Alokarama, Light of Wisdom

Just back from 5 days of Alokarama Youth Camp. First time going to Alokarama Retreat Center at Asahan. We are guided by Venerable Mahinda and Sister Sumaggala, and Mr and Mrs Lim, as our parents in this camp, cook meals for us... Sadhu to them... (Sadhu=excellence)


Every morning we will do chanting at the shrine hall and meditate at stupa (pagoda that houses Buddha's relics, 舍利塔). The stupa is situated on top of a mount, with spiral-like walking path all the way to the top. In the dark we walk all the way up, with concentration on the steps we are taking. After a short meditation, sun ray approaches us when we lift up our eyelids. Breathtaking scene catch my eyes and peace my minds..

We are given many talks and exposure to the natural way of living. We learned various kinds of herbs and its usage there, and try to harvest some of them for a meal. We prepared ulam rice, but i can't have it nicely with my face turn red and tears running out.. hav to practise more in accepting spicy food coz though i can't tolerate it, i LOVE it.

In one of the talk "In time of challenge, are you really prepared? Be ALERT", given by Aloka Emergency Readiness Team (ALERT), we learned to keep an eye on the possibilities of facing natural disasters such as flood and tsunami in coming years and be prepared in physical fitness, psychological and spiritually. Although Malaysia is quite a safe zone for natural disaster, but as the result of global warming and change of earth plate patterns from earthquakes, we can see places other than flood zone being flooded, feel the shakes and tremors from neighbouring countries etc. I don't know much about the details, but this talk taught me to be prepare while we are in comfort (Hope for the best, Do what you can, Prepare for the worse). We are advised to prepare a emergency bag with food, drinks and surviving kits which can sustain our live in case of awaiting rescuing. We also have to be prepare for case of fire emergencies at home. After that we are separated in few groups to make our water filter by using natural material, but all groups failed to turn a dirty soil water to crystal clear water. Inform me if u are interested in knowing what to be included in a emergency bag etc.

From the talks given by Bhante, the most i learned is to not just learn the dhamma, but to practice it diligently, to be mindful in my bodily actions, speech and thought. This is the first time i go to Alokarama, and i'm looking forward the subsequent visit... For my kalyana mitras who wish to visit places that Buddha being born, gain enlightenment, giving the first discourse (4 Noble Truths) and ceased (maha-parinibbana), Aloka Foundation is organising trips to these holy places in this few years, around 2 weeks, in Nov.

Aloka's website: http://www.alokafoundation.org/