Again i'm asked to write.. well intially to ask bhante sangahasena to write for the camp magazine. Something about rich people vs poor people. But i know he's sooo busy and probably no time to sit infront of the pc, well not that i'm that free, but i'm running out of touch with writing!
When i wanna write, i need to write there and then, if not my mind will lose track of what i was thinking inside. I wanted to write about why am i so inspired by bhante sanghasena, and what was the cause of the fund raising dinner all about, and why would i bother to take leave to go all the way up north and down south to be co-kapiya for bhanteji.
I was so tired when I reached home at 2am after taking the flight from S'pore.
I don't know what is it that bhanteji got, but when he speaks with his sincere tone of voice, it moves you until your tears also wanna keluar. One ocassion, I asked my parents to join in for a lunch (after coming back from Penang) with bhante at a vegetarian restaurant, there were a couple other friends of sayang who were asked to join in the makan. At the end of makan, bhante chup everybody and gave a speech at the big round makan table! In that short touching speech, he made me and my mom eyes red! All he did was looked into my parents and raised his left hand gestured to me and said "you have good daughter... to have good daugther you must be good parents..."
*ok writing this also my eyes red now*
That's it I couldn't control the water from rolling down my cheeks.. i had to change focus, stare blank at the ceiling, look at the wall, just switch off the mind... I don't know how he do that... but he just did it.
I listened to a couple of talks by him, its inspiring. Of course I didn't cry through his Dhamma talks, but it's really wonderful experience spending time talking with him together with sayang.
A monk with a maha-thera title, asking you for feedback for his talk. Asking you for comment about what he shared, is it good? Is it applicable to the people? Wow.. I thought only incovar camps make big deal about feedback forms. He is so unusually humble!
Once he cracked a joke with me "there are 2 types of 'chief' monks, 1 is chief, 1 is cheap... and i am cheap monk". Then he smile broadly...
I sent him off at the airport.. he walked along with his handcarry bag... I was holding my camera, trying to shoot the last picture I can shoot of him before I don't see him anymore. Everyone else had already turn around to walk towards exit, I was still there at the side watching as he go down the escalator and for a moment he turned back to wave goodbye but everybody already moved on... bhante moved on. I had to control my eyes again... I don't know why.
It is true, that when people have chance to associate with bhante, they will somehow be inspired, not truly inspired.
"Illiteracy and poverty are the biggest enemies of mankind. They must be fought and conquered at any cost. Nothing else gives me more happiness than to see the deprived children blossoming into the light of education and meditation" ~ Venerable Sanghasena.
Bro. Rasika Quek said if these words were spoken by Obama, it will be so powerful.
Right now, I'm excited about being part of the MDL... to be part of this miracle in the making!