Volunteerism

The very first touch of a volunteer was picking up rubbish along the beach at Pasir Ris Park. On and off, volunteer works were part of the school curriculum. Truthfully, I would think those were transactions instead---in exchange for the points on my report cards to move on to the next level.

My teacher once said, “Many people do volunteer activities not for the needy; they do that for themselves. How do you feel when you’re volunteering? Feel good.  

We are all selfish. People volunteers because they want to feel nice, feeding the desire of inner-emptiness. You walk down the street, give some money to a street beggar--- and you feel good. Are you really helping the beggar? You are using them to make you feel superior. “

I couldn’t quite catch this idea at first. It probably sounded a little too harsh for me. From time to time, I started to be more awareness of my emotions and thoughts. Quite right though.

Commonly in Singapore we would hear “Please call 1800-112-XXXX to donate” after screening the life stories of the needy. Tearing in front of the screen; grabbed the phone and pressed the buttons. And right after, a surge of good feeling slipped in! Ah… done a good deed today. One may not witness this coming, while still enjoying the gush of emotions.  Why?

When the act of helping is part of our everyday activities, whether it is for your neighbors, family, friends or strangers--- it’s a norm to us. If this act is not something that we used to do; and do it only for certain reason--- it’s an occasion, especially different.  

Of course, there’s absolutely nothing bad about being a volunteer for which ever reasons. We all have to start somewhere--- selfishness to self-less ness.

Having myself to be involved with small-scale projects has given me opportunities to know myself better. It doesn’t matter whether the needy are from Singapore or India--- there’s no ground of comparison.

Instead of looking for the differences that create bricks between you and me; why not discover our similarities which encourage unity among humanity?

A place worth going: The Tibetian Settlement, Byla Kuppe

One place that probably worth for a second or maybe few more trips is.... Byla Kuppe. A Tibetan settlement located near Mysore ( 2 hours drive); where the Tibetan refugees started their own town in this part of the land--- villages, monasteries, universities, shopping area, temples.

Monks and nuns from Bhutan, Tibet, India for Tibetan studies and practices.

Golden temple, one of the big temple where most tourist will visit. Where the monks and nuns lodge and study here. 



 

In the chanting room. Stacks of scripture wrapped in cloth cover.

At the back wall of the temple. Turning the wheel of Karma.

 

Another University, 4 km ride off the main temple.
Serajay Monastic University, for advanced Buddhist students.

Just ended their 7 days of pooja (ritual). The rice grains will there after the ceremony for 3 days, beforethe place is clean up.

meditation lamp made from butter

Beautiful designs... its just so colourful!

All knackered!

Living India. Clean your lungs.

The pattern of your breathing shows the pattern of your thoughts;

The quality of your air reflects the quality of your health.

Travelling on the roads in India, dusty air is probably unavoidable. Black gas oozing from the back of vehicles, sands flying everywhere, the smokes from the burning of rubbish and even the particles from road-side constructions; and most of the time I would try to hold my breath till the “sand storm”  is over, however still, I do breathe in a good amount of street air unconsciously.

And most people who are not aware of this, probably has been overloading their lungs with bad air daily. A friend told me, “Our life span probably will cut by half, with this quality of air we’re taking in…” I do agree. I’ve heard some started having breathing difficulties and suffer from bronchitis.

I had mentioned about this cleaning technique in my previous post, and I’m going to highlight it once more here:

Kapalabati (skull cleansing), is not a pranayama (vital energy expansion). This is a cleansing technique for the lungs, through the pressure of the air in the lungs.

How it is practice:

Technique

1)      Sit upright in crossed legs. Option: sit against the wall to keep the spine erect.

2)      Be aware of the movement of the tummy. Take in 3 deep breaths slowly--- tummy expands with inhales; contracts with exhales.

Get use to the movement. Option: place your hand on the tummy lightly.

3)      To start: quickly exhale forcefully (1 pump), and the inhale will come naturally to the original position--- do not bloat the tummy intentionally. Option: Look into the mirror to check that only the tummy is moving, keeping the chest down.

4)      The inhale and exhale requires different amount of effort--- Active exhale; passive inhale

Guide

Once you are good with the fundamental technique--- direction of the breaths, movement of the tummy, relaxing the chest and shoulders; you are ready for the practice.

Speed: Take the second hand of the clock as a guide.

1 pumping breath = 1 second

 ½ second for the exhale, ½ second for the inhale

Effort: The purpose of forceful exhale is to increase the pressure of the lungs; expelling the stale gas from the bottom of the lungs; in exchange for the oxygenated air into the lungs.

The greater the effort on the exhalation = higher pressure = more air circulation.

Common Effects: When this is done correctly, you may feel,

Abs--- rectus, transversal, oblique abdominis  

Mid to lower back--- Latissimus dorsi

Blood pressure: Light headedness, numbness at some parts of the body

Practice routine

Taking 1 pump=1 breath= 1 second

Week	No. of pumps	No. of rounds	Options
1	10	5	Increases to 10 rounds
2	20	5	Increases to 10 rounds
3	30	5	Increases to 10 rounds
4	40	5	Increases to 10 rounds

* Take 3-5 breaths to in each round of interval to recover, and move on to the next round.

* You can either increase the number of pumps; or the rounds of practice

When you should not practice?

-          Pregnancy

-          Menstruating

-          After food

-          Before going to bed

Who should not practice?

This is a general guide for self-practice. If you have any health condition (high blood under medication, lungs related diseases, heart problem…) it is important to practice under the guidance of an experience teacher.  

When is the best time to practice?

Morning (before breakfast) --- for its good quality of air with high level of oxygenated in the air.

Evening (before dinner) --- for releasing the bad air accumulated throughout the day.

Alternative: Afternoon (before lunch) ---- for cleansing purposes, except if the weather is very hot.

Note: Practices are to be done indoors.