Sunday, October 29, 2006

 

Reservice 2006


Back to the 'Jungle' for 2 weeks.

I'll be back!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

 

Shakubuku

At 11pm, 24 October 2006, Tampines. I locked my first commitment for Vincent Tan to receive his Gohonzon. The joy is unfathomable.

There are many things we can give a friend. But there is nothing that is more precious than to give him hope, to give him a philosophy which can lead him to a happier life.

I recalled my vow at the beginning of the year burning strongly again in my heart.

There is no greater joy than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. I understood that now.

Friday, October 20, 2006

 

200th

Sunday, October 8, 2006

Beijing Normal University Presents SGI President with His 200th Academic Honor

In a ceremony at Soka University on October 7, Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) lay Buddhist organization, was awarded an honorary professorship from Beijing Normal University, bringing to 200 the number of honorary doctorates, professorships and equivalent honors given in recognition of his efforts to promote peace through dialogue, citizen diplomacy and cross-cultural exchange.

Established in 1902, Beijing Normal University is China's oldest teacher training university. In conferring the honorary professorship, the university's highest accolade, Vice President Ge Jianping stated, "Mr. Ikeda has made a profound contribution to the cause of Sino-Japanese friendship. He has traveled tirelessly to spread humanistic education and made great efforts to promote world peace." Professor Ge also mentioned that Mr. Ikeda's pioneering educational ideas are now the focus of scholarly research in China.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Ikeda called for the strengthening of joint efforts by China and Japan toward protection of the environment as one way of improving relations. He urged the two governments to build on the existing Sino-Japan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection in Beijing and take the first steps in developing a comprehensive environmental partnership that could benefit the whole of Asia over the next 100 years. This would feature the sharing of technology, skills and human resources in order to address issues such as pollution prevention, energy efficiency and environmental education.

The SGI President also commented, "I regard today's honor as a symbol of trust in the members of SGI around the world. I am determined once again to dedicate myself to the construction of world peace and the further promotion of culture and education."
Chinese Minister of Education Zhou Ji sent a congratulatory message stating, "President Ikeda is an old and treasured friend of all the Chinese people who has continuously contributed to Sino-Japanese friendship and educational exchange." Nobel laureates Wangari Maathai and Mikhail Gorbachev and former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi were among others who sent congratulatory messages.

To date, a total of 67 universities in China have awarded honorary doctorates or professorships to Mr. Ikeda. He has repeatedly expressed the view that Japan must work to earn the trust of the countries of Asia which suffered the brutal effects of Japan's militarism during World War II, and was an early proponent of normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, starting with a proposal made in 1968. He has initiated numerous cultural and educational exchanges as bridges of peace between the two countries.

In 1975, Soka University welcomed the first Chinese exchange students to study in Japan after the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations. Soka University now has exchange programs with 25 universities in China. The Min-On Concert Association, also founded by Mr. Ikeda, has invited 37 cultural groups from China to perform in Japan, and in July this year a 200-strong delegation of youth members of the Soka Gakkai visited China in a regular youth exchange program which began in 1985.

Mr. Ikeda was awarded the first of his 200 academic honors, an honorary doctorate from Moscow State University, in 1975. Since then he has received similar recognitions from universities and academic institutions in 42 countries, including Peking University, the University of Glasgow, the University of Denver, Ankara University, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the University of Delhi, the University of Sydney and the University of Ghana.

[Courtesy of an October 10, 2006 SGI Office of Information press release.]

Thursday, October 19, 2006

 

BLAG

== Tagged by Cindy ==

1) Name the last person you just asked to go out:

Elyn.

2) Name an activity that you wish you're doing right now

Learning.


3) Name 10 people that you are thankful for in this life

One:
A newborn lion cub is a cowardly cat, unsure of itself and afraid of the environment. It will even shiver at the sight of hyenas and tremble at the howling of the wolves. But once the cub comes to the realization that it too, possesses the heart of the lion heart, courage is found. Similarly, man is fundamentally weak. Yet each one of us possesses infinite potential. How do come about this potential and power? Only when we first find a worthy man and then realized that we too can be a true disciple of a great mentor, can be tap this power as a human being. I am thankful for having found my mentor, Dr Daisaku Ikeda.

Two:
I am thankful for my mother. Not merely because she bore me and keep me alive in my childhood years. And it is not just because she showered her love to keep me emotionally stable but because she is a really amazing person. Alone and without much education, she raised three schooling children till each one of them completed their university education.

Three:
I am thankful for my father. His mistakes created a drive within me to succeed in life no matter what.

Four:
I am thankful for my siblings. I grew up with them after all. They affected the way I turn out quite a bit.

Five:
I am thankful for ZJ, a friend who grew up with me in the heartland of Hougang. Only a year older than me, his death before our twentieth birthdays due to an auto-accident roused a demand in my soul to search for answers to life and death. I pored into the teachings of Christianity and Buddhism which were the predominant religions of the people with Chinese ancestry. Those studies provided me with a sound foundation in life philosophy. After the “9-11” incident, I took to studying about Islam too.

Six:
I am thankful for Camy. Although the four years we were together as a couple did not work out in the end, I learnt much about being in a relationship from her.

Seven:
I am thankful for my comrades in the SGI/SSA/SD. There are my comrades! ’nuff said.

Eight:
I am thankful to my wacky colleagues and my lovely students. They make my working life bearable.

Nine:
I am thankful for my NIE gang mainly because I was tagged by one of them.
(The appreciation is real. But the one-liner reason is also real. That is because there are simply too many people I am thankful for and there is no way I can finish listing them all with ten entries. That is why I’m leaving number ten hanging and open-ended.)

Ten:
*wink*

I shall just pass the tag to... anyone who bothers lah..

Showing appreciation is a very humbling process. I don't usually respond to BLAG, but I found this one worth doing.


Sunday, October 08, 2006

 

October Haze

The haze due to the forest fire further south is back again.

I got a new car.

And a HV filled month ahead.

Feeling quite alive, but not much motivation to blog. Lots of reading to be done. Studying hard in preparation of the Youth Camp and the PGR Campaign.

Maybe a bit more blogging when the EOY holiday comes along.