"Happy Wesak Day" to all Buddhists and everyone as we share the joy of this celebration. It is a day to remember the birth, death and enlightenment of Gautama Buddha. It is a day to pay homage to the Lord Buddha, the Sangha and reflect on his teachings. It is a day to do charity and good deeds. Buddhism is a way of life and so wonderful is Lord Buddha's teachings. As a Buddhist I believe in the middle path and that we ourselves have to be blamed for our own actions.
I can still remember when I was little when I reached school early in the mornings ie. Light Street Convent in Penang , I was attracted to the display of beautiful rosaries, statues and crosses. I even bought a few to keep. In fact, I was following the novena prayers and learnt to sing hymns as I attended the morning prayers, church masses and so on. You know, those days we had nuns as our teachers and we usually started the day by singing of hymns and saying prayers.
I remembered praying for the Neil Armstrong as he landed on the moon with my teachers and friends. Being educated in Convent Light Street Primary School, I learnt a lot about Christianity. Discipline was strict but I have fond memories of those days. During my youth days I mixed with a few church friends. Even when I was in Maktab Perguruan Ipoh in Manjoi, I was invited to attend some church gatherings. What I want to say is I did not get converted to become a Christian and there is no regret.
It was only when I met my friend, Ng in college that I came to learn more about my own religion, Buddhism. How beautiful it is and I was determined to find out more about it. After learning the differences between Taoism and Buddhism, I could understand why I was confused then. I used to follow my mother to pray to the deities at temples from small. More people nowadays have more opportunities to learn about religions from the media and various religious groups. Hopefully, no one is misled by any wrong teachings. Let us not be influenced but study the religion first before believing.
After taking correspondence courses on Buddhism from Brickfields Buddhist Missionary Temple , I attended Dhamma talks in English at M.B.M.C. (Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Centre) in Green Lane and read many Buddhist books. I learnt vipassana meditation and became more calm when practising it. Enjoyed teaching the children in Sunday School in M.B.M.C. and helping around in the kitchen whenever there was dana service. Also remembered the retreats where we kept our 8 precepts. We were dressed in white and ate only a meal a day . Got to learn to practise walking meditation and sitting meditition. Could recall the roof on the top floor of the building which had many bats at night. Even went for a meditation retreat at a temple on Penang Hill where the late Reverend Suvanno or Uncle Khoo Eng Kim was staying then. I realised that Buddhism got to be practised and it is not about lighting joss sticks and offering flowers. There is more to learn about it. As we contemplate on the virtues of Buddha, we have kind thoughts about transfering our love or 'metta' to other beings.
Through Buddhism I learnt that it is from attachment that we suffer a lot. By losing dear ones, precious possessions and when we are hurt and criticised. It is through sincere practice and actions that we can call ourselves a Buddhist. Therefore, this beautiful way of life and its philosophy is worthwhile practising so that we can improve the quality of life. Tolerance and mindfulness are taught in Buddhism so we should practise these qualities the most we can. A speaker once said we can be of any religion but we can still practise Buddhism which is a way of life. We have to practise religious tolerance and start doing more good than harm.
Having mixed with Muslim friends from college days until now, I love to understand their way of life too. During the college days, I found myself joining the Kelab Seni dan Kebudayaan Melayu and learnt a number of traditional dances. I recalled the drama for Pestarama entitled " Pemburuan" which I took part in. In school, I observe how Islam is taught to the pupils and I noticed the religious teachers who are a dedicated lot teaching . I have attended Islamic talks too especially the ones organised by Puspanita Selama. Well, there are good values we can learn from Islam too so there is no harm listening to Forum Perdana and religious talks on T.V.
How I wish Buddhism could also be taught in schools and the values practised by everyone. Then, I hope that the world could be free of any form of violence. There would be no fightings, quarrelings, wars, domestic violence ,sexual abuse, destruction of the earth and so on.
The world is in a worrying state or a mess rather nowadays when human beings are becoming greedier, selfish , uncivicminded, egoistic, cruel and heartless. I read with sadness how a pregnant lady died after her handbag was snatched and there was only RM2 in it. Crimes are on the rise indeed and we are not doing enough to stop or prevent them from happening.
However, there is still hope as there are people who are willing to share their love, time and money for a good cause. I believe when we are doing something good, we should not be thinking of the reward. We should all enjoy doing more good and believe in what we are doing. Respect is a very important value and we should be respecting one another despite the differences in opinions whatever.
Buddhism has taught me to do good and be wise. On Wesak Day today, I helped a friend who was in need and I learnt how her terrible mum-in-law treated her today. This brave lady reminded her mum-in-law as a Christian she should not be using vulgar words on her or taught her son who is staying in her house to hate his own mother. Well, well , the problem is these people do not practise the good teachings of their own religions though they may put on a robe, say their prayers go to temples, churches or mosques three or five times a week. That simply is not enough.
I went to the Siamese Buddhist temple in Pondok Tanjong this afternoon and learnt that this temple does not get many visitors compared to the ones in Taiping. Actually, it needs more true Buddhists who share the love to come forward to spread the teachings of Buddha through Dhamma talks at the temple so it can survive.
My wish is for all to be well and happy always.
No comments:
Post a Comment