a need to update..

was sick during the weekends.. thurs was on half day, fri, sat, sun.. 80% of my time was spent on sleeping, watchin tv.. it is definitely another time of those all-in-one package, but im glad the campaign period was over and there wasnt much activities.. but i was really un-motivated..
went for a dialogue where i only spoke 3 redundant sentences and perhaps the rest also felt that i shldnt have gone ba.. but it was jus a breakthru for me to step out for some fresh air.. hahaha..

my sis n bro-in-law came visiting on sunday and bought+brought a cake for my 2nd sis in reward of her baby-sitting.. and my jiefu asked me about the VIVO campaign which he got a replied of 'zero' from my chpt.. i sounded as if it was nothing wrong but i knew.. and he asked if i change 1 hr a day. and mentioned that this is a 'fa zhan4' -- a battle within ourselves. that totally strucked me..

not 发展，罚站，or 发簪..


but


法战！


and i need to work harder.

Buddhism is about the principle of'Cherry, Plum, Peach and Damson'*.No matter what other people might think, say or do,what is most important is that we believe in ourselves,you are who you are!Confidently and proudly,let's advance along the path of fulfilling our own unique mission,our own chosen path,and continue to challenge ourselves to grow each and every day.*

"When one comes to realise and see that each thing--the cherry, the plum, the peach, the damson--in its own entity, without undergoing any change, possesses the eternally endowed three bodies, then this is what is meant by the word ryo, "to include" or all-inclusive. - "Ongi kuden", Gosho Zenshu, page 784, The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, page 200 ** Cherry, Plum, Peach and Damson -http://www.sgi-usa.org/memberresources/resources/buddhist_concepts/buddhist_concept23.php

i like this concept of 婴，梅，桃，李. it is definitely not easy to identify a person's unique character as we tend to only judge one by their weakness.. esp as me, as a gakkai leader, all the more muz be able to see the unique strengths and character of each member so that we can give the most appropriate guidance and also the best personnel arrangement(HR, Heartbeat chapter)

Have finally finished "The Buddha, Geoff, and me" yesterday!! oh my goodness.. its the second book thsi yr that i've completed within several days.. first was the book ML lent me, now this.. woohoo~~~ set up my reading momentum again.. this book is a really good book.. when i was reading, the scenes seem so similar.. reminded me of someone who has faced/is facing similar experience.. and towards the end, the story made me so sad that i almost cried.. pls really read the book.. it feels different when you're readin it on your own. MUST READ AH!!!

activites up on its pace again.. am shuttling between kv and hgs's activities.. people ask me why do i still go back for hgs's activities when i'm already transferred? and also some ask me if i feel reluctant to leave.. hmmm.. i dont know.. but i feel a sense of purpose and mission in my new area.. and i shall do my best.. maybe, maybe the current environment has caused me and the rest not to grow.. please.. bodhisattvas of the earth.. EMERGE!

back from my RHQ ldrs mtg!! feel so inspired yet also feel burdened entrusted with the huge responsibility..

attended tonights' mtg feelin different from usual. Prepared souvenirs(my last gift.. haha..) for HGS so i missed the chanting.. =/

also missed most of what the first speaker said.. then was about significance of discussion meeting.. followed by details and purpose of upcoming CGM Q&A session then lastly encouragement from VGD Mr Chan!

his encouragement was very solid.. not theoreotical but down-to-earth.. citing examples of possible incidents and sharing of experiences..

and he shared something very interesting.. he said that if any point in time we feel LLC or down or despressed or self-denial, just tell yourself "I'M UNDER ATTACKED!!!" (and i was damn amused by his actions at this pt in time.) in fact, it means the attack of sanshoshima which obstructs us to accomplish kosen-rufu. Once we identify this, we will be able to stand up and not let that affect us.

3.15 and 3.16 was really a great success!! sensei had the photos of the symposium and 3.15 commemorative meeting published on Seikyo Shimbun!! and the picture of 3.15 was blown up BIG BIG wor.. dun need magnifying glass, microscope, telescope or even spectacles to see ourselves inside neh!! *clapclap*

-- digress --
i am still unsure of my own capabilities.. in fact, even wanted to request to go back to HGS and fight together with them.. but i that there'll be a time where i have to left go of all the tasks and responsibility so that others can grow.. and now is the time.. so i'll to have such conviction that things will definitely go my way, and of course, i have to first grasp the correct strategy and take prompt and accurate action so that i can grow and also foster many successors..

something sheng told me struck me.. i have become so prejudice and negative that perhaps my mind has been clouded.. yes, a blog is one for people to write down their ideas.. so it does not mean that everything is true or wadsoever.. i really appreciate that someone understands.. yay~ and he say that we muz speak out the truth.. a few words tagged or comment doesnt mean anything.. i'm sure wad WE are doing is correct, because we are slowly seeing the effect.. once again, my tap is triggered but more importantly, i know we must act.. ACTION!!

This is a terrific story from the show Britain's Got Talent. The audience has little expectation for this cell phone salesman, Paul Potts, until he brings them to their feet with an amazing performance of an extremely difficult opera song - Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma”. Within two minutes, Paul shows more emotion than all the contestants combined. I'm not into opera but even I had to watch this video a number of times.

Biography: Paul Potts was raised in Fishponds, Bristol, by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne, a supermarket cashier. Paul has two brothers and one sister, and attended St. Mary Redcliffe school where he first developed his love of singing.

Current Playlist: 范玮琪 - 你只有一个

OS:我跟你说，一个人其实也没什么不好


你看你眉头都打结了
你熟悉的坚韧到哪去了
别因时光而磨损
快找回那自信的眼神
不要因为爱错了一个人
就否决爱美好的可能

不管如何都不要忘记
你是最好的
要相信你绝对有
幸福的资格

你只有一个
独一无二
他不懂珍惜是他太笨
有多少人等着
要做你最最在乎的人

你只有一个那么独特
你值得你期盼的快乐
当你不再非他不可了
他会知道失去的多难得

你只有一个一定会找到珍惜你的人
全世界就非要你不可

--- nice song rite~ ---

i find it very meaningful.. from weiyi.. we wanted to sing for fri rend but tt time i hasnt really listened carefully to the song.. but after careful listening, other than the nice melody, fan's clear and nice voice, the lyrics are very meaningful.. has been listening to it so much tt i seem to 'stick' my own story into the song le.. muahahahhahaha..

its like wad buddhism says, every one has unique potential. juz like Cherry, Peach, Plum, Damson.. ther's no need to compare or fight to be the best because each has it own unique beauty.. =) esp the line 要相信你绝对有幸福的资格. yeayea.. all of us has the rights and will definitely achieve happiness as long as we coninue to strive on the correct path for the sake of our own growth, for kosen-rufu and of cuz others' happiness..




was supposed to meet my YWDs today to dance.. but i kenna fang fei ji.. hao sad wor.. but its ok.. i'm juz worried whether we can put up the performance with juz 3 days left and i'm occupied on wed and fri.. sigh.. then i think i ate weird food tt i became xiao bai tu today.. (literally) hahahahhaa.. faster guess wad it mean ba..

i dun wanna be xiao bai tu too often wor.. but its good in a sense.. can jian fei.. wahahahahhahaha.. i'm mad i'm mad~!!

lastly, i wanna share this poem tt sensei wrote to Shunzo Ohno when he went to New York in June 1981.. i hope to be able to remember as many dates as possible because i wan to truly know and understand sensei's steps.. yup.. so though shunzo only met sensei briefly, and was constantly workin behind-the-scenes, sensei noticed him and one day during a meeeting a leader intro shunzo as a trumpet player to sensei and so he had the chance to play a piece and he played "Over the Rainbow". Though he did not understand M&D spirit then and he has only started chanting for a year, when he play the piece, all in his mind was that ND's buddhism must also spread "Over the Rainbow"

i guess sensei could feel his spirit in his music and wrote his a postcard with a poem "Your beautiful sound of the Myoho was resounding above the sky". sensei also expressed his wish that shunzo become one of the greatest musicians in the world. This became a life-long goal for shunzo who just wanted to play music and was struggling to survive over in New York.

i shall not go on la.. later u fall asleep.. but to get inspired, pls get SSA Times no. 298 to read bout his testi and reviews of the concert.. =)

Wonderful dance performance from our own youth division mbrs~

ENCORE Mass Hip Hop dance performance by Urban Passion at Celebrity Soccer cum Friendship for Peace Concert held at Bishan Stadium on 10th November 2007




Cheers~

wanted to slp alrdy.. but i realised i got so many things to do..

wanted to find the vid for a song " Do you hear the people sing" from Les miserable.






ENJOLRAS

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!



COMBEFERRE

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Beyond the barricade

Is there a world you long to see?



Courfeyrac:

Then join in the fight

That will give you the right to be free!



ALL

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!



FEUILLY

Will you give all you can give

So that our banner may advance

Some will fall and some will live

Will you stand up and take your chance?

The blood of the martyrs

Will water the meadows of France!



ALL

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!





those whom i've showed the youtube video, i think u'll understand. we need to work harder!!



i have so much to share but i tink i juz end with this sensei's poem which i've been lookin for for a long time.



" -The Abundance of Life -
Today i rededicate my life to kosen-rufu



To be strong so that nothing can upset the peace of my mind

To talk health, happiness and hope to every person i meet.

To make my friends feel that there is something good and beautiful in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and be optimistic about them.

To think only of the best, work towards doing and expecting only the best.

To be just as happy as about the success of others as i am about my own.

To forget any mistakes of the past and to press forward to greater achievements in the future.

To give so much time to improving myself, that i have no time to criticise others.

To be too strong for fear, too kind for anger, too happy for worry.

To lift my heart in faith each day so that the Gohonzon may show forth in my life.



Nam-myoho-renge-kyo"

to start off, i would like to declare victory! because today's milk run prac we had victory! the story goes: initially NYP will have no participants except for 1.. but i chanted to the gohonzon for emergence of the Bodhisattva of the Earth.. and in the end we got 4!! yeappie!! thou its not some big achievement.. but i'm really glad.. so sorry to all, or anyone tt i've not been able to attend to personally with care.. i have not done enough.. i will do better the next time round.. realised tt being a (GOOD) trainer is not easy.. i need to strive even harder.. try not to late.. toda sensei strictly reprimanded his workers who were late for work and say it boils down to faith. these people cannot understand and will eventually slacken and disappear from the path of faith.. i muz not become pple like tt..

xin sui le.. why? not because i was rejected by any guys.. wahahhaa.. but because of some words tt my fellow supposed-to-be-comrade made.. am i really non-humanistic? how can i influence all? so sorry tt u 2 have not been contacted because i ASSUMED tt the head will call.. but she didnt.. i shldn't have assumed.. but our orchestra will not be not-humanistic.. this is something i cannot accept! if you say so, wad have you done to make changes? because SNCO shld be a part of all of us! i feel terribly disappointed.. wad can i do? been pondering wad can i do.. but, i have not taken any action.. in order to enable the orchestra to truly grow, each and every one muz grow.. and to do that, i muz grow myself, then i will be able to convince and inspire the rest.. i feel so because this is the path i choose.. well, i choose to join the band, now staying on in the orchestra.. all of you did too.. if you think u're better off joinin elsewhere, go ahead.. because the Gakkai is not a place for materialistic pple.. we do not aspire to become famous or super-good in playing.. but to really use our music, use our life, to encourage just one more person.. this is wad sensei has always been advocating.. i have to say all these here so that all of you reading can really reflect upon ourself.. "be strict to yourself, but compassionate to others." sometimes i cant do this because i am strict, i hope you can understand that i wan u to conquer your own devilish function, to grow and become truly happy.. no one can become happy be depending on others or some external factors.. but become truly happy when you have discovered your unique mission in life and also strong, unwavering faith towards the gohonzon..

i'm not very good/angelic/holy either.. i also have many many many faults.. but the most scary weakness we can have is cowardness and denial.. if we are coward, we cannot accomplish anything.. because u've alrdy built your own 'platinum' wall to your own road of happiness.. lets really be strong! we are disciples of the lion king! nothing to be scared of!! so no matter wad obstacles arises, lets dance joyfully and tell ourselves it is the time for us to transform our karma and breakthru this suffering!

something i read:"
The most respectable and noble person in the world is one with the greatest love for the people. A truly wise person is not someone who orders others to treat him or her deferentially, but someone who teaches through words and actions that each person, including his or her mother, is vitally important. The disciple here, suddenly grasping the immense warmth of his mentor's spirit must have felt he was gazing upon the sun's brilliance.

The heart of one person moves another's. A Greek philosopher teaches that hatred of language and ideas leads to hatred of humanity. (4) If your heart is closed, then the doors to other people's hearts will also shut tight. On the other hand, someone who makes all those around him or her into allies, bathing them in the sunlight of spring, as it were, will be treasured by all.
A Buddhist's way of life has to embody such clear and natural reasoning. The Buddha transmits the heart's sunlight universally to all beings.

Even when we strive to treat everyone with love and compassion, though --- since we are ordinary people --- it is only natural that we will have likes and dislikes. There is no need for us to struggle to make ourselves fond of people we find disagreeable. In our work as emissaries of the Buddha, however, we must not let our thoughts or actions be colored by any discrimination or favoritism.

Through offering sincere prayer and conducting earnest dialogue, all of you are working to open the lives of people whose hearts are closed tight like clams. Your actions are noble.

.
.
.

When we base our lives on the great wish for kosen-rufu, regarding each effort as "like dew entering the ocean, or soil being added to the earth," then our petty lesser self gives way to the greater self that shines with eternal victory. Our every effort turns into an ocean of benefit, an earth of good fortune.

I hope each of you will be confident that, just as Nichiren Daishonin promises, you have already entered this path. And that, therefore, you will treasure your heart of faith.

The "Letter to Lord Toki," while short, is pervaded with warmth. In it, we glimpse warm heart-to-heart exchange between the Daishonin and his followers. Because of their bond with the Daishonin and sense of inner security that this brought, his followers could endure ordeals and struggle with all their might for kosen-rufu.

"How can I help others experience joy? How can I help them practice in high spirits and really exert themselves?" It goes without saying that someone who gives no thought to these questions and does not respond to members' needs is not qualified to be a leader in the humane world of Buddhism.

Our practice has to be based on strong prayer for the happiness of each person. Donning Toki Jonin's robe, which was imbued with sincerity, the Daishonin, too, prayed to the Buddhist gods.

When we sincerely pray, without fail the Buddha wisdom to know how to encourage others will well forth. Our movement of kosen-rufu is to expand this world of encouragement. "

so how deep is our bond with sensei? i rem my ywd zone chief say this very clearly:"Faith is something that belongs to you. Wadever you do or not do is not for other pple to see.. its because you feel joy doing so" so i always keep these words with me to remind myself.. Faith.. ldrs can encourage you, can keep calling you etc.. but if we alrdy thought of giving it a try or you alrdy know all that, have you done anything to ensure u grow and learn from it? ultimately it is we ourselves who choose to be encouraged by the encouragement, or we totally "shut-off" our lives from them.. likewise, bond with sensei is something that only we know.. how deep is your bond with sensei is not how pretty you made the words to be.. but wad have you done or how have you tried to show actual proof? thus, i am not a worthy disciple of sensei.. after saying so much, i just wan to say, the choice is yours.. to be happy or suffering for the rest of your lives?