牛，哪里去？(New Knowledge)
Doctor 1: His heart broke. Damn it! We're losing him!
Doctor 2: Give him hope, six milligrams. Charge.
Doctor 1: Clear.
Doctor 2: Clear.
[Insert sound of body getting shocked, like er.. I dunno. Zap?]
Doctor 1: Nothing.
Doctor 2: Go again. Three hundred.
Doctor 1: Three hundred.
Doctor 2: Charge. Clear.
Doctor 1: Clear.
[Zap]
Doctor 1: Nothing. Doctor?
Doctor 2: Again, once more. Three fifty, charge. Clear.
Doctor 1: Clear.
[**SHOCK**]
Doctor 1: We’re getting something.
Doctor 2: Thankfully. At last, we’ve managed to revive Mr. Adi A. Ryat
Is Cai Min Jia a procrastinating bastard or what. I tend to think it’s the former. The above introduction was penned approximately 72 days, 3 hours, 8 mins n 48.265secs ago, but this entry was only completed and posted today, after an obscenely long hiatus.
No matter. Anyway, the dreaded exams are over and though I’ve (somewhat) fulfilled my first New Year Resolution, thus ensuring I won’t be joining the Dragon babies in LT 29 listening to how enzyme A catalyses reaction B and requires cofactor C and is inextricably linked to pathway D which has another dozen, no wait, make that hundred, enzymes which are all supposed to be committed to memory, my grades are still nothing short of abysmal. Sometimes I wonder why I’m in Med and not Maths fac. Well, at least the appalling results put me in the running for the “Most Improved Player” award. As the adage goes, “when you’re at the bottom, the only way to go is up”. Or you could remain at the bottom as well. But never mind.
Since it’s been like half a year since my last update, and it will probably be a year before my next update, I shall just flash random snippets of my life thus far.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive - perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
Today, I learnt about the demise of someone. Someone I knew. I confess that he was not one of my closest bosom buddies, but neither was he someone on the street or a mere acquaintance. He was a friend. His passing on came as a bolt from the blue.
I recall just a few months ago, when a group of us were playing soccer on the Astroturf. He was the fox in the box, ready to pounce on any loose ball to slot in the goal. I remember when he scored that brilliant goal and began his trademark celebration. That scene will never be seen again.
He was my classmate in my lower secondary school days. Always the quiet and reserved person, he was a nice guy. A good man, as I always like to say. He was just like any typical student. But in Secondary 4, he was stricken with DVT. He pulled through but was visibly weakened physically by the ordeal. His zest for life never waned and nary a frown would be spotted on his face. Life continued as per normal after that, until the same ailment got him sent to ICU once again in JC. The next time I saw him in school again, there was a scar snaking up in the midline of his chest, just peeking out from the front of the collar. But the enthusiasm for life never left him. Though the pallor on his visage was apparent, so was the slight hint of vigour in his eyes, the spark of life, the willpower to overcome adversity and live on.
And so, he pressed on, living life to the fullest. The last time I saw him, he showed no signs of being in poor health. In fact, he looked fitter than me, no doubt due to my lack of exercise since entering Medfac. But suddenly, another attack descended upon him and on Wednesday, he left. A young flame extinguished just like that. Deaths are always tragic, but the end of a life so young is especially hard to take.
Indeed, this leads us to ponder about life. Precious, it is, but yet fragile. As such, I urge everyone to treasure and cherish life and the people around us. You never know when they might just be taken from you. Another lesson to take away would be to live everyday as if it were the last day of our lives, because for all you know, it may well be… As an old Indian adage goes, “The most amazing thing in the world is that we all live as if we will still be alive tomorrow”
He may have left us, but his passion for living and resilience will never be forgotten. As is the case with the memories shared. Ruihong, you will be missed, but your memory will live on in our hearts. Requiescat in pace, R!ng…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being a narcissistic photo whore, I shall post a recent photo of myself. Voilà!
Quod Erat Demonstrandum, Medfac makes you FAT.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking at the tagboard, one can spot a rare visitor to this blog. An old friend from JC days whom yours truly has, regretfully, not really kept in touch with. Zhou dong! Memories of RJC come rushing back like waves beating on the shore.
The times spent shooting hoops on the basketball court. The times spent screwing around talking cock before S paper sessions. The times spent slacking around instead of taking Harmonica Club sessions seriously. The times spent playing UT in the com lab or soccer late at night after Astro. Those memories of life in RJ and RI. Those were the good days when people weren’t rushing to snag their favourite spot in the library to bury their heads in Guyton/Snells. Shall stop reminiscing.
Note to self: Must keep in touch with friends, as per New Year Resolution #6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor
Department of Chemical Biology, Madson, Nigerian Union of Schools (N.U.S.)
Applications are invited for academic positions in the Department of Chemical Biology, in a bid to replace incompetent current professors, including the likes of Jay-is-a-lan Cant-tell, Stiff Cheung, Hand-ry You and Tan Chee Bong. Anyone with a decent grasp of the field, common sense and basic pedagogy knowledge is strongly urged to apply. Interested parties, please contact our staff at 6-BIOCHEM (62462436).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WARNING! CUTE GIRL APPROACHING IN
5
4
3
2
1
TADAH!
She's a lil girl I met on my trip to Taiwan last year and she's called Ashley. These snapshots don't do justice to her, but she's actually quite cute.
Lest you get mistaken, I categorically state that I’m nothing like a certain celebrity who shares my initials and is reputed to be a paedophile. I’m not a paedophile, I think. NO WAIT. I KNOW.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COIN MATRIX
JAZZ ACES
All hail the greatest magician ever to be named CAIMINJIA, albeit the only one.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invitation to Join Ferrari Bloggers
From: Ferrari Bloggers (info@ferrari-bloggers.com)
You may not know this sender. Mark as safe | Mark as unsafe
Sent:
Sunday, January 28, 2007 6:09:28 AM
Reply-to:
info@ferrari-bloggers.com
To:
everyonecanfindme@hotmail.com
Dear blog author:
We recently came across your site, adiaryat.blogspot.com, while searching for bloggers who blog about Ferrari issues.
A small group of us have started a new site called Ferrari Bloggers . Our intent is to bring Ferrari bloggers closer together, and make a positive contribution to the Internet community.
Would you be interested in joining Ferrari Bloggers ? Please take a few minutes to have a look at what we are trying to do, and if you are interested, there is a sign up page to get the ball rolling. We would greatly appreciate your support in this endeavour.
If you do not feel that your blog would be a good fit for Ferrari Bloggers , but enjoy this subject area, come visit us and one of our member bloggers. You can also check our FAQ Section to learn more about Ferrari Bloggers .
We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on Ferrari Bloggers .
Craig Cantin
Ferrari Bloggers
info@ferrari-bloggers.com
Please note: you will receive this email no more than twice. If you do not respond to this email, we will send out a second and final email in approximately 3 weeks time. If you respond, by joining or by declining the invitation, we will not intentionally send this invite a second time.
You can join or visit Ferrari Bloggers at any time, but we do not believe in spam, and will not intentionally send this invite more than twice. If you have any concerns regarding our anti-spam policy, please do not hesitate to contact us.
How cool. And all because I wrote a tiny 1/123164271 of an entry about how Michael Schumacher’s my favourite F1 driver. What a pity Ferrari’s lagging behind McLaren now though.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Chapter 11 “The Head and Neck” of Richard S. Snell’s Clinical Anatomy edition 7, Pg. 728
“Suicide attempts by cutting one’s throat often fail because the individual first extends the neck before making several horizontal cute with a knife. Extension of the cervical part of the vertebral column and extension of the head at the atlanto-occipital joint cause the carotid sheath with its contained large blood vessels to slide posteriorly beneath the sternocleidomastoid muscle. To achieve the desired results with the head and neck fully extended, some individuals have to make several attempts and only succeed when the larynx and the greater part of the sternocleidomasstoid muscles have been severed.”
Er… I wonder why this section wasn’t entitled “How to commit the perfect suicide”. Speaking of which, people cut their throats when committing suicide? That’s something new. New day, new discovery…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Word of the Day for Friday, April 13, 2007
spoonerism \SPOO-nuh-riz-uhm\, noun:
The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.
Some examples:
• We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish ["half-formed wish"] inside us.
• The Lord is a shoving leopard ["loving shepherd"].
• It is kisstomary to cuss ["customary to kiss"] the bride.
• Is the bean dizzy ["dean busy"]?
• When the boys come back from France, we'll have the hags flung out ["flags hung out"]!
• Let me sew you to your sheet ["show you to your seat"].
Spoonerism comes from the name of the Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), a kindly but nervous Anglican clergyman and educationalist. All the above examples were committed by (or attributed to) him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Filippo Inzaghi took Kaká’s perfectly-weighted through ball in his stride, rounded Pepe Reina and slotted the ball home calmly, even the most ardent of Liverpool fans knew that it was “Game Over, please insert token to continue”. It was game, set and match and victory was made sweeter by the knowledge that revenge had been achieved against Liverpool, who had miraculously escaped defeat 2 years ago. This time, there was to be no fairytale ending, no twist at the end.
Johan Cruyff, former Dutch great once said of Pippo, “Look, actually he can't play football at all. He's just always in the right position." But here he was, scoring his second goal, earning the Man-of-the-Match award, and hammering in the last nail in the Reds’ coffin. The first goal might have been a stroke of good luck, but the second smacked of pure predatory instinct. And after all, luck does favour the prepared...
Despite not playing with their usual breathtaking pace and sublime skill, the Dad’s army had done just enough to see off the Englishmen. It was a night for celebration, not only in Athens but all around the world, where fans of the Rossoneri reside. The humiliation of Istanbul had been erased and the coveted trophy was once more held in the hands of the indefatigable Paolo Maldini and his journeymen. Viva Italia!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Movies watched since term ended:
The Prestige
The Illusionist
V For Vendetta
Spiderman 3
Corpse Bride
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Books read since term ended:
An Artist of the Floating World---Kazuo Ishiguro
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber---Louis Cha
Inheritance of Loss---Kiran Desai
Books to read before next term starts:
Middlesex---Jeffrey Eugenides
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell---Susanna Clarke
Textbook of Medical Physiology---Guyton and Hall
Misc. M2 books
Somehow I have this feeling that eventually, I’ll end up not reading the last 2 items on my books-to-read list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buddhism, also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and Pali is actually quite cool. It’s not just a religion, it’s also a philosophy and a way of life. I should go learn more about it or something.
Here’s an excerpt of just a miniscule fraction of what Buddhism entails.
The Four Noble Truths
According to the scriptures, the Buddha taught that in life there exists Dukkha, which is in essence sorrow/suffering, that is caused by desire and it can be brought to cessation by following the Noble Eightfold Path (Sanskrit: Āryāṣṭāṅgamārgaḥ , Pāli: Ariyo Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo). This teaching is called the Catvāry Āryasatyāni (Pali: Cattāri Ariyasaccāni), or the "Four Noble Truths".
1.Suffering: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.
2. The cause of suffering: The craving which leads to renewed existence (rebirth) (the cycle of samsara)
3. The cessation of suffering: The cessation of craving.
4. The way leading to the cessation of suffering: The Noble Eightfold Path;
According to the scriptures, the Four Noble Truths were among the topics of the first sermon given by the Buddha after his enlightenment, which was given to the five ascetics with whom he had practised austerities. The Four Noble Truths were originally spoken by the Buddha not in the form of a religious or philosophical text, but in the manner of a medical diagnosis and remedial prescription in a style that was common at that time. The early teaching and the traditional understanding in the Theravada is that these are an advanced teaching for those who are ready for them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you blatantly ignore his semi-spastic looking expression, it's not too bad a performance of the piece.
*Add to "To Do List" for hols---> Start practising this piece and others in a bid to achieve a decent rendition and build a repertoire, which is a tall order given that I have scarcely touched the piano in recent months and everyone who knows me knew the acquiring of the Dip was nothing short of fortuitous.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“天下无不散之筵席”. This marks the end of this edition of “MJ Speaks” See you again in 2008. I mean er…in the near future.
Doctor 2: Give him hope, six milligrams. Charge.
Doctor 1: Clear.
Doctor 2: Clear.
[Insert sound of body getting shocked, like er.. I dunno. Zap?]
Doctor 1: Nothing.
Doctor 2: Go again. Three hundred.
Doctor 1: Three hundred.
Doctor 2: Charge. Clear.
Doctor 1: Clear.
[Zap]
Doctor 1: Nothing. Doctor?
Doctor 2: Again, once more. Three fifty, charge. Clear.
Doctor 1: Clear.
[**SHOCK**]
Doctor 1: We’re getting something.
Doctor 2: Thankfully. At last, we’ve managed to revive Mr. Adi A. Ryat
Is Cai Min Jia a procrastinating bastard or what. I tend to think it’s the former. The above introduction was penned approximately 72 days, 3 hours, 8 mins n 48.265secs ago, but this entry was only completed and posted today, after an obscenely long hiatus.
No matter. Anyway, the dreaded exams are over and though I’ve (somewhat) fulfilled my first New Year Resolution, thus ensuring I won’t be joining the Dragon babies in LT 29 listening to how enzyme A catalyses reaction B and requires cofactor C and is inextricably linked to pathway D which has another dozen, no wait, make that hundred, enzymes which are all supposed to be committed to memory, my grades are still nothing short of abysmal. Sometimes I wonder why I’m in Med and not Maths fac. Well, at least the appalling results put me in the running for the “Most Improved Player” award. As the adage goes, “when you’re at the bottom, the only way to go is up”. Or you could remain at the bottom as well. But never mind.
Since it’s been like half a year since my last update, and it will probably be a year before my next update, I shall just flash random snippets of my life thus far.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive - perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
Today, I learnt about the demise of someone. Someone I knew. I confess that he was not one of my closest bosom buddies, but neither was he someone on the street or a mere acquaintance. He was a friend. His passing on came as a bolt from the blue.
I recall just a few months ago, when a group of us were playing soccer on the Astroturf. He was the fox in the box, ready to pounce on any loose ball to slot in the goal. I remember when he scored that brilliant goal and began his trademark celebration. That scene will never be seen again.
He was my classmate in my lower secondary school days. Always the quiet and reserved person, he was a nice guy. A good man, as I always like to say. He was just like any typical student. But in Secondary 4, he was stricken with DVT. He pulled through but was visibly weakened physically by the ordeal. His zest for life never waned and nary a frown would be spotted on his face. Life continued as per normal after that, until the same ailment got him sent to ICU once again in JC. The next time I saw him in school again, there was a scar snaking up in the midline of his chest, just peeking out from the front of the collar. But the enthusiasm for life never left him. Though the pallor on his visage was apparent, so was the slight hint of vigour in his eyes, the spark of life, the willpower to overcome adversity and live on.
And so, he pressed on, living life to the fullest. The last time I saw him, he showed no signs of being in poor health. In fact, he looked fitter than me, no doubt due to my lack of exercise since entering Medfac. But suddenly, another attack descended upon him and on Wednesday, he left. A young flame extinguished just like that. Deaths are always tragic, but the end of a life so young is especially hard to take.
Indeed, this leads us to ponder about life. Precious, it is, but yet fragile. As such, I urge everyone to treasure and cherish life and the people around us. You never know when they might just be taken from you. Another lesson to take away would be to live everyday as if it were the last day of our lives, because for all you know, it may well be… As an old Indian adage goes, “The most amazing thing in the world is that we all live as if we will still be alive tomorrow”
He may have left us, but his passion for living and resilience will never be forgotten. As is the case with the memories shared. Ruihong, you will be missed, but your memory will live on in our hearts. Requiescat in pace, R!ng…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being a narcissistic photo whore, I shall post a recent photo of myself. Voilà!
Quod Erat Demonstrandum, Medfac makes you FAT.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking at the tagboard, one can spot a rare visitor to this blog. An old friend from JC days whom yours truly has, regretfully, not really kept in touch with. Zhou dong! Memories of RJC come rushing back like waves beating on the shore.
The times spent shooting hoops on the basketball court. The times spent screwing around talking cock before S paper sessions. The times spent slacking around instead of taking Harmonica Club sessions seriously. The times spent playing UT in the com lab or soccer late at night after Astro. Those memories of life in RJ and RI. Those were the good days when people weren’t rushing to snag their favourite spot in the library to bury their heads in Guyton/Snells. Shall stop reminiscing.
Note to self: Must keep in touch with friends, as per New Year Resolution #6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor
Department of Chemical Biology, Madson, Nigerian Union of Schools (N.U.S.)
Applications are invited for academic positions in the Department of Chemical Biology, in a bid to replace incompetent current professors, including the likes of Jay-is-a-lan Cant-tell, Stiff Cheung, Hand-ry You and Tan Chee Bong. Anyone with a decent grasp of the field, common sense and basic pedagogy knowledge is strongly urged to apply. Interested parties, please contact our staff at 6-BIOCHEM (62462436).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WARNING! CUTE GIRL APPROACHING IN
5
4
3
2
1
TADAH!
She's a lil girl I met on my trip to Taiwan last year and she's called Ashley. These snapshots don't do justice to her, but she's actually quite cute.
Lest you get mistaken, I categorically state that I’m nothing like a certain celebrity who shares my initials and is reputed to be a paedophile. I’m not a paedophile, I think. NO WAIT. I KNOW.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COIN MATRIX
JAZZ ACES
All hail the greatest magician ever to be named CAIMINJIA, albeit the only one.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invitation to Join Ferrari Bloggers
From: Ferrari Bloggers (info@ferrari-bloggers.com)
You may not know this sender. Mark as safe | Mark as unsafe
Sent:
Sunday, January 28, 2007 6:09:28 AM
Reply-to:
info@ferrari-bloggers.com
To:
everyonecanfindme@hotmail.com
Dear blog author:
We recently came across your site, adiaryat.blogspot.com, while searching for bloggers who blog about Ferrari issues.
A small group of us have started a new site called Ferrari Bloggers . Our intent is to bring Ferrari bloggers closer together, and make a positive contribution to the Internet community.
Would you be interested in joining Ferrari Bloggers ? Please take a few minutes to have a look at what we are trying to do, and if you are interested, there is a sign up page to get the ball rolling. We would greatly appreciate your support in this endeavour.
If you do not feel that your blog would be a good fit for Ferrari Bloggers , but enjoy this subject area, come visit us and one of our member bloggers. You can also check our FAQ Section to learn more about Ferrari Bloggers .
We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on Ferrari Bloggers .
Craig Cantin
Ferrari Bloggers
info@ferrari-bloggers.com
Please note: you will receive this email no more than twice. If you do not respond to this email, we will send out a second and final email in approximately 3 weeks time. If you respond, by joining or by declining the invitation, we will not intentionally send this invite a second time.
You can join or visit Ferrari Bloggers at any time, but we do not believe in spam, and will not intentionally send this invite more than twice. If you have any concerns regarding our anti-spam policy, please do not hesitate to contact us.
How cool. And all because I wrote a tiny 1/123164271 of an entry about how Michael Schumacher’s my favourite F1 driver. What a pity Ferrari’s lagging behind McLaren now though.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Chapter 11 “The Head and Neck” of Richard S. Snell’s Clinical Anatomy edition 7, Pg. 728
“Suicide attempts by cutting one’s throat often fail because the individual first extends the neck before making several horizontal cute with a knife. Extension of the cervical part of the vertebral column and extension of the head at the atlanto-occipital joint cause the carotid sheath with its contained large blood vessels to slide posteriorly beneath the sternocleidomastoid muscle. To achieve the desired results with the head and neck fully extended, some individuals have to make several attempts and only succeed when the larynx and the greater part of the sternocleidomasstoid muscles have been severed.”
Er… I wonder why this section wasn’t entitled “How to commit the perfect suicide”. Speaking of which, people cut their throats when committing suicide? That’s something new. New day, new discovery…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Word of the Day for Friday, April 13, 2007
spoonerism \SPOO-nuh-riz-uhm\, noun:
The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.
Some examples:
• We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish ["half-formed wish"] inside us.
• The Lord is a shoving leopard ["loving shepherd"].
• It is kisstomary to cuss ["customary to kiss"] the bride.
• Is the bean dizzy ["dean busy"]?
• When the boys come back from France, we'll have the hags flung out ["flags hung out"]!
• Let me sew you to your sheet ["show you to your seat"].
Spoonerism comes from the name of the Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), a kindly but nervous Anglican clergyman and educationalist. All the above examples were committed by (or attributed to) him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Filippo Inzaghi took Kaká’s perfectly-weighted through ball in his stride, rounded Pepe Reina and slotted the ball home calmly, even the most ardent of Liverpool fans knew that it was “Game Over, please insert token to continue”. It was game, set and match and victory was made sweeter by the knowledge that revenge had been achieved against Liverpool, who had miraculously escaped defeat 2 years ago. This time, there was to be no fairytale ending, no twist at the end.
Johan Cruyff, former Dutch great once said of Pippo, “Look, actually he can't play football at all. He's just always in the right position." But here he was, scoring his second goal, earning the Man-of-the-Match award, and hammering in the last nail in the Reds’ coffin. The first goal might have been a stroke of good luck, but the second smacked of pure predatory instinct. And after all, luck does favour the prepared...
Despite not playing with their usual breathtaking pace and sublime skill, the Dad’s army had done just enough to see off the Englishmen. It was a night for celebration, not only in Athens but all around the world, where fans of the Rossoneri reside. The humiliation of Istanbul had been erased and the coveted trophy was once more held in the hands of the indefatigable Paolo Maldini and his journeymen. Viva Italia!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Movies watched since term ended:
The Prestige
The Illusionist
V For Vendetta
Spiderman 3
Corpse Bride
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Books read since term ended:
An Artist of the Floating World---Kazuo Ishiguro
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber---Louis Cha
Inheritance of Loss---Kiran Desai
Books to read before next term starts:
Middlesex---Jeffrey Eugenides
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell---Susanna Clarke
Textbook of Medical Physiology---Guyton and Hall
Misc. M2 books
Somehow I have this feeling that eventually, I’ll end up not reading the last 2 items on my books-to-read list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buddhism, also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and Pali is actually quite cool. It’s not just a religion, it’s also a philosophy and a way of life. I should go learn more about it or something.
Here’s an excerpt of just a miniscule fraction of what Buddhism entails.
The Four Noble Truths
According to the scriptures, the Buddha taught that in life there exists Dukkha, which is in essence sorrow/suffering, that is caused by desire and it can be brought to cessation by following the Noble Eightfold Path (Sanskrit: Āryāṣṭāṅgamārgaḥ , Pāli: Ariyo Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo). This teaching is called the Catvāry Āryasatyāni (Pali: Cattāri Ariyasaccāni), or the "Four Noble Truths".
1.Suffering: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.
2. The cause of suffering: The craving which leads to renewed existence (rebirth) (the cycle of samsara)
3. The cessation of suffering: The cessation of craving.
4. The way leading to the cessation of suffering: The Noble Eightfold Path;
According to the scriptures, the Four Noble Truths were among the topics of the first sermon given by the Buddha after his enlightenment, which was given to the five ascetics with whom he had practised austerities. The Four Noble Truths were originally spoken by the Buddha not in the form of a religious or philosophical text, but in the manner of a medical diagnosis and remedial prescription in a style that was common at that time. The early teaching and the traditional understanding in the Theravada is that these are an advanced teaching for those who are ready for them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you blatantly ignore his semi-spastic looking expression, it's not too bad a performance of the piece.
*Add to "To Do List" for hols---> Start practising this piece and others in a bid to achieve a decent rendition and build a repertoire, which is a tall order given that I have scarcely touched the piano in recent months and everyone who knows me knew the acquiring of the Dip was nothing short of fortuitous.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“天下无不散之筵席”. This marks the end of this edition of “MJ Speaks” See you again in 2008. I mean er…in the near future.
posted by Ten§ai at 8:54 PM
1 comments
