UNEP Conference in Stavanger, Norway

It's been 4 years since i took a plane; just as well as i learnt from this conference that a europe-america round trip (8000km) burns similiar CO2 to us driving a car for an entire year! The cabin for the economy section is sooo-cramped; being in one of the larger plane, The Beoing 777 didnt help...the 3-3-3 configuration made us look like sardines in a tin can. I was thankful i manged to secure aisle seats for the 12hour, 10,000km flight to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is charming and somewat romantic with all the history and canals; we managed to catch a snapshot of this old trading town as we had 8 hours to burn till our connecting flight to Norway. The TUNZA conference with 700kids and 300 chaperons gave me the impression they were only expecting 1/5 the no of people there; in this nordic country with similiar population size but having the land size of Germany! Feels really weird, on top of the jet lag, that we only get like 3-4hours of nite during our week here. Sunsets at midnite and its already bright at 4am... More Fotos HERE

Comments

Truths and Lies

A friend sent me this clip on McCruelty.com recently.... I'm sure this is just the tip of an ice-berg; behind the colours and gleamours of shopping malls and excessive consumerism of the modern human society lies all these "dirty laundry" kept away from the public eye. Another example i can think of is the BIG LIE where we are being programmed that we can just go about our daily lives concentrating on the "Consumption bit" and ignore the Extraction, Production, Distribution that came before that and Disposal that comes after that....It's time we wake up from Truths like "Perceived Obsolescence" and "Planned Obsolescence" McCruelty: I'm Hatin' It--Learn More.

Paramita Meditation Centre

8 years ago in Feb, i made my first maiden trip to this beautiful island nation of 30 million. Today, the pretty busy road that serves the main throughway from Colombo to Kandy has been widen, resurfaced and thus i see even huge tour coaches and container trucks passing by as i stand above about 5 storeys high at the main meditation hall as i start my walking meditation before THE SIT. Yesterday, an american-vietnamese resident nun living here gave me a surprise by giving me a local sarong and a illuminated statue of the buddha; she wished my happy new year as the sinhala new year is on the 13/14 Apr. PMC is located up the granite slopes to mitigate the noise from the traffic; however, the train tracks that probably runs at least 5 times a day is on the same height as the Dhamma Hall. Gotten used to the symphony of train, vehicular traffic and the sound of nature (birds, insects, whispering of the leaves).

The Bird Cage

M ore than 3 years ago, when i tasted freedom; tried to fly back into the bird cage recently. Yes, there's a steady and predictable flow of water and food, shelter to protect me from the elements but i lost myself in that process; i was unhappy inside the bird cage... As i look back, I've already know where to forage for food, know where to spend the night (but probably needs to become more mindful to drink enough water and be aware of my breath.) So why on earth do i still yearn to fly back into the cage?

the ART of reBIRTH

Search This Blog