David's Space...

Sights and smells of Penang

I was in Penang last weekend for the launch of Kechara Soup Kitchen there. It was a relatively low key event but we were still graced by the Chief Minister of Penang, YAB Lim Guan Eng. He seemed rather down to earth, attending the event with his wife and son. It was nice, fair-weathered day, with downcast sky and the event was soon over and we took a walk around town. 

From left to right: Mr Ng Wei Aik (Penang State Assemblyman for Komtar), Datuk Dr Victor Wee (Patron of Kechara Soup Kitchen and Chairman of Malaysian Tourism Board), Penang's Chief Minister YAB Lim Guan Eng, Ms Betty Chew (wife of Penang Chief Minister), Dato' Ruby the President of Kechara Soup Kitchen, Ms Patsy Lim (Branch Director of Kechara Soup Kitchen Penang). Congratulations KSK! Kechara is going nationwide! 

No trip to Penang is complete without savouring its rich and vibrant street food. Here in this picture is James Won, Paul and Iryne (not pictured here) tasting the yummy Cendol on Lebuh Keng Kwee. We went to numerous places and tried lots of stuff. Clearly, I overate. There goes my diet regiment!

I just love the old-world charm of these old colonial buildings. However, not all of them are restored beautifully. Now, this dentist looks a little too paranormal. Would you want to get you teeth checked in here?

Most of downtown Georgetown, Penang is best spent walking on the streets. If you were like me, you would be snapping away. Unfortunately, I am not photographer so many of them didn't come out beautifully as they looked in real life. 

In Penang, I met James Ooi, (pictured above with me) and he turned out to be a Penang fan of mine. He read my book, There's No Way But Up and has turned more towards spirituality and has even taken on H.E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche as his spiritual guide. Good for him! Thank god we have Patsy who nurtures him in Penang. He does frequently sms back and forth with me as well. It's really nice to know that people appreciate my book. 

A Buddhist Past...

A visit to the local muzeum was not really on the top of my to-do list. However, I found myself visiting it along with a bunch of my friends from Kechara as part of an educational visit arranged by H. E. Tsem Tulku Rinpoche. We are there not to soak in the culture of Malaysia as we are already Malaysians but to see relics of Malaysia's Buddhist past. 

Everybody knows that Malaysia is predominantly Muslim today but this was not so, over a thousand years ago. The Malay archipelago (which include Malaysia and the Indonesian islands) were then predominatly Hindu-Buddhist. Smaller and larger Malay kingdoms rose and fell throughout history. At that time, they were a thriving civilisation that were heavily influenced by India due to trade routes bringing Indian traders that have been ploughing through the region for over a millenia. 

This ancient 8-armed Amoghapasha Avalokiteshvara statue is one of the few relics of that past. Its serene smile hints of the turbulent moments in history that only its bronze eyes have seen. Who commissioned this statue? Who prayed and made offerings to this this divine statue? 

We may never know as the muzium does not have much to say about it and have relegated it to prehistory of Malaysia. The muzium have very little artifacts from this period except a few scant pottery shards, beans and worn-out sculptures. There is little archelogical explanation which perhaps is reflective of today's prevalent belief system. This period is very much a past that seemed glossed over, unwanted and very much under-researched. 

Whatever it is, Hinduism and Buddhism arrived here and set the seeds of the local culture to germinate into the modern Malay culture. Perhaps, with this somewhat Tantric emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the earlier waves of Tantra may have arrived here much earlier as well. This statue is an exciting find and a very interesting clue to what Malaysia was like back then. 

And not only Malaysia but what the whole region was like, especially when Atisha arrived on the Indonesian Isles to study under the great Bodhichitta master, Serlingpa. I left the muzeum wishing there were most exhibits and explanations from this era of our history. 

Way Up North...

Over the weekend, I went up to the island state of Penang. Here are some of the pictures I took on my Blackberry...

I saw this picture when I went to visit the Tzu Chi Foundation center there. I recalled many times that Rinpoche had likened Kechara to be a ship crossing the turbulent ocean of Samsara to rescue those caught up by its waves. Some make it up the ship while others prefer to remain in the water. The captain is of course Tsem Rinpoche and the liaisons are the oarsmen or whatever they call them. Ahoy! All crew on board! Let's set sail!

I also paid a visit to the quiet and contemplative Jingsi Books and Cafe in Penang. I liked the minimalist decor and books but majority of the literature were in Chinese and the few English books were not really up my alley. But I must say that the organic instant rice and noodles were rather enticing but a tad bit too wholesome for my toxic dump of a body. Everybody was so quiet, goody-goody and just so prim and proper which gave birth to nasty thoughts of screaming and laughing real loud or breaking into an obnoxious Hokkien song. Of course I wouldn't do those nasty things! I finally just relaxed to a multigrain cuppa and was struggling to stay awake. Don't get me wrong, it was all great. I was just sleepy. 

 
No trip to Penang is complete without a visit to Kechara Paradise on Chulia Street. I know I am a true blue Kecharian when I felt at home here with all the quaint Tibetan Buddha statues and thangkas. Lama Tsongkhapa never felt more welcoming than ever and I felt really proud because even in this distant Penang branch of Kechara Paradise, we are as beautiful as ever. Pasty Gooi lovingly takes care of Kechara Paradise along with other activities that she does up there in Penang. Check out more pictures of this store at http://www.kechara.com/shopping/locations/kechara-paradise-penang/

 Patsy Gooi in Kechara Paradise Penang

Escape to Nepal

Bouddhanath Stupa

                                            Kechara Lounge @ Bouddhanath

Some friends just returned from Nepal and they got me dreaming about Nepal. I would like to go to Nepal too but I guess I can't afford it at this time. The next best thing would be to travel with my mind. The picture above is very iconic of Nepal and it is the largest Stupa in Nepal called the Bouddhanath Stupa. It was built a long, long time ago and is believed to contain relics of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni. Hence, it is one of the biggest mecca for Buddhists, from around the world. It is so old that Atisha, Guru Rinpoche and many other great Indian and traveling Tibetan masters have been here to do pilgrimage. It is amazing! We have since set up Kechara Lounge just facing the circumambulation circuit around the Stupa. The second picture is that of Kechara Lounge and it is facing the Stupa. Here is a link on our official website - http://www.kechara.com/lounge/kechara-in-nepal/kechara-in-nepal/

Patan's Durbar Square

I love these ancient buildings and the hustle and bustle there because just being there made me feel like I was transported back into time during the great Patan Kings. I just have to replace the cars and bikes with horses and bullock-carts. The old grand buildings are little royal temples and the actual square belonged to the royal palace of the old kings. Almost every corner of this vast square makes an excellent photo opportunity. 

Chenrezig Temple

This Chenrezig temple is really an old temple with amazing bas-relief images of the various forms of Chenrezig carved all around the temple. The temple's inner sanctum is inaccessible to all except the caretaker or a priest. However, it is not very big so one can see the white hallowed face of Chenrezig within and make offerings of flowers, incense or butter lamps and recall our own spiritual aspirations. The caretaker will take your offerings and place it within. 

Dukkar or Sitatapatra or White Umbrella with a thousand hands and thousand faces

I saw this amazing White Umbrella statue at a store in Nepal. I just love it and at around 3-4 feet, this is the biggest statue of White Umbrella I have ever seen. I think someone did mention seeing a similar statue at one of those antique shops in KL and they were retailing it for over RM200k!! I dare not ask the price though and I doubt this statue is still in there after all these years if I returned to ask. But it would have been a grand image for my altar. (I know, I am such a pagan Buddhist...Hehehe!)

 

Vajracharya Priest and his Flock

I saw this sepia photo of a Vajracharya along with his 'flock' in the hotel. I love it so much that I took a picture of it and unfortunately the glass on the photo was highly reflective. This is the old Nepalese society and even then, the monastics of Buddhism did not survive and was largely replaced by the lay Vajracharya priests that perform Tantric rituals for the benefit of the community. The star design on his robes hint that he might be a Vajrayogini priest. I found that intriguing and that was another reason why I snapped this picture.  

Manjushri's spot on Swayambhunath Hill

This is another exceptionally sacred spot on Swayambhunath hill. This spot is near the famous Swayambhunath Stupa, another great icon of Nepal. This place is largely an empty square lined with trees and abundant fluttering prayer flags. According to Rinpoche, this place is sacred to Manjushri, the Buddha's student, who is also considered to be the Buddha of wisdom as well. He is believed to appear at a certain time of the year to teach the worldly gods. However, only those with clairvoyance or with the third eye can perceive him  and many people have in the past. In this picture, we were propitiating Manjushri's blessings by receiving oral transmission of his mantra and propitiating him with his praise.  

A Naropa Statue in His Meditational Cell

This statue was offered to represent Naropa in a small little cell that was said to be his cave centuries ago. Naropa is said to have experienced extreme privation under the tutelage of his Guru, Tilopa and is believed to have achieved enlightenment soon after receiving teachings and a Vajravarahi initiation. He beheld Vajravarahi in a new form that is now known as Vajrayogini, who initiated him into her practice. Thus, Rinpoche's lineage of Vajrayogini stems from this divine beginnings. We were so fortunate to be able to make offerings, mantras and prayers here. Naropa's pure devotion to his master was a source our inspiration and we prayed to have similar devotion in our practice so we achieve his same state of pure awakening. 

For more pictures and stories of Nepal, check out Vajrayogini Coffee Table Book:- http://vajrasecrets.com/products-by-category/books/english-books/vajrayogini-and-other-sacred-power-places-in-nepal.html

Paradise Found In a Theme Park!

After Kek Look Thong, we decided it was too big of a rush to head to the Lost World of Tambun so we checked into a hotel and stayed overnight. The next day after breakfast, we drove over to the theme park. The theme park was nice but the backdrop view of the mountains made it spectacular. The theme park had a hotspring, some fun water rides and many interesting theme park rides. However, we didn't come all this way to enjoy just another theme park. One of the other highlights of this park is the Petting Zoo and that was where we were heading. There were sections for rabbits, guinea pigs, hedgehogs and much more.

Then, there was the huge aviary pictured above and it was so big, there is a little stream that flows right through the middle with numerous trees planted throughout the aviary. Part of the aviary is covered on top for birds that don't want to shower when it rains. Although the picture below is devoid of birds but the aviary is actually full of birds of all shapes and sizes flying around, chirping and basically looking for little seeds to peck. 

 

The aviary is filled with gentle bird songs, bubbling of the gentle stream and the rustling of the green trees. This is just the perfect environment that Rinpoche had been longing for and I think he would like to recreate this beautiful aviary one day. Look at the little birds walking all over the little path. I saw one boy held out his hand that was filled with seeds and half a dozen little birds flew onto his hands to peck at the little seeds. It was such a heavenly experience! 

 

 

Colourful birds abound and if you feed them right, they might even let you stroke their beautiful heads and allow you to voice a few mantras to bless them. After leaving the aviary, we chanced upon this lake with a fantastic view. So we hired paddle boats to enjoy the view. Here is a selection of photos for your viewing pleasure...

Ipoh is so lucky! There are beautiful limestone mountains all over and they all look like they came out from a Chinese painting. 

"That's all folks!", screams Paris. Well actually, she is just screaming to the camera. Great having you with us on our sojourn to Ipoh. We bought lots of gifts from the Theme park giftshop for our friends back home. It was one great adventure and unlike my bland pictures and writing, Rinpoche always makes every moment exciting and a great adventure. So, it is back to KL....

A Cave Hideaway

After the brief visit to the Arowana fish farm, we had a delicious vegetarian lunch and planned our visit to Kek Look Tong cave temple. We were rather worried because it started to rain midway through our meal but it died down not long after. So, Seng Piow armed with his GPS 'thing-a-magic' led the way. Rinpoche teased Wai Meng all the way because he was born in Ipoh but hardly knew the roads and so his 'GPS' just didn't work. (He He!)

We parked near the entrance of the cave and quickly noticed the large yawning mouth of the cave. Next to the cave is a large Kuan Yin statue standing serenely in the middle of a little man-made pond. We tossed coins at Kuan Yin's feet only to discover there is actually a little pot for that reason. However, only Wai Meng and Monlam managed to get a coin to rest on Kuan Yin's lotus with KWPC in mind of course. It is a Chinese belief that those who coins enter the little pot or onto Kuan Yin's feet, she will fulfill a wish. There were lots of beautiful and ethereal koi fishes swimming around the placid pool. 

 

After joking and teasing, we entered into the cave and what we saw took our breath away. The sheer immensity of the cave and the cool breeze blowing right through was refreshing. The floor was completely cemented and part of the walls are layered with marble. Across the main hall is an altar enshrining 3 rather refined statues of 3 Taoist patriachs.

We took a flight of steps towards a deeper part of the cave that brought us eventually to a bright shining exit. Just before the mouth of the exit is 3 rather beautiful Chinese statues of Buddha Vairochana flanked by Bodhisattva Samantabhadra and Manjushri upon 3 pedestals! I love the refined detail of these statues! Just check out the picture of Manjushri and me. I dunno why I love Manjushri so much and so I gave a really big fat smile just for Manjushri. (Maybe because I am just stupid and Manjushri is wisdom... Get it?)

There was a Weituo (A Chinese Protector, emanation of Vajrapani) and a Chinese emanation of Maitreya as the fat laughing Buddha. Rinpoche paid obeisance to him and we walked towards the light and what emerged was a Shangrila-like green garden guarded by magnificent limestone mountains. All of us went wow! I certainly didn't expect this! It was like we have discovered the hidden kingdom of Shambala! 

 

We could hear the birds chirping, insects creaking away and the low humming sound of the nearby factory almost spoilt the whole natural setting. As we walk around the lake, we could see a large pylon nearby that brought the place down a little. Nonetheless, the garden was still very well maintained and we got ourselves settled in a Chinese pavilion for a puja. 

Just before the puja, Rinpoche told us of his plans for Kechara Animal Sanctuary and how much Sara had affected him. He said he is taking a bank loan and going ahead although he has very little financial support for his plans. He said he was held back by fears and worries before but seeing Sara suffer, he felt selfish and decided to go full-steam ahead. He told all of us to do the same with ourselves and not let small hurdles and setbacks hold us back because years down the line, we would regret not putting our best and the huge setbacks and problems would seem small and insignificant. 

Somewhere along the line, Rinpoche taught us how to propitiate Setrap in times of danger or when we are in a haunted location. The following is the visualisation that Rinpoche taught and I am repeating here to the best of my memory...

First, we visualise lights from a multitude of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas flow forth and merge into Setrap. From Setrap's image, red lights flow forth and make a multitude of offerings back to all these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Then little red Setraps emerge from these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the form of red lights that flow into the crown of our heads and fill every part of our body with red light. This red light overflows from the pores of the body and completely envelopes our body in a red bubble.  

This visualisation is to be accompanied by the recitation of Setrap's mantra. After Rinpoche taught this visualisation, we did our puja and black tea to Setrap. Just before we left, Rinpoche noticed this tree and mentioned that he really like trees like this one that spreads its branches generously all over. I think he mentioned that he would like trees like this in his Ladrang. 

We took a slow stroll back to the car while enjoying the green vegetation and Rinpoche cheerfully telling us what Buddha statue he would place at almost every corner of the park! He told us many unusual ideas and even asked for a few ideas from us. However, I really liked his idea of a large Balinese stone-carved Tara statue that is smiling and overgrown with moss. 

That's all folks! This is a last silly grin from me and the Kek Look Thong stork saying good bye for now...

Where Dragon Fishes are bred...

Well, there is really no such thing as a dragon fish. But to the Chinese, the Arowanas look remarkably similar to a dragon. Although they are highly prized the Chinese because of that but these fishes are not indigenous of this region but are actually from South America. They were obviously brought over a long time ago. There are three main types of Arowanas - the red, gold and green. These are of course the colour of their beautiful dragon-like scales. 

On our journey to ipoh, I drove Fat Monk and Monlam up along the highway along with Jamie, Jean Ai and Wai Meng in Jamie's car. Our first destination was the Arowana fish farm and we found our way on a dirt road filled with large industrial fish farms that reared Arowanas. We found our way to Bintong farm and rendezvoused with Rinpoche soon after to check out the farm.

Adolescent and adult Arowanas are reared in these large tanks. Arowanas are predators in their natural habitat where they prey on small fishes and insects in shallow lakes and rivers. Arowanas can live up to 80 years old if they are kept in ideal conditions. 

Here are the incubation tanks where the little Arowanas babies are nursed to maturity. Here, Rinpoche is asking me whether I want to take rebirth as a baby Arowana. I said no of course but the very thought bothered me for a the next hour. 

Look at these poor fellas, having to carry their yoke sacs until maturity. It ain't fun to take rebirth as one of these guys only to live in a small glass tank for the rest of their long lives!

These are the love ponds of the Arowanas and this is where the male and female Arowanas are placed for love-making and of course reproduction. Arowanas are 'mouthbrooders', which means the male keeps the little Arowanas in their mouths until maturity. The caretaker here told us that a typical male fish take approximately 40 to 50 little babies and they don't eat for that entire month. That is also how the caretaker notice that Arowanas have babies. The male fishes surface at night and the head of the male fishes that are carrying babies are noticeably larger. Rinpoche thinks this is fantastic as it is very rare to have the male take responsibility of child-bearing in the animal realm. 

Here, Monlam gives his best impression of an inviting male Arowana fish - steady, strong, and promises to take care of children... Well not in his mouth of course! Paris! Take hint!