Brief Bio Here are some basic information about me that I'm comfortable
sharing.
Ethnically, I am a Chinese, although in terms of nationality, I am a
"Singaporean". From the ZEN point of view, ethnicity and nationality are hardly
of any consequence ... what is important is to "be present" as a Chinese and a
Singaporean ... although ethnicity is, of course, fixed by one's biology, so
one really has little choice in that area. But nationality can be changed ... so, who knows? One day, maybe I will "quit" Singapore to become
an American or --- ??? Let the Holy Spirit lead ... and let us "go with the
flow", under His divine grace, protection, and inspired (Spirited!) leadership.
Let's see ... what to say next. Ahhhh ... education-wise, I graduated from the
National University of Singapore (NUS), with a Business degree -- "Bachelor of
Business Administration (Honours)" -- way, way back in the mid-Eighties of the
20th Century, as well as from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, with a
Master's degree in computer science, in the Nineties. Again, from the ZEN
stance, educational qualifications are not important at all ... the education
are just for operating in the secular world, but the ZEN-like attitude towards
education is to engage in lifelong learning without becoming too "soulish" or "selfish" -- that is, the four elements of the "soul"
or "self" (will, mind, intellect, and emotions) should be in line with that of
God ... that's what Christianity really means: "less and less of self (soul),
and more and more of God". Now ... that's ZEN!!!
Next, family. Married, with a son who's already an adult. ZEN "simplicity"
itself in this area for the most part, even during the early years of marriage
and
child-rearing.
Age? As of 2008, I am 53. Hmm ... this area is one I have never fret much
about. What's there to fret about in this -- or any other -- area? ZEN
"equanimity" is, of course, easier as one gets older and older chronologically
... but the ZEN mind is a no-mind ("wu-nien"), so there is little or nothing to
worry about, as long as one's spirit, soul (will, mind, intellect, emotions)
and body are in more-or-less optimal conditions -- or progressing towards
optimality, under the Spirit's leadership ("Not by might, not by power, but by
my Spirit", says God, remember?)
Current activities include 'Net stuff, like creating and updating this ZEN
website (and several others as well). This area can be engaged ZEN-like,
without sinking into desire ("tanha"), the cause of unsatisfactoriness
("dukkha") first identified some 2,500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama of the
Sakya clan (the historical Buddha; "Sakyamuni" -- teacher of the Sakya clan).
Jesus also told us to seek the righteousness of God (an example of the true
treasures that exist only in Heaven), instead of earthly so-called "treasures"
(Mammon; lucre; money; material goods). Such earthly "treasures" laid up so
carefully by many while on the Earth will NOT last -- in fact, Jesus said that
these earthly "treasures" are the ones that rust and moth can and will destroy; these "treasures" are also the type that thieves (including robber
governments and bureaucrats!) can and will steal.
Whoa ... this is getting "heavy" ... On a lighter note ... let's see ... hey!,
hobbies-wise and sports-wise, I like cycling, swimming, badminton,
reading, music, videos, food, ... you know, the usual stuff? Nothing special
... except that I try to do it with ZEN simplicity. So ... no interest in
competitions of any sort, naturally ... it's the only ZEN way of enjoying such
activities. Forget the ego ... that's part of your soul or self that's supposed
to become "less and less", while we become more "Christ-like" (or more "Godly",
if you prefer this term).
Background to this website -- & about "ZEN" Here I'll describe why and how I came to start this ZEN website. After I returned from Scotland in 1994 or so, I happen to come across two books
of cartoons on ZEN at a local bookstore. Curious and intrigued by the
simplicity of the treatment and coverage on a topic that I had thought was
"deep", I began an exploration of ZEN by reading up the available ZEN books at
our local library. I also bought quite a few of these ZEN books, especially
those not available at the library's "lending" section (but may be available at
the "reference" section). When the 'Net became sophisticated enough from the post-1997 "Asian Financial
Crisis" period onwards (i.e., after 1999) -- especially with the invention of
the - World Wide Web (WWW),
- Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and the
- WWW browsers (such as Mosaic, then Netscape, then MS Internet Explorer), plus
- subsequent integration of newsgroups-Usenet, Telnet, ftp, email, multimedia
(particularly still images and sounds, including music), and other aspects of
the 'Net into the then-warring WWW browsers
-- I started to bring together some of the ZEN stuff that I had been reading,
and put up some of them into a very simple website, which went into various
incarnations-versions. Of course, my skill levels with the HTML and other
emerging technologies were low at the time -- but you can always keep on
learning, applying, and improving. Anyway, pleasantly enough, I also seek out the Web -- using the early verisons
of human-assembled search directories, such as Yahoo!; then, much later, using
search engines, which were more automated and had more SERPs, or Seach Engine
Results Pages. Google eventually became my favorite, of course. In any case, I
found that many, many others who were similarly-minded had also been putting up
websites (weblogs weren't available then) on and about ZEN. One matter that needed to be addressed was, of course, how a Christian
(although I am a Charismatic, with no affiliation to any denomination -- thus,
an "independent" Charismatic, if you like!) can even "look into ZEN". Isn't
that forbidden? Well ... suffice to say, I haven't found it to be so.
In any case, the ZEN that is the modern version, after having gone through the
Indian-Chinese-Korean-Japanese-Western mill, is no longer the same as, and has
"progressed" (if you like that term!) far beyond the confines of the: - "Dhyana" ("meditation") tradition in India,
- "Ch'anna" (or "Ch'an") tradition in pre-modern China,
- "Son" tradition in Korea, and even the
- pre-modern "Zen" tradition in Japan.
It is for this reason that I use the uppercase ZEN, to distinguish it from all
the others, even the pre-modern "Zen" of pre-modern Japan. ZEN is no longer a religious matter, if it ever was. So, no gods and goddesses,
of whatever flavor or color or temperament or anatomical arrangement, is
involved in what I call ZEN. And ZEN also has nothing to say about demons, evil
spirits, fallen angels, devils, the Devil, the Beast, 666, False Prophet,
Anti-Christ, etc., etc., etc. ... the list can get very long, you go finish it! ZEN is no longer a spiritual discipline. So, don't look or feel so "holy" if
you think you've "gotten ZEN". ZEN is not even a philosophy or anything remotely related to metaphysics. So,
scratch out all that intellectualizing, mind-bending, etc. Forget yourself.
Don't be yourself, please! (If you are a Christian, then be Christ-like! Or, be
like the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Counsellot, requested by God the Son
Yahshua-Yesua-Iesous-Jesus of His Father, Yahweh-Jehovah, to be sent to us for
a Witness of and for Christ and also to be our Comforter and Counsellor.) As should be clear by now (especially from the previous paragraph), ZEN is
certainly not anti-intellectual, nor is ZEN anti-SCIENCE. Personally, I love
SCIENCE -- and by my capitalisation, you know that I am referring to Modern
SCIENCE. Above all, ZEN is not mystical or superstitious. So, kindly don't connect or
relate ZEN to anything done in any man-made place of worship, particularly those involving rituals, incantations,
chantings, priests, mediums, and the like. Oh ... well ... there can be a
possibility of using these rituals, etc., as convenient devices to help you
calm your inner spirit (or "spirit-man", as the Apostle Paul put it) -- the
spirit being that part of the tri-partite reality that you consist of (i.e.,
"spirit", "soul", and "body" -- you are a God-created spirit, possessing a soul
when God breathed into a body created by God's own hands from the mist and dust
of the Earth, per Genesis Chapter 1, verses 26-27, and Genesis Chapter 2,
verses 6-7). But remember, these are only convenient and helpful devices. They
are not what ZEN is about! Ignore or forget this at your own ... no, not risk
or peril ... but you end up wasting much time and energy and other
resources for little or no returns (and simultaneously, fooling yourself ... so
sad!). ZEN has its roots in the philosophical-type of Buddhism started by
Siddhartha Gautama (the Historical Buddha), which became much modified and
codified (perhaps, even calcified) by later traditions in India and China. ZEN also owes a great debt to the 28th Indian Patriarch, Bodhidharma, who
brought "Dhyana" (meditation) as his Zen (it wasn't called that, at the time,
of course!) to the Shaolin priests of China, becoming the "Ch'an" (or
"Ch'anna") since this was how the Chinese came to pronounce "Dhyana". From there on, to first Korea and later Japan, ZEN developed and evolved
further as the Koreans and Japanese used their collective genius in
re-engineering and reverse-engineering the "Ch'an" tradition of China -- and out
came the "Son" tradition of Korea and the "Zen" tradition of Japan. Finally, after being exposed to the West (after having "emigrated" from Japan,
Korea, Vietnam and even Thailand), ZEN is what we have today. ZEN is modern, Westernised, and above all, no longer tied to, while
acknowledging, its pre-modern roots in India, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and
Thailand. Anyone who speaks English can understand and "get ZEN". (If you speak other
languages, get the necessary translations, of course -- but English is where
ZEN was born, as ZEN's birthplace is in the English West, particularly the
United States of America.) Anyone can understand and "get ZEN" if s/he is an individual of the PRESENT
... and also has more than a foot (probably like an entire leg) into the FUTURE
(a la Alvin Toffler) -- and, naturally, very naturally, is not
overwhelmed-intimidated by information (no such nonsense as "information
overload") or overwhelmed-intimidated by any form of modern technology
(including, of course, all technologies connected in one way or another with
computers, communications, and connectivities, especially the Internet). And if Mathematics and/or Science get up your goat ... or floor you in any way,
deal with it. That is, if you want to understand and "get ZEN". Cheers! (or otherwise -- the choice is YOURS, you know that already!)
(This could be a picture of my town. Why not? That's a ZEN mind operating! Have
YOU got it yet?) |
