Jungle Drums

Just sat for my chado exams this afternoon, and sort of breezed through it. Was a crapping sort of paper, and crapping is one of the stuff i do best (on paper at least). hopefully i can score well.

come to think of it, out of the gazillions of modules i have taken so far, Chado class is the one i enjoyed the most. Well, apart from eating the fantastically sweet Japanese erm sweets, I think the instructors were fantastic. They are really a far cry from the lecturers and tutors that i'm used to, especially when i'm in COMPUTER ENGINEERING (read:boring). They seem so much more enthusiastic about teaching and sharing their knowledge. I wish to thank Ms Translater-who-drives-an-Alfa-Romeo, and Sensei, Ms Nakabayashi, the 2 ladies helping them, especially the motherly one, and of cos Lincoln. regrettably i did not know all their names, but i thank them nonetheless.

I have always been fascinated by Japanese culture. They are so cultured (pun there...), and they have the best mannerisms around. From what i learn from chado class, it seems that they really are applying the concepts of Chado. If only Singaporeans could be as polite and respectful of each other as the Japanese.

Chado's based on Zen Buddhism, and I guess it helps in managing our daily lives if we could practise the Chado concepts. No clash of interest here, since I can clearly draw the line between being a Christian and practising Zen concepts. Learning these concepts have exposed me to the principles of respect and harmony. if the Japanese could maintain that tradition for centuries, it must be worth the effort right?

Lastly, something that I learnt, and will strive to achieve.

身是菩提樹、
心如明鏡台、
時時勤払拭、
勿使惹塵埃。

身はこれ菩提樹、
心は明鏡台のごとし。
時時に払拭して
塵埃を惹かしむるなかれ。