Another Side of Chaing Mai

My friend with white shirt, a Tarot cards fortune teller serving her client

A common scene - a devotee at street paying respect to a monk...

An old city of Chaing Mai, surrounded by fortress and gates

A modern Chaing Mai, remains cool and peaceful...

At Sunday market - never miss the local food...

The young girls- performed cultural dance at Sunday market

Street band performed for donation.

My friend, Miss Tan, (Thai word means a kind of flower...?) a Tarot card reader, always reminded me to go for a walk on the Chaing Mai Sunday market. Every Sunday, from 4 pm, the street which is closed entirely to traffic, this is to allow for local people, as well as tourists to walk leisurely and enjoy the genuine Thai food, buying local products, seeing the cultural aspects and their ways of life. This is my favorite market, where I can understand their cultures deeper.

From here, there are all sorts of goods available, which are truly authentic of Thai products, and hand made. There are also a great variety of food and drink for your choice. You just can forget yourself and absorbed yourself while enjoying walking and be part of the scene. A really great experience and it is an unmissable event too !

Along the street, there are a lot of artists, traditional musicians, cultural dancers, puppet shows, rock bands, and also fortune tellers. Oh yes...one of them is my friend, a 'gypsy' woman, Miss Tan, who experts in reading Tarot cards. She used to visit Tham Tong where I stayed for my retreat, and she doing charity works for the temple, a very warm hearted lady, and like to help people.

I wonder why she inclined to this kind of life style as she is graduated from a university in Chaing Mai with a degree in Philosophy. She told me she preferred to find freedom in life without attachment to relationship and money. And wants to do charity to help the poor and temples. That is the life style she chooses and enjoys, being single but self depended. That's why she is very contented with her life, even though the income is limited because she has found the happiness, being self support and total freedom. Yes, I salute her that she knows what she wants in life and knows what she is doing and enjoys her life. That is the most important thing.

Well, after I found her doing her business at a corner of a buddhist temple. Being curious, I asked her to tell me about my life. This is the first time, to engage in Tarot cards to read my fate. Oh, not bad at all, in fact having a good life! I can only say, she is very professional and quite accurately predicted my life.

Now, I am very interested in Tarot Cards, I wonder why with this simple set of cards, she could tell my life story so accurately. As she always told me, actually I already know about my life. Yes, I totally agree with her. I know my life already, in fact, very clear and precise. There is no doubt about it. But it is good that she confirmed it again.

Well, have a good day, may you be well and happy, my dear gypsy woman, see you again, if I have chance to come back again...

The Little Girl - Kwan How

Kwan How - A two years old little girl

The Person In-charge - with Kwan How

Somehow, called it kammic link or divinity, if you like. A good friend of mine, a local guy, Addy, brought me here, one of the orphanages in Chaing Mai. From here on, my life unfolds and found my 'love' at this orphanage.

"Trust your heart, not your mind or thought"! I was thinking in this way as walking from one room to another, guided by the person in charge, looking for my 'love' one. There were so many little boys and girls, rushing to me longing for holding and hugging. But the heart did not feel anything special, until the little girl, Kwan How approached me. Oh... my goodness, the heart struck deeply when hugged her, that was the one! The heart was melted and soften... only the person who have experienced this feeling, then knows what I am talking about. Is this called kammic link? I don't know!

Why not be a Friend of this foundation, give care and help? The orphanage foundation is looking for individual donors, to help and bring the promise of happiness and a better life to these poor orphaned babies and children. Why not help the children? To give them warm, love and care. The individual generosity can ensure them facing a much promising future, as happy and healthy children when they join the society.

Why think so much about ourselves? Sometimes forget about ourselves - 忘我 (the 'I', the ego, always think I want this and that, is mine...) is a blessing. Then only a genuine happiness arises, especially when think to help, care for others, the poor and needy. It is so fortunate that we still have the capacity to help, care and love. No need to look from outside, when you forget yourself, express your concern and care for others, then the happiness is here and now, within you.

Realized that compassion and forgiveness are the source of happiness. Forgiveness is a synonym to compassion. When we have compassion, we always can forgive people. This is an important nature to be a human being, in order to have blessing and happiness. Self center person, only care for his or her welfare, demand satisfaction from people. Live within their own world of fantasy, they make themselves as center of universe.

Especially in this era of internet, people living in the virtual world and lose the human touch and mostly indulge with computer games. In the long run, they forget the human relationships and spend the precious time unproductively and get lost in the world created by internet games. This affects the quality of life, it makes life feel hollow and empty, meaningless and lose the sense of purpose in life. Therefore they feel insecure and unhappy in their daily life because they are not engaging with REAL people and not show concern to others. They feel bored and want to pass their time, they create their own world and live with it. Isn't is pitiful? The boredom is the enemy, and yet they don't know how to spend their time wisely and productively.

We are so lucky and living in a very comfortable and affluent society, we have everything we need, and more. But we lose in direction and absorb ourselves with greed and unlimited desires, that we want things more than actually what we need. What we need is so little and life can be so simple. But what we want can be as big as a sky! With this greed by wanting this and that unlimitedly, how can we have time and effort to care for others?

When we involve ourselves with reality, by seeing the people here dedicated their lives for the sake of the children, the compassion and joy arise as we know that in this world they are kind people with genuine love to serve the society selflessly. Because we know that the children here are waiting for a kind heart to offer hope for a better future... they just ask for the basic needs for life... Can we stand alone and watch them from a distance?

Let start from Kwan How, I promise to come back again...

Monks Ordination Day - Rite & Ceremony

Shaving the head - the first ceremony for ordination

Paying respect and expressed gratitude to the sponsor & his mother

Listening to the Chief monk sermon & instruction

All monks family members participated in the ceremony

With Akk's family members

Nok, a doctor in psychology, practicing in a general hospital

Akk's mother & his sister

Time to say goodbye to his family, leads a monk-hood life from here & now

This is the first time, as a sponsor for monk's ordination and yet it happened in Thailand. There were 5 monks to be ordained on that day, out of good affinity that I met and linked to this family.

Akk, one of the 5 Thai monks that selected by the Abbot (the Chief Monk of Tham Tong monastery) to be the monk to receive my sponsorship. He came from a simple family, with a mother (father passed away) and a sister. For Thai and buddhist tradition, to become a monk is an honorable and meritorious deed for whole family. Though from financial aspect, the family is losing out a supporter for earning a living. Now, the burden and responsibility rest onto his sister, Nok, who is a doctor, specialized in Psychology. Currently she is working in a provincial general hospital, a very intelligent lady, caring daughter and also well verse in Buddhism.

Well, rite and ceremony for ordination ended in a day, but leading a monk-hood is a whole life business. Wishing this newly ordained monk, Akk, having a wonderful and successful monastic life. As I promised to visit him when I come back for my next retreat, sure will visit his family too.

Merit sharing: May the power of the merit of this ordination brings happiness, peace to this family, and those who are connected and having affinity.

Tham Tong - The Meditation Center In Chaing Mai

The Chief monk pointing to the little girl who was paying respect to me

A row of kutis (house) along the valley as accommodations.

A stream running across the valley separates the male & female kutis

Female meditators, nuns and lay people

Offering food to monks - 2 meals per day

A simple kuti built on hilly slope

Top view - a remote and secluded kuti

A serene small path leading to a secluded cave at back of hill

A bigger and well developed cave for meditation and chanting

A smaller but natural cave, excellent for meditation

With crystal clear water from waterfall for daily consumption

Daily activity, preparing food for offering to monks.

Dedicated monks and nuns involving in organic farming

Nuns as cooks and chefs serve the monastery selflessly

Well... time for meditation, please don't disturb me!

Tham Tong, it means monastery with caves. This monastery cum meditation center is about 90 km away from Chaing Mai. It is very convenient to take bus from center of Chaing Mai, with 50 Bath and 1.5 hours to reach here. The monastery opens to people who want to taste the peaceful and quiet of monastic life, free of charge.

The natural environment is peaceful, with crystal clear stream running across the valley which separates two rows of kutis, one side for female and the other for male meditators. It is a good engineering practice that the monastery built a simple dam on top of waterfall and diverted the stream of water from the dam to the center for daily consumption. It is really environmental friendly. The quality of water is superb; cold and fresh that can energize our body and mind. With the fresh air within the mountainous surroundings, it is a healthy life style to stay here, cool!

Wake up bell is at 4.00am to start practice, 7.00am and 11.30am for breakfast and lunch, two meals per day. Food is good, as the monastery encouraging for organic farming, with a lot of vegetable and fruits, with Thai style of cooking. In additional to this, the center provides a varieties of drink at 5.00pm.

We are entirely free for the whole day, practice on our own, and no one will disturb you. The period of stay is entirely up to you, you may stay for few days, to few months, or for good: to be ordained as a monk or nun and stay there forever! Why not?

Sometimes city life and works stress you, why not give yourself a chance to taste this alternative life style? May be the experience you gained after the stay, can change your perspective in life, and you will never be the same person again! For sure, and at least the experience here will make you much more happier and healthier than before... And re-charged with fresh energy for your next venture or challenge when coming back to the worldly life.

Thanks to this monastery, especially the Chief monk, with his compassion, providing the helps of all kinds for the duration I stayed. May all of you be well and happy...

心靈溝通 - 另一類體驗

主辦人及老闆娘, Cola - 能洞察心靈, 溝通能力強(09Jan)

溝通師， Mr. Chow (09Jan-10)

去年， 在偶然機會觀看了一部有關心靈溝通的紀錄片，那是台灣心靈大 師，林显宗老师的淨观心灵唯識科學研究機構的作品。今年初，卻發現其中一家淨观中心設在我住宅區的附近，接此機會去拜訪詢問。

Cola 小姐是負責人，给人印象亲切，容易溝通，而且洞察力很强。她的溝通師，Mr. Chow 也是很专业的溝通師。

唯識深層溝通是一种技术，可以讓人在清醒的狀態下回溯過去，甚至到前世！人在這一世及無數个前世种下种种的因果，今世生活面對的一切就是果赧。逭技术引导一个人进入心灵深層，淸除心靈罣礙，放下壓抑的負面情緒，面對過去所放不下的事，而釋放身心理的負面能量。

和內觀靜坐相似，了解身心，面對自己。其實一切问题与答案，都来自自己，而问题与答案，就藏在自己心灵的深处。其主要功能是釋放藏在自己心理已久的負面能量，使身心平衡，就能促進，改善人際關係，事業，情感，疾病問題。这也是另一類心靈改造。

"朋友，不要等到心灵破产了，才来改造“，哈哈，Cola 常常这样说 ...