The digital diary

  Autumn leaves in Japan The land of the rising sun, it is the popular western name for Japan. An island country in East Asia, Japan located on Northwest Pacific ocean. For the last 1400 years or so, the world has referred to Japan as Nippon. It is called the Land of the Rising Sun because the sun rises first in Japan and then in any other part of the world.  Japan is a country which is perfect on its own, Tokyo is the capital of this beautiful country. I particularly fall for this country, my favorite season in Japan is Autumn. Autumn in Japan is synonymous with beautiful scenes of orange, yellow and red colored leaves. aki (秋 / あき) – the Japanese word for autumn or fall. Or "Koyo" (紅葉) refers to the autumn color of the red, orange, and yellow leaves that change color every autumn.  Like the cherry blossom during spring time, the viewing of autumn leaves has been a popular activity for centuries and today attracts more and more travelers from around the world. The best time

Garden by the Bay Located in the Central Region of Singapore, Garden by the Bay is a national garden and nature park of premier horticultural attraction for local and international visitors, with spanning 101 hectares adjacent to the Marina Reservoir.  Gardens by the Bay is a showpiece of horticulture and garden artistry that presents the plant kingdom. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden, and Bay Central Garden.  The garden opened in June 2012, it offers visitors a vibrant horticultural oasis of lush greenery and floral display, entertaining while educating visitors with plants which is seldom seen in this part of the world, ranging from species in cool, temperate climates to tropical forests and habitats. 

  Compassion is the most wonderful and precious thing. When we talk about compassion, it is encouraging to note that basic human nature is, I believe, compassionate and gentle. For example, one scientist has told me that the first few weeks after birth is the most important period, for during that time the child's brain is enlarging.  During that period, the mother's touch or that of someone who is acting like a mother is crucial. This shows that even though the child may not realize who is who, it somehow physically needs someone else's affection. Without that, it is very damaging for the healthy development of the brain.                                                                                                          💠💠💠💠💠 When we are young and again when we are old, we depend heavily on the affection of others. Between these stages we usually feel that we can do everything without help from others and that other people's affection is simply not important.

The sense of contentment is the key factor for attaining happiness. Bodily health, material wealth and companions and friends are three factors for happiness. Contentment is the key that will determine the outcome of your relations with all three of these factors.                                                                                                  💠💠💠💠💠 The basic fact is that all sentient beings, particularly human beings, want happiness and do not want pain and suffering. On those grounds, we have every right to be happy and to use difficult methods or means to overcome suffering and to achieve happier lives. It is worthwhile to think seriously about the positive and negative consequences of these methods. You should be aware that there are differences between short-term interest and long-term interest is more important. Buddhists usually say that there is no absolute and that everything is relative. So we must judge according to the circumstances.                    

The issue of facing death in a peaceful manner is a very difficult one. According to common sense, there seem to be two ways of dealing with the problem and the suffering. The first is simply to try to avoid the problem, to put it out of your mind, even though the reality of that problem is still there and it is not minimized. Another way of dealing with this issue is to look directly at the problem and analyse it, make it familiar to you and make it clear that it is a part of all our lives.                                                 Illness happens. It is not something exceptional, it is part of nature and a fact of life. Of course we have every right to avoid illness and pain, bit in spite of that effort, when illness happens it is better to accept it. While you should make every effort to cure it as soon as possible, you should have no extra mental burden. As the great Indian scholar Shantideva has said: "If there is a way to overcome the suffering, then there is no need t