Finally, We Went Through...

The Kuala Lumpur (KL) wedding pictures few months back.

We drove in on a Friday, had our dinner on Saturday evening, and then drove back home the next day Sunday.

It was really quite an experience for me. Yes more traditional. The excitment and noise, I actually had a headache very quickly..hehe

Of course it was quite a delight to see my relatives who have travelled from Ipoh, and Gui's relatives who travelled from other parts of Malaysia.

We also did the traditional Yum Seng, which we were probably trying to avoid, but hey I guess thats the way Chinese weddings are meant to be...

Oh ya thats the gold necklace during the tea ceremony. When Auntie took out the gold necklace, I instinctly thought it was for me, but no no its for the male! I had a silver one later. Doesn't matter, both are in the safe now under my safe-keeping hehe....

Its been a few months since, and so has Por Por who stayed with us for about a month. Tomorrow father and mum-in-law will be fetching her back to KL for about two months, after which she would return to Singapore in Jan 2010. She is a superb cook!! Can't help but feel that as a lady, its important to know how to cook a meal after all. I have been learning bits and pieces from her...errh really just bits and pieces, just watching and listening to her explanations..thats a start ;)

Mum-in-law gave me something to read from her Dharma class recently. Its about Three Types of Individual within the Buddhist Teachings. Although its only two pages, I have been taking quite a while, as I tried to categorize Gui and myself - whether we belong to the Small, Middle or Great Individual.

I believe we are Superior Small.

"One designates as the superior small individual those person who, (seeing) the present life does not last long and having obtained faith in the action-result of virtue and non-virtue, are apprehensive and anxious on account of the uncertainty of taking birth in the lower realm in future life. Thus they strive chiefly for a high condition, the state of a human or god, and for the purpose of this go to the jewels for refuge and strive principally for achieving virtue and avoiding vice."

"Therefore, the Superior Small individual even though anxious and apprehensive on seeing as objectionable the misery of the lower realms, without perceiving as objectional birth in a fortunate destiny which is contained in the round of existence, he perceives its virtues, and making this the foremost of objectives, he strives for this. Therefore, once he perceives one part of the round of existence as objectionable and another part as beneficial, he does not strive for deliverance, which free from the entire round of existence."

I know it sounds rather complex. I read the paragraphs many times before totally comprehending it. In fact, re-typing it out here, I got it!

So what is the Great Individual?

"Just as in the world good and kind parents cherish their own offspring and forsaking their own aims take of the responsibility of many hundreds of irksome tasks for the sake of their children, the great individual also forsake the peace and happiness of himself alone and makes the others much dearer than himself. The person who has the superior thought of assuming the responsibility of a mean for clearing away the ills and accomplishing the happiness of others is designated as the Great Individual."