A Wise Tree-Jangchub Shing

Do you watch a program called ‘Jangchub Shing’ hosted by Mr. Karma Dendup every Thursday on BBS 2? This program is of immense benefit to our viewers. I take out my time to watch the show. I would like to thank him for this show. He asks rebellious, but real-world questions. Kudos for awakening us to the basics of the Buddhist religion. I learned that there is a vast difference between religion and spirituality; religion leads more often to egotism than to humility, and spirituality leads more often to humility than to egotism.

Out of my unawareness or interest, I have asked him two layman questions last time, that if he could ask for it for better illumination. My first question was; the only path to spiritual enlightenment is understanding and grasping one’s mind. We can attain this by constant meditation and mental contemplation called ‘gom’ in Dzongkha. In other words, it’s basically knowing your soul; what is the soul? Shape? Colour? Size? Empty?... To attain the level of full realization, that is knowing the soul, is the highest level, and that one can be borne in the nirvana. But, the process of identifying the nature of the soul, whether the soul is empty or not, whether the soul dies or not; what is the soul? The concrete meaning of soul and its whereabouts is difficult to get from any Rinpocheas, as they say, that it is a secret, a kind of not sharable, cannot be revealed. If religion is for the benefit of all sentient beings, and if Rinpochea, Lamas, and sages, are to liberate all sentient beings, why do our saviors say it’s difficult to get this? Why it is not allowed to share easily? Why can’t it be shown so that we become Buddha-nature and liberate from the sufferings?

My second question was about the Buddha-nature. We say every human; in fact, every creature living is a Buddha himself. We have Buddha-nature. If we have Buddha nature, what inclines us to do the most treacherous things…? Which part of the demon/inside makes us do unsolicited things? Does every creature, for example, an ant has Buddha-nature? If animals have Buddha-nature, how can we/ they awaken their true nature? Is there anyways for animals to attain a better position? For example, pigs offering bodily (meat) help them to lift their lives?

I hope he will ask the questions, which he said, he would for sure. I can’t help (with many such questions, which I am going to ask next time) but feel the questions are unfair without understanding its true intent or even its basic teachings. But however, they are entitled to my views cause and based on my experiences.

So, can anyone light upon these topics, or do you have such questions hanging like goiter in your throat? If so, say it. Say it for the benefit of all. We know that there are many paths and they all lead to the same truth. But where is that path called the same truth?

SO, Did You Have a Good Head?

A journey to an unknown destination is always an apprehensive one.  And this journey of life becomes quite exhausting at times. You like to live the most, and one time, you like to end your life. These two times are shaped, twisted and created by people around you. And this is the journey you have to make, and cannot avoid. So is my journey.

Life just isn't fair, and this realistic Arabic proverb recognizes that. The stone will always break the egg. Life's like that! It’s like this: "If the stone falls upon the egg, alas for the egg! If the egg falls upon the stone, alas for the egg!"

Today, I would like to write a brief essay about heads and bosses I have worked under, had affected and provoked me to become a better one.

Good, funny, humorous, strict, rigid, cunning, boorish, nefarious, sly, lewd, erogenous, etc… are some qualities of the heads I had worked on. 

There was a head who always drank and made other subordinates drink too.

There was a head who could play Khuru like Degor. And could hit spectators.

There was a head who could smack volleyball on his own side, and could kickball to his own balls.

There was a head who could graze on ladies like cows grazing on lush grasses, and spared them like spare parts.

There was a head who could poke in personal details of others, and find fault and blemished himself.

There was a head who could control crowds like barking dogs, and remain barking himself.

There was a head who revolved around lesson plans all the time, not teaching, and the result; bad teachings, good lessons.

There was a head who thought that boss was always right, and multitudes were wrong.

Being Bad Boys

Boys are boys. Girls are girls. Nicely said.  Boys will remain boys, be in Bhutan, India, Arab countries, Africa, and whichever community that they belong to, boys are always boys.  There are no bars, no religions, no conformities when it comes to doing something. They are damned bad birds. They sleep the whole day and enjoy the whole night. They talk about sex and the only sex, no love, no affection of sorts. They watch ridiculous movies. They play loud music. They never go to class. They never wash dishes, etc and etc.

Very recently, a group of boys rented the upper floor flat. Four boys stayed there in three BHK. And it is very much the same with them. The same behavior, the same loud music, the same. They sometimes throw buckets of water down on the staircases. Crazy. Fully maniacs are those boys, and because of these, I feel boys are different species. They have no such thing as forbearance. They are animals sometimes. They have all qualities of donkeys, monkeys, horses, pigs.

In my class, we have one very mannered, up-to-date, perfectly well-disciplined boy, a kind of very studious boy. He was more than me. But when time ran, he has changed. We told him that he behaved like a girl. He changed now. He has now become crazier than any other fellow mates from the class. He bunks from the class, sleeps in the class, and fights with teachers. He has simply become a hopeless, mannerless person. He simply doesn’t have a future, I feel. In the distant land, there was a king. He wanted to find out where the language comes from. He worked for many many years. The crazy king asked all his ministries to do some research about it. He concluded and laughed himself declaring, “Language comes from the society.” So, it’s society-made. Boys aren’t made by society, I guess. They are borne tough and crazy by nature. And the polarity of boys is girls. Bet it, some girls are not that polar. They, however, are equally crazy or quite a lot than boys. Despite this, I do have not much knowledge of ducky’s world. We are in drake’s world.

I have encountered many boys belonging to different sets of religious groups. From the surface, these boys would look religiously inclined and would look at everything forbade by moral and ethical values or conformities of the society. They are not. They say something and do the opposite right away. For example, Muslims are so much bounded by a confirmed set of beliefs that they are not allowed to make any kind of adultery. But they do. I have seen, they drink, make girlfriends, sleep like pigs, and hardly ever prays. Because they are boys.

Me, I am a middle person, a kind of GNH follower. Not a fanatic in everything, and not so indifferent. I am on my way; doing all to assimilate and conform in life. That’s me.

A Car Named Desire

Are you a mobile gadgets freak?  Do you change your mobile frequently?  How many mobiles do you have? Are some questions many people are asking these days.

Nobody would deny that this is an electronic age. We are living here. There are a lot of new things which have made our life so easy. Mobile phone is one of them which can be seen as the most used in the present-day phenomenon and in this fast-growing time. The mobile phone is a revolutionary step in the field of telecommunication.

Now there are many branded mobiles for people. There are different varieties of Nokia, you have Samsung, 

you have a blackberry, and you have iPhones - iPhone five-the latest.

Last time, my friend bought an iphone4, which was quite expensive but utterly useless to me, though it has so many facilities. I am not a kind of mobile freak. I don’t really like mobiles. We must remember this: Using cell phones too much is harmful to human health and can increase the risk of brain cancer. Not only that it harm eyes. There were many times, I didn’t even carry a mobile. Simple Nokia is enough for me. I can call with it anywhere around the world like apple phones with my Nokia. I have my laptop to use all facilities like mobile. Why need two when one is all that enough. Human desire is unlimited. The quick drop of an iPhone on the ground burns a year’s saving. Likewise, I never liked gold, silver, or whatever. Women love gold and jewelry. Human desire will go on if one never learns to cease. I never understand what the rationale behind people wearing gold is. There is no rationale as such for liking something and there is no reason to love; we simply love and like. I like cars; a very elegant and rich-looking cars. The car I bought in 2008, Hyundai Getz GVS was one of the nicest cars in that period but now it’s obsolete.

I love cars, but my Getz has bombarded; it has become quite expensive both in terms of fuel and maintenance. It’s now six years and I think I have fed him gallows of fuel. I was trying to sell him but it was difficult with new and cheap cars coming in. I like to buy a good BMW or Mercedes Ben, and for this, I think my family would have to have a piece of rice every meal. I wouldn’t do such a thing for personal desire, for personal happiness, for personal gains, etc. Now a thing is not only a thing. There are other things which mean a lot. One cannot deny the change in life with the change of time but when this change is over-exposed I think it’s pollution. I realize now that we must balance these two phenomena in order to create a healthy world.

My Getz GVS