and suffering!

Steam rose,
impurities evaporates;
I leave it be.

As time goes on,
love, experience, and live
enters the pot.

I let it simmer.

Finally it boils down,
and the essence
is left behind:

A single drop of reflection
upon the world
that is.

Didn’t someone say…
“life is what happens when you are busy making plans”

In a blink, your life will be over.
Old age, sickness and Death, will soon be upon you.

When that moment come,
a question will enter your mind.

Have I lived a life worth living?

You will know the answer,
not from the amount of wealth you have created
nor from the conquest you have achieved,

But from the sum
of all the moments that you have lived
and the ones that you have missed.

Bodhidharma said:

When mortals are alive, they worry about death.
When they’re full, they worry about hunger.
Theirs is the Great Uncertainty.

But sages don’t consider the past.
And they don’t worry about the future.
Nor do they cling to the present.
And from moment to moment they follow the Way.

I am no photographer, and these photos are by no means artistics – these are merely tiny glimpse of the things I see and encounter throughout the years from my Mobile handset. But looking back, these photos provides anchor points of the events that happened to me throughout the year.

The photos are organized chronologically, from January to December. I hope you enjoy these pictures

Sate Ayam

The Photoshoot

Hat

Autumn Walk

Give Me A Coffee and Hurry Up!

Just another alley

Pinnacle of the square

The dark side of the cube

Surface

Lan Lye

Drink Triple, See double, Act Single

Sunset sky

Space Shuttle in Disguise

The back of favorite restaurant in Melbourne

For  about 22 years, I was happy and content with the everyday tea you find in supermarket, oblivious to the exquisite world of Chinese Tea. My favourite casual tea was English Breakfast from Twinnings – with sugar, no milk

My first encounter with good quality Chinese tea was a first-grade Long Chu, which my great aunt brings over from Taiwan.

At first, I didn’t knew that this tea was of first-grade quality – I just found its effect to be very calming, and its aroma exquisite. Not to mention the shape – when these balls are infused in hot water, the pearls would slowly open up, and in my aunt’s glass tea kettle, watching the pearls open up is quite a sight to behold. The taste is also very, very exquisite. I remember drinking it and thinking: “I didn’t knew that tea could be this good”.

When T2 start to open up their shops around Melbourne, I wasn’t that interested in Chinese tea then. I mean, I like to drink it, but I haven’t cultivated the passion to know about it further – I also didn’t knew of the english name for the teas that my great aunt gave me.

Then one year later, curiosity and necessity got the best of me – I have almost finished the tea pearls that my great-aunt gave me, and I have grown to like it (very much), but have no idea where to find it.

So there I was in T2, shifting from one tea to another until I found one that looked exactly like the ones I had at home – the english name is quite funky: Buddha’s Tears (which I later found is also known as Dragon Pearl)

I have since purchased several bags of teas from T2 and other tea shops from around Melbourne, I even tried to buy some in my home city, Jakarta – I was actually surprised to find that the tea that my great-aunt gave me was superior from all the ones that I can find. And she gave me not only one kind, she gave me three : Buddha’s Tears (Long Chu), Iron Goddess (Kwan Yin), and a kind of Oolong which I have yet to identify. All three are of first-grade quality.

Unfortunately, in my ignorance,  I have finished the Buddha’s Tears that she gave me. The little that is left of the Iron Goddess and the mysterious  Oolong tea – they are now a part of my treasured tea reserve.

Every time I visited my great aunt, we would have long conversation about tea. She would cook an awesome dinner and afterwards, we would talk about tea, over tea. We exchanged information, for even though she is very knowledgeable in the art of tea, she doesn’t have the internet on her fingertips.

I for one, have my e71, ready to query whatever info that she was uncertain of, and thus we both learn a lot from this conversation.

Thus began my love and passion for Chinese Tea.

when I met her, in January.

We laugh and loved, we fight and frown

And thus so ended, our little story.

I now stand proudly on my own

a hint of regret, the tiniest of worry.

For I want to see her wear that gown

smiling proudly, celebrating victory.

But perhaps it is Pride in my crown

that stopped me from saying that I am sorry.

So maybe one day I’ll move again  into town

to be a fool once more, and start another story!

These days, when you write about Tiger Wood you have to include a picture of him putting on this kind of expression.

But why must we scorn and gossip so? So easily we fall to the excitement and story, we are amused by the woes and suffering this man is going through at the moment.

True that his ordeal is a result of the Causes he made in the past, and the mockery is part of it all. The fall of the great Tiger. This is the headline in December. It’s even “bigger” than Copenhagen.

It’s amazing how cruel we can be, when a human being is reduced and abstracted to mere images on web sites and magazines, not knowing how much pressure we can put on that person’s life. Think twice about this culture, this insatiable thirst to pry on the life of others and amuse ourselves at their woes.

All I’m saying is…

Know that what goes around, comes around.

… both for the man in picture, as well as our own action towards the event.

To let go is to take control.

This, I believe to be true.

And so today I told myself that I would give up one thing that I like doing, things that have become a part of my life for one day every week – and for that day, I would do something that I have never done before in my life.

It sounds easy – but you will know what it’s like only if you try it. I dub this microfasting. The act of fasting, which originally is meant to raise awareness and self-control, but done on micro level.

So what will I give up this week for 24 hours? Well this week I skipped my Buddhism group meeting (which happens every Wed) as well as Twitter. Usually I would catch up with them, exchange thoughts and ideas, talk about life, our struggles and aspirations over some light snack and tea. I would note down the many things which I have learnt there, and upon reaching home I would tweet my findings to the world through my twitter persona, zenfeed.

This is an activity that I cherish every week. It’s a feast for thought, an enlightening experience and at the same time an opportunity to socialize with fellow Buddhists and friends, to find out how they’ve been, sharing our life’s struggle and encouraging each other to life a beautiful life.

But this week, specifically today, I will give that up.

Today I skipped my Buddhist meeting, and for a change, I will now read one chapter off The Bible. I haven’t read it in many years, and I used to scorn and dismiss it as being a text that will distract you from the truth. For once, I would like to read it with an open perspective. After all, today is Wednesday, the day that I designate to learn about life, love and humanity!

Anyway, I would encourage you to try this out – and if you do, please share your experience with me