BREAKDOWN OVERTURE latest chapter

today is another bad day for me..

1st KL BB is having its enrolment today.. I woke up early in the morning have everything prepared, my uniforms n etc.. And drove to school..

on my journey, I got problem shifting the gears smoothly, and when I about to reach the school, I already couldn't shift my gear at all.. moreover, I stucked in the middle of the road of the car park, where there are no more space available for me to park my car..

worried of getting in the way of the traffic, I stayed in my car so I can push my car away whenever I'm blocking someone's car.. I ended up sitting in the car for hours instead of attending the enrolment service, until the whole thing ends, people came and drove their car away, and finally I got a space to park(push) in my car..

I almost get screwed for not attending the event..

At this moment my dad had came together with a mechanic to check out my car, it happens to be somewhere in the car has dried and run out of oil, that's why my clutch is so losen till I couldn't shift the gear.. I wondered, my dad, too, why on earth the problem all arise whenever I drive the car, its not like my fault at all.. my luck with cars is just plainly bad bad bad..

a very, very bad mood day..

now is my turn to tense liao...

GCO is going to perform some mini-short performance for an event organized by Goethe Institute..

So finally wind section is going to come out some songs.. So my senior asked me to arrange one song for them, well, since he told me so, I agreed..

After weeks of effort, I finally came out one.. Quite, ok.. hehe :P

Then until just now, he msg me, telling me that we need to come out 5 songs, and asked me to arrange 1 more song for us... And I gotta pass up the homework 2 days later, which is 1 day left for me to do it, almost impossible..

Sigh..

today quite tense...

the competition is near but everything is not ready and prepared, my friend is tensed..

get complains from group A about group B.. need to advise them abit..

then later get complains from group B about group A.. did the same thing..

read a friend's blog, don't know if she herself has chose the right course to study, struggled in misery..

then someone sms me to complain someone else, need to advise him..


for those who fought.. I hope you all realize everyone has their own mistake, it is important for you to tolerate each other and work together in harmony..
"Attempting to change the environment without changing oneself, changes nothing"

For the fren who struggled in misery for studies, its really great to see you worked a way out, it's always the way how we know you.. KEEP IT UP !! yes, gambateh kudasai, Grace..

Always tagged by Lai Cheng wan..

5 things found in your bag

• music scores
  
• music instrument stand
• music accessories
  
• keys
  
• tissue
  

5 things found on your purse / wallet

• money
• IC
• driving license
  
• cigeratte paper
  
• atm card
  

5 favorite things in your room

• bed
• pillow
• fan
• music player
• blanket (everything is ready, can sleep comfortably)
  

5 things you always wanted to do

• play music
  
• hang out
  
• learn how to cook
• sleep
  
• online
  

5 things you currently into

• music
• manga
• pretty girls
• handsome guyz
• tasty food
  

5 people you tag

cincai..

A SGI member experience...

By Modesto Col�n , New Jersey

Translated from Spanish to English by YWD member, Adriana Cavalier in Alexandria, Virginia

Though most people know me as Tito, my given name is Modesto Col�n. I started my Buddhist practice in Puerto Rico , my country of origin, in 1987. I understand that to start is very easy, but to continue is very difficult. I have never missed my daily practice since then. The benefits have been many and have been coming regularly. I understand that it was no coincidence that I was born into the Col�n family, my great wish was for other members of my family to benefit from practicing this Buddhism. This was very difficult, since I come from a family with deep Catholic roots and one of my sisters is a nun.

Today I want to share with you something that happened in 1993. My oldest brother was, back then, vice president of the Customs Corporation in the south of Puerto Rico. In one of his travels to the capital, he was mugged at a gas station by 3 guys with a gun. These individuals got into his car and forced him to drive to a deserted area, where they proceeded to rob him of his clothes, jewelry, and money. Before they left, they raped him. Since he had a wife and young daughter, it was very painful for him to face them. He felt great thirst for revenge and tried to buy a weapon to go after the thugs. I constantly gave him emotional support and chanted much daimoku for him, as I understood that what happened to him was also part of my karma.

In 1994 I moved to this country (the US) and continued to support my brother. In the beginning of 1998 my brother started feeling ill and saw many doctors who could not find the cause of his illness. He called me on the phone and asked me to go back to Puerto Rico to accompany him on an appointment he had with a specialist. I went right away. They conducted several tests on my brother and when we went back for the results, they told us that my brother was infected with the AIDS virus, as a result of the rape.

At that very moment I felt that the sky fell on us and was crushing us, but I was also determined to win, because I had the Gohonzon and the sword of the Lotus Sutra. One of the goshos that inspired me was the Answer to Kyo:
"Believe in this mandala with all your hear. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is like a roar of a lion, what sickness can be an obstacle?"

I realized that this was the precise moment for my brother to start practicing when I read a passage from the gosho : "A ship can travel
the seas of suffering: If there is a man or a woman that secretly teaches one person even only one phrase of the Lotus Sutra, be it known that he is the emissary of the Buddha." As the emissary of the Buddha, I shakabukued my brother. He started to practice as his only alternative. I taught him to recite gongyo and we chanted one hour of daimoku together every day.

My brother continued his Buddhist practice, but in 1999 he completely lost all his mental abilities due to brain cancer. He didn't recognize anybody and he was physically very weak. I continued my practice in New Jersey, and went to SGI activities. President Ikeda says, "The basic requirement of this practice is to have the capacity to touch the heart of others, those who are close to us, and those who are far. ". I felt that my prayers were reaching my brother in the island.

My brother got worse, the doctors told the family that he was end stage. My family asked me to travel to Puerto Rico right away. Before I went on my trip, I rememembered something about the life of Nichiren Daishonin: His mother had been gravely ill, so he traveled to Kominato to see her and chanted for her health. She not only got better, she prolonged her life an additional 4 years. I remembered this passage during my flight and during my trip to the hospital. On the third day, my brother opened his eyes, recognized me and started to recover very rapidly. On the tenth day, my brother left the hospital and went home. He had completely recovered his mental abilities and this helped his recovery tremendously. He continued with his treatment of chemotherapy and his AIDS treatment. Most importantly, he continued his assiduous practice. A year later, in 2000, the doctors told him that he was the first brain cancer patient to ever recover in Puerto Rico. In 2001, my brother received his gohonzon.

Today the doctors cannot detect AIDS in his body and they have asked him if they can write a story about his case in a medical journal.

My brother is an active member of the SGI and he works hard for kosen rufu in the south of our country. His wife supports him in all his activities and she also practices this Buddhism. The fact that we found the gohonzon and we chant daimoku for our happiness and the happiness of others is not a mere coincidence. Without a doubt we accumulated great fortune in the past. Sometimes we feel frustrated because a specific prayer is not answered immediately, which can be the result of the protection we receive from our innate Buddhahood. The most important thing to do is to make the Gohonzon the center of our lives, and have confidence that we are on the direct path to our desired goals.

My determination is to continue my practice until my last days on earth, reading gosho passages and President Ikeda's guidance, supporting our organization's kosen rufu activities, specially on behalf of the Hispanic group in New Jersey .

I want to finish by citing a gosho passage: "Believe in the Gohonzon, the supreme object of worship. You should not only persevere but you have to also teach others to the best of your capacity, even if it's only one phrase or prayer, so that What could possibly not be accomplished?

Warm Regards

PRAGATI SHUKLA

recently check the AJMBA website.. AJMBA is a Japan marching band association, involving the whole country wan.. sorta like their world cup..

get to know that, for the past 2 years Soka Renaissance Vanguard is no longer the defending champion.. arghh.. this 2 years they were beaten by Aimacha band(althou i dunno what does it means)..

but we're very proud of Soka Renaissance Vanguard, they've achieve champion placing for 8 times already, and they also got alot special prizes like Best formation prize, Prime Minister Prize.. woo-hoo !!

besides that, AJMBA also have other section like color guard, Soka Gloria n Soka Fife n Bugle corps often get Gold n Silver medals.. (^_^)

way to go Soka Vanguard !! regain the title of champion next year !!

Proud to be Soka Gakkai member ! SGM must work very hard too !!

a cup of tea in kopitiam with a friend..

relax..

if anyone wondering what i've been doing lately..

ok.. resigned from job not long ago.. ever since..

1. practise my clarinet.. again and again, it seems I got a little improvements.. = (

2. learn music theory, currently stuck at augmented blah blah chapter..

3. clean up and rearrange my working and bedroom..

4. hunting part time jobs.. (pls intro me if u have some)

5. do some movie marathon.. old movie new movie, gud movie losy movie, dun care, sapu shj.. which are,
- the departed (US)
- confession of pain (HK)
- Death note (JP)
- death note (JP)
- happy birthday (HK)
- the pursuit of happiness (US)
- the sinking of japan (JP)
- lady iron chef (HK)
- Flushed away (US)
- Naruto (JP) ... ????? wat movie lai de ??????
- my super ex-galfren (US)
- happy feet (US)
- Mo Gong (HK)
- charlotte's web
- 007: Casino Royale
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse (US)
- The Romantic President (Korea)
- When North Korea Man in South Korea (Korea)
- smokin aces (US)
- black jack (JP)
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC (r u wondering y on earth im watch ancient movie ? i oso dunno)

6. attending orchestra practises.. part of my hardest challenge.. we are having major problem, really really need alot effort and daimoku to overcome it, best by July..

7. suffering for gastric for drinking coke with empty stomach (as i mentioned earlier)

8. chat with my previous working company colleague, a happy and cheerful one, haha..

9. readings.. a boring but nutricious things to do..

10. abit of home visits..

11. do some ultimately horrible fried rice for myself in order to continue living..

12. arrange some songs.. but always give up.. cuz ears n eyes veli pain in the end..

13. tis and tat..

overall, I dare not say I spend my "holidays" fully useful ler.. 80% for myself perhaps =) better than some ppl who just plays computer games and sit at home doing ntg whole day n only goes out whenever frenz call.. oops, I used to be that kind of person, now I look back, such a hopeless n useless person I used to be.. hate it..

mite never be an outstanding person, but I shall never stop improving myself ;)

2nd hand clarinet for sale..

Model : Buffet E11

Mouthpiece : Standard

Price : around RM 3k


any interested buyer pls email me at : yeu3000@hotmail.com

BLOGGER OF THE CENTURY...

http://laozhabor.blogspot.com/


Mama-level blogger.. man.. I gotta salute her.. no more excuses for old-ppl to catch up technology when they say "nah.. ngo lou zhor la"

Ciu Dai "Lan" !! Geng Gao Xiu !!

frenz, nowadays msn got tis type of virus.. I dun want to post this at first place, but in my list already got 5 people kena, I think I shud warn u guyz abit about it..

above is an example, like asking u to see photo album or wat.. but kinda funny abit for me.. cuz the fren in the above example is a 16 year old but 14 year old looking male.. even if he's really sending his photo album, I surely don't want to see it.. lol..

yesterday I went to YMCA join the Kul Games basketball competition.. long time didn't exercise ady, and played in heavy rain..

today I feel like a 80 years old old man.. my muscles and my back very pain.. it took me 3 times effort to climb a stairs..

at least, my team got 2nd placing..

and, I got sunburnt.. so pain and red..

a form 1 boy approach me, not knowing me I'm a "3-stripes" (I never go back for long liao), talking to me about the girls there, and the girl in pink cap very cute, the girl in red shirt looks like Carmen.. etc etc..
(OMG, am I someone who looks like a person to talk bout that topic with ?!)

some interesting stuff I noticed is.. there's a team with a girl inside.. she's a tomboy.. the whole court people shud have realize kua.. but dunno why she still allowed to play.. 9 boyz 1 gal in a match, how to play ??

some bad is, I almost lost my wallet, bcuz I let a fatty handle it... and my fren, lost a wallet, pity him..

then another fren came by, and waited for me whole day, bcuz he need me to fetch him to Kaikan..

the worst is Nelson, woke up by me in the early morning while he still sleeping, cuz I passed my music instrument for him to take care..

by the time I went back home, I'm as tired as retarded..