1st performance as an i.gemer!

Last Sunday, I went on stage to perform for the very 1st time as a member of the i.gemz at the 2011 Selangor State Wesak Celebration! It was kinda nerve wreaking and I don't know why! I mean.... stage performance was not something I am new to. Maybe it was the expectation of the fellow Buddhist audience on i.gemz freshies on how good are they in singing? I mean.... naturally people would like to know what's in us that makes the cut! What made us got in to the group of the leading English singing Buddhist group! So, maybe that's why I felt kinda nervous when performing that day. Whatever it is, it's done! I am happy for the experience. I can't comment much because I was positioned as the side, so the microphone monitor was unheard of. Hence, I can't hear my own voice! So I don't know how I sang. >.<
However, here's a video recorded by one of our member's wife. Enjoy! :D

To end the post, here's a picture of the i.gemers that perform that day!

PS: Next i.gemz performance will be this Saturday, 11th of June 2011 at 1.30pm at the Wesak International Film Festival. Venue: Malaysia Tourism Center, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Catch me there if you are free! I will be singing a song solo! ;)

i.Gemz, it's OFFICIAL!

Went for my first ever i.Gemz practice today at BGF. We will be doing 2 songs for the upcoming Majlis Sambutan Hari Wesak 2011 Peringkat Negeri Selangor which will be held at Bangunan SSAAS Shah Alam on the 5th of June! Of course as new comer, I don't get to do lead (yet). Haha.... so was assigned as supporting singers for the existing lead. :) The songs that we will be doing are i.Gemz's signature songs it seems, which are Dharma Shines In Me and Breathing In, Breathing Out. Everything went A-Oh-Kay just now.... We got the melody and assigned parts pretty well. Except for me, there's one part that I keep on getting confused as I have to hit the low notes. But I'm learning... I'm learning.... :)

Oh! And yes, like the title of this post has mentioned, I am now part of i.Gemz! It's OFFICIAL! *grins* They gave a welcome "speech" right before we left. Haha..... How...erm? Surprising? LOL! :P :P :P

If you are up or near Shah Alam on that day, do come support us! It's free by the way. Event starts at 9pm. See you if I see you! ;)

Self updates as on 19/05/2011

It was a 4 months hiatus this time... >.< Wow! I realized the older you get (in academic years that is), the less time you have for yourself...

As of today, I had had completed Year 3 of my dental course, which brings down to 2 more years to go! I admit, it's not a bed of roses when I was in Year 3. Handling patients was a challenge, bombarded with constant pressure by lecturers, rushing requirements, competency tests, lab works and my typical day ends at 6pm. Not to mention the need to revise and prepare for exams when those dreaded papers are near. Well........ I have to say that I need to get used to this kind of life as the next academic years will be far worse, or so said my seniors! Sigh....

Well, anyway, boring things aside, I had had many things happened during the last semester. I realized I haven't blog about my drama competition this year! Quite unfortunately this time, we didn't win nor we got any placing. The reason? Hmm.... I guess the story line was a little poor this time. And we made a mistake, we left a gap at the back stage and audience had had a good view on what's happening back there and laughed when they are not supposed to be. But I had fun! I played 5 characters this time! LOL! Yeah I know..... but 3 of them are really minor roles. Not to worry, I swear, next year..... we'll be on top of the list again! A wounded tiger, is the fiercest tiger! And I am soooooooooooo gonna act again for ONE LAST TIME! *eyes shining*

*Theater: Naskah Buat Kekasih; Role #1: Saudagar Abas*

I have been very active in religion nowadays. Ok.... very active is an overstatement. Let's just say I am active. Yes.... I am affiliated to Buddhist Gem Fellowship (BGF) ever since I joined INCOVAR Dhamma Camp in 2009. Recently, I went for an audition to be a part of an elite English speaking Buddhist singing group in Malaysia! They are called the i.Gemz which is under BGF. And has had 2 albums produced already. Their songs are fresh, young and modern. Their mission is simple, spreading the Buddha's teaching through inspirations of music and songs. So..... I went for the audition (one day before my final exams! Crap. LOL!) and...... they liked me! They love me voice! :D And I was asked to join their practices now and maybe will do a debut performance during the Selangor state level Wesak Celebration on 5th June 2011! I would like to say that I am part of them now, but according to them, I am just shortlisted wor..... when will they confirm me? I do not know. Hopefully soon! I love singing and having a chance to record singles excites me! :P

Besides that, am pretty active in sports the last semester too. But no.... not during my exam period. Had a lot of fat storage going on *holds spare tire and starts cursing*. I need to lose them A.S.A.P.!!! >.< Cause I've got lots of plan going on the break which requires me to look good! :P :P :P
Joined an inter-college swimming competition held by my university. First time participating.... didn't get myself any medals. But it was good experience! And swimming is a competition is both tiring AND stressful! Haha.. :) Still in the university's Taekwondo team. Got elected as Treasurer (again). I really wanna quit as I have a lot of things in my mind and I know next year will get worse. But....who knows.... hopefully I can find time doing what I enjoy doing and not just facing books all the while. I need a life man! XP

Currently having a 4-months holiday break! I know..... it's damn long right? Usually we will get only 2 months. But apparently, the Malaysian government wants to synchronize Malaysian public universities academic schedule with those overseas, especially the West, in order to attract more foreign students to our local uni. Which means, I will graduate 4 months later! ARGH! Then again..... I think I should enjoy this break and yes! Blog I shall........ :D

The Prophercy

I don't intend to scare anyone with today's post. But I just couldn't resist the urge to blog about this after reading the newspaper this morning. Years ago, I stumbled across a little booklet, a Buddhist booklet to be exact. I can neither recall the name of the book now nor find it in my house. I remembered clearly that I'd read it before. It has a Buddhist monk in a sitted position with his index finger pointing up as though giving a warning as its cover image; the monk, obviously bald, was wearing a typical orange robe and no, no glasses.....oh wait, or maybe there was. Oh dear....*scratches head* Sigh.....just where in the world did I misplace it?

Anyway, the booklet somehow mentioned that mankind will be inflicted with a disease more deadly than AIDS and cancer. He said that there would be a certain kind of air-borne Influenza that spreads from human to human through simple gestures like hand shake. At that point, I was of course, sceptical.

"Pah!! Influenza is more deadly than AIDS??? How can a simple flu and cough kills a person?!" was what I was thinking then.

But with the current pandemic A(H1N1) spread worldwide, I can't stop thinking that maybe this is what he meant. Is this the influenza he talks about in his book? Whatever he said, was it a prophercy? I don't know...... All I know is that the latest updates of H1N1 is worrisome. With more than 75,000 cases around the world (112 cases in Malaysia alone; while in Singapore 701 cases) and no way of slowing, if not stopping it; no doubt this is a call, a warning for mankind after Influenza H5N1 (a.k.a. Bird Flu) 6 years ago.

The latest update from WHO states that there were already 332 deaths due to this virus. Below is just a map of the spread (last update 1 July 2009 09:00 GMT) extracted from WHO website. Further information can be found at this link http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_07_01a/en/index.html

Types of Buddhism

If you have not realized yet, I have been very 'Buddhistic' recently. Maybe it was the effect from INCOVAR camp! I don't know....But then again, I start to learn and understand more of a religion that I claimed to be for more than 20 years yet know nothing about it - Buddhism. I went Google-ing for the types of Buddhism today, just to feed my curiosity for I know the way Buddhist practise in Malaysia is way different from those in India and Thailand. The same goes to Thai Buddhist with Tibetan ones. So, this is one interesting article that I found on the Net which hope to enlighten Buddhists alike as it did to me. :)

"""Just like there are many different denominations of Christianity – including Protestant churches and Catholicism, the different types of Buddhism reflect the way that this religion is practiced.

Buddhism is a dharmic religion and form of spirituality that revolves around certain beliefs and practices – all of which are aimed at bringing the participant closer to Buddhahood – the highest level of spiritual awareness. However, because the religion has gained followers in several different parts of the world (mostly in Asia), the way that Buddhism is practiced has split into several different sects. All of the Buddhist sects believe certain things in common: all accept Buddha as their teacher, use the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path in their teachings, and believe that Buddhahood is the highest attainment.

Most scholars divide the different types of Buddhism into three sections. The first of these is Southern Buddhism, or Theraveda Buddhism. The word Theraveda is a word in the Pali language (thought to be spoken by the Buddha) that means “the Doctrine of the Elders”. The biggest aim in the Theraveda practice is to use meditation to train the mind, and to encourage freedom of the mind from suffering. This freedom from suffering will allow you to reach the greatest spiritual goal – Nirvana. Theraveda Buddhism is the only surviving school from the earliest years of Buddhism, and it is mostly practiced today in Sri Lanka, Laos and Cambodia.

The second type of Buddhism that is mentioned is Eastern Buddhism, also known as Mahayana Buddhism. This sect not only teaches the Pali Canon (which is the religious text of Theraveda Buddhism) but also includes additional texts and beliefs. In order to reach Nirvana, Mahayana Buddhists believe that a person must practice universal compassion, which is the altruistic quest of the Bodhisattva to attain the “Awakened Mind” of Buddhahood. Mahayana Buddhism also has a level of mysticism involved. This type of Buddhism is practiced in China, Korea and Japan, as well as parts of other Asian countries.

The third of the different types of Buddhism is Northern or Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is also considered to be a type of Mahayana Buddhism, but it also embraces other teachings, texts and practices that are not seen in the Eastern type of Mahayana Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is also sometimes called Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana. This type of Buddhism uses both the Mahayana and Theraveda scriptures, as well as a number of Buddhist Tantras – all of which are aimed at attaining Buddhahood in just one lifetime instead of requiring many reincarnations.

While all of the different types of Buddhism have the same goal and same basis for their beliefs, the way that Buddhahood is obtained varies from sect to sect. It is important to understand the way that each sect works before choosing to practice a type of Buddhism."""

31st INCOVAR Dhamma Camp

11th June 2009 marks my first Buddhist camp involvement. I have never join such camps before due to various reasons. First, I never liked camps cause I enjoy being pampered in my own air-conditioned bedroom with my personal bed and clear running water in my bathroom. Secondly, Buddhist camps are almost always conducted in Chinese language...so why bother going when I can't understand them??

Then, INCOVAR came. INCOVAR = INter COlleges and VARsities. In fact, it is the 31st INCOVAR Dhamma Camp...a little late, considering it is already the 31st one! But then again, I wouldn't have joined, or even get to know about it, if I was not introduced by my dental senior, Mei Fong. Btw, the minimum age to join this camp is 18 and he/she must be already enrolled in a college or university.

Being so idle at home during the holidays, I say "Why not?". I am a Buddhist myself but if you were to ask me anything related to the Buddha's teachings, I would have know nothing about them. And so, I packed my bags and left my comfort zone (Seremban lah..)

I headed to Subang Jaya Buddhist Association which is near Summit Shopping complex both excited and nervous the night before. Met up with my group members. Apparently, we were grouped beforehand and was asked to meet up in order to break the ice. So, we did. Amazingly, they were nice people. And knowing they too are such devoted Buddhists and going to the same camp, somehow or rather, you know you can trust them. And so, I was more confident in facing the camp the next morning. During and after that....it was all a history. (Psst! I know this is cliche. But memandangkan I am not a very good writer and I am a little bit lazy to describe what actually happened each day, so let's cut short and let the pictures do the telling!)

Amazing Race: INCOVAR style. We were given RM20 to go shop for 5 items in Summit.

And yes...Part of the challenge include acting for a commercial. How can I resist?? And so I was the main actor. :P Time was limited as we were only given a few hours to think and practise. My group ended up 2nd place. But I was being crowned as 'Best Actor' by fellow campmates and judges. *beams*

The judges of "INCOVAR Got Talent".

Another challenge! And apparently, blindfolds are very popular in INCOVAR. Almost every activity, we were blindfolded or involves the blindfold! ~ Even during meals! =.="

And this is how we have our meals. On the floor, in front of the Buddha and of course, vegetarian food. :) Before and after meals, 'Contemplation of Meal' is read. Right pic: ME reading meal contemplation. *smiles*

Dhamma talks. Just look at how eager and attentive the campers were. Theme for this camp: Karma.

Remember I told you that we went to Summit to do some shopping? Well, this is a session where we totally utilise our items. The challenge? Each team are given 2 eggs and a glass bottle. We are to build whatever structure that will protect them from breaking. 1st pic: My group's creation. Named: Sarnath's dumbell! 2nd pic: Sarnath's dumbell being thrown from 1 storey high building. 3rd pic: The damage! One egg cracked. But the other and the glass bottle survived! Better use of physics and engineering next time. ;)

Last night: IXP. A very special session which is the main event of the whole camp. It is when campers realise the whole teaching of Buddha by touching them deep down in their hearts. 1st pic: These are the troublemakers that made us do some blunders.


Surprise! Buddhist Association actually have their own choir group! This group is called D2Y. And they already have an album. Currently busy working on their 2nd one. PS: It's in English too.


Happy times with my group ~ Sarnath!


Picture with the whole campers and committee.


Few 'shiok-sendiri' pictures with my lovely senior, Mei Fong. And on the right, another fellow camper from UM, Ee Leen.


My souvenir from INCOVAR. A self portrait. Thanks INCOVAR!!!

~INCOVAR..........We Inspire.........~

Below is a short video clip of photos compilation during the 31st INCOVAR Dhamma Camp. It's really good. Enjoy it!


ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED TO JOIN THE NEXT IDC, DO INFORM ME! THE NEXT CAMP WILL BE HELD IN DECEMBER. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE, MYSELF! :D