Sunday, September 26, 2010

the most happening thing in boudha now must be the presense of HH Sakya Trinzin Rinpoche. HH is here for a month or so to give empowerments and conducting prayers. so last fri we 'skipped' school with our teacher, miss yangzom and went to attend the guru rinpoche empowerment. there were so many people, the whole of the tibetan community at boudha must be there. after the empowerment, all of us lined up to received blessings from HH.. omg... sardine packed... and the tibetans have no concept of queueing. it was a mess but a friendly one. everyone was pushing and smiling and laughing at the same time. haha.. what a pity. i didnt have a camera with me. this month must be the month of blessings for me. i received blessings from the head of the 3 out of the 4 main lineages of tibetan buddhism. HH Dalai Lama (gelup), HH Karmapa (kagyu) and now HH Sakya Trinzin Rinpoche (sakya). when it was my turn, i bow and looked up at him and he was smiling so warmly to me. oh... i feel so happy.

saturday was spent lazily. after school at about 11:30am, flera, my classmate and i went for lunch. she wants to tan her face. haha... funny how the westerners love the sun so much while we asians tend to sit in the shade. it feels so nice to just hang out and talk and do nothing....

Thursday, September 23, 2010

5 days with my teacher

hi girls, i am missing the days spent with Geshe la and also Sonam la. it was such a memorable trip. while i am having question and answer session with Geshe la at the dining table, dear Sonam la would be busy cooking away in the kitchen. so nice.... and its the best food i had during the entire trip.. nutritious home-cooked dinner for 2 nights in a row. Sonam la (left) is HH Dalai Lama's translator so he will be going to the states with HH this coming oct. Geshe la is one of Sonam la's teachers. and Geshe la had been HH Dalai Lama's translator for the past 5 years and is now teaching at delhi university. i met both during last year teaching in dharamsala where Geshe la was the translator and Sonam la was acting as his assistant.
after my friends left, everyday i go to Geshela's house breakfast at 7:30am (sonam la made bread, omelette and milk tea) on the rickshaw!
happily taking in the fresh morning air.... until it comes to the expressway!! then i start holding on tight and stop taking photos.. cant even smile... that huge bus! and we are actually going to cross the expressway to get to the other side.. phew.. safe and sound. dun tell my mom.. hee.. yeah! i am here. after breakfast, more private tuition or reading in geshe la's library then go to tibethouse for teaching (Geshe la gave a 5 day teaching on Buddhist Psychology). so interesting! i extended 2 more days in delhi to complete the class. and good news for friends in singapore, Geshe la has been invited to give a teaching in singapore later this year! i will update you when the dates are confirmed. this would be a fantastic opportunity.

happy birthday to miss tenzin yangkyi

hello girls, how is everyone doing? yesterday was mid autumn festival, its also miss tenzin yangkyi's birthday. early morning she reminded me i have to go buy chocolates with her so that she can give it to her classmates and teachers. i pulled myself out of bed at 6:30am (so tough being a part time mom.. let alone a full time one with more than one kid), wash then we went to a nearby provision shop to buy them at 7am. shops here open really early.

after school, i went to collect the cake. tenzin yangkyi was so happy and she has 2 cakes! one more from noemi (a homestay girl from italy) but guess what? we both bought the same cake from the same cafe (saturday cafe which serves really nice organic cakes, muffins and stuff where foreigners like to frequent. the cakes from the local shops are so dry and hard). haha... here with miss tenzin's aunty. too bad uncle tenzin had some work and was late for the cake. haha so naughty, miss tenzin trying to get some cream on her mother's face. kids are so happy on their birthdays. she reminded me everyday since i arrived from hong kong, and then when i came back from delhi. 'suyin, my birthday 22 Sep.. 22 Sep.. 22 Sep' haha... and when uncle tenzin arrived, miss tenzin is already fast asleep... she always just 'passed out' after dinner. haha.. ooh.. i feel really tired. suddenly bombarded with school, taking care of my now 8yo 'daughter' who needs so much attention, working on kyurii during lunch break, trying to digest all the teachings i received over the last 2 weeks, trying to find some quiet time.... solitude is vital. i think i need to wake up earlier like 6am to have some time to practise before i step out of my room into miss tenzin's world. then to school at 8am till 5pm. then internet, or kora, then study, meditate a bit, evening prayers then go out and entertain miss tenzin yangkyi at 8pm. only at 8pm i shall come out of my room! a quality hour before dinner. haha.. by 9:30pm i should retreat into my room for a bit more study, chant then sleep at 11pm. oh i need to set up a strict routine. i skipped school this morning to catch up with my school homework and to reply emails.
ok now i am done with lunch and internet. going back to school at 1:30pm. see you girls later! dont forget that KYURII FINAL CLEARANCE SALE is going on now! DO NOT MISS IT!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Kyurii Final Clearance Sale


hello girls! kyurii clearance sale is taking place now! we are trying to clear as much stocks as we can, so please give us your support.
the future is unknown. what we truly know now is only now. at this moment, we are not sure how we are taking kyurii to the future. whether kyurii will continue to exist or not. what is the next step for kyurii. neither me nor leekeng has an answer. however there are some new ideas we have in store for kyurii, to turn it into a fun 'marketplace' where we help you sell your things. it would be exciting! so any one of you have some things to sell, feel free to email us at: misskyurii@kyurii.com. and tell us all about it. we would love to see if we can feature your products on kyurii website.

so for now, please give us your fullest support at this final clearance sale! thank you so very much. love you all. big hug.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

back in nepal from india

tashi delek girls, after spending 7 days in dharamsala for HH Dalai Lama teaching and another 7 days in delhi with my teacher, Geshe Dorji Damdul, i am now back in kathmandu (arrived yesterday afternoon). it has been a most precious experience. beyond words. setting off in our 12 hr ride to dharamsala! beautiful sunset in dharamsala. after the teaching on the last day, there is usually a photo taking session. group by group. usually its a mad rush to be as near to HH as possible. this time, as our group is called, everyone seems to be still standing around (maybe they didnt hear the announcement). HH is already seated there so i just walked up slowly and gracefully (haha) and i got to kneel down besides HH for the the group photo. haha. so happy and HH held my hand. oh.... i feel so so fortunate. everything is happening so fast as there were like a dozen groups of like a few hundred people waiting for their turns. after the photographer snapped, i turned around and said a very soft 'tashi delek' to HH, he looked so kindly with a warm smile and nodded. the moment is so touching..... faith and i at Namgyal Monastery (HH Dalai Lama's monastery) the day after teaching. during teachings, we are not allowed to bring any cameras or handphones. the secruity check is very strict. during the stay in dharamsala, i also had 2 private audiences with the HH the Karmapa to talk about my thangka class and also, i needed some oral transmissions of some text and mantras. so again, i feel so fortunate. here i am in chuba with maggie, at Gyuto Tantric Monastic college (Karmapa's residence)

i feel so happy.. such joy that is beyond the normal pleasures. and the next 7 days in delhi with Geshe la, is incredible. Geshe la gave a 7 day teaching on 'mind psychology from buddhist point of view' at tibethouse in delhi. such perfect timing. more teaching for me. yeah!

and we are so fortunate to be accompanied by Sonam la (who is apprentice HH Dalai Lama's english translator, going on his first tour with HH later in oct to the US) whom we got to know last year. since he is also going to delhi for visa, we invited him to ride along with us to delhi.

following my teacher around, gave me the greatest opportunity to learn by simply watching how Geshe la interact with everyone whom he comes across with. from the auto (tuk tuk) driver, to someone serving him tea from the restuarant, to his students, to people he met for the first time, always with so much compassion. on the last night, i told Geshe la i feel so happy following him around. i felt like his attendant except that i am not in robes. he laughed saying that he is very happy to hear that. hahaha... being around my teacher for like 12 hours a day is something i truly cherish in this trip. i feel such tremendous joy and so many moments where i feel a natural spontaneous sense of compassion arising in me, just by experiencing his compassion to people around him. it is as though its being transmitted to me. so many moments i had to control my tears especially when listening to Geshe la talks about the bodhisattvas and being compassion with the glow in his eyes. even now as i am writing, the tears come. there is nothing more important for me to do now than to study and practise well.