Turtle

"Imagine that the whole earth was covered with water, and a man was to throw a yoke with a hole in it into the water. Blown by the wind, that yoke would drift north, south, east and west. Now, suppose that once in hundred years a blind turtle would rise to the surface. What do you think? Would that turtle put his head through the hole in the yoke as he rose to the surface once in a hundred years?"

"It is unlikely Lord."

"Well, it is just as unlikely that one will be born as a human being; it is just unlikely that a Tathagata, a Noble One, a fully enlightened Buddha should arise in the world; and it is just as unlikely that the Dhamma and discipline of the Tathagata should be taught. But now you have been born as a human being, a Tathagata has arisen and the Dhamma has been taught. Therefore, strive to realize the Four Noble Truths."

Sunday, November 09, 2008

7th week in HK

Spent the whole of yesterday in hotel working on processes.

Today, hiked Dragon's Back with FS and her friend, SH. The hike is as predicted by FS's friends - 2 hrs for the journey up and down. FS and SH were quick, but I was a bit slow so the hike took us slightly over 2 hrs. Really can't stand the first part of the hike up the staircase through the cemetery!

Breakdown of the 2 hrs+ hike:

0.5o hour - climbed staircase from the colliseum cemetery (apparently we could have skipped this part - to me, it's the most difficult one as I ran out of breath and my legs were feeling wobbly by the end of the second flight of staircases, and I had to struggle to finish the third (which is also the last) flight of the starcases
1.25 hour - mountain trekking to reach the peak of Dragon's Back.
0.50 hour - the journey down

What I learned / reflected during the hike:
1. I take my time during the hike. If I am running out of breath, I slow down, I look around and I take pictures - and continue to take pictures until I reach the top. I notice the other 2 ladies were very focussed in reaching the peak. They hardly stop to look around. Somewhat reflective of my personality? I don't really go off the path - but I would take my time for the journey. Should I improve on my speed or focus? Yes, I think I should, but at the same time I would still want to stop mid way once in a while and look at where I am - I think I would enjoy the fruits of the toil better this way - it's a difficult climb up but I would get to see how the views change.

2. In terms of physical fitness, FS and SH are definitely better than me. I would have stopped a lot to rest and the hike may take me 3 hours - if not because of them who always walk so fast! In a team, we need people who can motivate others to push on and not to give up. Will I be able to become someone like that?

Yay... another milestone in my life. The previous hikes were simple compared to this. The mountain trekking is ok... but I must really improve on climbing staircases!

ttg
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)