It was Buddha’s birthday. All the 12 zodiac animals were invited. Everyone was punctual, except Rabbit. It turned out that on his way to Buddha’s party, Rabbit stopped for someone who was sick and gave him medicine. Hence the delay.
For his deed, Rabbit now lives on the Moon where he assists the Moon Goddess to prepare medicines & elixirs of longevity.
The above is one of the stories that my dad told me on nights when we sat under the full moon.
Last Friday, a friend drove from the east to the west to help me carry medicated supplies to another party who would then hand the precious parcel to rescuers of street animals.
Seeking Medicine Buddha’s blessings on the medicated supplies for street animals.
After the handover was settled, we had the best charred bee hoon (fried vermicelli) among other dishes in a cafe by the Changi Beach
That vermicelli dish was extra special because it had to be consumed straight from the pan to the plate to savour its crispiness. And the sambal that went with it was like no other. It is a dish that truly demands that you be fully present.
Our meditative lunch was further augmented by the company of another friend who supports our medicine journeys for homeless animals.
3 friends born under the same zodiac animal sign.
While chatting over coffee, I realised the 3 of us were born in the Year of the Rabbit. And thus it is only befitting that we should take such an interest in medicine gathering. 😄
Posing with Sharonne in the Year of the Rabbit at her family’s cafe.
As we look to the Vesak Day public holiday and the Full Moon, may all gatherings hold potentials for goodwill, gratitude & grace. 🪔
This piece of plastic deer that was part of last year’s christmas dessert decoration is now packed full of the power of peace.
New Moon, New Protection for all sentient beings facing changes not of their own choosing.
May we not fear, but learn to rest in the silence of the Moon, Trees and Animals, and be healed. 🙏
“Nature does not hurry; yet everything is accomplished” – Silently the seeds bring forth roots and shoots. Silently the leaves and flowers arrive. And silently after 2 years, a chillie emerges.
Handcrafted Mandala from Nepal received on 21 Dec 2022.
I just received a mandala crafted from stone by a young mason. He took two days. The two young ladies who commissioned this piece of work were amazed by the depth of the craftsman’s knowledge & pride in his culture.
Mandala for the final new moon of 2022. (23 Dec 2022)
In the beginning of December, a former student on honeymoon in Italy texted to send me light & love. He remembered me telling him about St Francis, Botticelli and Machiavelli when he was just a boy. And now he is seeing what he read about for real with his wife.
Another, who is a businessman and now father of two has ordered a book for me which he thinks I will like based on our delight in words and respect for language.
If these former students hadn’t gotten in touch I wouldn’t have known how well their lives have turned out. The return of investment in young people takes a long time.
I imagine the youthful maker of tonight’s mandala peering over the details which his dexterous hands had coaxed from stone. He inhaled the dust particles that emerged from all that chipping, as the spirit of the mandala and his breath became one.
Youth power: Sanam crafted the mandala upon the request of Cheryl & Judy when they met in Nepal in November.
So may the New Moon tonight watch over our youths, and bless the intentions of their hearts and the work of their hands, to secure their future for the benefit of ALL sentient beings. 🙏
This afternoon I lit a butter lamp to give thanks for a black cat who went missing for nearly 2 months, but was found unharmed.
Thanksgiving Butter Lamp on behalf of a black cat.
Tam Tam was born & raised at the animal shelter. Black cats are the most overlooked adoptees. So we can imagine his shelter caregivers’ joy that at 3 years old he managed to find a home. However, unbeknownst to his shelter family, his adoptive family allowed Tam Tam to roam.
Tam Tam doing what he does best at the old shelter where he was born and raised.
One day he went out & didn’t come home. When the shelter people learnt that Tam Tam had gone missing, they posted notices and searched anxiously for their little black prince.
This post was shared over 100 times on social media. The power of collective intentions can do wonders.
Had he met with an accident since he had little understanding of motor traffic because he wasn’t born on the street? Or had he met a python since he was lost in a forested area?
Is a black cat really so unlucky that even an adoption is shortlived?
Nonetheless I raised a butter lamp for Light to guide Tam Tam to safety, and if he had met with a mishap, may he and his caregivers find peace.
A light for Tam Tam and the search party looking for him. (24 Nov 2022 at Theckchen Choling Temple, Singapore)
A day after offering the butter lamp, I received news that Tam Tam was finally located taking refuge in someone’s compound. Alive. 🙏
This morning at the shelter, he was one of the first cats to come running to greet us at the sliding door. He chased the others around & climbed up the gate leading to the kennels to peer at the dogs. At one point the obsidian feline was seen supervising the humans on the correct way of raising prayer flags.
The Great Black Tam overseeing the raising of windhorse prayer flags on full moon eve (7 Dec 2022)
We will never know where Tam Tam wandered after he got lost, and how he was able to meet someone who didn’t chase him away because he was black, but let him remain in his compound & even fed him.
Tam Tam had scores of people combing the forest for him and his lost post notice was shared over 100 times on social media.
He showed me that it is the care given, and not the colour we’re born with, that determines our luck. 🙏❤️
Contrary to supersitions, Black is a very humble colour that retreats so that others may shine. It forgives a multitude of imperfections, showing Black’s true magnanimity.
A stag pendant which broke off from its chain & destined for the trash merged with a Bodhi leaf from the temple at Muktinath, Mustang, to mark the Full Moon.
As autumn makes way for winter, and human activities wind down, those of us who are heathy are prompted to rest and recover. We watch Fire carefully and over our ailing ones for the seasonal transition is also a doorway to the great beyond.
In agricultural communities, decisions on animals that may not be able to cope with the cold have to be made.
May those tasked to terminate an animal’s life be merciful. May the soul that is released from the broken body ascend and return to Light.
The horns extend beyond the Stag’s Skull to meet the Light. I see Menorahs and Mountains on the Bodhi leaf.
May the Full Moon inspire our thoughts to move from the Finite to the Infinite, like the way the horns grow beyond the Stag’s head to ascend Light.
In 2011, at the Annapurna Bookshop by Lake Phewa in Pokara, Ron pointed out a book sitting on the top shelf to me & I bought it.
“Horses Like Lightning,” by Sienna Craig documented an American veterinarian’s journey & spiritual growth as she cared for horses in Mustang.
The making of a Juniper smoke offering by local Mustangi people to complete each animal treatment struck a chord in me. I think that was the specific moment that sealed my understanding of medicines & healing having a spiritual dimension.
When we got back to Kathmandu, I couldn’t put the book down. Each night by the window of Hotel Harati in Thamel I would read the words slowly, dreading the time when I would arrive at the last page. I also started wondering what Juniper incense smell like since it was mentioned frequently in the book.
Finally at Boudha Stupa, I came face to face with Juniper in its raw & incense powder form. When lit, it released a scent that was both foreign and yet strangely familiar to me.
The aroma of Juniper incense permeates the air at Boudha Stupa at all times of the day.
While some find Juniper incense smoke dense & yeasty smelling, I find it comforting. It always reminds me of forest & yogurt. (Ikr, I’m never far from food. 😄)
It’s been 10 years since my fascination with Juniper started. Last month my friend, Sharonne and her husband, Khorn, visited Nepal to begin her 60th birthday celebration.
My friend of 40 years, Sharonne, & her spouse, Khorn, kickstarting her Super Sixty Birthday celebration in Nepal.
In the midst of visiting sacred sites and shelter & street animals of the Himalayas, the couple found time to replenish my Juniper incense supply from the same shop facing the Stupa.
Sharonne & Khorn arrived in Nepal on new moon of the 9th Lunar Month and brought much needed medical supplies for street and shelter dogs.
Moving onto higher grounds, Sharonne picked a sprig of Juniper from a tree that grew in the temple compound of Muktinath in Mustang, a faraway location that is difficult for me to reach but has benevolently decided to visit me. 🙏
The temple where the sprig of Juniper berries came from. (Muktinath, Mustang)
“I got us some wild flowers from this monastery! Breathtakingly beautiful views. I could sit here all day breathing it all in!” says my friend of 40 years as she approaches her superb 60th year. ❤️😊
In a few days’ time the Juniper’s green will go, but her history of having travelled from Mustang at 3800m above sea level, and flying 3800km to reach Singapore will always remain. 🙏
This morning while making a sage smoke offering, I looked up. A straight line of clouds had formed in the sky, as if extending the smoke from the scallop shell in my hand to the heavens.
My prayer this morning was to be free from past hurts and wrongs, that we have experienced since childhood, whether we deserve them or not, and whether we’re conscious of them or not.
Working closely with youth & young kids allow me to see that hang ups, if not managed wisely, can ruin relationships with ourselves & others.
Disappointments in warring parents can result in trust issues and constant craving for assurance.
Humiliations suffered in the classroom or family can lead to overcompensation at work, fixation for validations & hunger for vindications.
All these cravings and fixations drain us, while leading us to attach ourselves to entities, people & organisations that can cause us further damage.
So this morning at 4am, the cats meowed, the moon blasted her light on my face and together they forced me out of bed to play the Ganesha mantra to let Wisdom in. And I finally understood “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” has such a centering effect on me because it’s an invitation to release my enemies.
The cloud extends beyond the picture frame, as if facilitating my intention to let my enemies go so that I no longer become prisoner of fear & pain.
Shelter cats, Cauliflower Boy & Hoonie aka Divina, were recently treated to a day at the cat spa, courtesy of groomer turned friend, Ong Hong Kuen.
Arrival of Cauliflower Boy & Hoonie aka Divina from Metta Cats & Dogs Sanctuary to Mad About Grooming for their cat spa pampering.
Cats are by nature self cleaning until old age and other infirmities strike. Much like humans, the untidy old woman or dishevelled old man we see at bus stops or food courts must have been dashing once.
Underneath all that stains is a fluffy cotton candy chest & belly. For want of grooming skills & tools, it is still better to leave an animal unkempt than injured or bleeding.
On each shelter trip, my friend,Marcus Tan for all his adherence to principles of aesthetics, makes it a point to check on the animals that may not receive as much attention, because they’re not as cute as their younger & healthier counterparts.
Hoonie aka Divina after her first cleaning by my groomer friend Ong Hong Kuen when she visited a few months ago. This time she decided to take her to her salon where she has access to tools, warm water, blow dryer etc.
In fact, it was him who got me started on cleaning Divina’s face and untangling her knots while he held her. Unlike dogs, cats are more wary and less cooperative with fur cleaning & nail trimming.
Besides, I’m no groomer and the wrong choice of tools can lead to dire outcomes. Therefore I understand for want of skills and equipment, it is still better to have an unkempt looking animal than an injured or bleeding one.
That day at the shelter we did what we could with Divina and as Cauliflower Boy was not familiar with us, we decided to ask for professional help.
And the Universe answered swiftly.
Within a week, our professional groomer friend turned up at the shelter and took both Cauliflower Boy & Divina in her car back to her salon for some needed spa treatment. ON THE HOUSE. She would hear nothing of payment, transport charges etc.
Under her loving hands and in the calm ambience of their surroundings, both cats had an enjoyable session and a complete makeover.
Cauliflower Boy’s milky white bib returned. Once the stains came off, his fluffy belly shone like cotton candy. Divina’s ears cleared and her persian fur regained its gossamar texture.
The true nature shines after the dirt comes off.
Little did we know that all the above changes were perhaps in preparation for a miracle about to manifest.
Yesterday, we received news that Cauliflower Boy got adopted!!!
Cauliflower no more! He is has a new name called Bernie to match his real appearance.
Yes, the boy cat with the deformed ear hence the name Cauliflower, and with a low adoptability potential, has found his home!
And as if to signify a departure from his past afflictions, Cauliflower Boy’s adopter has changed his name to Bernie. ❤️
As for Divina, she will continue to receive love and generate miracles for others at the shelter until such a time a special human appears for her.
In a couple of days, the New Moon will be upon us. May our recent witnessing of how two disadvantaged cats receive new lease of life, also encourage all who read this post that renewal is as much a state of mind and a matter of intention as it is dependent on external factors.
And so may we maximise our capacity as conduits for positive transformations & renewal regardless of how bleak the situation may appear.🙏
Full Moon Medicine Mandala. May the full moon bless all medicines & medical equipment, and the hands that use them to relieve & heal all sentient beings.
This recent full moon observation on 14 April 2022 was extra special to me. Not only it was Good Friday, but it also marked New Year for friends of Nepalese and Khmer heritage.
The confluence of the above high holidays got me on the lookout for auspicious items that would align with the idea of death & resurrection, release & renewal to dedicate a full moon mandala.
However, the reality was eversince Emmanuel the Cat was diagnosed with diabetes a month ago, I’ve been preoccupied with syringes, insulin vial & blood glucose tracking.
As someone with a nervous disposition, I was at first terrified of handling the sharp needles and getting the dosage wrong for Emmanuel. This was apart from having to locate the injection site without making the cat suspicious & without injecting myself accidentally.
Emmanuel has been listening to Medicine Buddha mantra & receiving insulin shots twice daily.
It got to a point where my anxiety levels were tied to the fluctuations in Emmanuel’s blood glucose readings.
Doubts filled my waking hours and even in my sleep. Did I really insert the needle correctly? Did the insulin go under his skin? Did I over feed him?
Yesterday I had a mental breakthrough of sorts. I realised I can and should medicate my 15-year old cat to the best of my ability & means, but the medical outcomes are not mine to decide.
That acceptance also liberates me as a caregiver from the fear of not doing enough or not doing it right. Such fears when left unchecked, can turn mean & morph into accusations against the patient for not trying hard enough to get well.
And this morning, as if to show his approval of my approach to his medical issue, Emmanuel turned around to lick my hand as soon as I pushed the plunger to deliver the insulin under his skin. 🙏
