Inter-esse, Inter-be, Interest

The origin of interest: Latin inter-esse 'to be in or among.'

If you are suffering because you cannot
Get involved in what's important to you,
Put it among what you are interested in.
Everything in the world is somehow connected
So you'll find something related to what you like.

If you feel you cannot get involved in
Something very important to you,
Find a connection between you and it.
You'll soon find more and more connections
And find yourself living in a web of interest.

Everything has something to do with you.
Live the life of Interbeing!

Wisdom Seen in Sailor Mercury

I have no idea why but I recently see Sailor Mercury, one of the characters in Japanese cartoon Sailor Moon very often. On the Net and on the street and even in the garbage I pick, I found her pictures. It is quite strange that I see her often now in 2006. Sailor Moon should already be a history. And I didn’t really watch the series, either. I have known it only as a social phenomenon…

Just a few days ago, I found a pile of anime trading cards dumped in one of the refuge rooms that I was in charge of. And Sailor Mercury was on the top of the pile. As I felt a bit disturbed about my frequent encountering to her, I put all these cards into a plastic bag and stirred them, wishing she’d mix into other cards. But she stayed on the top. So I stirred the cards again. But she still refused to go down. So I picked the card up and slipped it into my pocket.

Well, frankly speaking, I find Sailor Mercury cute. Her somewhat boyish appearance is very close to my archetypal dream girl. So I am not surprised at all if she is manifestation of my anima. And I remember that she is the most intelligent of the Sailor Fighters. Then it is very close to my anima figure that I privately call Sophie (Wisdom). In addition, Mercury is the Roman god of storytelling! Wah, just a few minutes pondering solved much of the mystery…

So now I think my anima, my Inner Guide to Wisdom now tries to communicate with me through the appearance of Sailor Mercury, a figure close to my archetypal girl friend. Well, I have been tired and have found it quite difficult to write a poem or a story these days. I guess it has come from my lack of attention to my anima so she has tried to draw my attention with pretty face and a sexy costume! Well, it's nice but she’s acted in a way that makes a middle aged man (me) blush...

My Most Favourite Verses from ACIM

How can you who are so holy suffer? All your past except its beauty is gone, nothing is left but a blessing. It have saved all your kindness and every loving thought you ever had. I (Jesus) have purified them of the errors that hid their light, and kept the for you in their own perfect radiance. They are beyond destruction and beyond guilt. They came from the Holy Spirit within you, and we know what God creates is eternal.
- A Course In Miracles, Text, Ch 5, V, Paragraph 8, Verses 1-5

Choose Your Emotions

I am responsible for what I see.

I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide
upon the goal I would achieve.

And everything that seems to happen to me
I ask for, and receive as I asked.

- A Course In Miracles (Text Ch. 21, II, Paragraph 2, Verses 3-5)

Sounds strange? But when you have unwanted emotions, just stand back, have a panoramic view, take a very deep breath. It will make it easier for you to choose the emotions you feel. It is not control but a choice, which works better.

Thank You for Visiting!

This blog space has had at least one visitor from all six continents of the world this week!

Thank you for visiting Alaqa!

The Source of All Evil?

When my teacher said that I was a super villain, the source of all evil, I wished it'd really been so.

Where did my pain come from?

Where did the whole world's pain come from?

If I'd been really a source of all evil, I could've removed all sufferings of myself and this world's somehow. Just by turning all my evil super power to something good, I could've made everyone happy...

I really wished I'd been a super villain. Such an influential super bad guy's repentance could've cleansed the sin of the whole world.

But unfortunately I had no such a superpower. Now I am on the way of my own healing by affirming that I am not evil. I hope I can heal the teacher who himself had enough suffering to label a timid pre-teen child the source of all evil.

I now want to free myself from the illusion of my evilness, so that I can help the world to free itself.

Too Strong to Let Go

If someone close to you abuses himself,
Kindly support him.
He is not weak at all.
Actually, he's too strong to let go of the pain
That comes from from anger, sorrow or loss...

He's actually strong enough
To endure his abuse on himself.
If this strength is redirected,
He'll do an excellent job.

Punishment is not what he needs.
What he need is your reminder
That he still has resources
To feel happy and make you happy.

You can help him heal this way...

Don't Underestimate the Power of Earthly Love

Please don't underestimate
The power of earthly love.
Finding beauty in another
Ordinary human being is
Indeed one of everyman's
Windows opened to holiness.

Please don't vilify
The power of earthly love.
Desire to be one with another
Ordinary human being is
Indeed everyman's door to
The quests of overcomimg differences.

Let's celebrate
The power of earthly love!
And allow this foretaste of the Heaven
To grow into the seed of holiness
In everyone's heart.

Alaqa's Recommendation: Cultivating the Mind of Love by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh. It is the Zen master's memoir of first love and about how the earthly love can grow into something holy...


一行禪師親自所講述的初戀故事是被收錄於『與生命相約』(台北‧橡樹林2002年　ISBN986-7884-02-7)的。

Tibetan Medicine (3) - Initiation

It says "slightly fishy." Slightly???

After I opened the plastic capsule of Bu Shen Wan, I immediately knew why its packaging was so excessive, and why a cardboard box full of these balls (more than 80!) was thrown away.

As I removed thin aluminum foil from the sticky brownish ball, I felt as if I'd smelled raw sewage. It was so revolting that neither Norwegian lutefisk, Laotian pa daek, Japanese kusaya, even Chinese smelly tofu, nor any stinky food you could name seemed to be no match to Bu Shen Wan.

Well, then I had to put this sewage-flavoured ball in my mouth. For it was large enough to choke a horse, I decided to chopping it up in small pieces and gulp down with warm water. While chopping, overwhelmed with the odour, I had teary eyes as if I had been slicing an onion.

When I put those pieces into my mouth, I felt as if I had taken a bite of a sewage system. More tears came out of my eyes and my throat and stomach tried with all their might to prevent the inflow of this alien object.

But why is it so stinky?

I checked the ingredients of the medicine and felt another revolt in my stomach. It was made of testicles of horse, bull and ram, penises of donkey and deer, and some common Chinese herbs.

However, I already took the fourth doze of Bu Shen Wan last night. Even though I have to fight myself while taking it, it is so effective (especially for fatigue) that I feel like taking it again.

But I still need quite a lot of psychological preparation before taking it. It is quite much like asking a boss for a pay raise... And I am sick enough to do it every night. Well, I am sick so I need medicine, right? Please wish me get well soon!

Time's Up for Thinking

When you still feel lost
Even after thousands of thoughts,
Time's already up for thinking.
More thinking only ends up
More question marks hovering
In your mind like noisy flies.

So when you still feel lost
Even after thousands of thoughts,
It's time to let the Holy spirit guide you.
Less thoughts makes you hear
Her voices much more clearly.
So close your eyes and count your breaths.

When you still feel lost
Even after thousands of thoughts,
It's time to listen to small voice
That comes deep inside your heart.

Tibetan Medicine (2) - Ecologist's Nightmare?

The packaging of this medicine is simply excessive. It comes in a box of a size bit larger than the modem used roughly ten years ago. In that box, there are eight small boxes of the size a bit smaller than a box of two golf balls. Then in each of smaller box, there is one ball of medicine placed in a plastic container. In such a big box, there are only eight balls of medicine that are smaller than ping pong balls. It should be an ecologist's nightmare. (But I soon discovered why.)

Anyway, the kidney medicine is highly prized in China as the people here think that kidney function affects sex a lot. So this Bu Shen Wan may be used as a gift (or bribe) to an important person... From the package, I can see it is luxrious medicine. Anyway, a luxury item should be in a ridiculously excessive packaging, and it is particularly true in this part of the world.

Although I have no sex problem (actually I want to cool myself down a bit), I have had kidney problems since I was a child. So when I picked up a cardboard box full of this medicine in a refuge room, I decided to take it.

When I took the first ball of Bu Shen Wan, I felt as if I had been in some kind of tribal initiation... It is definitely not as easy as gulping some aspirin pills. I will tell you about this initiation tomorrow.

Tibetan Medicine (1) - Discovery

I have been taking the most horrible and weird medicine I have ever experienced in my lifetime. I recently found a cardboard box full of that medicine in a pile of garbage I was cleaning up. Well, I do not recommend you take medicine that someone has thrown away. But it was the kind of medicine I wanted and it had more than half a year before expiry...

It is called Bu Shen Wan or "Kidney Replenishment Ball" made in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. As this medicine's has a bilingual - Tibetan and Chinese - package, its recipe should be of the Tibetan origin, even though Ningxia is actually quite far from Tibet.

Tibetan medicine. Exotic isn't it? Tibet has a long tradition of its own medicine developed on the basis of Indian medicine and it has been quite popular in China these days. Perhaps, some Han Chinese accept Tibetan medicine in the same way as some Westerners try Chinese medicine for persistent chronic disease...

Well, as some of the most precious herbs for Chinese medicine come from Tibet, it could be much easier for Han to try Tibetan medicine than Westerners do bitter and weird Chinese potion.

I will tell you more about this mysterious medicine tomorrow again...

Past Purified

I don't know why but I remember more happy memories than I used to be. I do feel that my past has been gradually purified. So I want to share my most favourite part of A Course In Miracles (ACIM) with all of you:

How can you who are so holy suffer?
All your past except its beauty is gone,
and nothing is left but a blessing.
I have saved all your kindnesses
and every loving thought you ever had.
I have purified them of the errors that hid their light,
and kept them for you in their own perfect radiance.
They are beyond destruction and beyond guilt.
They came from the Holy Spirit within you,
and we know what God creates is eternal.
(Text, Chapter 5, IV, Paragraph 8)

Thank you, my left brain...my right heel!

You don't have to blame yourself for fatigue.
It is just a sign that you've run too fast.
It is just a sign that you can close
Your eyes just for a while
And assure yourself that everything's okay.

Close your eyes and say thanks to
Each part of your body.

Thank you, my left brain!
Thank you, my right brain!
Thank you, my right eye!
Thank you, my left eye!
...
Thank you, my left heel!
Thank you, my right heel!

You'll find these parts of you
Delightfully respond to you.
As they receive what they've waited for.
And you can get at least
A score of minutes of deep rest.

Today's post is inspired by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh's Zen meditation technique. It is really refreshing. Try it when you have around 20 minutes! Such easy meditation methods are introduced in the book below:

A Tramcar Named Happiness

I often wander into a branch line of a railway in my dream. I usually get off the trunk line train by mistake and find a short branch line train waiting at a platform. I hop onto it anyway.

The train is comprised of a few wooden trams, usually two. It runs slowly, making low noises that are somewhat like groan. The inside of the tram is quite dark as there are only a few primitive light bulbs for lighting. The floor is made of wood and well-polished. It gives off slight smell of wax. It is indeed an old train but it gives me a very comfortable feeling.

Yes, it is the kind of train that I took to the nearby cities with my parents before getting into kindergarten, where much of innocence was lost. So it is a view of bliss for me. It reminds me that I also had happy child days before it was taken away by teachers...

Then what does it mean to me now? In my dream, I take the train as a grown-up man and not entirely nostalgic. I know that the branch line represents something relevant to today's me.

Although I've taken the train by mistake and I have no idea where the h-ll it'd take me, I enjoy the unexpected way that things go on unfolding. I love the pastoral scenery. I also find the slow speed of the train quite comfortable. Does it mean that I've been astray from the mainstream but I am still on a right track that would lead me to happiness? I hope so.

Hope Is an Ticket to the Heaven

This picture is an icon of Project Hope (Xiwang Gongcheng 希望工程), China's charity movement to help rural kids to stay at school. She is the Chinese version of the Afghan Girl of the National Geographic...

Fear is an express ticket
To a personal hell.
It will keep your mind busy
With what you don’t want

But overwhelmed by fear
Your mind often mistakes it
With what you do want.

So when you have a fear
Just throw it away.
And replace it with hope.

Don’t know what you hope?
No sweat.
When you hope you have hope
You already have one.

Keep a hope in your mind always
Because it is a ticket to the Heaven.

You Can't Fish Deer in the Sea!

Don't try catching mackerel here!

Chance favours the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur
Opportunity + Preparedness = Good Luck - Deepak Chopra

Even when you see others eating fish
Empty-handed on your way home from hunting
Don't envy them.
They aren't eating what you've wanted.
They are just eating what they've wanted.

While you went to the forest seeking deer,
They went to the beach seeking small fish.
You've sought after what is big but hard to get.
They've sought after what are small but sure to get.

They've decided to settle with
What can fill their stomach tonight.
You've decided to pursue
What would make you a heroine someday
But would leave you hungry this evening.

If you envy them, settle with filling your stomach tonight.
Just don't let you go on burning in the fire of envy.
It'd only deepen the personal hell that you’re already in.

They've got what they've valued.
You are still on the way of getting what you value.
If you envy them eating fish,
Pause your hunting for a while and learn from them
How to fill your stomach tonight.

You may find happiness in full stomach
Even though it doesn't give you glory.
Or such happiness may never satisfy you.
I don't know what you'd feel.

But you can start hunting again after fish supper.
I guess you'd hunt better
With your stomach and mind satisfied a bit.

I just want to tell you
You'll only get what you really want.
You'll only get what you really value.

So know clearly what you really value...

Deepak Chopra's Seven Spritual Laws - For Kids

FIRST LAW:
Everything is possible.

SECOND LAW:
If you want to get something, give it.

THIRD LAW:
When you make a choice, you change the future.

FOURTH LAW:
Don't say no -- go with the flow.

FIFTH LAW:
Every time you wish or want, you plant a seed.

SIXTH LAW:
Enjoy the journey.

SEVENTH LAW:
You are here for reason.

From The Seven Spiritual Laws of Sucess for Parents, Deepak Chopra, Rider, 1997.

A Chihuahua's Faith

A Chihuahua loves to bark.
So does a Pomeranian.
Small dogs bark a lot.
It's not the sign of their strength
But is merely the display of their fear.

They need defense
Because they want to scare off their own fears
That comes from their smallness.

I talk a lot about God.
It's definitely not the sign of my strength.
But it's merely a display of my insecurity.
Anyone doesn't have to talk about strong God
When he is fully secure.

I only have a Chihuahua's faith.

Who to Listen to?

People might say to me:

You live in a messy Kowloon neighbourhood!
You collect garbage for money!
You wear other people's garbage!
You don't earn as much as most of your college classmates!

You're an utter failure.

But why do I have to care?

Yes, I live in a messy neighbourhood but I own my flat. I bought it by cash.

Yes, I collect garbage for money but I love the sweats that this job makes.

Yes, I wear what others have thrown away, but isn't it ecological? It's even hip now.

You're right. I don't earn much but I earn more than enough.

No, I am a winner!

Anyway, who the heck are the people?

Actually no one has said these. They are only imaginary. And so are their words... (Or my bad habit of mind-reading...)

I know I write this because I am still not free from my Ego's defence. If I am really confident about myself, I wouldn't feel such necessity at all!

But at least, I know to whom I should listen... It's not voices from outside but those from deep inside of my mind. Yes, those are from my Inner Guide or the Holy Spirit!

Do you know who to listen to? Yes, you do. I guess you just don't know you've already known...

中風的徵兆

由於我一位很重要的朋友寄以下的文章給我，我要跟大家共享。（應該是來自台灣的吧。在香港，你當然要打999，在美國要打991！在日本和台灣要打199。）

蘇西跌倒了。因為雪麗看到蘇西跌倒就立刻問了蘇西『三個問題』。而這『三個問題』卻救了蘇西的生命。

因為蘇西無法回答這三個問題所以她朋友就立即打119電話求救。雖然蘇西的血壓正常同時看起來也沒有中風的樣子；但因為有『三個問題』的認知，蘇西被立即送到醫院。

請閱讀後並將這個方法學習起來！有時候中風的徵兆很難辨識，不幸的是，常因為注意疏失往往造成了無法挽回的災禍。中風患者常因旁邊的人沒有適時發現中風的徵兆，延誤救治而使患者腦部受損。

三個問題：
*要求病患展示笑容。
*要求病患兩隻手都舉起來。
*要求病患說出一句簡單的話。

如果病患無法做到這『三個問題』，就立即打119電話求救，並且告訴隨車的救護人員這是中風的徵兆。

有了這個發現後，一些非醫療單位的義工團員也能因為面部、手臂及語言的虛弱狀況來判斷中風的徵兆了。研究人員在二月份的美國中風協會年度會議中，展示了這個結論並鼓勵大眾將這個『三個問題』的方法學習起來。廣泛的傳遞並且應用這種詢問測試中風徵兆的方法，可以達成迅速診斷治療中風患者還能避免患者的腦部受損。

一位心臟學家說，如果接到這封信就傳給十個人的話，至少將會救活一個人的命。

O, Spring Rain!

It rains very often here in Hong Kong these days. And it reminds me of a Haiku from the 17th century that my high school teacher read aloud to the class. So I share it with you through my poor translation:

O, spring rain!
The Goddess of spring
Pees standing...

It is a bit obscene but I do see that the author felt gentleness of warm rain falling from the sky.

Let Go of What Isn't Really Yours

Japan saw a miraculous economic growth
after surrendering to the Allied Nations in 1945.
History works in paradox. So does a life.

When you are pushing hard and going nowhere,
You’ve already pushing hard enough.
You can’t push any further,
I guess, because you are pushing in a wrong place.

Maybe the land here is not as fertile as you think.
Maybe the land here is someone else’s turf.
But anyway, it is futile to go on pushing in a place
That is not really yours.

So surrender now.

Stop pushing and let go of what is not really yours.
Clinging onto what you don’t deserve makes much pain
That only keeps you stuck where you are.

So surrender now.
You’ll see your right way unfold itself in front of your eyes
Only if you can let go what is not really yours,
Only if you can surrender.

Surrendering looks like defeat to others.
But it doesn’t matter.
Surrendering what is not really yours

Is the road that leads you to a true victory!

A Miracle Found in Indian Curry

I ate curry for lunch yesterday. Eating curry would not sound special at all but eating authentic Indian curry is almost a miracle for me.

As I was not bold enough to eat “Very Hot,” I ordered “Medium Hot.” But remembering three years ago when I still had very serious haemorrhoids, eating “Little Hot” Indian curry was definitely a big adventure for me. I could not simply imagine then that I could someday eat hot and spicy food like Indian curry again someday.

However, I have almost no diet restriction. Now I can eat what I want to eat. Regaining such freedom, I feel somewhat puzzled but I do feel happy.

Finding happiness in such a natural thing, I feel I might have an ability to feel happy about very small things. From this, I feel that I had not suffered from pain for a very long time for nothing. Actually I feel some great power beyond our understandings.

I call it “God” but I also feel I can call it “Tao” or “Dharma.” But whatever we name it, I believe that if we follow the energy that makes us happy, we will see our future go on unfolding beautifully.

印度咖哩裡的奇蹟

我今天午餐時吃了咖哩。吃咖哩，聽起來並非甚麼特別的事，但進食到正宗印度咖哩對我來說幾乎是奇蹟。

我也不是夠膽吃「大辣」，所以叫了一碗「中辣」的雞蛋咖哩。但是，回憶到我還有非常嚴重之痔瘡的三年前，即使是「小辣」，吃印度咖哩對當年的我來說是個大冒險，簡直想不到我會有一天再吃這麼「熱氣」的食物。

但是，現在差不多沒有甚麼食物上的限制，想吃甚麼，就可以吃甚麼。五年的時間之後灰復了這樣的自由，我還覺得有點迷惑，但的確覺得很幸福。

能夠把這麼當然的自由為幸福了，我覺得我可能有對很多小小的事情亦感到幸福的能力。這樣想，覺得長期的病痛也並不是沒有甚麼好處，感到超過我們理解的力量之偉大。

我會叫它「上帝」，但亦覺得可以叫「道」還是「法」。我覺得，儘管叫它甚麼，只要讓我們跟隨令我們覺得開心的力量，我們會看到我們的未來美麗地展開下去。

Wait for the Tailwind

You've sailed so fast and so long.
Actually you've done so much
Without knowing it.
Even though you feel things don't go well,
Actually everything's okay with you.

When you can sail without pain,
Actually you sail before the wind of time.
So don't be disappointed
Even though you can get no tailwind now.
It will certainly blow again soon.

Now you can mend the sail.
You can grease the helm now.
Now you can learn how to sail better.
So that you can sail faster
When the wind blows again for you.

A season is set for everything,
A time for every experience under heaven...*

*Ecclesiastes 3:1 (The New JPS Translation)

You Can Raise Lazarus!

A barefoot doctor of China in 1960s: Even though she was a Communist, I believe Jesus worked through her to help many people.

When your friend is in distress, don't dig deeply into her problems.

It'll just make a small problem so big that she might feel a need to isolate herself from the entire human community.

When you judge someone's problem, you are acting as a priest who pronounces her unclean of spiritual leprosy.

When your friend is in distress, find together what resources she has so that she can find a better way.

By doing this, you can't only heal the small leprosy of her mind but also open spiritually blind eyes and even raise a dead spirit.

When you empower someone through reminding her of her own resources, Jesus is working through us.

And we are saved when Jesus works through a lot of people around us and remind us that we are already saved.

And remember, He wouldn't only work through Christians. Even an atheist or a Communist can be His instrument. So whoever empowers you, accept him as Jesus' hands.

Thank You!

This lotus flower is called Inner Lignt.

Thank you Mom for suggesting a plastic surgery!
But it does not matter. I can live with this face.
Regardless of how far I was away from being handsome,
There always were some girls who liked me, anyway.

Thank you Dad for suggesting a name change!
But it does not matter. I've picked up a middle name.
Even though my legal name does not sound good,
I can simply use another name for jobs and with friends.

Thank you Teachers for denying my national identity!
But it does not matter any more. I emigrated.
Because you stripped away my sense of belonging
I have come to feel the entire world as my home.

Thank you all for not liking my surface identity!
Because all your suggestions have enabled me
To explore my True Self deep inside of me.

Well, frankly speaking I wish you'd been kinder to me.
But even though your words were harsh
Now I know they came from love, anyway.

So I forgive you now.

Thank you for opening a door to the Truth for me!
Now I know I am not just what I am seen to you all...

Be Your Own Angel

A person receives Wisdom from his Guardian Angel,
but this angelic being is actually his Higher Self.
- Silvanus (a Gnostic sage)

Even when you cannot be short-listed for a job offer
You don't have to be disappointed at all!
It wasn't a right job for you, anyway.

You still don't know that you weren't rejected.
Actually you rejected the job
Because you knew what you wanted better than they did.

But you simply don't know you already knew...

Even if I still feel it was a right job for you
You don't have to be disappointed at all!
You weren't ready yet so go on preparing, anyway.

If you want a good job or a loving boyfriend,
Don't expect them to be your angels.
But you will get all these very soon
After you find a pair of wings on you soul.

But you simply don't know what you already have.

Find an angel deep inside of you.
And be an angel to the ones you love.
Then you'll find a legion of angels
Flying towards you!

Very Cold in HK

My blogspace has recently had two visitors from the Arab world. One from UAE and another from Egypt. Thank you for visiting this rural place of the Cyberspace!

When I located UAE and Egypt on the map, I found the latitudes of both countries are almost the same as that of Hong Kong. Somewhere above 20 deg. N. But it was 9 degrees centigrade in Hong Kong this morning and the HK Observatory issued a warning of cold weather!

Well, it is nothing compared to the "cold weather" in Minnesota, but you can die sleeping on the street after drinking. Actually, dozens of people died of cold in HK every winter before the handover of the city's sovereignty from the UK to China in 1997. But the winter death toll declined dramatically after the PRC took over this former British colony. The HK government has done quite a good job in protecting of the homeless and senior citizens from cold weather.

By the way, it is around 20 degrees centigrade both in Cairo, Egypt and Dubai, UAE. It should be quite pleasant. It was actually quite surprising to me, because I'd imagined the weather would be always hellishly hot over there...

But it IS cold anyway....

已經係三月，點解香港咁凍？

過去幾天，有些來自阿拉伯國家的人訪問我的網誌，覺得很特別。看看地圖，我發現埃及和阿酋聯的緯度是跟香港差不多的，令我非常驚訝。

但是，這幾天的香港非常冷，冷到連天文台也發出了「寒冷天氣警告」！為甚麼差不多是中國最南端的香港這麼冷？我記得來自日本沖繩縣的大學同學曾告訴我，雖然沖繩的緯度高於香港很多，但他家鄉沒有甚麼冬天，每年有幾天不用開風扇的日子，而他同鄉當這幾天為「冬天」！

香港這麼冷，因為是海流的關係呢？無論如何，非常冷！

A Bird Flu Song (Music Video from China)

A friend of mine sent me a link to an interesting music video from the mainland China. (Probably it is a work of independent Net musicians.)

It is not just funny but very moving. (I am crazy enough to weep... But it is a song about respect and understanding that everyone deserves.) So I translated the lyrics just for you… Enjoy!

http://www.hkbirdflu.com/sadchick.htm (I recommend you open it in a new window.)

I Don't Want to Tell You I Am a Chicken

I don't want to tell you I am very clean
I don't want to tell you I am very safe.
But I can't reject people's misunderstandings.
Looking at tight shut circle, counting eggs I've laid,
I am waiting for the danger of being slaughtered.

You eat my meat, I have nothing to say.
You take my eggs, I am very happy.
But I can't take being labelled as pollution!
Thinking about bitter destiny, wiping watery eyes,
I understand what people feel.

The same chicken meat, the same chicken eggs,
The same us, how come became pollutants?
Bird flu, it's very dangerous.
Who gave us our avian ancestry?

Children's Father was already executed.
Children's Big Brother was already taken to a lab.
Being a chicken is tougher than being a human this year.
Even if I can make it today, even I if can make it tomorrow,
I guess I am finished on the day after tomorrow!

The same chicken meat, the same chicken eggs,
The same us do not worth even a penny!
Anyway, you have to eat meat, anyway you have to eat,
Humans cannot live in a world without chicken.

The same chicken meat, the same chicken eggs,
The same us can’t make this year of destiny!
Anyway, you have to eat meat, anyway you have to eat,
Humans cannot live in a world without chicken.

The year 2005 is gone. I hope all the bad things are behind us. I wish all the chicks, ducklings and children of the world grow healthy. I wish this world be filled with health and peace. Humans cannot live in a world without chicken.

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)