New blog site

Dear All,

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with metta

Missing Shoe

Yesterday morning my mother informed me that one half of my jogging shoe was missing! I looked around the shoe cabinet and along the corridors but there is no signs of the missing half. Someone has indeed stolen my one shoe!

Happy New Year to all readers!!!

Other Photos

I've uploaded additional photos from my previous trips to Thailand. Click here to view the photos.

The album is a collection of photos from my trip in March with Wat Ananda to visit Wat Nong Pa Pong (Ajahn Chah's Monastery), Wat Pa Nana Chat(Ajahn Chah's International Monastery where most of his western disciples stayed) and other temples and monuments dedicated to other famous forest monks.

The album also contains photos of Ajahn Maha Boowa. I was visiting Ajahn Piak in early August when we learnt that Ajahn Maha Boowa was celebrating his birthday. We decided to take a trip to visit his monastery and pay our respect to him.

New consolidated Albums

I have consolidated my photos with those from Bee Sian, Beng Le, Jodie and Liew(LKY). Please view the consolidated albums here.

Singapore

On the day after we arrived back at Singapore, we were greeted by some of the heaviest rainfall in the last 75 years. This is a deep contrast to the sunny weather we had at Myanmar(although it is suppose to be the winter season).

I'm sure many of us were left with deep impression of the trip and are trying to adjust back to reality. We like to think of ourselves as donors and volunteers, but to a very large extend I think we received as much as we gave. What we gave in money and material, we received back in spirit.

Its been four days now and I think the strongest impression that stayed with me are the resilient and strength of the people. Although most of the villagers are materially poor, inside they are just as rich and happy.

Another thing that stayed in my mind are the smiling faces of the children. They are so innocent, and yet displayed much disciple, readiness to learn and give fully to what they do. The video clip below are some of these children. They discovered that I was taking a video clip of the dance performance with my handphone and readily volunteered themselves to be the 'stars' of my video.


I am also deeply impressed by the monks and nuns for taking the lead to try to take on the challenges of providing for so many orphans and other children who's parents were simply too poor to send them to school.

Myanmar Trip - Day 9 (Last Day)

It was the last day of our Humanitarian Mission in Myanmar. This is the fourth time FFM has organised a mission like this to Myanmar and is the biggest turn out thus far, a total of 83 of us. For many, like me, this is the first time we've been on a trip like this.

We spent the morning on last day visiting another orphanage and nunnery, both located in the Yangon area. While it is sad to see so many orphans, we were also glad that the local buddhist communities are taking the lead to provide for the needs of the children. FFM and the volunteers, for their part also try their best to help these centers.

One of the volunteers taking photos with the orphans at the centre







The 10 preceptors queuing up to receive offering of robes, medicine and other basic necessities from FFM volunteers.


After the visits, FFM volunteers then split into two group. One group went to do some last minute shopping before heading off to the airport. A small group made pay a visit to another venerable monk and to look at the center he is running. It was also a short educational tour for many of us to look at the padi field farmers have planted.









The venerable monk showing us the crops that has been planted.


After our visit, we make our way to Yangon Airport. Our flight is four plus in the afternoon, we took our last photos and say our good byes to the tour guides and drivers who have been so helpful throughout the trip.

Myanmar Trip - Day 8

In the morning we visited the site of a new school that the venerable is building. Two of the building is already completed but there are still much work left. The land was donated but lay devotees and belongs to the Sangha and not specific individual monk. The Sangha (or the community of monks and nuns) acts as the trustee for all properties that have been donated. This practice dates back to the time of the Buddha and is still in practice here in Myanmar.

School library that is still in the early stage of construction





Although they have wells, the lead contend in the water is too high thus the water is not fit for human consumption. As a result, rain water need to be collected for drinking and cooking. These are some of the challenges faced by the venerable when he tries to set up the school.







Small hydro-power generator is used to generate electricity to be used by the school. A few kilowatt of electricity can be generated in this way.


We spent the rest of the morning playing with the children in the school and giving out toys, sweats and balloons to them. By late afternoon we bordered the coaches that will be bring us back to Yangon, back where the journey first begin. All the other children from the village, it seems, and some of the adults also turn up to say goodbye to us.