There's No Way But Up

Hello cyberspace… Long time no see. I apologize for my long absence from blogging. I thought I come back with a bang and my big bang here is a post on my Pastor ordination. Yup, I am officially a Pastor now… A Buddhist one that is. I know some Christians lay claim to the fact…

Amidst the flurry of messages all over social media calling for people to pray for MH370 and various speculations as to what happened to the Boeing plane, there were some Buddhists telling people to “practice the Dharma while we can”. If you are Buddhist, you would instantly recognize the meaning behind this simple statement. If…

I had just watched this and I find this entertaining and interesting. At times, I couldn’t help myself from laughing at some of the remarks. Anyway, the video is about the negative feedback regarding an upcoming blockbuster movie featuring the life of Noah, one of the early prophets of the Bible. And because of this,…

Recently in a Dharma discussion, a friend proclaimed that, “The Buddha had said that all of us have the right to question anything…” That didn’t sound quite right to me and so my mind race to find a rebuttal. I didn’t dare object something that was proclaimed by the Buddha. So, I said, “Yes, but we…

Tsem Rinpoche sent me these pictures of a 9 inch statue of double-headed troll from Norway. He said it looks pretty realistic and went on to tell me a little bit about Norwegian folk beliefs in Trolls. Rinpoche said that the trolls that live in Norway can be scary, friendly, helpful, temperamental and so forth….

The Dalai Lama is touring in the US now and he has recently met with the President Obama in the White House despite protests from the Chinese government. However, the White House took great pains to ensure it is not a meeting of two heads of state and President Barack Obama reiterated the US stand…

                                   The narrow street leading to Tahithy Chowk  Well, its been awhile and I am finally coming up with the second installment of the earlier post of the recent pilgrimage to Nepal. The pilgrimage was in December but fortunately,…

I love Buddha images!… particularly from the Indo-Tibetan tradition. I think I appreciate them both from an artistic as well as from a devotional standpoint. I guess I got this from Tsem Rinpoche’s passion for explaining, obtaining and giving out some of the most exquisite Buddha images. He said that as lay folks, we should…

Happy 2014 guys and I know I have been 2 weeks late in blogging about this but better late then never… Over Christmas last year, I took 22 (including myself, Su Ming (the main organiser) and Nicholas Yu)  intrepid pilgrims seeking an intimate spiritual journey – a pilgrimage of sorts to Nepal. Needless to say,…

Hey guys, I have been busy writing scripts and filming of 11 videos that are meant to promote Kechara’s publications. The following pictures are those filming me in my apartment. The premise of this video is of me writing my books. And its not make belief guys… I do write my books in these comfy…

Christmas is coming around the corner and I love Christmas along with its pretty little presents. Before meeting the Dharma, I have always looked forward to receiving Christmas gifts. Well, I still treasure Christmas but I thought I be different this year. I thought I be a good little generous person and give some gifts…

Last weekend, I had to be down in Singapore for a cousin’s wedding and so, Pastor JJ invited me to go to Modern Buddhist Fellowship. I thought it was a good idea and so, I agreed. When I got to Singapore, Joshua Sim told me that they were going to have a gathering on Sunday…

Tsem Rinpoche always care for all beings around according to their capacity. He had always had a caring concern for animals. In his car, he keeps dog food to feed stray dogs whenever he sees them. Even with his own pet dogs that he calls mumus are loved and well taken cared of. Besides training…

Here a picture of my altar to Lama Tsongkhapa in the living room of my apartment.  Due to a request, I am going to share a thing or two about altars today. I think most Chinese families here in Malaysia have that little “Sun Toi” or ‘Altar to the Gods’ at home. That ubiquitous red…

Ok recently, I was besieged by a friend who was in turmoil with his relationship. I can’t say I had THE solution to his problem because I really don’t. So, all I could do was be a good listener and dispense with some good general advice. In relationships, something really small and simple can be…

Earlier today, this nice picture was sent to me of my dad smiling at the birds in the aviary in Kechara Forest Retreat. This picture prompted me to write this little blog post about my dad. You see, my dad is not the expressive kinda guy and he had always been the quiet man or…

Awhile ago, I was involved in this project to film some really cute instructional videos of how to care for Tsem Rinpoche’s mumus. Mumu is Rinpoche’s term of endearment for his little cute Schnauzers. They were homemade videos so they are a little jerky but they are nonetheless, very cute. The videos are taken of…

Kechara recently celebrated the ordination of new Buddhist Pastors and the renewal of existing Pastors in our very own Wisdom Hall at Kechara Forest Retreat. I couldn’t make it…. Boohoo! Anyway, I heard that it was a simple affair but steeped in the Buddhist tradition of taking upasaka vows or layman vows. This is the 3rd…

That is a very good question because besides being a celebrity host, I am still trying to piece together the multifaceted nature of her personality and the many roles that she plays. I had a very good time working with her during my time as writer and sales executive of the publication arm of Kechara….

Recently, I was requested by H. E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche to share my experience and knowledge of engaging in a Je Tsongkhapa retreat to people who would be interested to engage in it. This is fantastic despite the fact that the last time I performed a Tsongkhapa retreat was many years back. At that time,…

Lately, I have been playing nurse and caretaker to Paul Yap while he is healing from a severe slipped disc condition. He has been going for TCM Tuina massage treatments and the doctor prescribed walking, swimming and hot spring baths. He recommended the nearest hot spring and that’s in Selayang, one of the outskirts of…

When Tsem Rinpoche first started the Kechara Paradise outlets, he noticed that some people would come to the outlets to leave simple offerings in front of the main image there. Hence, Rinpoche brought his personal statues to be placed in these outlets precisely for these people to make offerings. These statues are very holy because…

I have written a book relationships based upon the fantastic observation and teachings of Tsem Rinpoche in the book Conversations In Love. I may not be an expert but I do have some sort of experience being in a toxic relationship. It’s kinda funny talking about this as a man but what the heck, its…

Let’s be honest. I am not really a great animal lover. However, I love Zamkar. He’s an all-white Schnauzer that belongs to Paul, my housemate and confidante. Naturally, they are both in the picture above that I recently took of them. Zamkar loves it when daddy tickles his tummy and when he does that, Zamkar…

Just a few days ago, I was with Rinpoche sitting in front of his Manjushri altar. As the picture above shows, the dominating icon is this large wooden statue of Manjushri with a thousand arms fanning out around him in a complete circle. There were of course various other smaller forms of Manjushri and exotic…

From time to time, people often ask me what do I do for a living and I would naturally reply that I write. You know…that I am a writer. Writer of what? Books and a blog. Of course, I am just deluding myself to think that I am some kinda glorified blogger. Then, I would…

The Stobaughs’ in their younger days.  I came across this amazing story on Facebook recently and I was quite touched by it. I am not really a romantic although I have written a book on Love called Conversations in Love. I know! This is kinda contradictory. But anyway, the wisdom in this book is really…

I was in Melbourne in 2001 and I was doing my final year for my Bachelor of Computing degree. I was just there for like a year but i soaked up some pretty interesting Aussie sights and sounds. I am not sure I did very well with my studies but I sure had the time…

This is the Sitatapatra statue that just arrived in Kechara Forest Retreat. Photo courtesy of Martin Chow. This magnificent 8-feet wood-carved statue of White Umbrella or Dukkar has recently just arrived at Kechara Forest Retreat. She is placed at the Dukkar apartments (aptly named Dukkar after this grand deity) within KFR where volunteers and those…

Smashing Pumpkins…then… Just saw a few pictures of people ravelling in a Smashing Pumpkins concert that’s playing in town right now. Damn! I missed smashing pumpkins again! They were here in the late 90s I think and I wanted to go but couldn’t. I can’t remember why but it was either I didn’t have the…