Next Outing!!!

There will be a pre-CNY outing at the Wine Family or Wine Company this Friday! So try to keep yourself free this Friday... everyone ok?

Teachings of Reverend Tan

Looking back at the years, I realise that I haven't in anyway, achieve true happiness. I was sad, lost and I do not know how my life should go on. Sitting beside the Teban reservoir, I sat and pondered over my purpose in life.

It was this moment the Great Reverend Tan, who was on his way to the WEST, saw me and decided to enlighten me in my quest for true happiness. Reverend Tan sat beside me, and begin to talk to me. I spent a few hours listening to the great Reverend Tan. Although he occasionally make funny noises and he is really long winded, I can sense that he has great wisdoms. As he speaks, I begin to understand what Happiness, to the Buddhists are....

In buddhism, to understand wat is happiness, we must first understand wat is sufferings. Buddhism catergorised sufferings into 8 main types.

1. Human. As long as you're human, you will have feelings. Feelings of hatred, jealousy or sexual desires etc. When u have feelings, you will suffer. (if you hate someone, u urself don't feel good right? That's suffering)

2. Birth. when giving birth, you are giving a new life and that is human. So when u give birth to a baby, u're imbuing feelings into him as well...that's suffering

3. Old aged. When u get old, u suffer...no explanation required

4. Sickness. No need to explain too

5. Death. Idiot-proof

6. Separation. Separation from your love ones makes u suffere

7. Unwanted happenings. Things u do not want to happen, happened will make u suffer. for eg, you do not want to argue with ppl over how u manage ur stuffs, yet you did. Ahhhh...sufferings

8. Unfufilled desires. Can't get wat u desire, sufferings too. For eg. u want her love...but u don't get it...u suffered and start writing in ur diary how u suffered.

So once u understand wat is suffering, u will understand wat is happiness. And buddhism believes it's the end of these sufferings. Meaning to say, Once u destroy all ur sufferings, you'll get true happiness. So how to destroy ur sufferings? We must look at the cause of sufferings first. The causes are mainly 2 kinds....Our body and our heart. Without a body, we won't die, we won't get sick, we won't give birth etc. And without our heart, we won't have desires or feelings that will cause us to suffer. So, in order to gain happiness, we must destroy our body and heart!!!! Yeah it sounds stupid but the destroy is actually not wat we meant literally. Reverend Tan offer 3 ways to destroy your body and heart...

1) Looking at the sky. Find a place, where u can look at the sky without any obstructions. then spent abt 15 mins looking at the clear sky. Ignore watever birds aeroplanes or clouds that fly past. if ur eyes are tired, u can close it but ur mind still 'looks' at the sky. While u are looking at it, U must think that the sky is so big. The sky is infinite...wat are u compare to the sky. If the sky is 1, you must be 0.00000000000000~001. and where u round off, you are zero. So u doesn't really exist in this world cos u are so small and puny. When u think this way or u are enlightened, you will realise that ur body and ur heart are actually the nature...and nature is ur body and ur heart. In this way, you lost your body and your heart.

2) Sitting. Spent 15 mins to sit down in a quiet environment. While sitting, your mind must be thinking. Think of wat? think of ur body. First, think of skin. Your skin is matter...and according to Albert Einistern, Energy = Mass X square of speed of light. So in other words, your skin which possess mass, is energy. Then, think of wat is beneath ur skin...ur flesh is made of matter too...meaning to say, they are energy as well. Then ur bones...heart..liver...u'll realise that your whole body is made of energy. Then think outside....The floor that you're sitting on is also matter...also energy...then use the power of ur mind and think of everything that u know of...they are all matter...and they are all energy...So when u're enlightened, you will realise that everything is energy which is nature. Nature is u...and u are nature. So ur body and ur heart doesn't really exist...it's all part of nature....

3) The art of giving In buddhism, it divide 'giving' into 3 kinds

a) Material needs. Giving money, shelter, food and other material needs.

b) Knowledge. Passing down knowledge or showing a person the correct path is the gift of knowledge.

c) Security. To take away ppl's fear. For eg. a dying patient is afraid..cos he's dying. A nurse comfort him, that's the gift of security.

The perfection of the art of giving requires u to fufilled 4 requirements

a) Giving without any attached conditions

b) Giving not bcos of selfish reasons.

c) Giving without asking for any returns

d) Do not discriminate when u give.

Once u perfect the art of giving, it shows that u don't care for urself. u care for everyone bcos everyone is equal, everyone is nature, and nature is everyone...ahh, you're enlightened and u'll find that ur body and heart are not urs...and therefore it's the end of ur sufferings and u get ur happiness. That's abt all. When it's quite hard to understand perhaps but this is based on the buddhism theory of emptiness. " KONG JI SI SE...SE JI SI KONG". Yeah that KONG is the emptiness i am talking abt. Hope everyone can be enlightened by the Great WC Reverend Tan....

Regards

For "More" Laughs

Yes... Mr Peh's latest entry "Journey To The West" has made it to the "For A Laugh" Hall Of Fame. Keep those laughters coming in...

Journey to The West

Amidst the journey to the west, the reverend monk Tan felt that the 4 of them shld take a break from the boring trip and suggested mahjong at one of the caves in Bukit Panjang since it is raining and all travellers are advised to stay in-caves.

Once ready, all 4 monks sat down, and started to relax. After a wind of mj, the reverend monk felt that as master, he shld start the lead by chanting some scriptures 1st to atone for the offence of gambling among his disciples. But the forgetful reverend mixed up the scriptures and chanted the jin gu zhou instead of jin gang jing!! It was a costly error as it disturbed all his 3 disciples.

After all disciples were disturbed, they started to turn on the heat by making quick games in the subsequent winds. This puts pressure on the reverend who cannot handle stress and started chanting more profusely!! The viscious cycle carried on until the North wind and the originally winning reverend is now under immense pressure.

When the 4 of them finally reached the last game, the reverend could no longer handle the pressure and he juz wanna protect all that he had left and run away. He started clearing the big tiles, he ate one set of tiles and he is now ready to game. When disciple Peh hit out the tile 30 thousand, the reverend shouted on top of his voice, HU!!! The typically sceptical disciple Chua was shocked as he was juz about to self touch 5 TAI, began to carry put inspection on the reverend. Silence followed.....

The silence was followed by the words 'How u HU without TAi?' simultaneously by disciple Quek and Peh. This words runglike thunder in reverend Tan's ears, he took another look at his tiles and realised that he had juz HU a kar long without any valid flowers!!! 'Oh MY BUDDHA!!!' the reverend shouted, but its too late as discipple Chua was already sucking the chips out of the reverend's chip box.

After that, all disciples decided to end the journey and go home makan, leaving with his winnings and the tears of the reverend......

Distressing Soccer

The rain yesterdae was distressing; the soccer even worse. The rain started and stopped, acting upon by heaven's decree and the fundamental rules of Murphy's law. Whenever the rain came, and we sought for shelter, the rain as if playing a dirty beggar's trick on us, stopped almost before we could say "debbie"! And it almost started raining when we started soccer.

The soccer displayed were even a greater joke. Just as when we expected to dish out a pipin hot dish , all we managed was a unconvincin and tasteless cold platter. By some mere conicidental luck, the King Monkey, JS, shaowei and unmasked hero were servin the same club. And all they could do were some not so humorous circus acts. Shaowei were pumpin all those hopeful long balls again and yes they promise not to deliver again. Unmasked hero were actin as a clown, turning and turnin wifout realisin he hadnt got the ball. King Monkey was turnin around too, but onli searching for his banannas while keepin hold of the ball. JS summed up the dae wif a series of conversions that any rugby player would have been proud of..

Sunday Lunch with Peng Tiong

Our Jospeh 'Andy' Low has secured a lunch appointment on Sunday with a long time friend, Peng Tiong tiong tiong tiong tiongggggggGGGGGGG. All 2e4 kakis are invited to this lunch. Hope everyone can attend.

Regards

Belated Happy New Year

Hey guys, the unmasked superhero is back from his trip. A happy new year to all and great returns dis festive season!! 2006 promises to be a good year as the unmasked superhero saves the world again. Cheers to world peace!!!

Our Pet Xiao Zhu

The NYE Video's out

These are the video which we took during the last few moments of 2005. Wish everyone a very happy new year!. The best is yet to come in 2006. Everyone Jia You!

http://s12.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=33NK7F2G7Z5V729CFM73POO86Z
this link will only last for 7 days. Please download it asap.

And these are other photos from my hall which anyone might be interested.
haa.......
http://members17.clubphoto.com/calavera699481/3707704/owner-927c.phtml &
http://members17.clubphoto.com/calavera699481/3976295/owner-927c.phtml

Enjoy!