While In Singapore......

Today I do not have a busy schedule and feel like writing a short article, but I don’t know how short is short? Generally, everything is based on comparison only because short and long, high and low as well as good and bad are all relative. All phenomena are not existing as sole entities but only interdependently arising, we simply define them as a form of object and by their given names as well as characteristics. Without the names and characteristics we may not be able to communicate to others. Therefore, even Buddha also used words to describe himself as “I” and his things as “mine” in the relative level because these interdependently arise accordingly. So we just have to follow this way although ultimately if we search for the true essence of things we may not find things exist as a whole but as a collection of characteristics. Just for example, for flowers, we can find flower petals, the corolla of a flower, pollen of a flower, branch of a flower, color of a flower etc.. But we cannot find a real flower from within these.

Now talking about myself, I have been seeing people most days and it is just as usual. Some ask about practice and others ask about day to day’s problems. I am not able to solve their problems entirely but just try my best to give advice within my capacity. Many of the things that we experience are just experience and we give them a name such as problem or pleasure. When we look back on a certain experience which was a problem, it might be the cause of today’s success. For example, when we face some difficulty and can’t find a solution, we go to a temple and get teachings from a good master and the teachings awaken us from ignorance. From there, we start to feel happy in our lives as we are now. Definitely such problems are directly or indirectly the cause of leading us in the path towards wisdom. Otherwise, we would not need to go to the temple to meet the master to find solutions when there is no chance for us to improve in our way of thinking. So that sort of problem outwardly looks like a problem but it actually is the path of success itself. There is a saying in Tibetan, “Suffering is the introducer of Happiness”. So let’s view the difficulties as something which is not terribly bad but also has its own beauty and is the steps leading towards success. This way, we feel differently about whatever hardship is experienced mentally or physically. It transforms suffering into the path of success. On top of that, if we go a little bit deeper into the understanding that the grasping of self is the main cause of every emotion, and that self is not established within the skandas (5 aggregates) or 5 elements as a whole or collectively, then the realization becomes a path towards enlightenment.



See some photo taken at Denmark:

The Royal Place of Denmark. Copenhagen

Beautiful panoramic view of Copenhagen City.

During the Empowerment.

Last day everyone chanted longevity prayers for me.

Some of the students climbed the tree at night after teaching. They were having fun. haha

Malik and Tenzing recieving some oral transmission at their tidy litte shrine house.