Class Party videos

Finally, the videos are up in youtube. Sorry I couldn't get this out in time b4 SPM examinations. Too much work.

Class Party 2009

End

After eleven months, finally we have come to an end of Sunday School for the year 2009. It was great to have been able to join the class this year for the first time and the last time.

Getting to know everyone in the class was seriously great and definitely a great fun time being class with everyone. Lameness and loudness spreading in the class every week is definitely all the time.

To all the Form 5’s having SPM starting this Wednesday, good luck and all the best. Do your best and don’t give up! To all the others, have great school holiday and enjoy it to the max before next year comes.

Again thank you to Bro KC & Bro Lid Sine for the knowledge that I’ve gained this year in class.

I will still be around Sunday School next in Sariputta class for those who may want to know. Find me if you need me.

Smiles from my heart,
Love from my heart,
&
You all shall always be my Kalyana Mitra!

See you all again next year!

By Bryan ^.^V

Speech

Good evening to my dearest family and friends, brothers and sisters in the Dhamma.

It is difficult to express my gratitude and it is indeed surprising to me that I would be standing here tonight receiving this award – Best Student of the Year. I want to say so much, but I can hardly find the words. Being able to learn the Dhamma is the greatest blessings in my life. Definitely I wouldn’t be able to have it if I hadn’t join BISDS. It is where I discover that there is a part in me that want to explore more into the teachings of the Buddha. Of course, it is only this year that I join BISDS after hearing about it a few years ago but was reluctant of joining it then as I had a perception that I won’t benefit from it. But now, I have a different perception of BISDS. It has brought me a lot of new things this year namely friends, knowledge, experience & passion. I’m very glad that I have joined BISDS.

It wasn’t easy being the eldest student in class yet with the least Dhamma knowledge as well. Even with the teachings that I have learnt in class, I have even took the effort to study more myself by taking the class exam and also the MBE. It is also that without the encouragement that I get from friends, I wouldn’t have the initiative to study deeper into it

I gained experience through events such as BISDS Carnival as well as Class Trip to the Home of the Disabled which was organized by our class. In all these, I was able to put my Dhamma knowledge into action. That is by helping anyone whether or not they are in need to be helped, be patient when issue arise and more.

Joining the BISDS Youth Group, dancing and choir was a bonus that helped me to explore even more. It is where I discover that I can sing and together we reflect the name of our choir group – One Voice, One Melody. It is too where I found my greatest passion that I am so hyped up whenever I talk about it, which is dancing. Speaking of it makes me just want to dance right now.

Lastly, I’m very glad that I was able to meet everyone that I know here. Some of us going through the ups & downs together, celebrating happy moments together and I even feel that they are a second family to me. With all being said, I definitely want to thank my class teachers, Bro Kan Cheng & Bro Lid Sine and of course all my family & friends. Sunday has been one of my favourite days.

Thank you and good night.

Above is the speech that I gave on Appreciation Nite 09.

By Bryan ^.^V

Moggallana Class Party 2009

Event: Class Party
Time: 8.30am-10.30am
Date: 15 Nov 2009
Venue: in class

Those who were assigned to bring stuff/food/drinks are:-

Yee Wan- Sushi
Sze Mei- Soft Drinks
Ai Ling-Cakes(chocolate)
Amy-Konnyaku Jelly
Pei Wen- Balloons
Shuen-Pasta
Allison- Tissues
Sing Keat- ice, twisters(drink)x2
Kai Cong- plastic forks and spoons
Kee Zet & Ren- garbage bags
Fuh Lin- soft drinks x2
Hop Kins- paper cups and paper plates
Michelle- Junk Food
Rebecca- ice & Ice Box
Bryan- Cloths
T1- Bananas
T2- Apples & Oranges
Games are:-
T1's ice breaking game
T2's ice breaking game
Dog & Bone(Kai Cong's game)
Shiso Shiso??(Kai Cong's game....

Attention everyone, there will be no puja next week. However we shall have puja session in respective classes.

If anyone wants to bring something else, please inform me or Kee Zet & Kee Ren or you can tell us in our chatbox.


Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

-Pei Wen-

Appreciation Nite

Attention to those who are coming for BISDS Appreciation Nite.

Those who are not sitting for SPM/STPM this year and those who are not involved in dancing and choir, please volunteer yourself to help out for the night.

That’s all.

By BKB ^.^V

Lantern Night

To all students,

Next week, there will be no class on this Sunday which is 20th Sep 2009 as its the Hari Raya Holiday.
Well of course, class will resume on the following week on the 27th of Sep 2009.

Other than that,Well, what more can I say? Picture speaks more than what I can say. Of course one most important thing on this day, bring your family members along! The rest of the details are all on the flyer which you can enlarge it.

By BKB ^.^V

Pictures from Class Trip

There are actually many pictures, and I am afraid that I am unable to post them all at one go, so I'll post bits by bits. Please be patient with me. Thank you very much. =)

All photo taken by Shuen.

-Alison.

The Story of Moggallana

Sariputta and Moggallana were themselves enlightened. They were arahants and being so powerful as they were how was it that such tragedy could befall Moggallana? Arahants do not "suffer" anymore but the physically mortal being is subject to the ripening of whatever remaining karma and in Moggallana's case, the karmic product of killing his blind parents in his past life was more powerful than his supernatural skills. Did he try to use his supernatural powers to avert death? How did he die?

Moggalana and Sariputta were the most excellent disciples of the Buddha. They were both older than the Buddha and both passed away half a year before the Buddha's Parinibbana. They were 84 years old. While Sariputta passed away peacefully on the full moon of October, Moggallana's death, on the following new moon of November was tragic.

Moggallana was the master of supernatural skills. Many monks had developed certain supernatural skills but Moggallana accomplished the most.
He was capable of :-
Penetrating and reading the minds of others (Telepathy)
Hearing voices and receiving messages from other beings eg gods, devas, spirits, etc. divine ear (Clair-audience)
Vision over long distance, seeing other beings and seeing the workings of Karma in others. This is the power of the divine eye (Clairvoyance) He often communicated and received instructions from the Buddha even though they were far apart.
Astral travel. Being able to leave his form and appear in other realms, he often travelled to the heavenly realms and interacted with gods.
Telekinesis. Being able to move things without having to touch it or with unusual ease. He even shook the heavenly palace of Sakka to teach him a lesson.

Both Sariputta and Moggallana were themselves enlightened. They were arahants and being so powerful as they were, how was it that such tragedy could befall Moggallana? Arahants do not "suffer" anymore but the physically mortal being is subject to the ripening of whatever remaining karma.In Moggallana's case, the karmic product of killing his blind parents in his past life was more powerful than his supernatural skills. Did he try to use his supernatural powers to avert death? How did he die?

Apparently, an ascetic order of the Jains faith were angry when they heard that Moggallana, using his clairvoyance discerned that virtuous practitioners of the Dhamma gained favourable rebirths, while the followers of other faiths were not so fortunate. Evil members of these faiths hired killers to get rid of Moggallana who was then living alone in a forest hut. Mara himself tried to claim Moggallana's mortal frame by entering through the latter's lower bowels. Moggallana calmly ordered Mara out of his body. Mara was taken aback at the speed at which Moggallana could detect his presence and exited from Moggallana's mouth. Standing in front of him, Mara asked Moggallana how he knew. Moggallana related that he knew much more than that. In a distant past life, Moggallana revealed that he was in fact Mara himself. Even Maras are subjected to the realms of Samsara. Subjected to birth and death. During the time of the first of five Buddhas that were to appear, Moggallana was the chief of demons, lord of the underworld by the name of Mara Dusi who had a sister by the name of Kali. The Mara who stood before him was in effect, the son of Kali which made him Moggallana's "nephew".

After the encounter with Mara, Moggallana felt that the time was near for his parinibbana. After attaining sainthood, he felt his mortal body as a burden and obstruction and allowed impermanence to take its course. But when hired killers went for him in his hut, he made himself invisible. For six days, hired killers went to his hut and could not find him on every occasion. Moggalana knew that the action of the killers would result in very bad karma for each and every one of them. So although he knew of the impending karmic force, he nevertheless used his powers to make himself invisible , because of his compassion for the would-be-killers.On the seventh day, the killers' persistence paid off as Moggallana was stricken by the ripening of the bad karma just as one would suddenly be stricken with illness. Moggallana's powers failed him and the killers smashed his every limb and left him dying in a pool of blood. Killing an arahant of such power is never easy. Moggallana, with great physical and mental strength did not succumb to the injuries but instead, managed to drag himself a great distance to breathe his last serene breath in front of the Buddha. When the monks inquired as to why such an excellent arahant could die in such a brutal way, the Buddha explained that even Moggallana could not stop the workings of karma. In one of his previous existence, he had killed both his parents who were blind. Following bad advice, he put them in a cart and took them into the forest and beat them to death pretending that they were attacked by robbers. Killing one's parents is considered one of the top five worst action ever.

Blessing

To all PMR & SPM candidates!

There will be an examination blessing service to be held in BMV on the 31st August 2009.

It will start at 7.30pm

For more information about his event please call the BMV office at 03-22741141.

Another reminder to all those who wants the copy of the class trip DVD. It includes the video of the trip and also interviews of Principal, Teacher, Parents & Students. Those who still wants it please do contact me or email me.

Be mindful of your speech

I'm so like going crazy over the way people, like, want to, like, talk like like like .... Are we like so unoriginal, like, we, like, annoy people, like, every time we open our mouth? As Buddhists, aren't we, like, suppose to be, like, more mindful of our speech. But hey, isn't it, like, better than using the f****ing word all over? NO! Two wrongs don't make a right. It's not 'kewl' even to Americans. To me it's an indication that people like to talk so fast that when they are at a lost for words, these fillers help them to continue. Nevertheless, be mindful of your utterances.

Actually, the billboards are the work of a satirical group calling themselves the Acad(e)my of Linguistic Awar(e)ness. Note the spelling mistakes and bad sentence construction in the poster. It's some sort of practical joke literally.

Update!

Next week there will be no Sunday School Class which is on 23rd August 2009.

Of course class will be resumed on the 30th August 2009. So there will be a one week holiday.

Next, is about the class trip. DVD’s are out for this trip. Those who want a copy of the DVD please do let me know by email-ing me at bfjy_22@hotmail.com or via MSN if you want. Just let me know who you are and how many do you need.

That’s all~

By BKB ^.^V

BISDS Newsletter

Calling all students! Its the time of the year where the
latest newsletter is to be published!

The Publication team kindly invites all to contribute an article to be published in the upcoming newsletter that is to be released on
13th September!

So far we have story of the pali chanting workshop, pending articles of Moggallana 1 & Meghiya 2 class trips, Bro. Ronnie article...

Well what can you write about you may ask…

Here’s what you can do:-

• The past events. ie. carnival, wesak…
• you can share a story about dealing with interesting pupils, ie. hyperactive kid, orphan..

Lastly, everybody could write a short message about
BISDS 80 years old!

It could be a one-liner but why not make it longer to express more but only limit it to less than 100 words.
You may say thank you / send wishes / share your hopes for the school / give constructive feedback / share your fond memories etc..

Make it as interesting as possible!

Of course there’s a deadline!
23rd August 2009

Any submissions are to be emailed to bisdspublication@yahoo.com

Enjoy~!

By BKB ^.^V

PAY IT FORWARD

Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.




Quote
Jerry: You ever been on the street?
Arley: My mom took us pretty close.
Jerry: Well, you can't know. Not until you look at a dumpster. But when you climb into that thing for the first time and you pull those newspapers over you, that's when you know you've messed your life up. Somebody comes along like your son, and gives me a leg up, I'll take it. Even from a kid, I'll take it.

Pay It Forward - WIKI
If the person thanks you and wants to "repay" you (that is, pay it "back"), let them know that what you'd really like is for them to pay it "forward" ...

All right. I know, this is an old movie but allow me to blog on it for a bit. I don't know how I could have put off watching this movie for so long. Maybe it was because I was waiting for the family to sit together for it and when that didn't happen it got shelved. Nevertheless, this is a heart warming and thought provoking movie that everyone, especially teens, should watch. It's like everyone thinks that the world (read life) sucks but what did you ever do to try to make it better. I thought bits of the movie were a tad unrealistic and the ending was a bit upsetting but overall, it was an excellent movie. A sentimental gem amidst the Hollywood staple of crash, boom bang movies.

Actually, the idea of paying "forward" isn't new. It goes way back to Benjamin Franklin (you know the scientist who purportedly flew a kite in the thunderstorm? Check your Science book) when he wrote in a letter to his friend who borrowed from him.

"I do not pretend to give such a Sum; I only lend it to you. When you [...] meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands, before it meets with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money."

The Beach

Now watch your breathing/waves. With every inhale, allow the feelings of Metta (Loving kindness), Mudita (Appreciative Joy) ride the waves into the shore and as the waves splashes onto the beach, feel these Brahma Viharas nourish every grain of sand, showering the entire beach with Metta and Mudita thus nourishing every thing, every being connected equally.


It's exam time again. If you find yourself more edgy, irritable and nervous you need to relax. Meditation can help you relax. There's no need for long deep meditation practices to attain jhanas but instead keep it simple. I'd like to share a simple exercise that you can do to relax your mind. You can do this seated down anywhere you like. Not necessary in lotus position on the yoga mat. Even seated on the chair at your study desk is fine. Just sit upright with your palms rested on your thighs. Switch off your cellphone, music and remove those headphones. Close your eyes and breathe normally.

Step 1:
Imagine every cell of your body as a grain of sand on a beach. Every cell that makes up the strands of hair, every cell in your eyes, internal organs etc. is transformed into a grain of sand on a 1 to 1 basis of this imaginary beach. Don't take too long to imagine this. It can be an instantaneous transformation. No need to go hair by hair, limb by limb, organ by organ.

Imagine every thing, people, animals and every conceivable beings around you also as part of the beach. Their cells, molecules, atoms also transformed into tiny grains of sand on the beach. The chair you are on, the table, the lizard on the wall, the mosquitoes, the plants outside etc etc. Again, this is an instantaneous transformation. Quick as a flash. Don't go item by item. Don't go searching for things to transform. Just recall the mental picture/perception of your surroundings just before you closed your eyes and imagine every thing in it as grains of sand on the beach.

You just quickly realize/visualize that you are like grains of sand on a huge beach together with everything else. You are a part of that beach looking out into the great vast ocean. Not placed in a special part of the beach but just connected together as one with everything else. You, or rather the heap of sand that makes up your form or matter are are just there together with those of the mosquitoes, plants and other beings laid down together as the beach. Together as one.

Step 2:
Then imagine the waves that comes in curling and lapping onto the shores and then reeling back into the ocean. Connect this to your breathing. As you exhale, see the waves reeling back into the ocean. As you inhale see the waves curl in and splashes onto the shore. Make it a serene rhythmic motion that unfolds in your mind. Keep it a simple scene. Just sand, water and blue sky. Don't make it too scenic and populate the picture with other things. No gulls, no palm trees, no tsunamis, no lightning flashes, no ships. Definitely no favourite movie stars frolicking in the waters. You get the picture.

Step 3:
Now watch your breathing/waves. With every inhale, allow the feelings of Metta (Loving kindness), Mudita (Appreciative Joy) ride the waves into the shore and as the waves splashes onto the beach, feel these Brahma Viharas nourish every grain of sand, showering the entire beach with Metta and Mudita thus nourishing every thing, every being connected equally. With no biasness, no ego but with Uppekha (Equanimity). The waves nourishes the mosquitoes and lizards as much as it does you. With every exhale, allow the feeling of Karuna (Compassion) take away the sadness, sufferring, illness, stress away as the waves reels away from the beach taking with it the bad into the ocean.

Keep this going for as long as you like. Just let your mind be the witness of this rhythmic motion of Brahma Viharas and just watch it without expecting anything.

Step 4:
Slowly fade the picture away by letting go of the waves and let your breathing be just air in and out of your nostrils. This will anchor your breathing to your body in its current form and slowly open your eyes if you have not fallen asleep. :)

Moggallana 1 Lesson T2 - 26th July 2009

Prelude to Mahaparinibbana Sutta.

During the last decade before the Buddha's Parinibbana, a series of tragic events unfolded centered around the Buddha's cousin Devadatta. Buddha was 72 years after 37 yrs of preaching. The most powerful kingdom was that of King Bimbisara of Magadha and he had a son, Prince Ajatasattu.

Japanese Mandala:Devadatta performing miracles.

Some background information about Devadatta.
Devadatta, Ananda and Yasodhara are siblings. Children of Suppabuddha who is the maternal uncle of Prince Siddhartha.
His encounters with Siddartha:
As a child, he fought over a swan that he shot with his arrow.
As a teenager, he competed for Yasodhara's hand in marriage.
He killed a white elephant that was to be a gift for Siddhartha.
He joined the order of monks when Buddha returned to Kapilavatthu.

Achievements:
Devadatta was an accomplished and respected monk.
He attained 5 types of supernatural powers from meditation. The supernatural control of his body, a divine ear, a divine eye, capable of mind reading and recalling his past lives. But his envy towards Prince Siddhartha, his jealousy and his arrogance prevented him from any real insight and liberation.

During a self retreat, he decided to go to Rajagaha in Magadha and use his powers to gain patronage of prince Ajatasattu. The prince was impressed and eventually showered Devadatta with respect and friendship which resulted in much gain, honor and good reputation for the latter. Obsessed with that, Devadatta turn to the ambition to rule over the Sangha.

The Buddha had already discouraged the use of supernatural powers in his reply to a lay person Kevaddha who suggested that the Buddha should gain the favour of the rich and influential Nalanda.

“Lord, this Nalanda is rich, prosperous, populous, and full of people who have faith in the Lord. It would be well if the Lord were to cause some monk to perform superhuman feats and miracles. In this way Nalanda would come to have even more faith in the Lord.”

The Buddha replied: “Kevaddha, this is not the way I teach Dhamma to the monks, by saying: ‘Go, monks, and perform superhuman feats and miracles for the white-clothed laypeople!”

On one occasion, a monk named Sunakkhatta threatened to leave the Sangha because the Buddha had not performed any miracles. The Buddha responded:

“What do you think, Sunnakkhatta? Whether miracles are performed or not – is it the purpose of my teaching Dhamma to lead whoever practices it to the total destruction of suffering?” “It is, Lord.” “So, Sunakkhatta, whether miracles are performed or not, the purpose of my teaching Dhamma is to lead whoever practices it to the total destruction of suffering. Then what purpose would the performance of miracles serve? Consider, you foolish man, how far the fault is yours.”

As for Devadatta, crazed by fame and fortune, he became complacent and this led to the diminishing of the supernatural abilities. Nevertheless, his obsession with taking over the Sangha caught the attention of the Devas who reported it to the Buddha's chief disciple Moggallana.

When the Buddha arrived at Rajagaha, many of the monks came and reported to the Buddha how prestigious Devadatta was and how Prince Ajatasattu would wait upon the latter with 500 carriages and 500 offerings of milk rice every morning. Many monks were impressed. Some were jealous and some were resentful. The Buddha said

“Monks, do not begrudge Devadatta his gain, honor and renown. Just as, if one were to break a gall bladder under a fierce dog’s nose, the dog would get much fiercer, so too, as long as Prince Ajatasattu keeps waiting on Devadatta as he is doing, so long may wholesome states be expected to diminish and not increase in Devadatta. Just as a plantain* bears its fruit for its own destruction and its own undoing, so too, Devadatta’s gain, honor and renown have arisen for his self-destruction and his own undoing.”

*Plantain – genus of plants that bears fruit once and dies. Eg Banana

Then during a large gathering in the presence of King Bimbisara, Devadatta stood up and offered to govern the Sangha and suggested that the Buddha should retire as he is getting old. The Buddha told him

“Enough Devadatta, do not aspire to govern the Sangha”.

Twice Devadatta asks and twice the Buddha gave him the same reply. When it was suggested the third time, the Buddha scolded him

“I would not hand over the Sangha of monks even to Sariputta and Moggallana. How should I do so to such a vile person to be vomitted like a clot of spittle, as you?”

So Devadatta was publicly humiliated in front of the King Bimbisara and begrudged the Buddha. The scolding was so harsh that a proponent of another faith, the Jains took advantage of and tried to belittle the Buddha asking him a simple question. Should the Tatagatha use such harsh words? If the Buddha said yes, then he is subject to anger just like an ordinary person. If the Buddha says no, then he is not the Tatagatha since he did use the words on Devadatta. So it was a two horned question. Prince Abhaya was sent to challenge the Buddha with that question. He invited the Buddha to have a meal at his home. When the Buddha went to his home, he saw through the scheme and he told the Prince that there is no one-sided answer to the question and that it was meant as a trap. Prince Abhaya admitted defeat. As the Prince had a child with him, the Buddha posed a question to the Prince.

“If a child accidently pushed a stick or pebble into his own mouth, what would you do?”

“Venerable sir, I would take it out. If I could not take it out at once, I would take his head in my left hand, and crooking a finger of my right hand, I would take it out even if it meant drawing blood.”

“Why is that? "

"Because I have compassion for the child.”

“So too, prince, such speech as the Tathagata knows to be untrue, incorrect, and unbeneficial, and which is also unwelcome and disagreeable to others: such speech the Tathagata does not utter. Such speech as the Tathagata knows to be true and correct but unbeneficial, and which is also unwelcome and disagreeable to others: such speech the Tathagata does not utter. Such speech as the Tathagata knows to be true, correct, and beneficial, but which is unwelcome and disagreeable to others: the Tathagata knows the time to use such speech. Such speech as the Tathagata knows to be untrue, incorrect, and unbeneficial, but which is welcome and agreeable to others: such speech the Tathagata does not utter. Such speech as the Tathagata knows to be true and correct but unbeneficial, and which is welcome and agreeable to others: such speech the Tathagata does not utter. Such speech as the Tathagata knows to be true, correct, and beneficial, and which is welcome and agreeable to others: the Tathagata knows the time to use such speech. Why is that? Because the Tathagata has compassion for beings.”

Knowing that the behaviour of Devadatta was a disgrace and unbecoming of a true disciple, the Buddha made an anouncement to denounce Devadatta. He addressed the monk:

“Now, monks, let the Sangha carry out an act of pubic denunciation in Rajagaha against Devadatta. Formerly Devadatta had one nature; now he has another. Whatever Devadatta may do by body or speech neither the Blessed One nor the Dhamma nor the Sangha should be held as having a part in it: only Devadatta himself is to be held responsible for it.”

Then Sariputta was sent to Rajagaha to publicly make the anouncement. Nevertheless, some people thought the Buddha was jealous but the wise ones realised that denouncement by the Buddha is no ordinary matter which was apparent later in the events that unfolded.

Buddhism won "The Best Religion In The World Award"

15 Jul 2009, Tribune de Geneva

The Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has bestowed "The Best Religion In the World" award this year on the Buddhist Community.

This special award was voted on by an international round table of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum. It was fascinating to note that many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion although Buddhists
actually make up a tiny minority of ICARUS membership. Here are the comments by four voting members:

Jonna Hult, Director of Research for ICARUS said "It wasn't a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in the World, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war fought in the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keep a gun in the closet just in case God makes a mistake. We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army. These people practice what they preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritual tradition."

A Catholic Priest, Father Ted O'Shaughnessy said from Belfast , "As much as I love the Catholic Church, it has always bothered me to no end that we preach love in our scripture yet then claim to know God's will when it comes to killing other humans. For that reason, I did have to cast my vote for the Buddhists."

A Muslim Cleric Tal Bin Wassad agreed from Pakistan via his translator. "While I am a devout Muslim, I can see how much anger and bloodshed is channeled into religious expression rather than dealt with on a personal level. The Buddhists have that figured out." Bin Wassad, the ICARUS voting member for Pakistan's Muslim community continued, "In fact, some of my best friends are Buddhist."

And Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein said from Jerusalem, "Of course, I love Judaism, and I think it's the greatest religion in the world. But to be honest, I've been practicing Vipassana meditation every day before minyan (daily Jewish prayer) since 1993. So I get it."

However, there was one snag - ICARUS couldn't find anyone to give the award to. All the Buddhists they called kept saying they didn't want the award.

When asked why the Burmese Buddhist community refused the award, Buddhist monk Bhante Ghurata Hanta said from Burma , "We are grateful for the acknowledgement, but we give this award to all humanity, for Buddha nature lies within each of us." Groehlichen went on to say "We're going to keep calling around until we find a Buddhist who will accept it. We'll let you know when we do."

From T1,
W Metta Always

Carnival

Everyone get ready for the

BISDS CARNIVAL!!!

It’s on this Sunday!!!

Please come and bring your whole family along.

Enjoy lots of fun games & food!!!

Hope to see you all there!!!

By BKB ^.^V

Interview

Lights, Camera, Action!

Well, well, well.
Class trip is over and I bet that mostly everyone’s forgotten about something. Yup! It’s the
Interview!

A DVD will be publish on the trip that we went to serve as an inspiration to other classes. Giving them the hunger to want to try it out like what we did.

Students will be asked of few question regarding the trips and here are some of it that will be asked:-

1. What do you think about the class trip and how did you benefit from it?
2. Will this experience change the way you think about the handicapped and disabled?
3. What were the feelings that arises most in you during your interaction with the children of the home?
4. How should you help them in the future? What suggestions do you have to improve their lives.

Be very well prepared!
Oh ya, not to forget this interview will be carried out on this Sunday which is the

12th Jul 2009 after the photoshoot.

Put up a big smile and prepare for the interview!

By BKB ^.^V

BISDS 80th Anniversary Magazine Photo Shoot

As said in the above title,
BISDS 80th Anniversary Magazine
will be out soon!

The class photo shoot will take place on
this coming Sunday
which is on the
12/7.

Everyone please
wear BISDS T-shirt & your name tag.

Please, please, please do as told to not have any problems occurring!
Do co-operate and things will go smooth and swiftly!

Cheers!
With Metta

By BKB ^.^V

Taman Megah Home trip.

Bro. Kai-Cong here.

This is some things you have to know about the trip.

1) please wear your BISDS T-Shirt. emphasis on the BISDS, as we are representing the sunday school outside of school compound, and it's a better impression if we are uniformed.!
2) please wear Long pants. if u dun have long pants, please dun wear shorts, atleast 3 quarter. not the board shorts type.
3) Please do not wear socks. this is a special request form the manager of the home. so please do follow the request.
4) please be in sunday school at 8.30 sharp for a special breifing about the trip. So make your transport arrangements ASAP. thanks.

and for those who are giving Transportaion, thank you for the dana, but for those who wants to do dana in material form here is the list that the manager sent to yee wan that the home is needing. you can refer to this list to get the materials. and Remember to bring it this sunday. thanks.


Milk Powder
01.Fernleaf / Everyday /Nespray – Fullcream

02.Dumex – Dulac

03.Dutch lady – 456

04.Gainkid Eye-Q Advance (Step 4)

05.Pediasure – Vanilla Flavour

06.Ensure

07.Boh Teh / Nescafe

08.Sugar

09.Coconut Milk – Ayam brand

10.Adabi Bunjut

Toiletries
11.Hard Brush

12.Broom Stick

13.Penyapu Lidi

14.Dustbin

For the photographers.
as like what Bro. KC says. the home requested about the photos taken. they hope that the photos take shows that they are in a good mood, or in a happy mood, take pictures of them having fun, beacuse the kids might not react when you take pictures of them that feels like they are in need to help, or in a bad situation, but they will feel unhappy. So the trip is to make them feel happy so please be more carefull when you angle the pictures. Thank you.

If you have any questions you can ask the comitee the list of phone numbers are posted in the blog. Scroll down to find

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu!

Class Outing / Charity Project - Contacts

Hi there, you guys....
Alright, with less than 2 weeks for our outing, here are the contact number of the committees and people you can contact... =)

Bro. KC : 03 - 79565680
Yee Wan : 016 - 645 8333
Kai-Cong : 017 - 366 1848
Sui Lun : 016 - 906 7963
Shuen : 012 - 638 2196
Alison : 016 - 334 4178
Fuh Lin : 03 - 79820475
Sze Mei : 017 - 387 2577
John : 017 - 609 3020
Hayden : 016 - 570 0780
Hop Kins : 012 - 339 1590

With metta,
Alison...

Class Outing / Charity Project

Hey you guys! So, I am sure you guys are aware about our class trip to The Taman Megah Home's For Handicapped And Disabled Children. Here are some updates =)

Date: 5 July 2009 (Sunday)
Time : 10.00 am to around 11.30am - 12.00 pm
New Transport Manager: Fuh Lin

Information on the home
The home currently supports 138 children aged from 7 months to 55 years old.
Their monthly expenses comes up to about RM 60,000 +++.
That's a lot of zero, right? So don't you think that we should lend them a helping hand?
And not to mention, the home is currently raising fund for a new location that requires 5 Bil.
Currently, they only managed to raise 1 Bil.
Website : www.ppkkctm.org

*Click on the picture for clearer view








Fundraising
Anyone and everyone are welcomed to join in.
Items required:

1. Cash donation
2. Old clothing
3. Books
4. Anything practical
   

We will start collecting the above items this Sunday, 14 June 2009.
Do encourage your parents, teachers, friends, family members, anyone you know to donate the items ^^
It's for a good cause ;)

Cash Donation
The money collected will be used to buy items from the list below. The money not used will be donated to the home in the form of cash to support their building project and other expenses.
Please pass the money to Hayden, as she is our Treasurer =)




































*Click on the image to enlarge


Old Clothing/Books/Anything Practical
The home accepts any form of donation. If you have an old radio, don't let it rot. Donate to them. But make sure the items are in good conditions. Especially the clothing =)
Please bring them to BISDS during lesson time.

Transportation
okay, so, as you guys know, Fuh Lin is our transport manager. Please start confirming with him if you are going or not.
Contact: 03 - 79820475
E-mail: lumfuhlin_93@hotmail.com

Did someone mention car pooling? Yeap! As you know that our source of transportation is our parents. So, do encourage your parents to join in! And if they are not hesitant, request them to offer to drive us to the home. That would be a great help. Please inform Fuh Lin if your parents/relatives/etc. are willing to offer transportation. Thx a lot =)

Program
Here is a brief list of what we will be doing there on that day:

• Dana
• Entertainment (dance, song, etc.)
• Bonding Time
  
• Chanting verses of blessings from the puja book.

Games is taken out of the list because it will disturb the neighbours =(

Pictures
Taken by Shuen when we visited the home to enquire for more information...
*Please click to enlarge for better view =)











Feel free to contact us for any details or if you have any suggestions/ideas =)
With ♥,
..::aLiSoN::..

Class Trip!

Hey Guys!
There would be a class trip to The Taman Megah Home's For Handicapped And Disabled Children.

The reason we choosed this place is:
a)to bring joy and love to the occupants of the home
b)to help them in every way that is possible.

The committees are as follows:
Chairperson: Lim Yee Wan
Assistant Chairperson: Fam Kai-Cong
Treasurer: Hayden Cheang
Transport Manager: Bryan Fong/Tay Kee Ren/Tay Kee Zet
Reporter: Tan Hop Kins/Alison Tan
Entertainment Manager: John Wong
Photographer: Shuen

The programs are as follows:
1.Dana
2.Singing and dancing activities
3.Games
4.Bonding Time
5.Chant a few verses from the chanting book


The mode of transport there is by going there with our parents.If possible, try to get your parents to come along,so that the transportation problem can be solved.
The reason we would like to have our parents to come along is because we would like them to come and experience with us as there are not many class trips that we could go with them.

We would be having our class trip either on the 5th or 12th of July. If anyone have any problems or any suggestions, please feel free to come and contact any of us.

Hope everyone can make it!
Sadhu. YeeWan.

Class Outing

Dear Students

We're going to have a class outing sometime after the mid-term June hols. It will b on a Sun morning in place of the usual Sun cls.

Objectives of outing - provide :

1. An alternative form of experiential learning.
2. Students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills via organizing the outing.
3. An opportunity to put Dhamma into practice e.g. rendering service by helping the needy.

Students are to suggest the venue for the outing. When wishing to suggest the venue consider the objectives of visiting the proposed venue. Be guided by what the Buddha taught i.e. Right Intention/Thought - how is it going to benefit others & ourselves. You may start proposing the venue with immediate effect on the blog under the comments section for easy reference.

Organizing committee - preferably made up of Form 4 studs so that the SPM & STPM studs probably only need to join in the outing. Form 4 studs may volunteer to be the organizing chair person & we'll go from there.

We will discuss further this Sun.

From T1,
W Metta Always

P.S – For T1 for the late posting as I forgot to do it and was quite busy.

Lessons from Master Oogway

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present."

2 Wolves in Us all

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, 'My son, the battle is between 'two wolves' inside us all.
'One is Evil.  It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.'

'The other is Good.  It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.'

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, 'Which wolf wins?'

The old Cherokee simply replied, 'The one you feed.'

From T1,
W Metta Always

BISDS CHOIR RECORDINGS

The recording of the BISDS choir is scheduled to be done after Wesak.
TQ

rgds
T2

Mogallanna 1 Lesson T2-4 5th Mar 09

Thanks to teacher Catherine for her assistance with this session. I had a sore throat and bad cough. Nevertheless, we had an interesting session watching and discussing the video "The Root Of All Evil? The God Delusion" by the Oxford scientist Richard Dawkins.

We have sorted most of you into the various groups for the Wesak project. (Please note the updated post of the previous lesson.)

Thanks to KaiCong and Bryan for assisting with the Puja as the M.C.

Reminders:
Come on time for class, be attired in the BISDS T-Shirt and always wear your name tags.
All students are reminded to submit their parents email. The school is in the midst of updating its online presence to better serve you. Also check the school blog.
Bring empty 1.5L drinks bottles to BISDS. We are reusing them as candle holders for our Wesak procession.

rgds wMetta
LidSine

Mogallanna 1 Lesson T2-3 22 Mar 09

The 4 Brahma Viharas
(This will be part of Wesak Day project/exhibition/display)
As discussed, we will need students to be in charge of the displays. Students to explain to the public what the display is all about. For this, we have selected Aaron Tay to be incharged.

There will be eight groups* of students headed by
1) Prime working on Metta
2) SeeToh on Karuna (Kee Zet, Hop Kins, Wee Hann)
3) YeeWan on Mudita (Sze Mei, Sue Yii, Sue Ann, Ai Ling, Amy Lim, Shi Shuen)
4) Sherin on Upekkha (Lynn, Jia Qun, Wei Ting, Shu Xian, Shu Mei)
5) Bryan on Hatred (Yu Ming, Kevin, Yan Leng, Sue Lyn, Sue San, Zhen Whei)
6) John on Cruelty (Justin, Xin Yi, Wei Gin, Mellisa)
7) KahYenn on Jealousy
8) KaiYuan on delusion, dullness, agitation

* (Team members in brackets)
Please, the rest of you, join into a group and let me or Bryan know so we can keep everyone updated. Sorry, Sui Lun and Elaine, I'm not sure which group you belong to. TQ

Each group will present a design to illustrate the respective topic on an A4 size ARTBLOCK paper. You may choose to use any colour medium you like. Coloured pencils, crayons, etc.

Some of the points we discussed pertaining to the 4 Brahma Viharas are as follows :-

Metta - Loving Kindness as an antidote to Hatred
Karuna - Compassion as an antidote to Cruelty
Mudita - Appreciative Joy as an antidote to Jealousy
Upekkha - Equanimity as an antidote to delusion, agitation.

We learned the meaning of the words
Brahma - Divine or godlike
Viharas - Place, abode, dwelling
It's where we should park our mind in constantly. According to the Metta sutta, a person who practise the 4BV will be reborn in the Divine abodes ie heavens.
We also learnt that these 4BV are also term illimitables or unlimited. We can cultivate it continuosly.

We talked about how to practise it. Mindfully at first. From the Digha Nikaya 13

I.

Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with loving-kindness, likewise the second, the third, and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with loving-kindness, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress.

II.

Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with compassion, likewise the second, the third and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with compassion, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress.

III.

Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with sympathetic joy, likewise the second, the third and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with sympathetic joy, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress.

IV.

Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with equanimity, likewise the second, the third and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with equanimity, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress.

We talked about contemplation of Metta as we have practise during Puja. May I be well and Happy, applying it to oneself, wishing oneself well, and then to others nearby, and so on to all beings in the world, and to all beings in all universes. Similarly we practice radiation of the other three. eg May I be compassionate, applying it to oneself, wishing oneself well, and then to others nearby, and so on to all beings in the world, and to all beings in all universes.

With the exception of Mudita (Symphatetic Joy) where it is not sensible to radiate towards oneself.

Wanna do something cool?

 
Well, I guess I don’t have to say much at all
since the picture says it all.

So see y’all this Sunday!
Enjoy~~~

By BKB ^.^V