母亲是孩子的间接施惠者

话说有一个很虔诚的女士。虽然她在金钱上、物质上很贫乏，但是她对于求神拜佛的热诚却是很富足的。凡有神诞、佛诞庆典她都会準备糕果去神庙佛堂参拜。

以往在斋堂做一堂法会，功德主们(参与者)需要拿出一笔为数不小的钱来才能功德圆满。那女士因为拿不出钱来参与，她唯有从旁随喜或帮助斋堂做其他义务工作。因此，那女士虽然贫穷，但是她毕竟也很受到斋堂住持的爱戴和关照。

那女士的孩子大学毕业后投入社会工作一段时期后，友人邀请他合作经商。那孩子因为家庭经济背景不大理想，一时筹集不到这笔合股资金。幸好斋堂住持及时出钱相助，那孩子经商计划才能如愿以偿。

那孩子很感恩住持给他的协助。表面看来施惠者是住持，受惠者是那孩子。可是，往深一层去想，如果不是他母亲跟住持很投缘，住持怎么会借钱给他做生意呢？所以可以说，间接出资给他做生意的人应该算是他的母亲～母亲是孩子的间接施惠者。那么作为孩子的他是否也应该感激他的母亲呢？

遨游大海

最近我和友人谈起百年归西时如何处理我们的臭皮囊。
友人告诉我某位出家法师的见解。根据这位法师的说法，如果一个人死后将他的臭皮囊拿去火化后，再让他的骨灰住进国内某个山庄所设有的冷气设备，并附加客厅的骨灰塔(一个小小的格子叫价马币八万元上下)，犹如富贵人家住进豪华的公寓那般。那么，亡灵或许会受到这类型的待遇和享受而不舍得往生其他善道了。

这样的话，倒不如让将骨灰撒进大海。此举，不僅省钱又可拥有既宽阔又有风有水(好风水)的葬身之地(海)。再者，如果亡灵没有执着于死后过着舒适的‘住所’， 它或许存有‘一线生机’，往生更殊胜的善道，乃至超越生死，往生极乐净土。

还有一个问题值得大家探讨的。现时的社会对孝道的观念比较淡泊。一般来说孩子们如能在清明时节回乡扫墓祭祖先已经算是很难得了。如果还要期待子孙的后代们前来拜祭更是难上加难了。所以守在骨灰塔的亡灵将来只能各自呆在冷气设备的'Condo'里面过着孤独寂寞的生活。如果能看透这一点，亡灵的骨灰住在Condo里和住在海里又有何区别呢？
对於那些生前爱好游泳者来说，他们的亡灵生活在海里，既使不能当下超越生死，至少他还有时、空自由自在地遨游大海。将来，子孙后辈们如果来到海边度假时，就当作他们来‘探望’亡灵(老人家们)，大家皆大欢喜，不是吗？

永记在心中！

You are to be remembered for life!
最近我听我嫂嫂提起某人如何让他人永记在心中。
Recently I heard from my sister-in-law about how a person is remembered for life.

话说在故乡有一位老妇人；她的个性孤寒而且喜欢佔他人的便宜。
She told me that there is an old lady in my old town who was very stingy and she liked to take advantage of others.

她每次要求我的兄长帮她完成某种工作后，她总是推说她忘记带到钱，等一下她会拿钱来还。可以每一次她的“等一下”犹如大家的“无限的永恒”。
Every time she came to our shop to request my brother to help her to perform a task, she would ‘forget to bring money’ to settle then and there and she would promise to pay "afterwards". But every time her " afterwards " was just an eternity of others.

我的兄长不满那妇人的行为举止而以半开玩笑的态度对嫂嫂说：“他日那妇人离世时我们也不必交白金了，因为那妇人早已经预先加倍透支了。”
My brother did not approve her behaviour that he jokingly reminded my sister in law that, “ In future when this old lady is recalled to the heaven,we needn't have to contribute the ' white gold' (白金)as she had already advanced it many times ahead.”

可是命运的运转并非人可以预料到的。那妇人至今还健在，活着到九十余岁，而我的兄长也离开数年了。
But fate just turned  around. The old lady is still surviving the day while my brother had already met with the Heavenly Father.

所以，那妇人之所以会被他人永记心中是因为她向他人借了钱而又不还。

So, this lady is remembered by others for the money she had borrowed from them.

麻糍粑

Muah Chee

https://kwgls.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/easy-peasy-muah-chee（花生芝麻糍粑）/

小时候，逢年过节，母亲都会亲手做一些麻糍粑来酬神祭祖。虽然麻糍粑是母亲从中国学到的少数糕点之一，它却是受我们街坊邻居们所欢迎及期待的食物，因为这类糕点在当时当地市面上买不到的。

When I was a kid, my mother used to prepare muah chee as one of the offerings to the gods and ancestors during the Chinese festival.

My neighbours were very delighted to be offered the snack as this was the only chance they could taste it as it wasn't available in the local market then.

酬神祭祖后，母亲都会叫我去派送麻糍粑给邻居街坊们分享。

My mother would delegate me to deliver bowls of muah chee to our neighbours after the prayer  was over.

同样的，邻居们如果有任何好吃的食物也会拿给我们一起分享。这种互利互惠的精神如今已经是很少见了。

Similarly, our neighbours would share their delicacies with us whenever they had prepared extra portions. Unfortunately, this type of practice has become less common nowadays as most of us are getting more intimate with modern gadgets at the expense of preserving the inter-human relationship.

Adrift on the water

躺在水面上

Usually when a person jumps into a swimming pool, he is expected to swim vigorously for a length of time in order to achieve and maintain good health.

一般来说当一个人跳进游泳池里，他会尽量在一个特定的时间里作扎实的游泳运动以达到健壮的体魄。

However, have you ever tried what I have done before, by just letting your body adrift on the water?

可是，你或许可以花一些时间来尝试我曾经做过的事情，那就是让你的身体静止地浮在水面上？

With your eyes closed and your body motionless, you are like a raft floating aimlessly on the water.

轻轻闭上你的眼睛，让你静止的身体浮在水面有如一叶扁舟漂浮在海上。

Allow the water to flow gently over your abdomen and the ripples to touch your face in a gentle manner, like a lady kissing her fiancee on the cheek.

当你静止不动时，一波一波的水花会从你的身体上游过去，有些水波会轻轻接触你的脸儿犹如一位少女向你献上她的初吻。

Try to relax and do not  allow any part of your body to be tensed or  stressed.

尽量放松身心不要让身体任何部分有任何的紧迫感。

As you do that, you would feel that only two parts of your body seem to be functioning; the nostrils that are breathing and the eardrums that are beating in unison.
正当你全身静止放松后，你会感觉到身体好像只有两个部份在操作；你的鼻孔一进一出的呼吸以及你的耳膜发出有节奏的作响。

At this juncture, you would forget what's happening around you as your attention is focused on your breathing and the beating of eardrums. To me, it’s a form of meditation.

此时此刻，你会忘却了周围一切事务因为你专注着你的呼吸操作以及你的耳膜有节奏的作响。这应该也算是冥想的一种吧！

If this is not meditation, then what would you call it?

如果这不算是冥想，那么它是属于那一类型的修持法？

As you re-emerge from the process of being adrift, you would feel more relaxed and seemed to be very intimate with the surrounding water so much so that you would want to swim at a slower and softer pace and trying not to disturb the tranquility of the water.

一旦你从静止不动的状态回复过来，你会感到你的身心会很舒畅和放松。此时你感受到你和周边的水如同一个共同体。你为了不想破坏池水的宁静，你会轻轻的、慢慢地遨游在水里。