A Lot Help to the Holy Spirit

Rain over Roi Et, the Northeastern Thailand

When you show your weak side
You do a lot help to the Holy Spirit.
When you show you are soft,
When you are willing to lose some face,
You can hear much more clearly
The small voice that comes from deep within.

When your mighty armour crumbles down
It's the time when the love of Holy Spirit
Starts to permeate like gentle rain
Into your tired and hardened soul.

Your call for help is the reminder to yourself
That you have a residency in the Heaven.

The pain in this mind is so apparent, when it is uncovered, that its need of healing cannot be denied. (A Course In Miracles, Text Ch.13.III.6:5)

這心靈所受的苦可想而知，一旦真相大白，再也無法否認它有待救治的事實。（奇蹟課程‧正文第13章參6:5）

A Face In a Mirror (The Heart Sutra)

色不異空，空不異色，色即是空，空即是色。(心經)

Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not
different from form. (The Heart Sutra)

Whatever you see in her
Is just a mirror image of yourself.
When you don't like what you see
Just change what you think about it

What ever you see in her
Has actually been created by you.
Whatever you see is your interpretation.
So if you don't like it
Just change it into something you can like.

「心經」容祖兒主唱(mp3)
Heart Sutra mp3 by Joey Yung (A HK pop singer)
http://file.buda.idv.tw/music/XJ39.mp3

Let It Be (Mt. 6:34)

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. (Matthew 6:34)

When you cannot push something further
Simply pull it back a bit.
When you can neither push nor pull,
Just leave it there for a while
And let it take care of itself.

With too many captains aboard
A ship would end up
With climbing a hill.

When you cannot push any further
Another push only stagnates the energy
So let the situation takes care of itself.

Too many thoughts and too many words
Tend to make the situation very sour.
So let it be.

A Great Paradox

Two different worlds met and merged here.
(Berlin)

If you want to feel one with someone
Just respect her difference from you.

When you are with someone
So different from you,
Simply enjoy being with her.
You'll soon find yourself
In a wonderful treasure hunt.

If you want to close the gap
Just respect the gap
Because that's what the gap wants.
After the gap knows about your respect
It can't help itself from walking toward you.

If you want to feel one with someone
Just respect the difference
Because respect is what all of us want.

That's Really Enough...

You don't always have to own what you love.
-- Lin Xi 林夕(a Hong Kong lyricist)

Owning will soon create the fear of loss.
So even though I know that you'll never be mine
I am not disappointed.
Because I don't own you
Your beauty and grace is always with me.

I always keep seeing you dance free,
My dear Artemis...

I feel I'm very lucky to share at least
This earth with you.
That's really enough...

I like Lin Xi's name. I've only recently found why he uses the mainland Chinese Pin Yin romanisation for his name, even though it is extremely rare for a Hong Konger to write his name in Pin Yin. Pin Yin is a key to decode his rather mysterious name...

If 林 (Lin) is written above 夕 (Xi), it'll make 梦 (meng), a simplified Chinese character (which is rarely used in Hong Kong) that means "dream." So he's encoded a dream in his name.

A Stone Into A Weird Son of Abraham

Me in a very weird mood
(Design by Martin, my son)

"You are not a problem but only a bit different. You are just a weirdo."

It's what my seventh grade teacher said.

And it turned my world upside down. In an extremely positive way. She indeed set me free by labelling me a weirdo. Isn't it very weird, huh? Maybe I was weird enough...

But she anyway denied that I was a problem. While a problem is a thing but a weirdo is at least a human. In addition, while a problem had to be corrected, a weirdo who loved Korean rock could be just left alone, free from coercive correction (which was necessary for the kids who wore non-pure white underpants).

Her rather insensible words helped me redeem my dignity. She was indeed one of my Christs who turned a stone into a son of Abraham!

Language is indeed so powerful that it would lead the world into many disasters. But it can also raise a Lazarus from spiritual death if said to empower him.

Thank you, Mrs. Sachiko Komatsu!
ありがとう、小松幸子先生！

When You Want a Hope...

McDull

When you want a hope,
You already have a hope.
We often feel desperate
Simply because we are unaware
Of what we've already got.

So step back and look around.
We at least have a hope that
Can dig out our hidden resources.

This has been inspired by a McDull maxim that I saw a few years ago. I love his simple wisdom with quiet determination just like most Hong Kongers...

Rest in Peace, Billy

Billy Sunday 1862-1935

Being against,
Kicking,
Fighting sin,
You've probably won a great deal of friends
But I am sure you've also made a pile of enemies.

Butting,
Biting,
Gumming sin,
You've shown helluvalot courage as a warrior
But I can very clearly feel the drive of fear.

As long as you've got a boot,
As long as you've got a fist,
As long as you've got a head,
As long as you've got a tooth,
Even after you are without all of above,
You are willing live in the perpetual battleground,
Focusing the ugly side of this world.

Constantly being against sin,
Can you see the beauty in the human race?
Always kicking sin,
You are actually kicking the very creation of
The Almighty God, your love.

You can end the battle against sin
Only if you can see an angel in everyone.
Only if you see an angel in everyone,
You'll find yourself only kicking the wind.

So rest in peace, Billy.
I hope you can now see the brighter side of this world.

Treat a sinner like Jesus. You'll see the devil running away...

A Burning Rocking Chair

I wish a worry would get you nowhere.
But I know a worry is so powerful that
It can get you to a hell of the size of your choice.

Sitting on the burning rocking chair of worry,
You'll soon find yourself burning in invisible fire.
Your mind is fixed with what you fear the most
And you know you can live in a hell
Even before you do something bad and die.

You can go to a personal hell
Whenever you are caught in a worry.

But a hope can take you to the heaven
Even before you do good things and die.

The Hell can be within you
So can the Kingdom of God.

Rose Tyler's Resource (Doctor Who)

I watched BBC's Doctor Who for the first time last night. (It is on Hong Kong's ATV International every Sunday night at 11:45 pm.) I immediately fell in love with the drama's class C sci-fi stupidity and sophisticated, subtle sense of humour. Anyway, it's very British.

And I am also stupid enough to draw a lesson from the first episode of Doctor Who (the fifth series?). It is what Rose Tyler, who will soon be Doctor's close friend, says when she decides to rescue Doctor, who has just failed in persuading the Nestene Consciousness, an alien monster to leave the Planet Earth.

She says (I don't remember exactly) that she did not pass the college entrance exam (A-level?) and she has no job but she got a bronze medal in gymnastics when she was on the third grade. (If anyone knows the exact line, please leave a comment!)

The bronze medal from a primary school gymnastics competition (it did not sound that it was from a national- or even regional-level competition) gives her the confidence to risk her life to rescue Doctor. A bronze medal from the primary school days! It sounds no big deal but it has been one of the sources of her confidence so it worked. It's somewhat NLPish, too...

So we all can cherish the small but personally significant achievements. They will give you the resources you need!

A Secret Boyfriend

One day, some thirty years ago, I was dumfounded.

Just a month before my graduation from kindergarten, I was browsing the yearbook that was just out of the printing machine. And I found that Miho, a classmate girl, said Katsuya was her boyfriend. It shocked me so much because she always forced me to have a sweet time with her, saying that I was her boyfriend. But she declared to everyone that she loved Katsuya, who was a yakuza's son and hit me everyday without any known reason.

I was very sad. Although I did not feel that she should have declared me as her boyfriend, she should not have said that my archenemy was her boyfriend. Actually, I had never seen her with him. I knew that I was her favourite so that she had tried serious necking and kisses with me.

So I walked to her and asked why she had written a lie on the yearbook. Her answer was so simple that I could only say "Oh." She told me that she did not want to tell everyone that she loved me, a retard because it was so shameful. I could only say "Oh" because it was no secret in my kindergarten that I was a retard (though there was no scientific evidence). That was what teachers always said in front of everyone. So I felt it was even natural for Miho not to confess her love of me to everyone.

Looking back after thirty years, I am surprised by Miho's precociousness that made her cared so much about what others would say about her. It's not an innocent thing to do. But her words did not leave any serious trauma with me. It did not lead to my loss of innocence.

Well, my innocence had already been long lost. Teachers often complained that a physically handicapped and retarded child should have not been at an ordinary kindergarten because his very presence was a big trouble to everyone. They often said that they did not want me there. So it was quite natural for Miho not to declare me, a persona non grata, as her boyfriend.

Actually, she left no wound with me because she added that "But it is you that I really love" after saying the reason why she had said a lie. I was happy because at least someone loved and wanted me albeit secretly even though I was a kind of pariah. And I unconsciously chose to put an emphasis on the added phrase, not the preceding one.

Soon after that, Miho moved to another part of the town and I never saw her again. I don't even remember how she looked. But she remained with me as a sweet memory, thanks to my unconscious mind's wisdom. I believe she was one of a few havens that saved me during my hellish kindergarten and primary school years...

Now I know that if we choose to focus on a bright side of anything, it may later serve us as a very handy refuge in the time of distress...

The Director's Cut

The world has actually been created by you.
It's hard to believe but it's true.
Even when you are held in your lover's arms
The sensations, sights and sounds you feel
Are yours only.

You are seeing and feeling the world
That your mind has created.

The world perhaps actually exists around you.
But no one else sees it the same way.
You see the world with your camera and your scripts,
Shooting your own movie of life.

So shoot it from the best angle with the best script
That you can fully be satisfied.

Give yourself the director's cut you like the best.
Your beloved are happier to share your world
If it's good enough to make yourself happy.

From Iceland to Australia...

Ha ha, although this is one of the most sparsely visited places on the Net, today's viewer profile was very diverse (geographically)!

Northenmost visitor:
From Gullbringusysla, Iceland
59.9 N

Southernmost visitor:
From Victoria, Australia
37.8 S

Easternmost visitor:
From Hawaii, USA
156.3 E

Westernmost visitor:
From Kansas, USA
97 W

Why Does He Need...?

Many people's God sounds as if He could best be best impersonated as some like Stalin, who might have had Jehovah Complex.

Why does God Almighty need protection?
Why does God of Love have to demand loyalty?
Why does God Omniscient divide people?
I really don't understand.

We don't have to fight for God because He's almighty.
We don't have to show Him loyalty because He's love.
We don't have to label ourselves His friends
Because He knows everything.

I demand in my prayer to Him
To be One again and so we can be One again
And grant us peace.

Grant us peace, my Lord
Or I would no more say Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Good Night!

Flow of energy is really a curious thing. It is very honest. When it is really needed, it starts flowing.

So even when I am very tired after hours of nerve-bending writing or translation, I feel energy comes from somewhere when it's time to go out for garbage collection. It's really miraculous.

Whenever I feel that I have to make more efforts and tough, I am usually pushing things in a wrong way or too fast. Perhaps, energy wants to behave in a better way. And whenever I feel that I can barely move because of my obsession to a problem, I sense the stagnation of energy inside of me. So what I can do is to jump-start energy by doing someting else.

Anyway, when it is difficult to continue an action or a state, I guess energy is asking me to follow it wants to flow. So when I feel tough, I guess it is the time to step back and ask the energy where she wants to take me...

I cannot write well tonight... My energy wants a good rest, I guess. So good night!

You Are the Winner!!!

Half of me is my daddy's semen, isn't it?
- Midori in Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Congratulations! You are a winner!
Anyway, everyone on this earth is a winner!

As far as you were born,
No, as far as you were conceived,
You are a winner of a race of millions!

Some time ago down in your Mommy's tummy
Some hundreds of millions of racers
Sprang out from your Daddy and
Sprinted a short distance to the Ovum.

Only one (well, in rare cases, two)
Reached the goal.
Only one or two survived
While hundreds of millions died away
In this enormous race of destiny!

And you were the winner!
And your prize was this world.
Cherish it...

A Prayer Works

Of course, I sometimes feel life is out of my control.

It's not easy all the time and not all the people are nice to me.

But looking around and looking back, I find many of my big wishes have already come true.

I studied in the United States.
I emigrated.
I got married before 30.
I have a beautiful child.
I have learnt a few foreign languages.
I bought a flat (small and old, though) without mortgage.
I work at home...

All those things were what I strongly wished and enjoyed the process of achieving them.

Now I believe it is true what "Ask and it will be given to you" means.

Strong wishes program your unconscious mind to go and fetch what you pursue...

But I also know that a strong wish to avoid something usually leads me into a direction that I don't want.

So we've gotta wish what you really want in a positive statement. A prayer works if you say it right.

Disarm, My Dear Urban Warrior!

An urban warrior?
Surely sounds cool.
But disarm and show
The glow from inside of you,
If what you pursue is love.

My dear urban warrior,
You want to look cool?
But show what you are,
Let your warmth come out,
If what you pursue is love.

Disarm! My dear urban warrior.
Take off your rusty armour
And show what you really are.
Protection against attacks is useless,
If what you pursue is love.

The Small Sounds in "Sound of Colours" 地下鐵

I happened to watch tonight a Hong Kong romantic movie Sound of Colours (Dei Ha Tit in Cantonese, Di Xia Tie in Mandarin) starring Tony Leong Chiu-Wai and Miriam Yeung Chin-Wah) on the cable. I have already watched this movie several times, however, I always almost cry at the end of the movie.

A blind woman tells her boy friend to find her in a crowd before midnight on the Christmas eve. She tells him to keep his eyes closed while looking for her. If he fails to find her there, they will be parted forever.

It is awfully difficult to someone with healthy vision to look for a person in a crowd, especially in a festive crowd, only depending on his hearing. So she gives him a hint by clicking the cover of her watch (for a blind person) slowly over and over. Of course, he hears the clicks. He carefully listens to these small sounds so that he can walk into his happiness.

The clicking sounds come from his girl friend's watch, outside of him. But at the same time, they also come from deep inside of him. His willingness to listen to small voices from his heart allows him to see his girl friend again.

The calling of happiness comes to us often in very very small voice. So we want to be willing to listen to it just like Tony heard the small clicking sounds of Miriam's watch...

For a detailed discription of the movie, please visit: http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/sound_of_colors.htm.

V Narod 2006*

Plenty of room for dreams and for life
The coming years are promising us.
- The National Anthem of Russian Federation

Don't wail for disappearance of frontier!
Don't envy your ancestors for their uncharted territories!
Just like young men were urged to go West,
Young men and women of today, go into people!

We still have an enormous frontier!
We still have in many cities the untapped territories!
Just like young men were urged to go West,
Be disciples of conscience and go into people!

Don't wail for the imperfection of the world!
Don't listen to doomsayers who actually know nothing!
As long as this world is not perfect,
Young men and women have a huge frontier!

Be disciples of love and go into people!
Don't be discouraged by ugliness before your eyes now!
As long as this world is not beautiful,
There'll be plenty of room for dreams and for life!

We still have an enormous frontier
Because human conscience is still
Far from fully tapped!

*V Narod: "Into the people" in Russian. It was a slogan for Narodniks, the Russian revolutionaries of the late 19th century, who attempted to help the badly exploited peasants in the Tsarist Russia. If you want to know more, visit: http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Narodnik.

Today's rubbish, which I wrote, was inspired by the Russian National Anthem. It is so moving that I often cry while I listen to this song. You can listen to a few pop versions of the song by Russian singers at http://www.hymn.ru/index-en.html along with formal versions.

I particularly like Nikolai Noskov's (a bit rocky) and Anita Tsoi's (quite much like Korean Pop).

The Commandment Other Way Round

If you want to land on an ideal job,
Learn to love yourself as your best colleague.
By heeding to the barely heard calls
From deep inside of yourself,
You can make yourself your closest ally.

If you want to meet Mr. Right,
Learn to love yourself as your sweetheart.
By heeding to the barely heard songs
From deep inside of yourself,
You can make yourself your Cupid.

Loving your neighbours as yourself
Certainly is the best way to peace.
But you can love your neighbours much better
If you can truly love yourself.

We are all One so there is no difference
Between you and they.

So know and love yourself as you love your neighbours.

We At Least Share This Same Sky

If you cannot be with the one you love
Treat anyone as if you were
With the very one you love.

It's not easy in the beginning
But it'll soon be so easy
Because you'll soon find
The beloved one is with you always
Through many many different faces.

And by doing this
You'll soon feel the Holy Spirit
In everyone on this earth.

Anyway, I miss you
But I feel happy when I feel
That we at least share this
same blue sky.

Seeing Christ in Everyone...But...

Is seeing Christ or Buddha in everyone a way to peace of mind?

I believe so. I at least want to believe so. Through this faith I can know that everyone on the earth, including me, is forgiven. If every human being is sacred, everyone's dignity shall be respected.

It is easy for us to see Christ or Buddha in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi. But can we see Christ in Hitler? It confuses me a lot.

I know that many Germans saw Christ in him at the rise of the Third Reich. But can survivors of Holocaust see Christ in him? Can survivors of the Killing Field see Buddha in Pol Pot?

And I also have to ask myself: is it a right thing for us to see Christ or Buddha in these evil people? They acted just like avatars of Satan and destroyed so many lives.

Should we think that some people are destined to be saved and others are destined to be damned? It sounds very dangerous to me…

Where has evil come from? What is evil, by the way? I still do not know but I believe it is worth pursuing the answer so that we can be sure that everyone is forgiven...

明天會更好

今天，偶然有機會聽「明天會更好」。
不知道如何，但聽著聽著，我的雙眼不停地流眼淚了。

「明天會更好」就是我們大家的祈禱。
不過，我們對自己說「明天會更好」時候並非完全放心的時候。

要說「明天會更好」的時候，我們一定有想消除的不安。

我是從這首歌聽到港人在1984年普遍感到的不安，所以想哭了的呢？

但是，希望「明天會更好」好過希望「明天不會更差」。
祈禱時，不要祈求從恐怖的逃避，而要祈求真的要的事。
所以，我也在祈禱中說「明天會更好」！

Buddha Seed

When you feel tough to be with your beloved one
Seek the seed of Buddha in her.

When you see the seed of Buddha in her,
You will see the seed of Buddha also in you.

Whenever you see the seed of Buddha in both of you,
You water the seed that will grow into
A bodhi tree of love that can endure the test of time.

When water the seed of Buddha in you,
You'll also water the same seed in her
Because we all are always One.

(If you feel uncomfortable with the word "Buddha," simply replace it with "Christ" or "an angel.")

Human Nature

Hatred and anger
These devils have lived in our hearts
Probably since the time of Creation.
They are parts of human nature, for sure.

Yet, despite fear and danger
Ignoring our original programming
We can often betray the nature.
This is also our very nature, for sure.

Such nature would drive someone
To a suicide attack.
But it is also such nature that
Makes us put down hatred
And shake hands, for sure.

Additional Cheers to the Prodigal Son

You were lucky that you starved.
You were lucky that you were in distress.
You were lucky that you heard the call
From deep inside you that
You could go back to the right place.

Honesty to your own cry for help
Took you to your Father and
To His great blessings.

Three Cheers to the Prodigal Son (Luke 15)

Walking to what you fear
Is the only way to dissolve your fear.
And you did that.
Putting down all your prides and honour,
You went to retrieve the real you.

I know it's simple but really hard.
So I say three cheers to you, the Prodigal Son!

(Luke 15:11-32)

On the Right Track

Whenever you feel the need to make efforts,
You are trying to push things too far.
It is the time when you feel things are tough.
Although you can push things even further
The risk of derailment will soon frighten you.

Whenever you feel the need to make efforts,
You are leading yourself too fast,
Out of touch with your true Self.
Actually it's time when you need
To unwind all your efforts.

So when you feel the need to make efforts,
Close your eyes and stop everything
Just for a while so you can keep in touch
With your Inner Guide again.

That replenishes your energy
And you can go very fast, very far.
But stay aware to your inner voice
That keeps you nice and easy
On the right track.

The Kingdom is for the Effortless (Luke 18)

Do you like to be forced?
Do you like to be force-fed?
Do you like to be forced to work?

I believe the answer is "No".

Force-fed kids cry and
Slaves wail.
You won't see the right way there.

Nature's way is so effortless.
When it bumps into an obstacle
She will never struggle but
Soon will find another way.
She will never force herself.

Do you like to make efforts?
I think the answer probably is "Yes".
But it comes from the surface of you
That cares so much about
How others see you.

You don't like to be forced.
Neither does the Holy Spirit
That resides deep within you.
When you force your will on Her
She'll just slip away.

She loves the Nature's comfort.
She loves to have much fun.
That's why Jesus says
You've gotta be like a child
If you want to enter
The Kingdom of God.

So stop making efforts.
Be curious like a kid or a cat.
Then the Holy Spirit will help you open
The door to the Wonderful New World.

So relax and have fun!
Because efforts will never lead you
To the Kingdom of God.

(Luke 18:15-17)

The origin of "Effort": Old French esfort, from esforcier "to force".

My Favourite Verse (Sir 13:26, Annotated)

The mark of a happy heart is a cheerful face,

You can try the other way around.
A cheerful face, even if it is forced
Can bring at least a bit of
Happiness to your heart.

So smile whenever you get upset.

but to devise proverbs requires painful thinking.

Yeah, I know your feeling.
But when you find it difficult to go on
Making proverbs, simply close your eyes
And talk to the Goddess Sophia
Who resides in everyone's heart.

When you get along with Her
Proverbs will simply break out
And you'll find it awfully difficult to stop!

(Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach 13:26, RSV)