Child of Tibet

Now...how many of us have the privilege to claim

" I was born while my mother was milking in a windy cowshed, in the countryside....and an hour later the cow herself gave birth."

Can you even imagine it ? That is LIFE as it IS ! and this beautiful women was born just ONE year after i was. Its interesting to observe the stark contrast to life here , isnt it? Maybe my mom could have matched the situation better as she was born in a very remote village in India and her parents were then living in a tiny palm thatched hut.

But my VERY boring story would start something like...

"i was comfortably born with first class facilities in the hospital and brought into a lovely brick house. And definitely no cows in the neighbourhood !

Hahaha.....i bet you wouldnt buy my book if i were to write an autobiography !!! Would you ??

Now...coming back to Soname's flight to freedom, a story of a remarkable woman who was born in Tibet right in the middle of the cultural revolution when the people's devotion to the compassionate Buddha was considered a crime ! How could you wake up every morning bearing the absurd feeling that you are the enemy simply because you are too PEACEFUL !! I mean whats wrong with human beings ? We are the most confused species ever to have walked the earth ...aren't we?

The even more interesting fact to observe in her story is that.....despite the very brutal overthrowing of Buddhist culture by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in order to establish communism in Tibet....Soname NEVER showed signs of resentment or anger in her entire story! Sadness ?...YES.....Pain?...Yes.....Courage? ...Yes....but NO ANGER ! And how could that be ? I guess thats only possible with a nation that was made of 6000 monasteries producing exceptional number of scholars and saints and the Leader was considered to be the living Buddha of compassion. Ordinary illiterate Tibetan knew how to say mantras, turn prayer wheels, do prostrations in front of sacred images and go on pilgrimages.

A child born into a family who believes PEACE is the only way....will not seek revenge against those who held them down and peed into their mouths ....simply for the reason they were NOBLE....

She does not think its natural to hate those who were responsible for her family to starve and suffer and enormous famine.

Here's what she says in her book :

" For all the trauma and poverty, my family coped remarkably well. I can recall times of serenity and even laughter at home. We are by nature a strong, resilient race, with terrific sense of humour. And this helped enormously in those terrible times. And i can honestly say I do not remember any bitterness or resentment in either my family or my fellow countrymen and women. There was just great sadness."

More than anything else, however it was our faith that kept us going.

When i finished this book.....i couldnt help comparing our lives and sometimes it makes me laugh at the things we complain about ..i still believe Malaysia has been a paradise ...not flawless....but definitely bearable....

simply because if a child who was thrown into being a slave at 16 , exploited and deprived of affection, faced starvation and risked death in a 6 week trek for freedom across the Himalayas...later forced to give up her young daughter and being tormented with guilt and heartache ....YET managed to find courage to channel ALL the Pain into something useful for her country and people like raising money to provide first class medical care for the local regardless of caste or creed. She was able to do this since her talent in singing was discovered and she began her career by performing in a nightclub in London to celebrate Tibetan new year. Thats when BBC picked up the event and gave her the opportunity to do an interview which was broadcast all around the world.

Then ...what pain are we talking about ?? Seriously ? Yes ...all human beings will naturally strive for better life....but our efforts has to be channeled through love and peace at heart....no anger or resentment will get us there...In other words....instead of FIGHTING for rights why not pave a peaceful path to it ? Our idea is to get there alive anyway :)

Here are some the links to her for more information :

www.soname.com/charities.html

www.roterlotus.org

www.gtuh.org

Dont Miss a TWIG even !!

Funny that in my last post....i was talking about how we should look around and see things as we walk....and just a few days later i am reminded that i got to look not only left , right ...front and back ....but also UP and DOWN! hahaha....i will tell you why...

Yesterday....Nantha and i went on our usual hiking at Gasing hill trails....but we just decided to leave about half an hour earlier than the usual time....it was beautiful weather...sunny , and also breezy....Perfect it was....

So...we entered the jungle and walked on....chatting and sometimes just quietly enjoying the greens....touching some of our favorite trees.....we naturally look down most of the time...as we need to walk over roots , rocks...broken branches and so on....and as we reached halfway the trail where the observation tower is ...facing the Shivan temple at the opposite hill....theres a wooden platform build recently....where you can sit on or climb and stand on it to enjoy the view ...and as always we had our short water break....

i sat on the wooden bench and Nantha was standing on the platform looking over at the temple....and i took a sip of water....when i saw a small twig falling on the bushes beside me....and naturally i thought it must have been some monkeys moving on the branches above....and since we just passed about 10 to 15 monkeys along the path....it was nothing to be excited about...

so only after about a few seconds...i decided to look up anyway....expecting to spot another monkey.....and right above my head.....a little high up....on a tree top i saw something big moving...but it looked nothing like a monkey...and i realised it was a bird....for another second i thought it was an eagle because it was huge....and its quite common to see eagles around here....but then finally the picture comes clear.....it was bright beautiful red and blue...with its long and pointed lovely tail feathers ...then i noticed its beaks....by now i knew what i was looking at...and my eyes naturally widened in disbelief.....and i uttered something that sounded like...." huh...? oh .....myyyy goddd...." that caught Nantha's attention and he looked up asking...." What"???

I managed to point my finger up at the branch...then ...i heard another " OHHH myyy GoDDD"

And for the next 5 mins we were both looking up at it......still in disbelieve....A red and blue Macaw ??? at Gasing Hill ?? i didnt even manage to spot one in Taman Negara ?? and here i am sitting just 15 mins walk from my home....looking at the most beautiful bird in the world !! Perched so closely that we dont even need a binocular to see it. Of course we have seen them before in the pet stores ...usually chained up like prisoners of nature...but here.....it was all too different....it was for real ! a wild and free bird....it was simply Divine...!! Plus it was a definitely a lot bigger than the ones in the stores....It was like seeing the image in Bhagavad Gita where the story about 2 Macaws perched on a branch...one eating the fruits and one just observing....

Yeah...so we didn't walk for the next few minutes .... i had no heart to leave the place as the bird was still up there....i was hoping it will fly off ...just to see how beautifully it would spread its wings as it takes its flight....but it didn't....so we decided to walk on...as we need to get out before it gets dark....we cant wait too long....

And as we walked back....i was thinking....what if that little twig hadn't fallen right beside me...what if i didn't think there was anything to look up to.....what if i assumed that twig was just "nothing".........wouldn't i have missed something so beautiful....!? Made me even think if that bird intentionally threw that twig down to catch my attention....saying " hey you...look up...i am here" ?? hahaha...i know i sound mystical....but the world really is mystical....is it not ??

And as we walked out of jungle....we met one uncle who also hikes there regularly....he is in his 70's and still keeping fit....so i excitedly told him what we just saw....and he was so surprised as he had been hiking here for the past 15 years !!! and never seen one ....i thought.....hmmm maybe you missed some twigs that fell on your path....maybe you didnt think it was important to look up.... :):)

...of course i didnt have my camera with me....and that makes the experience even more precious...i guess somethings are not meant to be captured .....only shared...so here i am sharing the beautiful experience with you...

Remember to pay attention....to even a twig....for you have no idea whats behind it ! ! :):)

As we walk.....

Imagine 7 billion faces and not one 100 % identical to another....how creative could nature be....? If someone were to ask me to come up with 3 different solutions to a problem...i might bang my head against the wall by the time i get to the 3rd one...but nature has so many ways that we fail to recognize....probably because we are SO ABSORBED on our own path , that we do not see whatever that appears along the way...if only we look out of the box.... we should be getting endless amount of inspiration to create a better life not just for ourselves but for others too..

As you walk..just look around....and watch how life is going by....in a hundred different ways within a range of a few hundred metres ...how would you feel when you are passing by in your car thinking of where to have tea this evening listening to some lovely music on the radio and thankful for the air cond that's keeping you cool despite the blazing sun outside.....and as you slow down at a traffic light along the road....you drive pass a bus stop and you see a fragile old women holding on to some plastic bags and sitting down crying? And before you could even think... the car at the back honks at you to drive on as the traffic light has turned green...so you drive on....and start thinking about where to have tea again....and finally you stop at your favourite kopitiam to have some snacks and drink....have a good chat with your hubby....and then head home...and that night as you go to bed ...pulling the blanket over.....getting cozy and just before you doze off...the fragile old lady appears ...tears trickling down her cheek....with a face that has seen too much pain....how could you even sleep ? Doesn't it make you wonder .....? What could have been the choices made that brought the old lady to a path which lead to a lonely bus stop with a 1000 cars buzzing by every hour and yet NONE to care ?

So....that was just ONE story i observed as i passed by.....there are hundreds and thousands of it....some of it are there...for us to learn from...some comes as tests .... some as warnings..... some as reminders.... some as inspirations... some as lessons....they are not always in the form of people....it could be ANYTHING else....even a rock !

they are all there...! the whole world is an institution for us to learn from... problem is we do not concentrate.... So next time you are passing by .... just look away and SEE whats around.... you will be amazed ! :)

Anyway the picture above was taken by my brother during a family outing recently....and i found it interesting that....all three of them ( Bro in law....brother and cousin ) in it are facing a different side of the same path....and it was a candid shot...i guess thats how life is...we are all heading towards the same thing....only in different ways .....so we see different things....we experience different situations...but we all get there in the end .....:):)