On the 4th month of the 8th day in the Chinese lunar calendar is the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. This year, this special day fell on Saturday 28th April 2012. For me, it was a highly memorable day as I had the great fortune to pay my respect before one of Buddha's relics - his parietal-bone, symbolising wisdom.
Thanks to the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, the people of Hong Kong were able to attend one of the grand blessing ceremonies being held between 25th-30th April. It was a great honour for us to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to be in close proximity to the relic, which is considered to be akin to being in the great presence of Buddha himself.
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| The skull of Buddha |
During the recitation, I took the chance to ask for a message from Buddha, not really expecting to receive anything. However, as I closed my eyes, a black and white world flashed before my mind's eye. Not really understanding the meaning behind the vision, I opened my eyes (because I couldn't shake the black and white image from my mind at all) and tried again, asking for 'anything I need to know at this moment in time'. On hindsight, I should have added 'give me a message that I can understand' because once again, the black and white world reappeared. Perhaps it was trying to tell me that the present world is colourful and I should take advantage of it and have more fun? Or perhaps the world is TOO colourful and I need to take the minimalist approach and de-clutter my life? I'm still trying to make sense of it...
Before the recitation, the audience was asked to stand and hold their hands in prayer position. After receiving my 'message', I felt the palms of my hands heating up. Immediately, I felt guilty for neglecting my daily reiki ritual. I took this as my second message from Buddha.
My parents and sister were in Hong Kong for a short visit at the time and were due to return to the UK that same evening. Normally, when I say goodbye to my family, I would go through a brief period of loneliness from the separation, but I'm usually able to bounce back fairly quickly. This time though, the melancholic feeling lingered on for days. I do recall that being initiated into reiki does make one vulnerable to experience great sadness. Maybe being in the great presence of Buddha reawakened me to the Universal energy of reiki, sensitizing me to the heaviness of the heart. Deep down though, I believe we are equipped to deal with whatever is being thrown our way.
I have the power to lift my spirits!
