On a Saturday evening, a large butterfly paid me a visit , in my apartment. It perched still on the glass window of the kitchen. The next morning when I was about to do some laundry at the back balcony of the kitchen, this pretty creature was still there, this time resting quietly on the wall, I figured it must have suffered injury of sort hence unable to move, but jolted a little when I tried to touch its wing. Once, its dropped into a bucket half-filled with water, when I came to its rescue it tried to move a little.
I just left this little creature undisturbed in its own world, however whispering words of comfort to soothe its frightened fragile soul as if it could hear me. I have this tendency these days to talk to sentient beings, other than humans, I somehow feel that they can hear me.
I got a tiny bit of decorative icing sugar from a cupcake for the butterfly , the sticky moisture helped the sugar stay glued onto the wall, lest the butterfly when hungry would need some food to fill its stomach. No idea if it would feed on sugar but the only food I could think of.
The night when I checked on it again it was still there. Unmoved and in utter solitude. I’d wonder if this little creature have had no hope continuing on, wasting its life away. If there were other occupants in my apartment, it would have amused them to see me talking and reciting a prayer to this small creature.
On Monday morning while getting ready to work, I took a peep into the same area. It was no longer there.
It must have healed by itself and journeyed somewhere else, and not fallen prey to other insect-eating creatures, or at least I would like to hope so.
My prayer has been gratuitously answered, it seems..
Niece and nephew in kampung - first time learning the art of trade and how to earn money, sometime last year, and loving it. They moved a small table and plastic stool to the roadside and put their `barang jualan’ i.e durian ,on the table. Patiently waiting and with my niece standing on the road side, under the stifling heat, waving and calling out loud to every passing motorists: `durian durian, pakcik/makcik mahu beli durian? ‘ With their good efforts, they managed to sell off all the durians, for more than RM60, and got themselves a hard earned commission , RM10 each.
The pondok in front of the house. A simple shelter built many years ago where bananas, durians, rambutans and other fruits of labor from my parents’ kebun were placed and sold to passer-bys, mostly motorists during the fruit seasons. I remember when I was young, there was another simple wooden structure built by the road side and a Milo tin would be hung up together with bunches of bananas, plastic bags of sweet potatoes (ubi manis), cempedak etc with a price tag on each items, customers just had to place the money inside the tin and took away their purchases, without the hassle of us going out to attend to them. Business then was conducted on the principle of trust, and honesty.
At the dilapidated pondok with Yee Zhing while waiting for customers to buy our durians.
Wen Hui with his bergaya pose.
Sitting on a felled rambutan tree stub.
Baby banana tree at my parents’ house compound.
Fruits of labor : Durian kuning and rambutan.
On the lawn in front of the house.
My niece Yee Zhing and I in front of my parents’ old wooden house.This house has been and still standing strong for more than 30 years despite it’s slightly run down state. There’s no place like home really.
Sitting on the cemented ground at the 'bawah kulung' of my parents' home.
Some photos taken during Chinese New Year 2010.
Happy faces of nieces Tze Ern and Yee Zhing.
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ieces and nephews: Shirley,Cun Cun,Wen Hui,Yee Zhing,Wen Wen.
more old photos:
The day that was : 14 November 2010
On a Sunday in November and after breakfast, we went to the outskirt of town to purchase crabs and kepah/lala for fang seng. We paid about RM200, but not before much haggling and persuading with the vendors, hoping with the same amount of money, more lives could be freed.
With the purchases, my brother then drove us to Tanjung Lipat and seeked a section of the beach that was not occupied by weekend picnickers. After reciting prayers and mantras, the ropes used to hold the crabs tight were slowly cut loose, allowing the animals to hurriedly crawl back to the salt water to welcome freedom. Cutting the ropes required some patience and skill for if you were not attentive enough the crabs after struggling itself loose and mistaking you as an intimitading invader, would raise its craws against you. As if to vent out its anger and frustration against humans for their betrayal.
My brother once had fallen prey to its aggressive attack.
Seeing the kepah/lala were still wandering on the shallow water which I have earlier released them to, I had to go down the rocky shore and waded myself knee-high in the water to scoup them up one by one and throw each of them into a deeper part of the water, in a bid to prevent the creatures from being recaptured by some immigrant kids prying at the other part of the beach who were seen wading into the water to hunt for sea products.
As the waves travelled and beat against the shore, my jeans became soaking wet due to the salt water and I have had a taste of saltiness in my mouth as the splashing water landed on my face and lips.
Releasing life is such a meaningful activity which I have made an obligation on my part to undertake. Not only does it help to accumulate merits but we derive a sense of spiritual fulfillment knowing that we have helped to save the life of beings facing imminent deaths. Buddhist teachings value the sanctity of life and espouse that we should be kind to all creatures that have life and endeavour to give protection to all life forms. Even the life of an intruding ant should be mercifully and compassionately spared in this regard, for all creatures from higher groups such as humans to the lowliest such as insects strive for protection against dangers which would threaten its life.
Some fang seng photos:
