每天进步一点点 Great Translation of English by Chinese Mathematics Teacher

太赞了。 朋友分享给我。现在分享给你。

Diamond Sutra Buddhism

I find the following verse from Diamond Sutra helpful in letting go unhappiness. In life, there are times you need reminder or encouragement. Life is life Tao, that looks like sine wave with up and down when rotated. But it is when there is duality that you understand what it means in both polarities.  

If you are interested to read more about Buddhism and the Heart Sutra, you can visit my blog here. 

I spent some time translating meaningful part of this drama on the life of the 6^th Patriarch of Chan, the Venerable Huineng as I find that it is helpful. Please highlight to me if there is error in translating. 

Venerable Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarchof Chan (February 27, 638 – August 28, 713) was said to attain awakening when he heard a verse from the Diamond Sutra 应无所住而生其心. Without abiding anything, give rise to the pure mind. 

 

When the Fifth Patriarch of Chan Venerable Hong Ren explained to him the Diamond sutra. Venerable Hui Neng was "suddenly and completely enlightened, and he understood that all things exist in self-nature.

 

应无所住而生其心，Without abiding anything, give rise to the pure mind 

云何应住，云何降伏其心 When does the cloud abide, how does the cloud calm the mind

佛说应无所住而生其心 Buddha said without abiding in forms, arises the mind

即是说心即是佛,佛即是心 Meaning Pure Mind is Buddha and Buddha is Pure Mind. 

他做了一首偈子Venerable Huineng came up with the following stanza when he understood the verse. I think true self, is our consciousness. 

何其自性本自清净！What is true self, it is intrinsically pure

何其自性本不生灭！What is true self, it is neither born nor extinguish 

何其自性本自具足！What is true self, it is self-sufficient

何其自性能生万法！What is true self, it can produce immeasurable dharma/ideas

 

From the Diamond Sutra

Subhuti, all great bodhisattvas should give rise to purity of mind in this way: they should not give rise to a mind that abides in form; they should not give rise to a mind that abides in form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas. They should give rise to a mind that does not abide in anything.

Subhuti, a bodhisattva should turn away from all notions, and initiate the mind of anuttara samyaksambodhi. He should not give rise to a mind abiding in form, and he should not give rise to a mind abiding in sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas. He should give rise to a mind that does not abide in anything. 

When we contemplate the following verses from the Diamond Sutra, your mind should not be affected by forms which are transient, dependent on causes and conditions. 

一切有为法，如梦幻泡影，如露亦如电，应作如是观

“All conditioned phenomena
Are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, Like dew and lightning.
One should contemplate them in this way. “

All phenomena appear in the world is a combination of causes and conditions that is temporary by nature. It will pass. There is no permanent nature to form which is subjected to change due to causes and conditions, thus it is illusory. Thus why be sad over something that is illusory. Just let it go and not be attached to it.

A lot of suffering comes from the mind which is influenced by forms like sight, hearing, touch, taste or perception. When someone criticised us, we get upset, when someone own something we don’t have, we want it. We are always influenced by the three poison, greed, anger and delusion. 

From the book, Miracles Happen: The Transformational Healing by Dr Brian Weiss, “ Chinese philosopher Hui-neng (6^thpatriarch of Chan Buddhism/Zen) wrote, “When we are free from attachment to all outer objects, the mind will be in peace. Our essence of mind is intrinsically pure, and the reason why we are perturbed is because we allow ourselves to be carried by the circumstances we are in. He who is able to keep his mind unperturbed (calm), irrespective of circumstances has attained enlightenment. “ 

 

A woman who went through a near-death experience shared,” I realized that life is like a dream”. She wrote, “ When you are born, you wake up into mortality in this physical body. When your physical body dies, you return to immortality.” 

 

I realised what is 无我 no-self as our consciousness or mind changes identity in various body forms in our many reincarnations. Thus there is no permanent self-identity. Do not cling to anger and just let go.

Diamond Sutra Part 1 is here

Happy Singapore 61st National Day. Aranda Lee Kuan Yew Orchids 新加坡61周年国庆快乐。李光耀兰胡姬花

Today on 9 August, Singapore is celebrating 61 years of independence. The success of modern Singapore is inextricably linked to our first Prime Minister, the astute and wise Mr Lee Kuan Yew who led Singapore with his fellow comrades like Dr Goh Keng Swee, from third world to first world. Thank you Mr Lee Kuan Yew for your lifelong dedication to Singapore.

If you love flowers too, visit my Blooming Flowers and Arts blog here. 

今天，8月9日，新加坡庆祝独立61周年。现代新加坡的成功与我们的首任总理、精明睿智的李光耀先生密不可分，他与吴庆瑞博士等同志一道，带领新加坡从第三世界跃升至第一世界。感谢李光耀先生毕生对新加坡的奉献。

Aranda Lee Kuan Yew

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终于看功夫女足了！

昨天8月8日终于看功夫女足电影了！我们80后都是看星爷的电影长大的。每逢新年过节都是看星爷的喜剧。百看不厌。

星爷还是宝刀未老。这部喜剧还是这么好笑又有哲学。不管输赢，全力以赴，。不努力，肯定不能赢。Be Water, My Friend, 让我想起了老子道德经的上善若水。

”上善若水。水善利万物而不争，处众人之所恶，故几于道。居，善地；心，善渊；与，善仁；言，善信；政，善治；事，善能；动，善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。“

昨天的电影，只有第一排没人。

Singapore Garden Festival 2026

You can watch the recently concluded Singapore Garden Festival 2026 here. I like the impressive landscape gardens with amazing architecture designs and also intricate penjing.

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大合唱《平凡之路》

 好听。百听不厌。

Most Beautiful Pine Trees in Unexpected Place

I'm currently working part-time in an organisation and I'm delighted to see the most beautiful exquisite pine trees and bamboos! I'm impressed by the effort and thought put into landscaping and taking care of the gardens. Other organisations just put perfunctory effort in creating garden as part of the organisation criteria or KPI. I have to say it's one of the beautiful gardens with unique and exquisite bamboos and pine trees that are quite rare. It's the first time I seen such beautiful pine trees. 

This is the third organisation that I joined as part-time staff this year. Actually it should be the fourth as the third was an independent organisation. I learnt about different organisation cultures and implementations. This current organisation has the best culture (respectful generally) and most beautiful garden with creative leaders. The good thing about working part-time is I just focus on the creative aspect of my work and not spend too much time on admin and meeting. 

Anyway, I always feel happy whenever I go back early after completing the task and I don't have to stay back for meetings and other duties. Contract with this organisation will end in few months time. I will use the time to admire these beautiful pine trees during my free time. These ancient looking pine trees are indeed a sight to behold. 

Not Using Facebook Account

I decided not to use Facebook account. What is the point of having the account if I can't share my blog or video? I'm also not comfortable giving my phone number and putting my photo to the social media. In a way it is good that I can save time by not spending too much time on Facebook. So do not respond if you see my name as I'm not using Facebook now.