4 oct talk by brother chiang wee - managing your mind through external negativity

Hi there! This weekend, we had the good fortune to receive a talk by brother chiang wee. In his talk, he raised a recent experience where he was awarded a recognition and questions whether it is important or not in the development of our persona. In the case of an award ceremony, most of us would have many fleeting emotions, ranging from happy to excited. However, there is a lingering 'want' to hold back this feeling, the specific moment which you never want to end. This particular type of feeling is due to the ego within us. We want good things which concern ourselves to be announced to the world because it provides us with a warm, fuzzy feeling within - but it doesn't last forever. Many of these things only happen for a while before fading away. Afterwards, there is the backlash of feelings where you feel sad when the moment of euphoria is over. The buddha realized that and managed to identify it as the 3 poisons - which has a huge adverse impact on how we place our 'definition of success and comfort' to be. As a result, much of this definition falls under mundane categories such as wealth and employment status - where the focus is on the superficial rather than something which one truly feels comfortable in. Ultimately, it is not wrong to aim towards a better future, but it should not come at the compromise of our personal beliefs and morals. So is there a way out of this sensation of emptiness? Being a participant in doing dana(good), sila (avoid evil) and bhavana (purifying mind) goes a long way in doing so. There are many different characteristics in regard to this, however a few things in which we can look into include samatha mediation and developing a bond with spiritual friends (kalyana mitra). In summary, material things can always be contented with, but on the other hand spiritual things should not be held in complacency. The importance of constantly striving towards this goal cannot be understated. One such analogy includes pushing a barrel up a hill. In the push of the barrel, if one were to stop pushing halfway through, the barrel would start to fall and all the effort would be gone. It takes time and effort to constantly push it till you reach the top. And that's it for this week. Thank you for following this week's summary of brother chiang wee's talk!

Faces of BFY - Soo Lan

Registration for the camp is now OPEN! So what are you waiting for? Sign up at http://bit.ly/pushingboundaries_4 NOW! :D I have signed up already, btw. The theme for October is appreciation! 

"I don’t know how to transform the world to become more appreciative but I know that if we, ourselves are more appreciative, people around us will be influenced too. Showing appreciation for people does not require elaborate efforts, small acts of appreciation is enough to lift a spirit. We can also appreciate whatever good, bad that comes along our way as everything in life is teaching us a lesson."
- Soo Lan

Faces of BFY - Pei Si

Ok, so I am featuring myself this week LOL. But the point is, registration for the camp is now OPEN! So what are you waiting for? Sign up at http://bit.ly/pushingboundaries_4 NOW! :D

"Last week was the most hectic week for the whole semester. On Friday, I was rushing my essay due that evening and realised that I would be late for my afternoon class. I asked for help on the class WhatsApp chat if anyone could help me display my models for marking which I had left in the room, as I had to submit models for that class. My classmate decided to help me very spontaneously and even helped to write my name on the models. It is really great to see how in my class, people really look out for each other and help each other out with such simple acts of kindness, and if anyone is printing notes or buying materials we will ask around to see who else needs them."

- Pei Si

Faces of BFY - Samantha

Registration for the camp is now OPEN! So what are you waiting for? Sign up at http://bit.ly/pushingboundaries_4 NOW! :D

“Life touches my heart everyday I care to let it. Those moments I choose to step back are always the most beautiful moments of all. It is hard to put it down in words but when I put aside my cares, worries, plans, regrets... I get a glimpse of true happiness in living. Just for that moment. As of now I am on the train, watching people around me. Everyone is busy travelling to their destination but presently we are on this journey together. Children, adults and elderly. People of all sorts. Our destination is eminent but as of now, now matters. And now is beautiful. The only difference in life is that we won’t know when we alight but as my favourite quote goes; ‘We're all travelling through time together, every day of our lives, all we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride.’ ”

- Samantha