FAID

Today, I would like to share a new English word, which is ‘FAID,’ that I create through out the Buddha’s teachings. Grammatically, ‘faid’ could be a ‘verb’ or a ‘noun.’ For the term of verb, faid means – somebody say / act / do something wrong or inappropriate whether he or she knew / know that was/is wrong or inappropriate or not. For the term of noun, faid stands for incorrect or inappropriate action or activity of somebody whether he or she know / knew that action / activity is/was wrong or inappropriate.

Each letter of ‘F’ ‘A’ ‘I’ ‘D’ stands for different specific reason and all four combinations become the new English word, ‘faid.’

In the word, ‘faid,’ the letter F stands for ‘Fear.’ I believe in that any one of us has had enough experience that we say/act/do something because of fear even though we know/knew it is/was incorrect or inappropriate. We did/are doing/will be doing those incorrect or inappropriate matters because of fear. We fear of dying. We fear of losing our jobs. We fear of losing relationship with somebody. We fear of losing something. We fear of ……..

Let me give you a true example for this. We often hear that many soldiers and officers in Burmese Army say they are doing many kinds of army duties even though they know those orders and duties are not right or inappropriate; but they are doing it because of fear – fear of their future, fear of losing their promotion, fear of consequences, etc. Next month, people of Burma will be voting an election, which will have invisible result/s because of many reasons. Any result of the election can become ‘illegal; any party in the election can become ‘illegal; any candidate in the election can become ‘illegal’ or ‘violence of state law’ or something like that for any reason of any mean by any high authority in any time. But Burmese people will be voting it because of fear though they all know / knew the election is inappropriate or not in the right way. And yet, some years or a few decades later, children or grand children of current voters might have chance to vote again in another new election for new kind of invisible future because of the election that their parents and grand parents voted was ‘illegal.’ But they all also will be participating in it because fear. That’s an example of F – Fear.

The letter A in ‘faid’ stands for ‘Anger.’ I knew it was inappropriate but I hit several times to my kids already because of my ‘anger.’ How many people are in the jail already because they did things those were not suitable or not right but they did it because of anger? I believe in that millions! Some people even kill some people because of anger. Any way, we all have had more than enough life-long experiences about these kinds of consequences of anger by ourselves and by the others as well. That’s A – Anger.

I stands for ‘ignorance’ in this word of ‘faid.’ We often do wrong or unsuitable things because of we do not know which is the right or suitable way. We did it; we are doing it; and we will be doing those matters because we do not know exact the right way/s. We often see in the courts – people say that they did not know it was right or wrong at that time, and so on, and so forth… That’s I – Ignorance.

The last letter, D of ‘faid’ stands for Desire. We often say/act/do incorrect and inappropriate things because we desire; we want; we wish though we know it is incorrect and inappropriate. But we are doing it because of our desire, which could be our greed, our jealous, etc.. That’s D – Desire.

So now, we have new English word, which is ‘faid,’ and we know the meaning of it, already.
I have a frank question for you my friend that how many times do you faid in a day? How many times other human beings in the world are faiding? Can you imagine about it? Since then, the world (humans’ world) is full with those ‘faids.’ In other words, whether we / you like it or not, we or you are living with FAIDs.

Thank you and have a great day!

Baby Dance

Izana's First Water Skiing

The Hold and the Freedom

(Let our children grow more innocently than we are!!)

A few weeks ago, I went to a park with my children. One of my daughters had grape-tomato in her hands and the other one was holding her little toys. The problem was that they both could not be able to climb or play around in the park because their hands were not free to hold the other things. In other words, they could not go higher because of their holding; kind of self-hinders on the way of higher, further places or freedom.

Then, I remember one of the Buddha’s examples about - how the holds make us away from freedom.

Once, a hunter set up a couple coconuts to catch the jungle monkeys. He made a little hole at one side of the coconut/s and put monkeys’ favorite foods inside. On the other side of coconut/s, he put a small and strong string. He grabbed the string/s and hided in a bush.

When the monkeys came, they found coconuts full of their favorite foods inside. Monkeys even fought each other to get the coconuts. Finally, the biggest ones of the group won the fight and they got the coconuts. The giant monkeys began to eat foods that were inside of the coconuts. The holes those the hunter set up in coconuts were big enough to put monkeys’ hands but when they hold food inside, they were not able to take their hands out. The clever hunter put food that made such tasteful smell for monkeys. Because of the smell, as well as they felt foods in their hands, hungry monkeys tried to take out their hands from the coconuts. However, the tighter they hold foods, the more difficulties they faced to take their hands out. At the same time, the hunter was pulling the strings into the bush where he was hiding, till the monkeys reached for good enough place to be caught.

Poor monkeys knew lately that the more they were holding foods (their favorites), the further from freedom or the nearer to the danger.

The stories demonstrated many lessons for us and some of them could be the followings:

- Our greediness often leads us to be in danger or it makes us to go far away from freedom.

- Because of our holds, we are not able to get the other things. (Ours are full already with what we have.) In other words, we cannot go higher, further and into the true freedom, with holding those (our favorite, loves, hates, beliefs, isms, etc….) matters. Even it is difficult to see or accept the others’ favorites, loves, hates, beliefs, isms, etc. Eventually, we become self-slaves of our favorites, loves, hates, beliefs, isms and so on. Humans, the highest thinkers among all creations, should live above of them, but instead, we are under of them, and become the slaves of them, and even we are fighting, killing and destroying each other as slaves of those matters. The worse and more sorrowful thing is that we consciously or unconsciously are setting our innocent new generations to actively participate in those slavery matters (because of our weaknesses) and to our children get troubling futures where there never will be ending!!!

- The tighter we hold the further from true freedom. And yet, nothing of them is not permanent since all things are moving, changing, occurring and disappearing in its or their time.

At least, let us try to not to be self-slaves of what we have, love, hate, favor and believe. After we pass this stage, we will have grand opportunity to see clearer each other!

Please remember that the more we hold / grab the further from freedom or higher places!

Thank you!

How Elder Sister Set Potty Training Up for Younger One?

Brother and Sisters Play Together

Brother and Sisters Sing a Song Together

About the Nature: Two

Have you been seen the big oxen's fight? And how do the other cattle stay when the two oxen are fighting? And what the other cattle do after the fight is finished?

Our family had a farm and more than ten cattle. In summer, we had “Prun Hlwat Chin” roughly translation to English could be - “Free Time” for the cattle. We, all villagers of the region (about 5 villages) had unwritten agreement that to give free time to all cattle in a very wide pasture. The free time was about three months (mostly March, April and May).

In free time, all the cattle (hundreds) from all villages could be eating the grass, play and sleep altogether in the same large pasture, without any work, any restriction, with totally freedom. They went around. Sometimes, they fought each other. The cow owners (from every village) went the place where the cattle were and checked their cows in their convenient time variedly, once per week, once per every two weeks, once per month, etc. Some cows gave birth during that free time and the owners got new little lovely cattle. It was when I was about seven. During free time, I remarkably noticed something that all cattle grew faster, become bigger and they looked so much happier than any other time. Most cow owners even did not recognize their cows well because of cattle’s changing bodies and behaviors, naturally.

Any way, I mainly would like to share here is about ‘the fight’ of cattle in the herd. In that free time, sometimes, big oxen fought each other for any reason. When big bulls fought, it was really great time to watch. I had chances to watch those events often. My interest was not just the two big oxen who were fighters, but also on the rest cattle. It was interestingly enough that the whole rest cattle were just watching on the fight. They did nothing. Most cattle even did not eat the grass, but just watching silently with straight ears. After the fight, there were always a winner and a loser. Loser ran speedily. Winner followed speedily and gored the loser. Here is more interesting part that - what the other cattle in the herd did at that time do you know? Many of them followed and gored the loser, together with the winner. They did not have any kind of thinking and examining that if (so called) a winner fought ethically or not; if a winner was a blind-seer or not; if a winner acted unilaterally or not, and so on, and so forth. They just gored a loser together with a winner after the fight.

It was true lesson that I learned from the herd. However, they were cattle and bulls in the herd. It was one of natural habits of those animals. Any way, what do you think with some/many human beings' actions and behaviors at similar events in humanity?

P.S: I mean hereby is for any fighter, any winner, any loser and any watcher, especially when the competition is led to 'winning is the most important; do/act anything (ANYTHING) to win!' but not to lead development of both competitors! Thanks!

Learning from Nature: Leech

Today, I got a call from a friend who is currently jobless because he resigned from his first job before he actually gets the second one. Now, the second one is not sure and he becomes jobless.

While he was talking about his joblessness, I remembered about the leeches to which I watched about 30 minutes long, sometimes.

When I was young, we had a little channel in front of our yard that the water went down through in the raining season. In that water-channel, there were many leeches. I watched them sometimes very interestingly. The most interesting part what I found was when they searched the way to go in land or on a material. A leech is like a soft tube without bone, in my sense. It has one bigger hole at the back and one smaller hole in front. When a leech goes forward or moves, the smaller / front part could be searching around till it finds something to firmly step on it. Unless she finds something firmly by her front part, a leech never takes off her back part. In a very narrow matter, to find a new space to step on is difficult for a leech, but she would never take off her back part.

I told my friend that he should learn from a leech in this case that he should not resign his first job before he actually finds the second one firmly. He laughed and said that next time; he will act like a leech. Our conversation was just for fun, but it is true that there are unlimited lessons those we can learn from the nature around us.

Thanks!


Picture: http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/clipart/images/CRITTER/original/Leech.jpg

About the Nature: One

It is curriculum night. My wife and I go to our eldest son, Izana’s classroom. We meet with his teacher and talk around tips of teaching or learning program for this year; what parents can do for children and for school as well; Dos and Don’ts, and so on and so forth. After we come back home, the event makes me to remember my very own story that I wrote when I was in tenth grade.

When I was in high school, I met a man who was very respectful. He was the first person who graduated from college in their village. He had four children and all his children were educated persons and in the middle-class list of the society. In my sense, he was also very honest and well-speaker. Whenever I saw him, if he did not working something, he could be reading or listening to the radio very interestingly and he could share with us (students) very often about his knowledge that he got from reading and listening to.

Any way, when I was about seven, there were three tall coconut trees in the backyard of our house. (Our house had such a big yard.) Every year, a couple of mynas made a nest. They could lay four eggs and four little mynas could be given birth. I was looking at the mynas’ family every day and sometimes, hours as I was interested in. I really learned how they made their nest; where did they get those materials for nest; how they lay eggs; how little birds came out from eggs. How they grow their children, etc, etc.

After I finished my final exam of 10th grade, the two stories (a respectful, educated man and the mynas) came into my mind heavily and I typed what I thought. It became about seventy pages long story. My story was that I wrote almost exactly my respectful person’s family in different scenes. At the same time, I also wrote identical scenes of growing mynas’ family. And theme of the story was – after that myna father and the human father died, what was difference between the two in the true meaning of life-pattern?

In both stories, both fathers were very dutiful. As a human being, the man gave great heritage to his all children to become educated persons; how to live in life as humans; how to work; make money; how to manage the family; what are values in life (this could be difference from each other of human beings) and so on. As a bird father, he also taught his children how to fly; how to find food; how to life under the storm; how to defense enemies; how to live in winter, summer and in the rain, etc. Every single thing that a bird should / must know how to survive in life, he taught to his children till those little birds were able to make their own nest. Both fathers were absolutely respectful and dutiful.

Because of a human being, the man was living in a house. Because of a myna, the bird was living in a nest. Because of a human being, the man ate rice and bread (mainly). Because of a myna, the bird ate grains and other little ones, such as insets. Each of them had four children. All children (four humans and four birds) were educated (in terms of life-patterns). Because of human beings, those children learn the surviving ways in life at school, university, etc. Because of birds, those mynas learn surviving methods from their parent-birds. Because of human being’s life-span, those guys could live 70/80 to 100 years. Because of mynas, those birds could live less than ten years or something like that. However, if that man was living in life just for himself, his family; eat, sleep and make love, what was meaningful difference between the two lives of that person and that myna? It was theme of my story. (I lost that little book somewhere when I run or moved around.)

The story was about part of nature between a human being and a bird. If I have time, I will write that story in English as much as I remember.

Thank you and to answer theme question of my novel, I will tell you that – Please Be Dutiful!


(P.S: And yet, there are many human beings who are not dutiful at all, or less than a myna. How I will be able to raise my kids, I do not know yet. Our eldest son is now just in first grade. I hope at least that I will be in the same level of a myna father.)



Picture: http://www.logosoftwear.com/embroideryclipart/School.ABC%20School%20Slate.(SC1000).(1.66x2.17)6109.jpg
http://fennerschool-associated.anu.edu.au/myna/problem_files/myna-chicks_large.jpg