The Reader

Here and Now-The Present moment!

"Here and Now. When we ride in the city, we enter the sacred present moment where life is. This is the razor’s edge that Zen masters refer to, and invite us to keep coming back to again and again. It is easy to fall off into the past, or wander into the future, but life is always in the Now, and as long as we are here, we are OK." -By Junji Miyazawa

The above paragraph is taken from this article.Kindly read it so that what I am going to write here can be easily understood.

Every time I go cycling to FRIM and on returning to where I park my car,I will try to finish by going downhill where I could get my adrenalin dosage at 48km per hour.I feel scared every time I was doing it but I will do it again at the next trip.It is a bit dangerous for my age but I was willing to take the risk just for the sheer joy of it! Joy is the feeling of happiness that keeps me coming back to ride this trail again and again.The above article explained this better than I could ever do.

To be able to do this,I need full attention and concentration.To do one thing only at one time.Once inside this flow domain (mind and body in unison),we lose the sense of time and we are being sucked by a bottomless black hole of space-time...Only those who have been there will know what it was like and words are merely limited symbols to explain the ordinary..This is experiential type of knowledge.

Sadly in the present time when everyone is always busy,we try to do a few  things at one time.They call it multi-taskings.Just tell me how good is the nasi kerabu eaten with ayam percik Yati and at the same time you are reading the novel The Confession by John Grisham?

Similarly and not equally/the same  for  those who are blessed by the joy of solat.Solat has a vertical dimension of 'space'(man and God) as compared to cycling only a horizontal space  between man,his bike  and his environment.This is elaborated here if you wish to know more about khooshu'.

But then,the presence(duniya) is only temporary...

Photo Note: I snapped the photo as my car  ascending the ramp to join the highway to Ampang.My son was driving the car then.This photo is a record of the the visual moment that we experienced-there,done and gone.

 

The Ocean of Dunya

Yesterday, I went to the beach. As I sat watching the massive Californian waves, I realized something strange. The ocean is so breathtakingly beautiful. But just as it is beautiful, it is also deadly. The same spellbinding waves, which we appreciate from the shore, can kill us if we enter them. Water, the same substance necessary to sustain life, can end life, in drowning. And the same ocean that holds ships afloat can shatter those ships to pieces.

This worldly life, the dunya, is just like the ocean. And our hearts are the ships. We can use the ocean for our needs and as a means to get to our final destination. But the ocean is only that: a means. It is a means for seeking food of the sea. It is a means of travel. It is a means of seeking a higher purpose. But it is something which we only pass through, but never think to remain in. Imagine what would happen if the ocean became our end – rather than just a means.

Eventually we would drown.

via www.suhaibwebb.com

Let me share this beautiful piece of writing to remind us of our true goal in life and not to get drown along the journey..

Let us keep floating like this small sampan and keep moving to our guided destination..

Photos: Morning glory..

As a morning person who wakes early I enjoy many scenic mornings as the sun rises...The colours changes with time.The above  is one snapshot as I was having my morning walk at Putrajaya last Saturday..[taken from behind Masjid Sultan Mizan]

Below is a shot of Masjid Sultan Mizan  as we came down from Menara Alaf Baru[the one the looks like a missile standing tall in the above photo]

 

Urbane riders at PCM..

This great shot is 'stolen' from Firdaus Facebook.I am posting it here for all my readers to see how young and old,parents and kids,friends and relatives can enjoy cycling even at night!This photo is taken by our group photographer Firdaus on last Friday night.One of our new riders whispered to me that what initially pulled him to cycle with us was the good photos like this from our cycling activities.Now,he knows from experience the joy and the personal benefits from cycling...

PCM led by Foldies

Last night Manciocc told me to lead the PCM.Immediately,I informed our tribe leader Col Azudin to take the lead.Almost a dozen foldies(riders with folding bikes) were in attendance and a few were there for the first time riding at night with such a big crowd of cyclists.I also noticed a lot of fixies were around.I really love our young men and women taking up cycling but one thing I am would like them to wear helmets.I am talking from personal experience when I fell and what I have seen people falling from their bicycles.I was young before and it was great to be fashionable but as the saying goes,"Better safe than sorry.."

During the ride,I became the sweeper and traffic warden for the first time in my life.It was great to do a service to my cycling fraternity.In my case,it was a pay back time..

Dan kepada Allah jualah dikembalikan segala urusan.

Surah Al-Hadiid

Dengar bacaan Surah Al-Hadiid 

Segala yang ada di langit dan di bumi tetap mengucap tasbih kepada Allah; dan Dia lah Yang Maha Kuasa, lagi Maha Bijaksana. (Al-Hadiid 57:1) | <Embed> | English Translation 


Dia lah sahaja yang menguasai dan memiliki langit dan bumi; Ia menghidupkan dan mematikan; dan Ia Maha Kuasa atas tiap-tiap sesuatu. (Al-Hadiid 57:2) | <Embed> | English Translation 


Dia lah Yang Awal dan Yang Akhir; dan Yang Zahir serta Yang Batin; dan Dia lah Yang Maha Mengetahui akan tiap-tiap sesuatu. (Al-Hadiid 57:3) | <Embed> | English Translation 


Dia lah yang telah menciptakan langit dan bumi dalam enam masa, kemudian Ia bersemayam di atas Arasy; Ia mengetahui apa yang masuk ke bumi serta apa yang keluar daripadanya; dan apa yang diturunkan dari langit serta apa yang naik padanya. Dan Ia tetap bersama-sama kamu di mana sahaja kamu berada, dan Allah Maha Melihat akan apa yang kamu kerjakan. (Al-Hadiid 57:4) | <Embed> | English Translation 


Dia lah sahaja yang menguasai dan memiliki langit dan bumi; dan kepada Allah jualah dikembalikan segala urusan. (Al-Hadiid 57:5) | <Embed> | English Translation 

Dua minggu dulu bumi Arab dan Utara Afrika di gegarkan dengan pelbaga protes dan revolusi rakyat terhahap pemerintah negara terlibat.Dan minggu lepas di ikuti oleh gempa bumi yang amat kuat di Jepun dan disusuli tsunami yang melibat ribuan nyawa terkorban dan berbilion dolar hartanah dan prasarana rosak dan hancur.

Kita semua boleh merancang,merekabentuk dan melaksanakan pelbagai program dan projek politik,ekonomi dan sosial masing-masing tetapi apabila tiba masanya untuk rosak binasa,tidak siapa pun boleh menahan dan menolak penentuan Allah."..Dan kepad Allah jua lah di kembalikan segala urusan."Sama-samalah kita mengambil pelajaran dari apa telah diperlihatkan kepada kita dan sedarlah bahawa ilmu dan keupayaan dan kekayaan yang kita ada adalah amat sedikit.

 

R&R:Rest and Read

Births out of wedlock 'alarming'

The country is witnessing an increasing trend of children born out of wedlock with 234,674 cases recorded between 2006 and last year, the National Registration Department revealed.

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Describing the situation as alarming, NRD director-general Datuk Alwi Ibrahim said last year alone, 52,982 children of the 510,462 births registered were born out of wedlock.With the exception of last year, the number of cases increased in tandem with the number of births registered.

via www.nst.com.my

My question: Whose KPI is this?Any national leaders or NGO's is talking and doing something about it?Last year,we havealmost 53,000 new born babies without legitimate fathers!!!These 'fathers' are walking free on the streets and a few may be looking for more 'mothers'...

Assuming 60% of them are muslims,there were about 30,000 'anak luar nikah' per year.Just estimate the numbers of 'zina; being committed on daily basis in Malaysia!IMHO,it is nothing less than 100 per day.

May I quote again:"We may disobey the Commands of Allah ,but we can't run away from the Wills of Allah".I am scared of more 'bala' will befall on all of us..

B&W Photo:The birds of Putrajaya..

As I was watching the hot balloons show last weekend,I noticed a bird landed on the base of a big flower pot.When I was about to snap the right bird,another one landed with something in its mouth.May be they wanted to share some pieces of bread... Comparing the man-made big balloons far away in the sky and these little creatures,it made me ponder on the supreme ingenuity of Allah's creations..

Watching hot air balloons..

Yesterday was the last day for hot balloons festival at Putrajaya.It would be fun to ride on those big balloons and floating around the Putrajaya!However,I am sacred of height.What if the balloons were to lose hot air and come down and land on the lake?I On the other day I have seen one landed on the main road between PICC and PM Office!I l also leant the meaning of 'hot air'-it won't last long...

The best way form folks like me and my wife was to stay on the ground and enjoy the view with some ice cold tea from a restaurant nearby...By the way,Prescinct 2 was flooded with cars yesterday,so I joined the tourists at the Souq .