My thoughts on Vipassana

(Dhamma server: April 25-May 6, 2012, Cebu City, Philippines)

 

before dawn strikes, we were up for the serving... 

 

our lunch in one of the meditation days...

1.        The secret of it all lies on the tip of our nose, the gateway of our breath.

2.       We all have our paths to tread. 

3.       The type of journey or travel we take in life is dependent on our self-awareness.

4.       Noble silence is a requisite to gaining awareness.

5.       Detachment is a path to happiness.

6.       Detachment is a challenge in many forms.  Most of it, we find difficult to let go as it is in our list of ‘goodness’.

7.       Our craving to the habit patterns of the mind is a strong enemy we need to battle daily.

8.       Self-discipline is a requisite to it all.  It does not come easy. 

9.       We have to work things out.

10.   The egos that we have can mushroom into bigger forms in the pretext of humility.

11.   Being dependent on others for directions and sustenance can be very scary.

12.   As to when we get out of the real misery, we really don’t know.  But the best step takes place when we somehow understood it all.

13.   We always have our own personal motivation to serve in a course.  For whatever reason, we get purified in the process if we are just open to it.

14.   Serving either inflates or deflates our egos.  Let us be mindful.

15.   We should always start again.

More fun in the Philippines

The right to play

I helped a friend do some research with the Eskaya Communities located in the towns of Candijay, Duero and Sierra Bullones in Bohol Province. It was his last day of research and I tagged along happy to be his interpreter. (My interest: is added knowledge on the Eskayan culture and a good roadtrip on a Sunday!) On our way to one of the communities, we passed by this happy scene of people playing basketball.

Browsing through these photos (taken months ago), reaffirmed my belief that kids have the right to play... Happy children's month.

This time it is for granny

The month of October is dedicated for children. I dedicate my re-blogging commitment to the grannies who generally smothers the children with spoiling love and affection.

The above photo was taken in my trip to Chiangmai in October 2008. She did not dress up to the occasion of receiving an 'alien' in her house. She was very much dressed up to do the winnowing of their rice produce. She patiently did the pounding and the winnowing amidst laughter and antics of her grandchildren (or great-grandchildren).

With grace and wisdom, she answered all my questions and still continued to do her task. When I kidded about how seriously good she was at her task, she smiled and replied... she is preparing the rice for her 'children'...