Noticed these…
Apr 27, 2007 in Life-logger
… lots of people seem to be using this particular theme in their WP blogs.
… watched Sunshine and thought that sudden twist in the part where Icarus tells Capa about the remaining hours left till death was totally wtf. STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID idea to add that twist in…
… don't overload on ipoh white coffee… it gives you the jitters and makes for fainting episodes
… how come I keep missing out on juicy Al Jazeera video posts
… no option to religious freedom is super real in Malaysia hoh? sad sad sad sad sad.
… also supposes (this is a difficult supposition btw) that had we not defined Malays as being Muslims and had Malaysia not make it so darn impossible for true religious freedom… bangsa Malaysia would have been a reality a long long time ago and we probably wouldn't be so concerned with skin colour and being righteous.
… agrees that the above suggestion of thought is a dangerous one and hopes to God that I can get away lightly with this little observation
… also says that I can't quite blame Muslims (in Malaysia, the most of them anyway) for being so darn 'radical' when I personally cannot quite tahan Charismatic / Pentecostal Christians who are so intent on sending everyone else who is not Christian to Hell… literally…
On another note (this is equally provocative), I was sharing with a group of friends the other day about this experience I had…
A few weeks ago I was at a particular seminar, and in the middle of a longer lunch break the group of us went out to a nearby mamak restaurant for food. I sat near this Muslim guy who was obviously very pious, you know, the type who does his required five times a day prayer and observes all the necessary pillars of being Muslim, plus is able to quote at random from the Quran and apply its bits and pieces to different parts of life… yet being kind enough to be respectful towards our other faiths and is totally amicable and a joy to be around with. Any I sat near him and was having a talk with him about the sessions that we had shared previously.
Right about this point there was a Buddhist monk who walked into the restaurant holding an alms bowl… just as the monk walked past our table (monks typically don't stop unless you ask them to stop, and they're not supposed to ask from you, they take what you give I believe…), when my Muslim friend asked him to stop and wait.
'Tunggu,' said my Muslim friend to the monk. The monk stood there. My friend took out his wallet and pulled out a ten-ringgit note and proceed to drop it into the monk's bowl.
I am keeping this imagery of serene peace and amazement in my mind forever. Think of this, a pious Muslim, asking a Buddhist monk to stop, and then proceeding to place some money into the alms receiving bowl, in a Mamak Restaurant. Jadi tak? I know at least 10 Christians who would turn away from the monk and then as the monk disappears from sight, will proceed to discuss the stupidity of such a religion that requires his disciples to go around' begging' like that. I know one particular Muslim blogger who has written a whole book under the disguise of comparative religion, blasphemizing what is essentially a non-theistic teaching.
Yet at that particular point in time some one up there decides to place me in a situation where I am to witness a Muslim man asking a Buddhist monk to stop and then proceeding to give something to the Buddhist monk's bowl, and there I was stunned… and amazed… and then, thankful that I had been given that opportunity to see something so incredibly life-changing.
And I know I was supremely embarrassed to claim to be a following of Jesus at that point in time, knowing that I would have turned away from the monk.
Anyway I'm sharing that memory here because I believe it is important.