THE SURPRISE THAT ARRIVED AFTER THE TERAWIKH PRAYER

5th MAY 2021 ~ There was a car parked outside the house as I arrived home from the Terawikh prayers [the prayers that are done at night during the month of Ramadhan] at about 10:30 p.m. A lady driver introduced herself as a Ninja Van staff and handed me over a huge and heavy box.  However there was no indication who the sender was as it was not stated on the label outside the parcel. I had never expected to receive a surprise late in the night.

I was eager to find out what was inside and the box contained a lot of items - all of them were healthy food products. I will need a lot of time to finish eating and drinking all the stuff but for sure, I will be a healthier man.

My sincerest gratitude to my Chinese friends/ex-colleagues of SMK Taman Universiti for the Eid big package this year, and all the Eid gifts that they have been giving and sending all these years without fail. Wishing you all the best of health and many more years of friendship to treasure.

"Kindness in words creates confidence,
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness,

Kindness in giving creates love."
~ Lao Tze ~

RAMADHAN IS THE MONTH OF GIVING

The tradition of giving and receiving continues this year. I am fortunate to live in a circle of people who have the hearts of gold.

The gifts for Ramadhan came from many sources which are friends/colleagues (and parents too) from all the two schools I was teaching before: SMK Taman Universiti and SMK Mutiara Rini, and the present one: SMK Dato' Jaafar.

I cannot thank you all enough for your kind thoughts and generosity and only God may repay all your kindness in this holy month of Ramadhan. 

"Kindness in words creates confidence.

Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.

Kindness in giving creates love."

~   L A O   T Z E   ~

THE ALMS GIVING CEREMONY IN LUANG PRABANG ~ DAY 3

6th DECEMBER 2017 ~ The daily routine of giving alms to the barefooted Buddhist monks clad in their orange robes very early in the morning has forced many visitors to wake up even before the sun rises just to witness the event. We were already wide awake by 5:00 a.m. and then at about 5:30 a.m. we heard drums being beaten from far away. We went to the main road near to the hotel and by that time, there were already people on the streets. Generous donors were already seated by the roadside while entrepreneurs were busy looking for prospect buyers to the packets of snacks that would be surrendered to the monks.

Not long after that, the monks arrived - walking in one straight line and they stopped in front of the people who put their alms in the containers the monks were carrying.

There were many groups of monks, and most probably they belonged to different monasteries there. They came from different directions and walked away quickly once they received the alms. I could see that most of the monks were young boys but each group was led by someone who looked more elderly.

There was a group of young foreigner who were there to join in the alms giving ceremony, rather than just observing.

If you wonder, what was given to the monks, surprisingly people donated snacks that could be bought from the street vendors but there were also other food items. However, that does not mean the monks eat all the snacks and that does not happen as all of them looked really slim and fit. I read somewhere, the items given would then be sold back to the shops and the monasteries would get their money. But correct me if I am wrong.

On the last day of my stay in Luang Prabang, I managed to witness this ceremony nearer and clearer when I went to the market place.

"Kindness in words creates confidence,

kindness in thinking creates profoundness,

kindness in giving creates love."

~ Lao Tzu ~

TO BE CONTINUED...

[MY LUANG PRABANG TRIP MAIN PAGE]

KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE

3rd April 2014 ~ The first formal meeting for Kadet Bomba [Fire Brigade Cadets] was held today. Something had to be done to revive this group. I decided to start with the juniors as many of the seniors did not show much enthusiasm when I tried to start the marching practice this year.

Thanks a lot to Mr. Suhaizie Jasmani, an ex-cadet and ex-platoon commander of the marching group, for his willingness to spend his precious time and energy to train the super juniors. Congratulations to all who had been present for the first session and hopefully, more cadets will turn up for practices or meetings in the future.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

~ Lao Tzu ~

PARTY ALL THE TIME

Some Malay words are just difficult to be translated into English, like the word "rezeki". I define "rezeki" as a gift from God that is given when you are least expecting it. The analogy: while you are walking, suddenly you see a RM50 note lying on the street. "Rezeki" can come in many forms and sizes, it can be big and small (quantitatively speaking), it can be in the form of money, food, promotion - anything that can make you happy and be thankful for what you get.

So while we were in the midst of our angklung practice, someone hopped in with a bagful of KFC. Definitely a surprise, a small party was called. Then, some kind teachers gave us extra packed food (mee siam) from other activities held in school, making our feast more complete - and we even managed to get cold drinks from the canteen, another "leftover". It was something really unexpected but we enjoyed ourselves just the same.

posing with the food that was yet to be eaten

Thank you Iqballuqman (actually his father and/or mother) for the generosity. And we will pray for your prosperity and good health in return.

"He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much."
~ Lao Tze ~