It has been said -
Quite on the sly -
God made the fly
To make us figure why;
Well, here's one possible lie:
A fly on the food you are about
To put in your mouth
May at first appear
To have an agenda completely
Incongruent from yours;
No doubt the fly is having its mush,
With utter panache,
While you view the invasion into
Your personal space as
Utterly incongruous;
Similarly the agenda of
A bunch of youngsters,
Out on a joy ride in a rented Kancil,
May be rudely knocked out of kilter
By God's differing agenda;
When the Muar river
Decides to break ranks
With its banks
And pulls the breath of
A few souls going about
Their mundane lives
Into its murky depths -
God, like the fly,
Has a different agenda;
Saddam had a vision of being
the paramount Arab leader,
But God saw otherwise,
Like the desert fly
That settled on the nose
of his videotaped corpse.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
Zaharan Razak by Liz Greene
The following is an extract of what the English psychologist-astrologer had to say about me on the subject of relationships:
Intelligence and a capacity to share your thoughts are qualities you value highly in a partner if you are to build a long-term relationship with any woman. No matter how attractive, charming, socially suitable or erotically exciting a lover is, in the end you tend to become bored if you cannot talk to her. And when you become bored, you become critical and even nitpicking, finding fault everywhere and making your dissatisfaction known through chronic flirtations with other people which tell your partner loudly and clearly that you are suffocating.
There is a touch of the intellectual snob about you, but it is not mere posturing; you are a clever and sophisticated person with strong aesthetic sensitivities, and you genuinely love the world of the mind.
Your partner must be able to share in that world, and nothing less will do. You also like to use words a lot, to talk, philosophize, and theorize about love. You may have difficulties with a more taciturn or dour type of woman who cannot play with romantic words and gestures as you can. In part, you love this kind of verbal love-game for its own sake, because it is stylish and graceful and makes love interesting and in part you do it because you tend to protect your feelings with your intellect so that you are less vulnerable.
There is a rather cool and detached side to your love-nature which, however initially smitten you might be, quickly assesses the intelligence of the woman and gives a rating. And you expect your partner to have the same capacity for detachment and reason, for you dislike steamy emotional scenes and rapidly become evasive, aloof and disinterested if your woman starts becoming what you call irrational.
You need and deserve an intellectual match. What you can afford a little less of is your critical tongue, which can reduce anyone to ribbons - and often when she has done nothing to merit it except express needs which you construe as voiced in an inappropriate way. After all, not even the most intelligent partner - not to mention you yourself - can be clever and articulate all the time.
Intelligence and a capacity to share your thoughts are qualities you value highly in a partner if you are to build a long-term relationship with any woman. No matter how attractive, charming, socially suitable or erotically exciting a lover is, in the end you tend to become bored if you cannot talk to her. And when you become bored, you become critical and even nitpicking, finding fault everywhere and making your dissatisfaction known through chronic flirtations with other people which tell your partner loudly and clearly that you are suffocating.
There is a touch of the intellectual snob about you, but it is not mere posturing; you are a clever and sophisticated person with strong aesthetic sensitivities, and you genuinely love the world of the mind.
Your partner must be able to share in that world, and nothing less will do. You also like to use words a lot, to talk, philosophize, and theorize about love. You may have difficulties with a more taciturn or dour type of woman who cannot play with romantic words and gestures as you can. In part, you love this kind of verbal love-game for its own sake, because it is stylish and graceful and makes love interesting and in part you do it because you tend to protect your feelings with your intellect so that you are less vulnerable.
There is a rather cool and detached side to your love-nature which, however initially smitten you might be, quickly assesses the intelligence of the woman and gives a rating. And you expect your partner to have the same capacity for detachment and reason, for you dislike steamy emotional scenes and rapidly become evasive, aloof and disinterested if your woman starts becoming what you call irrational.
You need and deserve an intellectual match. What you can afford a little less of is your critical tongue, which can reduce anyone to ribbons - and often when she has done nothing to merit it except express needs which you construe as voiced in an inappropriate way. After all, not even the most intelligent partner - not to mention you yourself - can be clever and articulate all the time.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Mitsubishi Triton: A Thirty Year Dalliance
More than thirty years ago,
I saw my first pickup truck,
The Toyota Hilux Single Cab,
Powering past on a road sans tar,
Against a padi landscape far,
On the east coast of the Peninsula;
That's it, enthused I,
This would be my dream car;
Till today I still haven't got da,
Since that first sighting,
My heart flitted on the Isuzu,
The Pajero, the Ford Ranger,
The Mitsubishi Storm,
The Toyota Hilux Double Cab,
The Land Rover Defender,
In the thirty year span;
But still I baulked,
At getting a pickup truck,
Single or Double Cab;
Oh, I bought one car after
Another in that three score years,
But not a pickup truck;
Last week, mid-December 2006,
At the Eon Mitsubishi showroom
In Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu,
I took the new Mitsubishi Triton
For a spin,
That's it, resolved I,
Come the new year,
I'll get myself a pickup truck,
After a thirty year dalliance.
I saw my first pickup truck,
The Toyota Hilux Single Cab,
Powering past on a road sans tar,
Against a padi landscape far,
On the east coast of the Peninsula;
That's it, enthused I,
This would be my dream car;
Till today I still haven't got da,
Since that first sighting,
My heart flitted on the Isuzu,
The Pajero, the Ford Ranger,
The Mitsubishi Storm,
The Toyota Hilux Double Cab,
The Land Rover Defender,
In the thirty year span;
But still I baulked,
At getting a pickup truck,
Single or Double Cab;
Oh, I bought one car after
Another in that three score years,
But not a pickup truck;
Last week, mid-December 2006,
At the Eon Mitsubishi showroom
In Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu,
I took the new Mitsubishi Triton
For a spin,
That's it, resolved I,
Come the new year,
I'll get myself a pickup truck,
After a thirty year dalliance.
Monday, December 25, 2006
ProtoCosmic Course: Continuation
After the organic equivalent of the physical big bang, we humans are thrown up between two interstices - land and water, the beach and the sea, the blood-sweat-tears life and the Perfect Form.
Life is an Amazing Race, an Ultimate Challenge to break free from the proto mold to the perfect form. That is the name of the game. Simple as that. Look no further. But because we often feel too big to fit our evolutionary footprint, we try to look beyond and come up with revolutionary theories to explain away our human predicament and mystery - the neosophies and pseudologies.
What if you don't make it? Resits! Failure is not an option. You will be made to take as many resits even if it takes a thousand years, and some believe, a thousand lifetimes, until you finally break through the interstitial barrier to claim or reclaim you right of place in the Ethereal Estate.
Meanwhile, you will be staying back in the hostel of life while others who have broken through have all gone home. Some of you will be wandering aimlessly, feeling restless, clueless, or worse, getting into all sorts of difficulties and uncomfortable situations, to say the least.
Don't blame others or yourself for these adversities. It is part of the course. Be thankful. Turn the other cheek, as one tradition says. Just manage them as best as you can - no resentment, no moaning, no lashing out in anger, no revenge, no escapisms ... don't repeat the same mistakes or stock responses. Break out of the old reaction patterns to break the jinx.
What if the above view is wrong? What is the opposite position? Oblivion! When you die, you die. Nothing matters. Nihilism. Life is meaningless, just like a dead frog, nobody cares, no insurance, no ceremony, no litigation, no justice. Less stark is existentialism which concedes that although life is ultimately meaningless, at least you can make it meaningful during its shelf life.
Hey, that's not a fate worse than some I know.
Life is an Amazing Race, an Ultimate Challenge to break free from the proto mold to the perfect form. That is the name of the game. Simple as that. Look no further. But because we often feel too big to fit our evolutionary footprint, we try to look beyond and come up with revolutionary theories to explain away our human predicament and mystery - the neosophies and pseudologies.
What if you don't make it? Resits! Failure is not an option. You will be made to take as many resits even if it takes a thousand years, and some believe, a thousand lifetimes, until you finally break through the interstitial barrier to claim or reclaim you right of place in the Ethereal Estate.
Meanwhile, you will be staying back in the hostel of life while others who have broken through have all gone home. Some of you will be wandering aimlessly, feeling restless, clueless, or worse, getting into all sorts of difficulties and uncomfortable situations, to say the least.
Don't blame others or yourself for these adversities. It is part of the course. Be thankful. Turn the other cheek, as one tradition says. Just manage them as best as you can - no resentment, no moaning, no lashing out in anger, no revenge, no escapisms ... don't repeat the same mistakes or stock responses. Break out of the old reaction patterns to break the jinx.
What if the above view is wrong? What is the opposite position? Oblivion! When you die, you die. Nothing matters. Nihilism. Life is meaningless, just like a dead frog, nobody cares, no insurance, no ceremony, no litigation, no justice. Less stark is existentialism which concedes that although life is ultimately meaningless, at least you can make it meaningful during its shelf life.
Hey, that's not a fate worse than some I know.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
What Do Ashaari Muhammad and Ron Hubbard Have In Common?
At first glance,
The juxtaposition of these two names
Might furrow a brow,
But actually both are cult leaders
In their own rights,
They have been operating
For quite some time now
With large followings;
They have hammered out
Beguiling alternative road maps
To immortality, while thumbing
Their noses at mainstream religions;
In the bargain, they made milllions.
Me? Even members of my own family
Don't agree with me.
Tee hee.
The juxtaposition of these two names
Might furrow a brow,
But actually both are cult leaders
In their own rights,
They have been operating
For quite some time now
With large followings;
They have hammered out
Beguiling alternative road maps
To immortality, while thumbing
Their noses at mainstream religions;
In the bargain, they made milllions.
Me? Even members of my own family
Don't agree with me.
Tee hee.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Land Rover: A Grand Delusion
World reknown is the Land Rover,
To many a 4WD vehicle driver;
Launched in 1948 by an English company,
An unashamed copy of the American jeepney,
Though now left in its wake by the Humveed,
It is considered still, by the moneyed,
The best four by four by far,
Which for the course, is par.
Many an adventurer in Africa,
Camel Trophy competitor,
Estate manager, fire fighter,
Whether in Surrey or Sahara,
Agrees and chooses no other.
The list of rivals is long and impressive,
Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, all Japanese,
Volkswagen, Niva, Mercedes;
But the Landy,
From Sungai Siput to Sydney,
From Cameron Highlands cabbage packer,
To National Day salute taker,
Has notched its own market niche,
And became, in the process, cultish.
And so to the LR showroom at Resort Paradise,
I headed to see the best and brightest of the enterprise,
After having done the round of seeing the other merchandise,
It was the Double Crew Cab my eye settled on,
In keeping with the growing trend in the zenre,
There's the Frontier, the Hilux, the Ranger, the Storm,
All decently spec'd and going for under 100K.
A sales ex placed a promo booklet in my hand,
Person and paper share the same narrowband,
Detailing the oft repeated tagline,
That the LR is the best 4 by 4 by far,
I nodded, not wanting to appear
An out of sorts commissar.
And so I turned to the actual tab,
The object of my visit and interest mad,
The Land Rover Double Crew Cab.
I looked hard at the legendary mud plugger,
A workhorse to the world, wildlife protector,
Outside, inside, the truck bed, the seater,
The cockpit, the dashboard, the wiper,
Ah the wipers, wimpy dared I to whisper?
The truck bed, rivet, metal edge, rougher
Than a Frontier's covered with a spray on liner,
The seats, interchangeable with those from a schoolbus,
The cockpit, dashboard - spartan, ordinary,
Looked like they were homologated from a Pahlawan lorry.
The canvas canopy did nothing
To make the impression contrary;
This is no lifestyle statement, being all utility,
Next I peered at the performance sheet -
Well below that of the competition;
Then I took it for a testing,
Nowhere near the driveability
Of the under 100k family.
Finally I peered at the feared -
The price is 160k!
All in all the looks and performance of a 70s Mahindra,
With the price tag of a 2005 Toyota Fortuner.
So, whaddaya think, Sir?
Cried the sales supervisor!
Dared I demur and be wiser?
It's the best 4 by 4, said I, miser,
Not wanting to be original, nihilistic,
Or stick out like a sore dick.
I made my purchase,
It made me sick.
Not long after,
During a LR owners strut,
We passed a posse of Lanun Darat,
Did I imagine a gleam of admiration,
In the eyes of the pirates,
Or did the gleam signify commisseration,
At our collective delusion?
Overheard under the Jolly Roger,
Cost of spare parts for the Land Rover,
Are stratospheric,
Oh dear, that, for me,
Is news catastrophic;
Soon, I can already imagine,
I'll be back to being
Carless, peripatetic.
To many a 4WD vehicle driver;
Launched in 1948 by an English company,
An unashamed copy of the American jeepney,
Though now left in its wake by the Humveed,
It is considered still, by the moneyed,
The best four by four by far,
Which for the course, is par.
Many an adventurer in Africa,
Camel Trophy competitor,
Estate manager, fire fighter,
Whether in Surrey or Sahara,
Agrees and chooses no other.
The list of rivals is long and impressive,
Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, all Japanese,
Volkswagen, Niva, Mercedes;
But the Landy,
From Sungai Siput to Sydney,
From Cameron Highlands cabbage packer,
To National Day salute taker,
Has notched its own market niche,
And became, in the process, cultish.
And so to the LR showroom at Resort Paradise,
I headed to see the best and brightest of the enterprise,
After having done the round of seeing the other merchandise,
It was the Double Crew Cab my eye settled on,
In keeping with the growing trend in the zenre,
There's the Frontier, the Hilux, the Ranger, the Storm,
All decently spec'd and going for under 100K.
A sales ex placed a promo booklet in my hand,
Person and paper share the same narrowband,
Detailing the oft repeated tagline,
That the LR is the best 4 by 4 by far,
I nodded, not wanting to appear
An out of sorts commissar.
And so I turned to the actual tab,
The object of my visit and interest mad,
The Land Rover Double Crew Cab.
I looked hard at the legendary mud plugger,
A workhorse to the world, wildlife protector,
Outside, inside, the truck bed, the seater,
The cockpit, the dashboard, the wiper,
Ah the wipers, wimpy dared I to whisper?
The truck bed, rivet, metal edge, rougher
Than a Frontier's covered with a spray on liner,
The seats, interchangeable with those from a schoolbus,
The cockpit, dashboard - spartan, ordinary,
Looked like they were homologated from a Pahlawan lorry.
The canvas canopy did nothing
To make the impression contrary;
This is no lifestyle statement, being all utility,
Next I peered at the performance sheet -
Well below that of the competition;
Then I took it for a testing,
Nowhere near the driveability
Of the under 100k family.
Finally I peered at the feared -
The price is 160k!
All in all the looks and performance of a 70s Mahindra,
With the price tag of a 2005 Toyota Fortuner.
So, whaddaya think, Sir?
Cried the sales supervisor!
Dared I demur and be wiser?
It's the best 4 by 4, said I, miser,
Not wanting to be original, nihilistic,
Or stick out like a sore dick.
I made my purchase,
It made me sick.
Not long after,
During a LR owners strut,
We passed a posse of Lanun Darat,
Did I imagine a gleam of admiration,
In the eyes of the pirates,
Or did the gleam signify commisseration,
At our collective delusion?
Overheard under the Jolly Roger,
Cost of spare parts for the Land Rover,
Are stratospheric,
Oh dear, that, for me,
Is news catastrophic;
Soon, I can already imagine,
I'll be back to being
Carless, peripatetic.
Boyen Came Lately
Fire in the galley,
Fire down below,
Boyen came lately,
Boyen got aglow;
Boyen said loudly:
If the heat
Had you beat
Take a deck seat.
Fire down below,
Boyen came lately,
Boyen got aglow;
Boyen said loudly:
If the heat
Had you beat
Take a deck seat.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Mahathir vs Tengku Razaleigh, Musa Hitam, Ghazali Shafie
History shows Mahathir won his rounds
With Tg Razaleigh, Musa Hitam and Ghazali Shafie,
All stalwart Malays three;
However, anyone with a ear to the ground,
Can tell that all four of them will not succeed,
If they try and stage a comeback bid.
With Tg Razaleigh, Musa Hitam and Ghazali Shafie,
All stalwart Malays three;
However, anyone with a ear to the ground,
Can tell that all four of them will not succeed,
If they try and stage a comeback bid.
Mahathir vs Me
If Sun Tzu's advice,
Know your enemy,
Applies here, I win!
I know him, he doesn't
Know me.
Oh, we met a couple of times
And were even on the same
Helicopter flight once.
He even managed to raise
Laughter at my expense.
Er, one more interesting fact -
Our birthdays differ by a day.
Astrology will have a say,
But I will not give you the reader
An opportunity to smirk,
Or sympathise,
Over our similarities,
Or differences,
By revealing them here.
Tee hee.
Know your enemy,
Applies here, I win!
I know him, he doesn't
Know me.
Oh, we met a couple of times
And were even on the same
Helicopter flight once.
He even managed to raise
Laughter at my expense.
Er, one more interesting fact -
Our birthdays differ by a day.
Astrology will have a say,
But I will not give you the reader
An opportunity to smirk,
Or sympathise,
Over our similarities,
Or differences,
By revealing them here.
Tee hee.
Mahathir vs Coomaraswamy
Lost.
Since then everyone avoids
Mentioning it in public
To spare the feelings of Mahadick.
Since then everyone avoids
Mentioning it in public
To spare the feelings of Mahadick.
Mahathir vs Australia
Lost 0 - 2.
A former Ozzie PM scored
With the "Recalcitrant" label
Sending Mahathir reeling
Back on his heels;
Then incumbent Howard
Snubbed him by cancelling
A trip to Malaysia
Only to come a-calling
After Mahathir's retirement.
Abdullah's smiling welcome,
I'm sure, is not a double entendre.
A former Ozzie PM scored
With the "Recalcitrant" label
Sending Mahathir reeling
Back on his heels;
Then incumbent Howard
Snubbed him by cancelling
A trip to Malaysia
Only to come a-calling
After Mahathir's retirement.
Abdullah's smiling welcome,
I'm sure, is not a double entendre.
Mahathir vs Lee Kuan Yew
Afraid, Dr M never won this one,
All bilateral issues between S'pore
And Malaysia going the Lion City's way.
Even now, both retired, Lee is better placed,
Holding down his Senior Minister's post,
While Dr M is taking enforced bed rest;
Note that Lee is older than Mahadet.
All bilateral issues between S'pore
And Malaysia going the Lion City's way.
Even now, both retired, Lee is better placed,
Holding down his Senior Minister's post,
While Dr M is taking enforced bed rest;
Note that Lee is older than Mahadet.
Mahathir vs Abdullah
Though unfolding events and history
May dictate the contrary,
What with dark whispers of more
Embarrassing revelations
Of Abdullah's alleged convolutions,
Mahathir is losing this one,
Viling the very person he picked
To be his number two and replacement.
Bad prescription, Doc.
May dictate the contrary,
What with dark whispers of more
Embarrassing revelations
Of Abdullah's alleged convolutions,
Mahathir is losing this one,
Viling the very person he picked
To be his number two and replacement.
Bad prescription, Doc.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Mahathir vs Anwar
Just when one thought the worst
Happened in distant times and climes,
Faraway lands and different chimes,
It dawned on Malaysian sensibility,
That a bathos of the lowest order,
Was ascending from the depths,
To shock society at the highest level.
What was this assault
On our smugness?
It can't be!
How could the Number One
From the ruling set,
Be accusing his Number Two
Of kacang putih acts,
Normally scrawled on toilet walls,
And whispered about in
Fully residential halls?
How could this be happening,
To songkok and tudung wearers,
Who pride themselves
As moral standard bearers?
How not courtroom details,
In collusion with thick denials,
Served to rake up forgotten
Historical baggage?
From Hang Tuah to Tun Teja,
From Pahang to Melaka ...
Or its appendage?
Disclosures this sensational,
In recent memory were too risible,
To appear in mainstream media, sensible,
Though standard fare for Bacaria,
Street talk and Bukit Aman cafeteria.
As the sandiwara among the saudara
Unfolded, the line between sleazy street
And prim print turned effete,
Marking a watershed,
Since when the Press
Had not been able to look back
On the good old hack;
Now previously unprintable matter
Has become common media barter,
Rivaling Mastika banter.
The country's highest institutions,
Bystanders and partisans,
Jostled in the corridors of credibility,
Who to believe, who to give sympathy?
Do you believe in the conspiracy theory?
Or do you accept the guilty probability?
Are the courts' hands smirched?
Or are our faces wearing a worrying smirk?
Happened in distant times and climes,
Faraway lands and different chimes,
It dawned on Malaysian sensibility,
That a bathos of the lowest order,
Was ascending from the depths,
To shock society at the highest level.
What was this assault
On our smugness?
It can't be!
How could the Number One
From the ruling set,
Be accusing his Number Two
Of kacang putih acts,
Normally scrawled on toilet walls,
And whispered about in
Fully residential halls?
How could this be happening,
To songkok and tudung wearers,
Who pride themselves
As moral standard bearers?
How not courtroom details,
In collusion with thick denials,
Served to rake up forgotten
Historical baggage?
From Hang Tuah to Tun Teja,
From Pahang to Melaka ...
Or its appendage?
Disclosures this sensational,
In recent memory were too risible,
To appear in mainstream media, sensible,
Though standard fare for Bacaria,
Street talk and Bukit Aman cafeteria.
As the sandiwara among the saudara
Unfolded, the line between sleazy street
And prim print turned effete,
Marking a watershed,
Since when the Press
Had not been able to look back
On the good old hack;
Now previously unprintable matter
Has become common media barter,
Rivaling Mastika banter.
The country's highest institutions,
Bystanders and partisans,
Jostled in the corridors of credibility,
Who to believe, who to give sympathy?
Do you believe in the conspiracy theory?
Or do you accept the guilty probability?
Are the courts' hands smirched?
Or are our faces wearing a worrying smirk?
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Metaphors To Live By
In attempting to write this topic down, I suddenly come face to face with the dreaded writer's block. My head goes blank. I thought of this topic this morning as I was doing the morning's chores. Then my head was full of ideas, coming out unbidden, but as usual, I did not jot the ideas down and now I cannot remember them. It is a familiar pattern.
Later ...
PRISON as a metaphor of life
If we see life as a prison, then whatever circumstances you are in, it can't be as bad as a real prison unless you are really incarcerated in one! That ought to cheer you up if needed be, and who doesn't from time to time. Think of worse scenarios and count your blessings, however small. This little self-deception always works for me.
Life as an ADVENTURE or OBSTACLE Course
Don't resent the adversities, big or small, laid in your path. Look upon them as tests or challenges to overcome and opportunities for growth and advancement. Then say your thanks.
Evil as Creation's necessary SHADOW or ALTER EGO
Evil is an impersonal accompaniment of nature's work; it takes no sides, it is random, it is not subject to rules of natural or even poetic justice; it is not meted out to the bad and prevented from the good. It is impartial and detached. No need for us to romanticize or use it as a means of persuasion or manipulation. It is a reality written into our read only collective memory.
What to do? Deal with it conscientiously, mindfully, minimize its effects, exercise damage control, don't give in to its urgings. Therein lies your opportunity for maturity and spiritual growth.
The COMPUTER as a Metaphor of the Mind,
The Mind as a Metaphor of God,
The UNIVERSE as the Body of God,
Nature as a Metaphor of God's Work,
Death as a Tunnel underneath the Berlin Wall thru which you wrangle an escape from East to West ...
BUDDHA as a Metaphor for the Found Pool of Calmness and Understanding Within You
The historical Siddharta Gautama is not the only Buddha. There are millions of unnamed buddhas before and now. He or she can be the person you just met. In fact you may be a buddha too, actualized or potential.
Buddhahood is not so much a religion as a state of mind though one tradition has evolved into a religion called Buddhism, the world's third largest after Christianity and Islam. Among eastern religions making inroads in the West, Buddhism is the most popular.
Later ...
PRISON as a metaphor of life
If we see life as a prison, then whatever circumstances you are in, it can't be as bad as a real prison unless you are really incarcerated in one! That ought to cheer you up if needed be, and who doesn't from time to time. Think of worse scenarios and count your blessings, however small. This little self-deception always works for me.
Life as an ADVENTURE or OBSTACLE Course
Don't resent the adversities, big or small, laid in your path. Look upon them as tests or challenges to overcome and opportunities for growth and advancement. Then say your thanks.
Evil as Creation's necessary SHADOW or ALTER EGO
Evil is an impersonal accompaniment of nature's work; it takes no sides, it is random, it is not subject to rules of natural or even poetic justice; it is not meted out to the bad and prevented from the good. It is impartial and detached. No need for us to romanticize or use it as a means of persuasion or manipulation. It is a reality written into our read only collective memory.
What to do? Deal with it conscientiously, mindfully, minimize its effects, exercise damage control, don't give in to its urgings. Therein lies your opportunity for maturity and spiritual growth.
The COMPUTER as a Metaphor of the Mind,
The Mind as a Metaphor of God,
The UNIVERSE as the Body of God,
Nature as a Metaphor of God's Work,
Death as a Tunnel underneath the Berlin Wall thru which you wrangle an escape from East to West ...
BUDDHA as a Metaphor for the Found Pool of Calmness and Understanding Within You
The historical Siddharta Gautama is not the only Buddha. There are millions of unnamed buddhas before and now. He or she can be the person you just met. In fact you may be a buddha too, actualized or potential.
Buddhahood is not so much a religion as a state of mind though one tradition has evolved into a religion called Buddhism, the world's third largest after Christianity and Islam. Among eastern religions making inroads in the West, Buddhism is the most popular.
The Doha AG Women Sepaktakraw Final
Did you watch the Doha AG Women Sepaktakraw final match between defending champion Thailand and upstart Vietnam?
I rooted for underdogs Vietnam and when they won and tears flowed, I shared their joy, but felt a tinge of sadness that Malaysia does not even see fit to encourage women to play the game what more participate at this level.
When other civilized nations of the world are falling over one another's heels to be represented in all arenas of human endeavour, we note that a few countries, particularly from deep Africa, central Asia and the Middle East, seem to be too embroiled in regional or domestic politics, holding hardline cultural and religious values, or at war, preventing them from being fully represented in international events.
Malaysia is one of these sidelined countries.
An opportunity for human resource development and a chance to stand up and be counted, goes down the drain, sacrificed at the altar of fundamentalist beliefs.
These beliefs in turn hide rigid and dualistic - us against them - psychological hangups and other assorted delusions which make up our historical baggage.
We are embalmed and fossilized in the backwaters of human development and spiritual growth. In the absence of real progress, we cling to and chant symbols and slogans as a substitute.
How sad.
I rooted for underdogs Vietnam and when they won and tears flowed, I shared their joy, but felt a tinge of sadness that Malaysia does not even see fit to encourage women to play the game what more participate at this level.
When other civilized nations of the world are falling over one another's heels to be represented in all arenas of human endeavour, we note that a few countries, particularly from deep Africa, central Asia and the Middle East, seem to be too embroiled in regional or domestic politics, holding hardline cultural and religious values, or at war, preventing them from being fully represented in international events.
Malaysia is one of these sidelined countries.
An opportunity for human resource development and a chance to stand up and be counted, goes down the drain, sacrificed at the altar of fundamentalist beliefs.
These beliefs in turn hide rigid and dualistic - us against them - psychological hangups and other assorted delusions which make up our historical baggage.
We are embalmed and fossilized in the backwaters of human development and spiritual growth. In the absence of real progress, we cling to and chant symbols and slogans as a substitute.
How sad.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
King Solomon's Saffron Rice As Adult Metaphor
Serendipitously, a news item today
Says you can make a million out of dung
Processing it into organic fertilizer;
This news coincides with my intention
To write this prose verse
About King Solomon's Saffron Rice
Which, as every pupil knows,
Is cow dung in the Sang Kancil
Tiger Escapade serial stories;
But in case you missed out,
The tricky mousedeer told the
Chasing tiger he was not to be eaten
As he was in the midst
Of performing a sacred duty:
Standing guard over King Solomon's saffron rice.
The credulous tiger was so impressed
And jealous of the mousedeer being chosen
By the Lord of All Animals,
That he forgot he was chasing and going to eat the mousedeer,
Instead he begged his quarry
To let him at least try out the role,
If not let him eat the King's dinner as well.
Playing his pretense to perfection,
The mousedeer put on an air of reluctance
Before conceding to the tiger's entreatment,
Invoking the King's wrath,
If he did not abide by the rule -
No eating until the day was done,
Giving him ample time
To make his getaway run.
Well, you write the finish to the episode,
While I deconstruct the children's story
As a metaphor for adults:
The tiger is a metaphor for the unthinking masses
Or individual
Who follow or easily fall for propaganda
Which invokes authority such as religion
And uses threats of dire consequences
Such as excommunication.
The mousedeer is any clever propagandist
Who is out to advance or protect
His own interests - position, power, status,
Beliefs, security and profits.
King Solomom is a symbol of any feared authority, ruler, father figure, -
Often a myth or a post created by tradition or statute,
With an all too human incumbent behind it,
Like a boy king or god.
The saffron rice is a metaphor
For any nice, respectable sounding name
Which is invoked to camouflage, hide
Something which is mundane, substandard,
Or downright bad, a scam,
And make it appear good or worthy.
See also emperor's new dress, euphemism.
Now that you've got this far,
Following the analytical drift,
Why not have a go at dissecting
The cow dung?
Ugh!
Says you can make a million out of dung
Processing it into organic fertilizer;
This news coincides with my intention
To write this prose verse
About King Solomon's Saffron Rice
Which, as every pupil knows,
Is cow dung in the Sang Kancil
Tiger Escapade serial stories;
But in case you missed out,
The tricky mousedeer told the
Chasing tiger he was not to be eaten
As he was in the midst
Of performing a sacred duty:
Standing guard over King Solomon's saffron rice.
The credulous tiger was so impressed
And jealous of the mousedeer being chosen
By the Lord of All Animals,
That he forgot he was chasing and going to eat the mousedeer,
Instead he begged his quarry
To let him at least try out the role,
If not let him eat the King's dinner as well.
Playing his pretense to perfection,
The mousedeer put on an air of reluctance
Before conceding to the tiger's entreatment,
Invoking the King's wrath,
If he did not abide by the rule -
No eating until the day was done,
Giving him ample time
To make his getaway run.
Well, you write the finish to the episode,
While I deconstruct the children's story
As a metaphor for adults:
The tiger is a metaphor for the unthinking masses
Or individual
Who follow or easily fall for propaganda
Which invokes authority such as religion
And uses threats of dire consequences
Such as excommunication.
The mousedeer is any clever propagandist
Who is out to advance or protect
His own interests - position, power, status,
Beliefs, security and profits.
King Solomom is a symbol of any feared authority, ruler, father figure, -
Often a myth or a post created by tradition or statute,
With an all too human incumbent behind it,
Like a boy king or god.
The saffron rice is a metaphor
For any nice, respectable sounding name
Which is invoked to camouflage, hide
Something which is mundane, substandard,
Or downright bad, a scam,
And make it appear good or worthy.
See also emperor's new dress, euphemism.
Now that you've got this far,
Following the analytical drift,
Why not have a go at dissecting
The cow dung?
Ugh!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Letchumi
This is a story of a Malaysian academician,
Whose name is Letchumi,
She lives in Petaling Jaya,
And teaches at a local university,
She was born in Sentul,
Grew up in Brickfields,
In full view, cool,
Of Keretapi Tanah Melayu,
Her father was a station master,
When Malaya was classed in the colonial cluster.
She lives in a single storey bungalow,
With a large compound in Section 5, PJ,
Bought in a year when the ringgit was $2.50
to the US dollar for RM25K,
Now she won't sell it for a million.
She has many friends and reliatives,
Her three children are all grown up,
Living in Australia and Canada,
Her parents have passed away,
Her husband is a professor at Singapore U,
An old BMW sits idle in the garage,
She prefering to drive her new Suzuki Swift,
The Swift is easier to park and easier to drive, she says,
Her bungalow is full of keepsakes,
Mementoes of a full life,
Half opened gift packages,
Unused electrical gadgets,
Six wardrobes of dresses, shoes and oddments
She doesn't know what to do with them
She is still attached to them to be given or thrown away.
With a degree in anthropology and communication theory,
She understands herself and others
She has a collection of mobile phones and computers,
Bluetoothed and wiredup to the Internet,
But towards the end of her tenureship,
She is turning into a recluse
All wired up but no one she particularly wants to call,
All dressed up and nowhere to go.
Whose name is Letchumi,
She lives in Petaling Jaya,
And teaches at a local university,
She was born in Sentul,
Grew up in Brickfields,
In full view, cool,
Of Keretapi Tanah Melayu,
Her father was a station master,
When Malaya was classed in the colonial cluster.
She lives in a single storey bungalow,
With a large compound in Section 5, PJ,
Bought in a year when the ringgit was $2.50
to the US dollar for RM25K,
Now she won't sell it for a million.
She has many friends and reliatives,
Her three children are all grown up,
Living in Australia and Canada,
Her parents have passed away,
Her husband is a professor at Singapore U,
An old BMW sits idle in the garage,
She prefering to drive her new Suzuki Swift,
The Swift is easier to park and easier to drive, she says,
Her bungalow is full of keepsakes,
Mementoes of a full life,
Half opened gift packages,
Unused electrical gadgets,
Six wardrobes of dresses, shoes and oddments
She doesn't know what to do with them
She is still attached to them to be given or thrown away.
With a degree in anthropology and communication theory,
She understands herself and others
She has a collection of mobile phones and computers,
Bluetoothed and wiredup to the Internet,
But towards the end of her tenureship,
She is turning into a recluse
All wired up but no one she particularly wants to call,
All dressed up and nowhere to go.
Numerology
According to numerology, the name Zaharan Razak gives a Life Path number of 2. My mission in life is to serve. That's fine with me.
Al Arqam
All major religions experience the sprouting of sects, either breaking away to form new denominations or religions or staying within the fold but adding an extra handle to the pan or horn to the head.
Christianity has a rich tradition of breakaway groups but Islam too has its share of the history.
On the basis of there being no compulsion in religion, I say leave Al Arqam well alone. Ayah Pin too.
On an individual level, no two persons practise their religions equally alike in every detail and nuance. There are as many sects/mazhabs/religions as there are souls. We have to accept this dichotomy of public practises, private beliefs as part of the existential tension keeping it taut and tingled with its necessary micro adaptations and adjustments to meet life's surprises, apparent contradictions and ironies.
Christianity has a rich tradition of breakaway groups but Islam too has its share of the history.
On the basis of there being no compulsion in religion, I say leave Al Arqam well alone. Ayah Pin too.
On an individual level, no two persons practise their religions equally alike in every detail and nuance. There are as many sects/mazhabs/religions as there are souls. We have to accept this dichotomy of public practises, private beliefs as part of the existential tension keeping it taut and tingled with its necessary micro adaptations and adjustments to meet life's surprises, apparent contradictions and ironies.
Lina Joy
Now what can I say about the Lina Joy case in a few sentences?
The Lina Joy case throws up, again, an issue found in many religions which is often swept under the carpet or elicit more obfuscations - ambivalence.
Ambivalence means holding two contrary and opposite views at one time. On one hand you say there is no compulsion in religion, on the other, you are threatened with some sort of dire consequences if you are in breach of a religious edict. The word edict or command itself suggests force.
The only non punitive religion that I know is Buddhism. Buddhism holds that you are entirely responsible for your karma - cause and effect. You commit wrong, you yourself will suffer the consequences. No punishment is imposed by an outside authority.
Religion X will excommunicate or derobe you but you are free to walk out on it. Religion Y says walking out on it is a serious offence for it demeans the religion.
Many religions tell their followers, salvation, redemption lies in seeking the grace and forgiveness from a source outside of you. Buddhism says all that you seek outside are within you. Only you can save yourself.
So how does all that relate to Lina Joy? The answer is obvious.
The Lina Joy case throws up, again, an issue found in many religions which is often swept under the carpet or elicit more obfuscations - ambivalence.
Ambivalence means holding two contrary and opposite views at one time. On one hand you say there is no compulsion in religion, on the other, you are threatened with some sort of dire consequences if you are in breach of a religious edict. The word edict or command itself suggests force.
The only non punitive religion that I know is Buddhism. Buddhism holds that you are entirely responsible for your karma - cause and effect. You commit wrong, you yourself will suffer the consequences. No punishment is imposed by an outside authority.
Religion X will excommunicate or derobe you but you are free to walk out on it. Religion Y says walking out on it is a serious offence for it demeans the religion.
Many religions tell their followers, salvation, redemption lies in seeking the grace and forgiveness from a source outside of you. Buddhism says all that you seek outside are within you. Only you can save yourself.
So how does all that relate to Lina Joy? The answer is obvious.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
The Truth
If an individual cell in a living body
Is conscious, aware of its separate identity,
Aware of being a part of the whole,
Of its position, form, function and design,
Can see itself, its adjoining neighbour cells,
Clustered to form separate organs,
Hung together to form the closed body,
If the cell can see the whole individual,
Now going about independently in open space,
As well as other individual creatures,
Some alike, some not alike,
And yet sharing many similarities,
Forming and reforming
Dynamic patterns and static clusters,
If the cell can see the whole universe,
Tiered from the tiniest to the infinitesimal,
Much like its own awareness curve,
If the cell can see the oneness,
The connectedness,
The unity in the diversity,
The small in the big,
The big in the small,
The universe
In a grain of sand,
In a drop of water,
In the molecule,
In itself,
Then, perhaps,
We all
Can Know
The Truth.
Is conscious, aware of its separate identity,
Aware of being a part of the whole,
Of its position, form, function and design,
Can see itself, its adjoining neighbour cells,
Clustered to form separate organs,
Hung together to form the closed body,
If the cell can see the whole individual,
Now going about independently in open space,
As well as other individual creatures,
Some alike, some not alike,
And yet sharing many similarities,
Forming and reforming
Dynamic patterns and static clusters,
If the cell can see the whole universe,
Tiered from the tiniest to the infinitesimal,
Much like its own awareness curve,
If the cell can see the oneness,
The connectedness,
The unity in the diversity,
The small in the big,
The big in the small,
The universe
In a grain of sand,
In a drop of water,
In the molecule,
In itself,
Then, perhaps,
We all
Can Know
The Truth.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Friday, December 01, 2006
If I Were Blind
If I were blind
I would've seen thru you
But as I could see
I was blinded by what I saw
I could have put my act better
Committed no wrong
But I did not count
You could be other than strong
Your capacity to misconstrue
Recognized no sides of words
I would be asleep when you scream'd
Scream'd when you dreamt
Wasted was the word that befell your ear
Worse was your word that no one could hear
Weary were they who you pulled to your breast
Worse was the love that sought a figure gone to rest.
I would've seen thru you
But as I could see
I was blinded by what I saw
I could have put my act better
Committed no wrong
But I did not count
You could be other than strong
Your capacity to misconstrue
Recognized no sides of words
I would be asleep when you scream'd
Scream'd when you dreamt
Wasted was the word that befell your ear
Worse was your word that no one could hear
Weary were they who you pulled to your breast
Worse was the love that sought a figure gone to rest.
The Camera Is Too Much Between Us
I lift the camera and veil my face,
The camera is intimidating and suspicious,
Nobody understands or has any use for it;
You reach for your cigarette
Like you clasp your breast in sleep;
I lift it up chary of the world
Who chide me for keeping
A widget in the house.
Down the fallopian barrel of the tele lens
You crouch in prenatal mindlessness
Kuhlick! A magic spell,
Pronouncing you a lilliputian,
A foetal captive
In a little black hell;
But the camera is only an instrument of birth,
I lift it up in an act of love,
I dream the transformation on your face,
When I bring back in a week, a year,
A crisp gloss of your regained loss.
The camera is intimidating and suspicious,
Nobody understands or has any use for it;
You reach for your cigarette
Like you clasp your breast in sleep;
I lift it up chary of the world
Who chide me for keeping
A widget in the house.
Down the fallopian barrel of the tele lens
You crouch in prenatal mindlessness
Kuhlick! A magic spell,
Pronouncing you a lilliputian,
A foetal captive
In a little black hell;
But the camera is only an instrument of birth,
I lift it up in an act of love,
I dream the transformation on your face,
When I bring back in a week, a year,
A crisp gloss of your regained loss.
How To Attain Enlightenment In Just A Day, Well
Hey, I don't pretend to know any better than you or anybody. Wiser men have been telling us it takes a life time and even many life times to attain a state of enlightenment - moksha, nirvana, makrifat, atman. Fine. But if there is another proposal which says it can also be achieved in an instant or a day, fine, too. I think I'll subscribe to this view.
Enlightenment. Long word. Not sure what it means. Let us try. It means the absence or cessation of wrong assumptions. The mind is free from delusions. It sees reality as it is rather than as we want it to be or as we are told or led to believe. An enlightened person holds no false hopes or ideas.
It also means the absence of bad intention and action. At the minimum, the enlightened person has the ability to control the shadow side of his human nature and express only the good side.
He knows and understands what ambition, greed, selfishness, envy, jealousy, anger, revenge are but is able to control or subliminate these negative feelings into a neutral or positive state.
The purpose of life is to survive, to achieve a reasonable standard of living, to stay healthy, to mantain needs and to gain enlightenment.
Life is both a means and an end in itself. The ultimate purpose is to transform it into pure awareness which is our ultimate form. It goes by many names - spirit, soul, consciousness.
The body and the mind are the tools.
The world is the workshop.
Running parallel to this purpose continuum is the virtue continuum. While the purpose continuum states that the purpose of life is to gain ennlightenment, the virtue continuum states that the purpose of life is to live it virtuously.
Enlightenment and virtue go together and are the same thing, or two sides of the same coin of existence.
Evil, negativiity is the raw material for us to fashion or hammer out a useful or virtuous effect.
It is part of the developmental process of life's work, transforming itself into a work of art and virtue.
Life is both an art class and a utility workshop as much as it is a philosophy lesson.
Enlightenment. Long word. Not sure what it means. Let us try. It means the absence or cessation of wrong assumptions. The mind is free from delusions. It sees reality as it is rather than as we want it to be or as we are told or led to believe. An enlightened person holds no false hopes or ideas.
It also means the absence of bad intention and action. At the minimum, the enlightened person has the ability to control the shadow side of his human nature and express only the good side.
He knows and understands what ambition, greed, selfishness, envy, jealousy, anger, revenge are but is able to control or subliminate these negative feelings into a neutral or positive state.
The purpose of life is to survive, to achieve a reasonable standard of living, to stay healthy, to mantain needs and to gain enlightenment.
Life is both a means and an end in itself. The ultimate purpose is to transform it into pure awareness which is our ultimate form. It goes by many names - spirit, soul, consciousness.
The body and the mind are the tools.
The world is the workshop.
Running parallel to this purpose continuum is the virtue continuum. While the purpose continuum states that the purpose of life is to gain ennlightenment, the virtue continuum states that the purpose of life is to live it virtuously.
Enlightenment and virtue go together and are the same thing, or two sides of the same coin of existence.
Evil, negativiity is the raw material for us to fashion or hammer out a useful or virtuous effect.
It is part of the developmental process of life's work, transforming itself into a work of art and virtue.
Life is both an art class and a utility workshop as much as it is a philosophy lesson.
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