NOW is the BEST time

3 Feb 2020 (Day 10 of Lunar New Year)

El took this picture during breakfast at Himalayan Java Cafe at Boudha. The day before we had handed some ear cleaning meds to helpers of street and shelter animals. When this picture was taken, I was thinking of the joy of the young rescue worker as she hugged the bottles of medicines I gave her. (December 2019, Boudha, Nepal)

“此时此刻最美好” has been on my mind for some time. The phrase, made up of 7 Chinese characters literally means “now is the best time.” In translation it doesn’t seem much, especially when the context is unknown. But somehow, when the thought is conveyed in Chinese, it has an almost poetic feel to it even as it stands alone. At least for someone like me.

I cannot recall when & how these words came into my consciousness, except that I like the way the first 4 character look and how they sound when spoken. Plus I can pronounce them with some accuracy and enjoy doing so.

I took this selfie to remind myself how lucky I am to have my birthday celebrated with the birthdays of Jon’s wife and his father. (18 Jan 2020, Armenian Street, Singapore)

Thinking that I could have heard or seen the phrase as the title of a song or book, I did some online search but my effort yielded little.

Looking up at the leaves as light from the setting sun filters through gives me such peace. (31 Jan 2020)

But what I do know is that these 7 characters amply capture my state of mind whenever I have pictures taken.

Joy is sitting under a 40 year old tree outside Victoria Concert Hall on a Friday evening. (31st Jan 2020)

For once a happy moment passes, there will never be another one identical to it, ever again.

Branches silhouetted against the sky open my heart. Dr Nalini Nadkarni said the veins in our heart are like branches of a tree. (31 Jan 2020)

So I try to project an energy of gratitude & connection with all beings each time a photo opportunity occurs.

Young girls taught me to keep a beginner’s mind, while I showed them you can still smile even if your body is imperfect. (Nanyang Girls’ High School, 2003)
This quiet young sportsman learnt Shylock’s speeches by heart and went on to develop a strong interest in English and other writings by Shakespeare. (Singapore Sports School 2018)

And instead of worrying about my physical shortcomings, I try to be fully present with feelings of gratitude & acceptance.

With my calligraphy teacher, Dr SH Khoo at Nanyang Girls’ High School. Dr Khoo revived my interest in Kinmen Island where my ancestors originated. He is a Kinmenese as was my grandmother.
From qipao and sarong kebaya to chinoserie coat, I’ve worn them all in many memorable celebrations. (Sydney 2018)

Because in the days ahead and especially if they happen to be difficult ones, I hope to be able to look back at old pictures and say, “Yes, those were truly joyous times. And whatever happiness others have received, I’ve been given freely too. So there’s no room in my heart for jealousy or envy when others receive good things.”

And in the midst of mask buying and news of man-made disasters, I wish all my friends the equanimity to locate the various joys in their life and draw strength from them to sail through the winds of change.

Feeling extremely surprised by my first ever bonsai (mini tree). It was a birthday gift from Krison. We had lunch at Green Dot at JEM on Chinese New Year Eve.

Honouring Sky Grandfather (拜天公）

2 Feb 2020 (Day 9 of CNY)

Incense urn dedicated to Sky Grandfather.

Each lunar new year on the 9th day, the deity who lives in the sky and is therefore accessible to all tribes is honoured with offerings coloured in red.

My late maternal grandfather taught us to observe this yearly prayer ritual on Day 9 of the Lunar New Year. When we do this, we are also keeping memories of my grandfather alive.

The Sky Deity holds great significance among the hokkien/minnan speaking group of chinese people to which I was born in.

My cousin, Edwin, holding prayer offerings of longevity noodles, cakes and eggs while his father stood proudly at the door looked on. This continuation of spiritual legacy from one generation to the next is much appreciated by me.

Yesterday evening I dropped by the temple to join my mom, aunties, uncles and cousins. They have been observing this prayer ritual to Sky Grandfather since my late grandfather’s time.

Grandmas and grandpas making paper offering as the fire roars is a very powerful sight for me. To see elderly folks actively taking charge of the spiritual life of their families is active aging to me.
My mom and her brother making their prayers before taking their offerings to Fire. My uncle is the custodian of the temple. My late maternal grandfather was the custodian before him. Each visit to the temple for me is a visit to my childhood and renewing connection with my grandpa. He taught me many things. And I believe my understanding of spirituality partly came from him.

Folks in their 60s, 70s and 80s, some on their own, some accompanied by family members made offerings to Sky Deity.

The banner holds the title of the Sky Deity. He is known as the Jade Emperor among devotees.

Looking at the festive reds and leaping fires both energise and cleanse the souls of the wary and the weary.

My cousin, Edwin, tending to Fire, who turns all our earthly concerns into ashes, so that we have the space in our hearts to live fully for another day.

Away from the fire offerings, in the cool darkness under the red lanterns, silver haired devotees ruminated quietly on the ebbs and flows of life, and spoke affectionately of their creaky joints.

A Five Flower Celebration (人日）

31 Jan 2020 (Day 7 of Chinese New Year)

Yesterday around sunset, Ollie sat by the window and gave thanks for the Windhorses and his little garden of 2 small pots of radish leaves and 1 flower.

This morning when he woke up, there were 5 flowers!

“Ma, we have 5 flowers!” – Ollie the old cat

[五福临门] means the Arrival of Five Blessings. It is an old Chinese greeting which sounds nice but I never really felt its meaning till today.

The Five Blessings are longevity, prosperity, good health, magnanimity and an auspicious end when a full life has been lived.

In Chinese folklores, humans were born on the 7th day of the lunar new year. This day is called “ren ri” [人日].

Ollie and I would like to take this auspicious morning of 5 flowers blooming in our home to wish all friends and all human beings the Five Blessings, for our benefit and the benefit of all sentient beings.

【人日安康 众生得益】

(May our blessings extend to all beings)

Ollie’s Garden

30 January 2020

Ollie the old cat sits by the window as if thanking the sun for the lush green leaves of the red radish and the wind that causes the windhorses to fly.

He’s a housebound cat living in a high rise flat. This is probably as close as he can get to sun, soil, wind & greenery.

Day of the Horse （马日）

30 January 2020 (Day 6 of CNY)

According to chinese folklores, horses were born on the 6th day of the lunar new year celebration.

My Kimenese grandma was very mindful of animals, flowers and trees even when she was observing mainly human-centric rituals.

For example we were not allowed to sew anything on the first day of the lunar new year lest we sewed shut the eyes of baby animals born around this time.

It seemed like a load of superstitious nonsense in my youth, but my exposure to animals over the years taught me that my grandma’s belief & practice was her way of not causing harm to others in whatever ways she could.

The Chinese characters on the red paper, [敬土爱人] which came from her birthplace of Kinmen Island can be translated into “Respecting Earth, Loving Humans.” It is an exhortation to love the soil that we walk on and to love people as well.

This pair of handsewn donkeys represents all equine animals, including horses. I got them from a craft fair years and years ago.

So on this Day of the Horse, may we respect Earth and all her inhabitants, animals included, and become loving people.

First Bloom in My Home

29 Jan 2020 (5th Day of CNY)

Yesterday I hosted my first ever canine guest in the Year of the Rat at my home.

Overnight a little pink flower bloomed.

With the heavy rain all day today, I’m not sure if the flower can take the cold.

And yet amidst news of contagions & quarantines this lil’ wisp of a flower has chosen to unfold.

As tiny as she is, this delicate messenger has petals which she unrolls bit by bit, without haste and almost unnoticeable, giving me hope that the simplest prayers that we make for healing and reconciliation with Nature will be heard & answered. 🙏

Canine Blessings for the Rat Year

28 January 2020 (4th Day of CNY)

Nicki Ning-en with a rat toy.

My friend brought her adopted dog to my home for Chinese New Year visit today.

Dog approves of cny cake.

Dog girl looking at Windhorse Prayer Flags for the first time in her life. (4th Day of CNY, 28 Jan 2020)

At only 8 month old and of a slight built, Nicki Ning-en strutted about my home, sniffed around and made sonorous barks at the cats. Her 20 black nails and kohl-lined eyes gave her a touch of gothic vibes.

Black nails are cool especially when you don’t have to paint them.

Oliver the Cat hid behind the washing machine, wondering when this lanky girl would leave. Behind the glass door of the cat room, plump Hakim sat cross-pawed, daring Niki Ning-en to come closer.

Nicki Ning-en raising her head to look at Avalokithesvera and Ganesha.

Satisfied with her exploration, the girl dog lay down contentedly on the floor by the altar while raising her head briefly to look up at Avalokithesvara (Compassion) and Ganesha (Wisdom).

She had also chosen to relax on the same spot where Shoya, my dog, transited into Light in 5 years ago.

I smiled at the way she seemed so at ease resting on Shoya’s space.

Perhaps being born on an industrial site, losing her own mother, taken to the pound and living so close to death had given this dog an extra ability to sense peace.

As I gave Nicki Ning-en her Chinese New Year red packet, I wished her good health and a long life to accompany her human mommy for a long time.🌈🐾

Raising Windhorses

26 Jan 2020

(Second day of the lunar new year celebration)

Today being a high holiday, I thought it’s good to raise a new set of windhorse prayer flags. They are called lungta in Tibetan & originated in the shamanic cultures of east asia.

Each coloured flag representing each of the 5 elements has a horse and prayer inscriptions printed on it.

Blue for the sky, white for air, red for fire, yellow for earth and green for water.

One of the beliefs regarding the purpose of windhorse flags agrees with my practice. And it is that as the prayer flags flutter in the wind, all the auspicious words printed on them are carried by the windhorse energy towards all sentient beings in all directions.

I started raising these prayer flags in hope of blessing & protecting homeless dogs & cats living in the industrial areas near my home.

Later on I started dedicating prayers of safety to their human feeders as well.

On the recent reunion dinner evening, an elderly feeder was busily cooking for “her” factory dogs when I dropped by her home to hand her a small donation.

Her home was beautifully decorated to welcome the Year of the Rat. This dog feeder has a husband, grown up kids and grandkids. She thinks cooking to feed the factory dogs is as important as cooking the reunion dinner for her family.

Her dedication renewed my interest in prayer flags.

There are also slaughter houses near my home. It is my intention that the consciousness of each duck, each chicken, each pig, each goat, each lamb each cow and each animal being that is killed be free from terror as the windhorse guides it towards an auspicious beginning.

This is paper offering for horses belonging to the gods. I am very intrigued by the printing and the fact that horses have high status across cultures.

And may the windhorse prayers also lead us to act kindly, wisely and calmly as we learn to placate the flu elements without causing further harm to ourselves and to all sentient beings.

My Oldest Childhood Friends

25 January 2020

(First Day of the Year of the Rat)

Each lunar new year for as long as I can remember, I have to go & see two friends.

With a trusted childhood friend whose fierce appearance dispels all impurities.

When I was young, these friends didn’t ask about my school results.

When my lack of mobility kept me from childhood games, I often leant on one of them or sat at their foot while others in the courtyard played.

When I entered my 20s, they didn’t care if I had a boyfriend.

When I got older, they were not bothered that I was unmarried and living with cats.

The silent support of my childhood. I often sat at the foot of this temple guardian diety or lean on him. (25 January 2020)

Over the years as my hair turns grey, their magnificence gains significance even while the panels they were painted on are splintering at the bottom.

This morning as I gushed about this pair of painted temple door gods to my cousin’s lovely wife as she indulged me and graciously took our pictures, a temple visitor’s interest was piqued.

The man took out his cell phone and started photographing my ancient childhood friends. I smiled gratefully.

My childhood exposure to temple door deities has caused me to feel immediately at home in any temple anywhere in the world as soon as I meet their temple guardians at their door.

Running my fingers over the patterns on their robes and the outlines of their accessories, I felt their total acceptance of me.

My relatives are often amused and slightly puzzled by my almost compulsive need to take pictures with these silent sentinels of an old temple, year after year.

Besides honouring the pair that had watched me grow up and now growing old, these yearly pictures with them is perhaps my response to impermanence.

For how could I assume that this temple will always be here, or even if I will get to visit it next lunar new year?

And because temple drawings are usually too massive and too complex to be easily replicated or casually replaced, the temple guardians have also become visual markers of my private journeys, just like two trusty childhood friends who are there for you, regardless of what you have become.

For the first time as the youngsters gathered around me to pose with my oldest childhood friend, I wished that they may also find the silent support and grounding they need in their life’s journeys.

With my oldest childhood companion and the younger generation for the first time. (25 Jan 2020)

Sharing Your Love

24 Jan 2020 (Lunar New Year Eve)

Thank you dear friends near & far, for your auspicious intentions on my birthday.

I brought your words and your hugs with me to the temple just now, and placed them on the altar of compassion.

There I lit a butter lamp for animals, so that they may receive the kindness I have received from you. 🙏🐾

May I take this chance to wish all my friends good health and clear mind, so that words of blessings and gestures of love may continue to pour forth from you wherever you go.

Thank you again.

Namaste. Tashi Delek.