Lyciss08/18/02 at 02:23:14#1For Padma to have two hundred plus members where are they all hiding? should i be praying for more members to speak out so we can share our wisdom with each other, after all isnt that called a sangha? i remember when i first was learning buddhism and some other buddhist i met would tell me when they are asked about buddhism they remain quiet about it... i noticed this tends to be quite common with many practicing buddhist... im not like that because i feel i can learn from many people but if they dont speak how can i learn? and i know to remain silent is the smart thing to do at certain times but this isnt one of those times...
om mani padme hum
Buddhafly08/18/02 at 14:52:01#2Re: Emptiness
Lyciss.
I know, at least at my temple, that if most people do not understand the equivenant terms in English, they will not translate to me.
There is a fear of making a mistake.
For me I will research or ask to find an answer or explain what I would do. As we do not have enough translated to explain the more technical terms, we can only hope that someone else will have the answer for us so we can share it with others.
Lyciss08/18/02 at 17:11:05#3Re: EmptinessBrenda,
so rather than jus praying for more speakers i should rather pray for speakers who are devoted TBS students and extremely knowledgable in tantric practices who also can translate the difficult terms for the english speaking students... wow do i sound needy? lol
om mani padme hum
Lyciss08/18/02 at 17:21:33#4Re: EmptinessOne other thing...
last weekend when i was driving back from Temple with Dance, in our conversation i tossed out that i wish i could speak chinese... We joked about it a bit but the more i think about it, im becomming more seriously taking up the idea of attempting to learn... i know it may take many years perhaps ten or more to become usable but thinking it over i know in ten years my practice will be perhaps far more advanced and i could really be a great asset to any new students... and there are many other great aspects to learning it... i could close the gap that the language barrier creates and feel even more at home... it seems many at Temple attempt to speak english to me why not attempt the same for them? im a quick learner and i think i have enough intelligence to accomplish it... besides all that perhaps its my fate to learn it... i guess we will see...
i thought i would share this with everyone...
id like to hear everyones thoughts...
om mani padme hum
Last edited 08/18/02 at 17:22:13 by Lyciss
mimosa08/18/02 at 17:54:21#5Re: Emptinessmore at home... it seems many at Temple attempt to speak english to me why not attempt the same for them? im a quick ##Lyicss, Rev. Lian Hong is a great example. Within a short period of time, he speaks quite good Chinese. As a matter of fact, his accent is soo good, sometime you can not tell that he is a non-Chinese from the phone.
I know many people who speak beautiful and fluent Japanese. I know both languages, I think that in a way, Japanese is harder than Chinese because of its grammar strucutre. Why can they speak such good Japanese? They love Japanese and they **want to speak fluent Japanese*
Notice, I said, "fluent Japanese". Personally, I found it funny that when Chinese compliment a non-Chinese speaking good Chinese when the non-Chinese can just carry an okay conversation. Image, would you say that I speak good English if I can only say "hello, how are you? I am fine...let's go to eat"? Low expectation results in low abilities, and vice vesa.
Those non-Japanese's Japanese is as good as Japanese because they love the culture and want to fully understand the language. I strongly admire them. As a matter of fact, couple of my Japanese teachers were non-Japanese, they were my inspiration.
Whatever you decide, I believe that you are capable of doing it. But, remember, dont be content with a simple "how are you? I am fine" type of Chinese." I wont bother to speak to you in Chinese in that case :-)
Mimosa
Lyciss08/18/02 at 18:08:32#6Re: EmptinessMimosa,
you make me laugh... ok well how about i hope to become so good that ill be able to also say, "what time is it, my stomach hurts, i must be hungry, shall we go eat?" lol is that better?
om mani padme hum
Last edited 08/18/02 at 18:08:55 by Lyciss
jessie08/18/02 at 19:37:16#7Re: Emptinesssoemtimes, i wonder if i am an Indian or a African, maybe i would never get the chance to be in touch with TBS...sometimes, i think, isnt is lucky that i am born chinese and i know the language of transmission at first hand?
then, i think of Seattle. Grandmaster went to Seattle to spread TBS... That means, GM knows that such a good thing must not be confined to the Chinese world only... I am glad that GM is in the US to spread the teachings, yet i am sad because i have only seen GM once in person (far away on stage)...
and with translation, i really hope more people would get in touch with GM's teachings and excel! take Lyciss and DAnce, for instance, who have proven beyond fact that GM's teachings is borderless...
rambling jess
Last edited 08/19/02 at 00:01:22 by jessie_loh
Buddhafly08/18/02 at 20:13:23#8Re: Emptiness
Lyciss.
I love your way of seeing things!
"pray for speakers who are devoted TBS students and extremely knowledgable in tantric practices who also can translate the difficult terms for the english speaking students"
So far in my time with TBS these people seem few and far between also busy.
Praying to encounter one of them is a great idea!
My one and only true goal in life is to become enlightened in this lifetime. If this means learning Chinese then it shall be.
I have never met Grand Master Lu in person, but through cultivation I have met him many times in dreams. The more I cultivate-the more he appears-the more I learn-the more wisdom I attain.
Dearest rambling Jess.
We are indeed fortunate to be in True Buddha School this lifetime, also to have people like Mimosa, who are dedicated to helping us English only speaking people, learn the True Buddha Tantric Dharma. I have to mention all the others too includng you Jess, Dance and Lyciss and everyone else who are helping us all too. :)
Last edited 08/18/02 at 20:14:04 by Buddhafly
Lyciss08/18/02 at 20:34:19#9Re: EmptinessI had a dream quite some time ago that i havent shared yet... for one i wasnt really sure what it meant but i think ive been figuring it out and since i have a few ideas now i think i can share it...
I was at the Tantric Quarter... there was a short round table with short chairs, something you would find in a kindergarden class for young kids to be using... Grandmaster and I were struggling to sit at this table... there were also three other children sitting around the table, they were coloring in coloring books and playing with toy cars... I was looking around noticing that it was only us there... Grandmaster leaned over and nudged me annoyed that i wasnt involved in playing and he asked me why i wasnt coloring... as soon as i realized i wasnt "playing" i woke up...
to me i first thought it meant that i needed to play more...but this cant be the case because thats all i do... i never work hard... all i do is work and when its done its done and i dont give it another thought... so it couldnt be that... the only other explanation i could come up with was that i needed to be more involved with what is going on at that paticular moment...
i would ask to have my dream explained but since its very rare for me to even remember my dreams i find it more fullfilling to discover for myself their meanings... so if im wrong its ok but if im right i think ive gained more confidence... but in the future i may need to seek advice...
om mani padme hum
mimosa08/18/02 at 20:43:39#10Re: EmptinessLyciss..
sometimes I think that I am too harsh :-( I wanted to delete my post after I wrote it! hahaha
actually, food is the hardest subject in the language....know the strange name, not so easy!
sorry!!
Mimosa
Lyciss08/18/02 at 20:47:49#11Re: EmptinessMimosa,
i didnt think it was harsh at all, infact your attitude like that is perfect for me to learn... if i can impress you with a good conversation then i think i would of accomplished something... simply saying hi wont cut it... you have given me something to aim for...
om mani padme hum
Last edited 08/18/02 at 20:48:13 by Lyciss
jessie08/19/02 at 00:06:13#12Re: Emptinessjia-you
(go! go! go for it!) ;D