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."

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I Have A Dream

Yay, I found a new project that I want to do! Here is the project details in bullet points:

Project:
Buddhist pocket handbook which serves as a "Bible", as a guide to right living, a refuge, a treasure of wise words.

Inspired by:
(1) The pocket bible by Gideons International. I received this back in my school days when we were preparing for PMR. You see, my secondary school was a legacy missionary school, but this is probably the only time they asked all non-Muslim students to participate in such a missionary talk to prepare for exams, and handed out this little booklet. I like it because of the esthetics part of it. I also used to like to collect quotations, so I read the Bible to scout for quotations that I like.
(2) The Buddha Puja booklet by Datuk Dr Victor Wee. After I attended the training for puja leaders, I started to explore this puja book. The more I use it, the more I like it.
(3) 108 Adages of Wisdom by Master Sheng Yan. It contains Buddhist quotes in Chinese, which I've copied 2 times in handwriting, for the four available series.

What I'll need to do:
(1) Continue to scout for materials I want to compile into this booklet
(2) Find out how to make the booklet and also design it.
(3) Pick and choose which rendition of sutta, and if I want to include just the english version, or the pali/english/chinese version.
- I am kind of doing all 3 things at the same time. I know I should be prioritizing and this will create double work. But I'm just excited about the whole thing!

I think that's it. So my project is to create a small Buddhist bible/handbook which I can carry around and flip open especially when I'm traveling. I always have this image of flipping it open on the place or in the hotel. It gives me a "safe" feeling to be able to have this little booklet with me wherever I go. I supposed, I am looking for a refuge in the triple gem.

I started compiling the materials in Treepad, I think about one month back, and it has given me a lot of pleasurable hours typing out the texts that I like, and as a result, it has prompted me to read more sutras and do some pali chanting too.

This is a beneficial project. It springs from a few seeds and I am quite certain it will be the seed for many good things to come!! I feel happy blogging about this too.. ahh, that's another inspiration I left out - Gretchen Rubins' Happiness Project. This has inspired me a lot to look out (consciously and unconsciously) for avenues to make myself happy :)

~ttg~
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