Sunday, December 30, 2012
Fire of Hope
The freezing wind slaps on
everyone’s face. It’s winter. Everyone wishes to be in a warm house with a
fireplace. On a snowy day outside, there was nothing on the hills but three
black spots. As the camera zoomed forward, it was three lost men under the
blizzard.
Walking under the freezing snow,
they could still put a smile on their face as they see the white silent
mountain. To get some warmth, they need to gather some wood to start a fire
with. A fire of hope is what they need now.
It seemed to be a lucky day as
one of them found a few stakes.
But the one of them wasn’t really
happy of it. He was tired and discouraged, not knowing where to go. The fire of
hope above him slowly died out.
The other two men laughed when
they see the stakes. They were so grateful that they hugged the stakes and
kissed it. But on the next moment, they began to worry. They’ve got a blunt axe
that could barely chop the stakes into smaller logs. Even if the stakes have
been smaller, they don’t have any matches to start a fire with.
The one with the fire still
burning in his heart began to distribute tasks and encouraged the disappointed
member. He asked of his help in this because he believes that the only way to
stay alive is to work together, and to do that, he must encourage his partner.
Then, they worked together and chopped the stakes in smaller logs. The fire of
hope above them was burning brighter and brighter. It’s till then that the
third partner realized that he actually had a box of matches.
As they evenly arranged the logs,
they started to carry the logs together. The second partner humorously told the
third partner “I still have frozen turkeys with me.”
Postscript:
I
personally like this story. Three of them had a different encounter and they
all have their ways to solve problems. But more importantly, it is about that
fire of hope above them.
Everyone
has hope. You may never realize it, but even if we don’t know whether we’ll
still be able to wake on the next day, we would still pack our bags, plan our
time and be prepared for tomorrow. This is an act of hope.
After
World War 2, the world was plunged into a cold war period. Who was the one to
take the initiative to make friends with Chine, and Russia, then America? It’s
Mr. Ikeda.
However,
having hope but taking no action is useless. The China revolutionist,
Sun Yat-Sen once said, “We must have a great ambition to accomplish great
things. We must be courageous and determined.” Mr. Ikeda’s had
always take the initiative to accomplish great things without fear. He always
believes that “it will work”.
Those
who fought along him, Mrs. Kaneko, the translators, the chiefs and the members
from all over the world had always been chanting for Mr. Ikeda’s victory.
Everyone’s Daimoku is a significant symbol of hope.
The fire of hope shall never be
extinguished. It is a tragedy to live without hope. “Hope” is a kind of
mission as well. Everyone must plant a seed of hope in each other’s heart. The
mission of kosen-rufu is a mission of planting hope. Daimoku is like fertilizer
for the seed of hope. With our action and Daimoku, anything could be victorious.
Mr. Ikeda has proven this. The propagation of ideology of world peace was done
by Mr. Ikeda, along with everyone’s hope, it has become a successful move!
Come!
It’s time to spread hope around. Action is the one
thing that motivates the growth of hope.
Shared by,
Green.
Translated by,
Happy.
Labels: q. rojak article sharing
Wind and Chime
Ring~
Ding~ Ding~
Ring~
Ding~ Ding~
The sound
resonates in the silent space
Along
with the gentle wind, it dances
I have loved the sound of a chime
ever since I was a kid. Its melody is always so pure and peaceful. It has a
music of its own that even the strongest gale could never destroy. To me, that
was a song of joy.
On one windy day, I heard that sound
again. Only this time, I found it annoying as the gale slaps the sound of chime
into my ears. I scowled.
There I was, sitting on a bench at
the corridor, hoping that the warming Sun would caress my skin. Out of a sudden…
*BANG! A chime, huge as my size suddenly sat beside me out of nowhere.
Frightened by its presence, I stood up and yelled at it “Stop making that
irritating noise! Stop it now!”
The gale left us in silence. I could
only see tears flowing out of the chime’s eyes. Ever since then, it had never
made a single sound.
“My ability brings no pride, when it was the
wind’s power;
My voice is nothing but the movement of
air;
And I, am nothing but that.”
The chime sighed and belittled its
value. I shook my head and replied:
“Only
a chime could show us the power of wind,
Listen
to the sound!
Tell
the world how charming that melody could be.”
On that very night, the Moon joined
the starry sky as I lie on my bed. I reminisce about the songs we sang
together. What a wonderful song.
Postscript:
To the author, everything exists
with a mutualism relationship. As what was written, without the gliding wind, a
chime could never sing its melody. In contrary, we would never see the gentle
side of a gale if it wasn’t for the chime.
There are lots of beautiful things
on Earth. While most of us could feel the wind glide through our skin, who
could be able to hear its song? With the help of a chime, the wind could sing a
song now!
Have you been to one of Mr. Ikeda’s
photography exhibition? It is named as “A Dialogue with Nature”. I personally
like the photo named “White Bench of Montreal”. That bench looked like as if it
knows how to sing. It was calling me to rest upon it, as the sunlight warms me
up.
The white bench appeared to be extra
comfortable out of the green field at the back. If I were a passer-by at that
place, I could be sitting on the bench for a long time! If the bench had never
existed, I guess every passer-by will only admire the scenery for a few moments
and leave without a strong impression.
When things are combined together, it’ll always
give us a different feeling or impression. If we could have a few moments of silence
to admire the good things around us, that could be joyful! Just like Mr. Ikeda,
I think that we should learn to have an attitude to appreciate everything
around us, no matter how busy we are.
Shared by,
Green.
Translated by,
Happy.
Labels: q. rojak article sharing
Saturday, December 29, 2012
The Love of a Father
A
pregnant woman, holding her tears as much as she could, was rushed into the
delivery room. Under the freezing air conditioner in the hospital, there stood
a kid, shivering as he mumbled “mommy…”. Beside the little kid, there was a skinny
old man with a black plastic bag on his hand. Both of them seemed to be wearing
shirts that were worn out, not to mention the shoes.
“Don’t
cry. Daddy will bring you to the canteen for a drumstick alright?” The old man’s
words put me in silence for a moment. He was the kid’s father.
Knowing
that he’ll be getting a drumstick, the kid seemed to have forgotten what was
bothering him. The father carefully brought the kid to the canteen and took the
seats by the corner. As for me, I was sitting quite near to them, so near that
I could get a clear view of what they’re having. The kid was enjoying his
drumstick as the old man pulls a bread out of the plastic bag.
It looked
like the bread came with black sesame jam on it, or at least, what I hoped for
it to be. The old man scowled from his first bite. Nevertheless, looking at his
child enjoying his meal, the old man smiled as he continued to finish the
expired bread. I could find no other word to describe the scene but “love”. My
eyes were drowned in tears.
This
reminded me of my grandfather. He was a strict and serious person. I used to
have those strips of red marks on my skin. I was always afraid of him because
he hardly smiles. It was till I grew up that I found out about grandfather’s
way of loving me. He never expressed it with words, but he was always there to
love and care about me. Sometimes, he’d keep on bugging grandmother just to ask
about me. Then sometimes, he would put my favourite food in the fridge, or
prepare my favourite soft-boiled egg as breakfast. I could still remember that
he used to peek at me when I sleep. He would bring out the cane when I come
home late, he’d comment on the way I dress myself, but I could never forget his
love. It has no difference with that of my grandmother, as true and sincere as
hers.
The love
of a father is always considered to be strict but sincere out of the norm of
the Eastern countries. But it was never lesser than the love of a mother. Mr.
Ikeda is always overseas for the mission of kosen-rufu. He had little time to
see his own children, but it never stopped him from loving them. Whenever he
goes, he will always send them a postcard to express his love to them.
The love
of Mr. Toda towards Mr. Ikeda was strict as well, but behind his serious action,
there laid his trust and expectation towards Mr. Ikeda. “Daisaku, what books
have you read today?” Mr. Toda often ask about Mr. Ikeda’s progress to check
whether he had given his effort into his studies. Mr. Ikeda had never slowed
down his pace. Despite his health condition, he continuously strived for the
members’ happiness.
Perhaps
you’re having a strict and serious father as well, a father that you do not
dare to communicate with. Nevertheless, the love of your father will always be
as precious as the love of your mother. I could still reminisce of holding my
grandfather’s hand as we walked through the road. It makes me warm. Perhaps you
could use your
own ways to express your love towards your father. It could be an act of giving a card, a cup of water
or even a hug. I believe your actions will delight your father. Gratitude
is the best way to repay their love.
Shared
by,
Green.
Translated
by,
Happy.
Labels: q. rojak article sharing
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The "Almost Invisible Fish" - 2
After a few days, the Octopus
Teacher paid the little fish a visit. Together, they waited by the shores. The
little fish wasn’t aware of his teacher’s intention, yet he never planned to
ask.
“Oh, look! That little human girl
over there! She comes to the beach everyday to guide those lost little crabs and
starfish home.”
The teacher then explained to his
pupil, “Perhaps many of the humans have forgotten to appreciate and protect us.
But even the sea will have its angry waves at times. Sometimes, the wave might
even destroy our houses. But do we get mad at the sea? Look at that human girl,
would you want to be angry at her?” As soon as the teacher finished, he waited
for a reply.
“I don’t
know! But I’m heartbroken, and mad…” The little fish started crying…
“I still
believe in the human. Living on the same planet, it makes us a big family. Part
of the people might be damaging the sea, but there are people who are working
hard to protect us too! Just like that little girl!”
After that day, the little fish
decided to swim across to look at the people who protect the sea. Looking at
the people who works hard to keep the beach’s cleanliness, at the happy smiles
of the people and the fishes, he began to feel relieved. He misses is family,
but decided not to harm the humans anymore. He trusts that there are always
some people out there to protect the great blue sea.
Ever since then, the little fish is
living its life happily again. In the end, he learned to make friends with the
people!
Postscript:
Are you having something in your
mind that makes you unhappy like the little fish? I could be like that too
sometimes. But we must always chant in front of Gohonzon and open up the door
to our hearts. Only till then could we allow the light of Buddhism to enter our
life. The little fish had no Gohonzon, but with his teacher’s guidance and his
determination, he was able to open up his heart to see the good side of
everything. If our hearts remain closed, we might not see what’s good and we
may see everything in a negative way.
Mr. Ikeda’s Ichinen and faith in us
will always be there. He believes that there are many of us who would come to a
self-realization and start making a change to protect the Earth. He believes
that in everyone’s life, there is Buddhahood
and benevolence.
We make mistakes at times, and it
often makes people unhappy. But this isn’t a time to feel bad, instead, we
should self-reflect and start improving ourselves to solve the problem. Adding
up an apology, I’m sure that we can make things better. Mr. Ikeda always
appreciate people of courage. From mistakes
and problems, we grow and learn together!
Shared by,
Green.
Translated
by,
Happy.
Labels: q. rojak article sharing
Rock of Value
I remember hearing somebody asking “How much is the value of life?”
Well, what’s your own answer for the question? This reminds me of a story:
There was a boy, troubled and full of doubts. He then
complaint to his teacher, “Teacher, I ruin everything I do. Everyone says that
I’m useless. What should I do?” The teacher never answered that question, but
smiled. One day, the teacher gave him a piece of rock and added, “Take this
piece of rock and ‘sell’ it at the market tomorrow. But remember, you’re not
really ‘selling’ it. Don’t sell it to anyone regardless of the price they
offer.”
The boy
followed. He came to realized that quite a number of people were interested in
that piece of rock. They’ve been offering quite a great amount of money. As he
was told, the boy never sell the piece of rock to anyone. His story was soon
spread around the market. Everybody calls the rock a “precious stone”!
-End-
What have you seen from the story? Personally, I think
that it enlightened me. Speaking of the value of life earlier, it reminds me
that when we learn to treasure the value of our own life, its value increases.
It is quite often that we evaluate the value of a person’s life according to
their wealth and luck. For example, some of the people might say, “That girl’s
from a rich family. Her life is much more precious! There are always bodyguards
around her!”
Nevertheless, everybody’s life is equal in the eye of
Buddhism. Everyone goes through stages of birth, aging, sickness, and death.
You will get old regardless of how rich you are. Hence, it is a fair game for
everyone. We may be born with different identity and karma, but the rights of
our life are the same. The value of life is determined by how we live everyday
in joy and great spirit.
How is Mr. Ikeda creating more values with his life?
Here’s what he said, “I spend a day’s time as if it’s one whole week.
Therefore, I would have created 900 years of value without the need to live
till a hundred years old.” Mr. Ikeda, as everyone of us, is unable to live for
900 years. But we should learn from him to create values over 900 years in
life. Mr. Ikeda added, “Everyone should appreciate every minute of their life
and live through it as if it’s a hundred years of time. Our life will end up
being empty if we waste the time of our life.” The well-known Italian painter,
Davinci once said that, “An enriched day will bring us to a good slumber at
night. An enriched life brings a peaceful ending. Therefore we must enrich our
everyday life and create more and more value
each day.
The value of life is like the piece of rock in the
story. It’s value increases when you learn to appreciate it. When we learn to cherish life, life will then be
meaningful and with values.
Written by,
Winnies.
Translated by,
Happy.
Labels: q. rojak article sharing
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Door to Infinite Potential
In today’s art class, the teacher is going to teach us how to make a kite. Steven was delighted as he heard the news. He’d always liked to have a kite.
Steven: “Jeez, how come I couldn’t make this kite look nice?”
Mandy: “What’s going on Steven? Why are you mumbling?”
Steven: “It’s the kite! I couldn’t make it
look nice. It looks odd and distorted. I give up!”
Mandy: “Steven, please don’t give up just like
that. Haven’t you been hoping for a kite? We’ll come across problems when we do
anything. But the important part is that we don’t give up halfway. Problems are
only there for us to grow stronger and becoming a better person. Only through
problems can we learn to do greater things.”
Steven: “But… but this is really difficult.”
Mandy: “Well, actually it’s not that difficult
if only you have a stronger perseverance and determination. Every outstanding
achievement comes from a million failures. This is why we must never give up.
If we gave up halfway, we can never make things happen. Don’t run away from
problems, but overcome them.”
Steven: “I understand. I’ll learn to change my
bad habit and never give up on what I do.”
Mandy: “Let’s finish the kite together then.”
Steven: “Thanks, Mandy.”
Mandy: “You’re welcomed. We’re good friends
aren’t we?"
Postscript:
No matter what kind of challenge we’re facing, we should overcome them and not be manipulated. If we never train ourselves up, we might never know how much potential buried in ourselves. The journey of life is to continuously discover more about our potential, to endlessly grow and advance. Mr. Ikeda once said that, “It’s us who could train ourselves; our growth shall depend on our own effort.” Therefore, we must be confident of ourselves and overcome each and every challenge that comes our way.
Scientist and inventors often go through numerous failures before they could succeed. It is from failures that they train themselves up in becoming a person of perseverance and determination. An outstanding person is a person that never stop learning. Hence, never give up upon problems, but learn from it. Not only will this make our future full of value and meaning, but it allows us to stand strong on the stage of victory as well.
Mr. Ikeda once mentioned that, “Regardless of age or position, people with great spirit who are always learning and growing will the ones to continuously open up the door to infinite potential.” Remember to never give up on exploring and discovering our own potential. You may not know what you could do until you really tried.
Shared by,
Casey Lim.
Translated by,
Happy.
Labels: q. rojak article sharing
The "Almost Invisible Fish" - 1
In
today’s lesson, the Octopus Teacher gave his pupils a piece of assignment,
which is to write an article about a self-introduction of a fish. The
submission will be a week’s time. At this very moment, one of the Octopus
Teacher’s pupils, a white translucent little fish left the classroom
dejectedly.
A
week’s time passed. The pupils submitted their article. But the only article
that caught the teacher’s attention, was the one written by the translucent little
white fish. The Octopus Teacher quickly read through the article.
“I live a care-free life. I have a grandfather, a
grandmother, a father, a mother, a pair of elder sister and brother, and a pair
of younger brother and sister. And then, there’s me, a white fish. We look for
food together, and we dance and sing together. I appeared to be a little more
translucent than my other family members, hence they call me the “almost invisible
fish”. I have no worries in my life, and I make good friends with my
neighbours. I’m the happiest fish in the sea.
One day, misfortune came knocking on my door. Just
when I was greeting the corals, I saw a huge fish that looks like a big net. I
could still remember my grandparents talking to that net-like fish. But before
they even know it, that net-like fish swallowed them, and all the other fishes
near it. It was astonishing, yet I find it awkward as I could still see all the
fishes struggling after being swallowed by that net-like fish. Some of the
fishes succeeded in escaping, unfortunately, not my grandparents.
Ever since then, I was never happy. Soon, my cousins
told me that the net-like fish wasn’t even of our kind. It was something like a
tool used by the human to catch us. The human invaded my world, they took away
my elder brother and sister when they sacrificed themselves to keep me safe.
From then, I wasn’t just unhappy, but upset!
After those years, the human began to act oddly. They
do not catch us anymore, but they stay on the boat and glance at us. I could
see them up close as I swim nearer to the shores. Just when they weren’t paying
attention, I gave them a great bite.
One day, there were more and more people coming to the
shores. There was a young human who couldn’t swim well in the sea. I knew this
is my chance, without a second thought, I gave her a bite and tear his skin
out! The human was frightened and retreated back to the land. This is the
happiest thing I’ve ever done.
The
Octopus Teacher paused for a while and began to think as he finished reading
the article.
Postscript:
That
human who got bit by the “almost invisible fish” is me! But come to think of
it, I could somehow understand the feeling of that fish.
On
the 28th of November 2011, I went to Pulau Manukan for a trip. The
scenery was charming, and it was relaxing. But when I see the plastic bags and
bottles floating on the surface of the sea, I felt depressed.
The Earth
appears blue because of the oceans that took up 3 quarters on the Earth’s
surface. But the creatures who live on the land could spread their disposed
items throughout the whole world. It is such a shame. We’ve destroyed the
homeland of the fishes.
The
corpses of dead corals and shells were found everywhere on the beach. I could
see a few shite fishes struggling for life by the shore.
Being
part of the Earth, we must learn to protect it, and have an attitude such as Mr.
Ikeda who respects the environment. We often talk about peace in between human,
but what about peace in between people and the land they live on? It is because
of our greed that has destructed our beautiful Mother Earth. Our actions caused
pain to the “almost invisible fish”.
If
the “almost invisible fish” can really express its feeling and emotion, it
would appear to be mad at what we’ve done. If every fish has feeling and
emotion, do you think that they’re truly happy? Are they willing to live to
captured by the people?
Can
the “almost invisible fish” find a better way to express its feelings? What
would it do next?
To be continue…
Shared by,
Green.
Translated by,
Happy.
Labels: q. rojak article sharing
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