Heaven, Earth, Man

In the study of Chinese Metaphysics, the ancient sages believed the universe is made up of a triumvirate of Heaven, Earth and Man, known as the Cosmic Trinity.

Heaven, Earth, Man controls or exerts and influence equivalent to 33%. The fortunes are set by Heaven, the environment or Feng Shui magnifies our fortunes or luck, but Man's own action or inaction is what makes an outcome swing one way or the other.

Hence, a person with limited capacity may have many achievements thanks to his hard work and positive thinking attitude, while a person with the capacity to do great things may squander his potential by choosing to sleep all day at home.

Happy Vesak Day

Vesak Day in Singapore is a holy day celebrated by Buddhists. It represents the birth, the Nirvana (enlightenment) and the Parinirvana (death) of Gautama Buddha and is the most significant day of the Buddhist calendar. Vesak Day usually falls in May, on the 15th day of the fourth month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar.

Worshippers bring offerings of flowers, candles and incense to lay at the feet of the statues. These offerings demonstrate that the believers accept that life, like the offerings, is subject to decay and destruction.Buddhists believe that performing good deeds on Vesak Day will multiply merit.

The celebration concludes with a candlelit procession through the streets. Mahayana Buddhist temples in Singapore, like the Phor Kark, practise the “three-step, one-bow” ritual on Vesak Day. Devotees take steps on both knees, bowing at every third step as they pray for world peace, personal blessings and repentance. The exhausting two-hour procession actually begins 24 hours before, when many reserve a place in the procession.

The main theme of Vesak Day is to practice love, peace and harmony as taught by the Buddha.

Our Mental White and Black dog

After much discussion among his students, the Zen master revealed, "The dog that wins is the dog that I feed most."

The parable of the two dogs is essentially a depiction of the two types of thoughts that dominate our minds.

The white dog reflects positive empowering thoughts while the black dog reflects the negative disempowering thoughts.

Everyday, these thoughts struggle to dominate your attention. For most people, the negative thoughts always seem louder. Eventually, these negative thoughts hold more power over them. Their thoughts create their reality, and they find themselves living in a reality that is often bleak and in inspiring.

However, if they want a reality that is far more optimistic, positive and inspiring, they -like you - must start feeding their white dogs. They need to nourish their mind with the positive empowering thoughts more than anything else.

You shall choose and decide which dog shall eventually wins the fight. Create awareness and take the first step to positive changes in your life.

Black dog vs White dog

There was once a Zen master shared a parable of two dogs with his students.
One was a white dog and the other was a black dog.

The white dog was kind and benevolent, while the black dog was evil and ferocious.

Everyday the two dogs would fight. The master then asked his students which dog would eventually win?

Some believe the black dog would win as the white dog would not retaliate.

Some believed that the white dog would win as good always triumph over evil.

A few who sat on the fence, undecided.

Which dog do you think will win?

Breathe and Smile

Life is a learning journey, the world is your classroom. There is so much you can learn if you start paying attention.
Awareness is the first step towards positive changes.

Praise your enemy, and you get back what you praise. Love them as they are your best teachers.

Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner

Reunion dinner is an important tradition observed by the Chinese and handed down from generation to generation. It is an annual feast when family members reaffirm the love and respect that binds them together as a unit. Every family member is expected to return home for dinner. Traditionally, all sons return to their parental homes for the occasion. Married daughters share the tables of their husband's families.  For this meal, the best food is served and in abundance. Chinese believe that having plenty of food brings the family great material wealth in the new year. Food with auspicious names and meaning are served throughout the 15 days of celebration.

Examples : 

Spinach or leaf mustard or Chives symbolises longevity

Chinese celery symbolises diligent

Whole chicken symbolises completeness, prosperity, togetherness of the family and joy

Beancurd symbolises promotion

Meatballs symbolises dreams and wishes comes true

Whole fish symbolises surplus, prosperity (having lefovers of money), hence abundance. To strengthen the symbolic meaning of the fish dish, it should not be completely eaten during the reunion dinner.

This list is definitely not exhaustive, as many Chinese communities living around the world may have their own unique food or dish for the reunion dinner. 

Chinese Lunar New Year

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian (年). Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red.  

The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the Chinese New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.Lunar New Year is the most important among all Chinese festivals and holidays, because it is the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar and the celebration usually lasts for 15 days.The Chinese New Year is accompanied by a belief in good fortune and there are many traditional to follow in the new year.