dearest pak pak and his lettuces
oh girls i just got back from the village, i am so happy! finally the lettuce that i have been waiting and waiting for... they are harvested! and i just bought some from 'pak pak'. guess what... it takes almost a month for lettuce to grow till they can be harvested. for so many weeks i have seen the little lettuces growing and growing... and if i see 'pak pak' i will ask him if they are ready.. each time he would say 'no ar... it takes almost a month ga.' with utmost patience. every time i go out to the city, i have to pass by the farm and each time, the lettuces grow bigger and bigger and look juicer and juicer.... this is taken 2 weeks ago.
last few days i also bought lettuce from the supermarket, i just wash them and ate them. but this evening, i really look at every piece of the leaves as i rinse them, with total appreciation and awareness (hey i am not exaggerating here. i seriously paid them my fullest attention.) they look gorgeous (they actually are more curvy. haha) oh how true they say when you have to wait for something, you appreciate them more.
oh thank you pak pak, for continuing to farm which allow us fortunate people in lamma to buy fresh vege straight from the farm. and also, to have the opportunity to watch them grow.
this little experience i had with the lettuces coincide with a book i am reading now 'true perception - the path of the dharma art' by chogyam trungpa rinpoche.
' people have to realize how things are made and produced, how they happen to be so beautiful, so lovely. once something is at its best, its fruition, we tend to neglect that.... whether you are the greatest artist who has already made your name and made a good contribution to the world, or at the beginning's level, we have to realize how difficult it is to start the whole thing. we have to work with the ground, path and fruition levels together..... we have to have some respect for the people who work hard on such situations. we cannot simply say 'things are fine, convenient, therefore i might as well take advantage of it, as long as i have money.''
this also made me think of producing a thangka drawing. esp in the old days where colours have to be grinded from stones or greenery or minerals. like in the book says 'before you get into your fancy work as artists, you have to know the pain and the misery or maybe deny it, that is involved in producing such a work of art.'
now the process is already made easy (at least we dun have to grind stones) but still, whenever i think of having to go through the procedures of treating the piece of cotton (it takes 2 days) before we can paint on it, it gives me headaches. i really think why cant someone come up with 'ready made treated cotton already handsewn onto that bamboo frame' for me to straightaway start my painting. hahaha... you know like one of those mounted canvas thing you can get straight from an art shop. 'i have money i can buy it!' but so sorry it is not available. haha.. you have to do it step by step on your own... woah!
oh great i found a picture of jerome preparing the cotton. it still needs to sit under the sun before progressing to the next step. i know my patience would be truly tested in the years to come.. 
so now i will always be reminded of pak pak's hard work whenever i come across moments when i get frustrated on the long tedious process of producing thangka (which i am sure there will be plenty).
living in the 21st century a world of conveniences, lets learn to appreciate how things we already took for granted, the simplest things still do take a lot of work to be produced. like toilet paper or like toothbrush. the bristles.. oh my gosh... i dun even know where to start with that. towel from the sheep.. omg..
ok dearest lettuce, i am going to eat you with gratitude tonight and will make a special dedication before dinner later.
last few days i also bought lettuce from the supermarket, i just wash them and ate them. but this evening, i really look at every piece of the leaves as i rinse them, with total appreciation and awareness (hey i am not exaggerating here. i seriously paid them my fullest attention.) they look gorgeous (they actually are more curvy. haha) oh how true they say when you have to wait for something, you appreciate them more. oh thank you pak pak, for continuing to farm which allow us fortunate people in lamma to buy fresh vege straight from the farm. and also, to have the opportunity to watch them grow.
this little experience i had with the lettuces coincide with a book i am reading now 'true perception - the path of the dharma art' by chogyam trungpa rinpoche.
' people have to realize how things are made and produced, how they happen to be so beautiful, so lovely. once something is at its best, its fruition, we tend to neglect that.... whether you are the greatest artist who has already made your name and made a good contribution to the world, or at the beginning's level, we have to realize how difficult it is to start the whole thing. we have to work with the ground, path and fruition levels together..... we have to have some respect for the people who work hard on such situations. we cannot simply say 'things are fine, convenient, therefore i might as well take advantage of it, as long as i have money.''
this also made me think of producing a thangka drawing. esp in the old days where colours have to be grinded from stones or greenery or minerals. like in the book says 'before you get into your fancy work as artists, you have to know the pain and the misery or maybe deny it, that is involved in producing such a work of art.'
now the process is already made easy (at least we dun have to grind stones) but still, whenever i think of having to go through the procedures of treating the piece of cotton (it takes 2 days) before we can paint on it, it gives me headaches. i really think why cant someone come up with 'ready made treated cotton already handsewn onto that bamboo frame' for me to straightaway start my painting. hahaha... you know like one of those mounted canvas thing you can get straight from an art shop. 'i have money i can buy it!' but so sorry it is not available. haha.. you have to do it step by step on your own... woah!
oh great i found a picture of jerome preparing the cotton. it still needs to sit under the sun before progressing to the next step. i know my patience would be truly tested in the years to come.. 
so now i will always be reminded of pak pak's hard work whenever i come across moments when i get frustrated on the long tedious process of producing thangka (which i am sure there will be plenty).
living in the 21st century a world of conveniences, lets learn to appreciate how things we already took for granted, the simplest things still do take a lot of work to be produced. like toilet paper or like toothbrush. the bristles.. oh my gosh... i dun even know where to start with that. towel from the sheep.. omg..
ok dearest lettuce, i am going to eat you with gratitude tonight and will make a special dedication before dinner later.
posted by Suyin @ Kyurii.com at 7:04 PM
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