Winza

Last weekend i attended the Victorian SGI youth camp which was two day mini training course about Nichiren Buddhism and personal development. This year we had the camp at Merricks Lodge in the Westernport Bay area. I must say it was an amazing experience going away for two days just to learn and discuss about Buddhist philosophy. It was a fun, relaxing atmosphere and people were so friendly and talkative. Even the shy ones participated in the discussion.

We have had endless discussions about the concepts of mentor and disciple, ichinen sanzen (the three thousand realms of life), the human potential, human revolution and various other topics.

The first discussion was about freedom and what it means to be free. From what I’ve learnt, the word freedom has different meanings based on different perspectives, choices and purposes in life. Some people think that freedom is not being affected by society while others view freedom as not being affected by the current situation by negativity. Whatever meaning we put to it, freedom denotes happiness and it comes with responsibility. In other words, we are responsible for our own happiness through our beliefs which are manifested by our words and actions and in turn affect our immediate environment. It is connected to awareness and clarity, about the purpose of our lives. And from what I’ve learnt, this concept sounds very simple but it sometimes need reinforcement, especially during times of hardship. As long as we know what the purpose of our life is, we will re-determine ourselves towards our goals no matter what the challenge is.

The second discussion was the Gosho study - Letter to Niike. The common theme underlying this discussion was mentor and disciple. I have been always skeptical about this concept - why do members of the SGI choose Daisaku Ikeda as their mentor? Yes, his actions were great and he is a selfless figure but why him? He may be our role model, but to me, he is not my mentor. A member from the discussion group suggested to make the Law (the mystic law) as our mentor instead because the law encompasses everything in life - Nature, society, Daisaku Ikeda, the other two presidents of SGI and us. I personally like this perception of the mentor and disciple concept. It makes more sense to me and I can refer to it when I need further direction in life.

There were also other speeches and talks, but I won’t post about it here as it will take forever to write. The camp was a wonderful experience, I have learnt heaps and the most important thing is that I have learnt how to appreciate myself, others and my surroundings. I have also learnt to understand myself better - why I work in the field that I’m in, why my family and friends treat me the way they do and what accounts for my happiness.

Very funny video from Hacking the interview via Lifehacker. I don’t know about the syncing method, but the other two approaches - anchoring and footprinting sounds OK to do in an interview.

From the Gosho Lecture: Letter to Niike (July Indigo, 2008)

Our human tendency is to become complacent when things are going well or become despondent when we encounter obstacles to our success

Since I was turned permanent at work, I seem to have become lazier again. With the goal of getting a permanent job achieved, my mind has drifted off course and I don’t seem to have willingness to learn and work hard anymore. I would feed myself on short-lived pursuits - sitting on the couch all night and surf the net, sleeping in and play games all weekend instead of working towards my next goal.

So for the past few weeks, I have been chanting very hard everyday for a new goal, a goal that I can work on for a longer period of time. After chanting and thinking hard about it, I started to realise how lucky I am. I realise that it I am very fortunate to be born as a human being, to have migrated to Melbourne in my early childhood and how lucky I am to have grown up in a stable environment. I have also been taking my parents for granted and leaving them to do the housework and to pay the bills. I haven’t been asked to pay for board, which is considered out of the norm in today’s society. And I would still whinge about not earning enough money, not to have a house, not to have the latest gadgets. It’s probably time that I need start learning how to appreciate. Learning to appreciate myself for who I am, learning to appreciate what my parents have given me and their efforts in bringing me up. I also have to learn to appreciate each interaction I have with other human beings, other animals and the environment. Each interaction, whether positive or negative contributes to my own personal development. With this appreciation in mind, I would be able to treat every challenging situation as if it is an opportunity.

As this gratitude towards others grows, compassion will also follow. Although it won’t be easy, I am ready to take on the challenge and hopefully direct myself towards happiness through appreciation and compassion.

I was at Nicole’s party where she celebrated her 2nd birthday. We had a five-hour barbecue marathon which was quite different to the traditional Aussie style. There were no sausage sizzles, no burger patties nor there were any vege burgers. Instead, we threaded pieces of raw meat onto a mega fork-like utensil and hover it over a charcoal pit until it turns into a yellowish-brown colour. Honey was then sprayed onto the cooked pieces of meat just before serving. I cooked and ate non stop from 1-6, while the others were playing mahjong. Nicole was watching hi5 on TV for most of the time.

And here’s Nicole’s birthday cake.

Nicole didn’t enjoyed it as much as the adults did as she was scared of the fire. She was also a bit frightened when we all sang happy birthday. But it was her first birthday party and most of us (adults) enjoyed it.

Sorry - I don’t yet have any consent from others to post photos of them here so it’s just pictures of food only..

The gallery has been updated with the newest album - Winter Weekends July 2008.

More coming soon.