Resolutions for the New Year

"The temple bell echoes the impermanence of things. The colors of the flowers testify to the truth that those who flourish must decay. Pride lasts but for a little while, like a dream on a spring night. Before long the mighty are cast down and they are as dust before the wind"
 
- Heike Monogatari
 

The New Year announced itself rather rudely this year, as we came back from skiing in Niseko, back to Hong Kong, I was informed that my grandfather had been admitted to the ICU on New Year's eve with pneumonia and he passed away this morning. Thus I find myself rather more introspective these few days as I look back on his life.

My Grandfather was born in 1911 in Hong Kong and was the eighth of sixteen children, and although he was also the son of a doctor, he was one of two children that ended up as doctors (The other being my 15th granduncle) and thus had the responsibility of looking after many of his younger siblings, which was a big burden in his early days. 

He was an early graduate of Hong Kong University. Working as a surgeon, he was later was offered the directorship of one of the major hospitals in Hong Kong as well as a teaching position at Hong Kong University (where he would have been the first ethnic Chinese professor of medicine). He turned these down and the other associated honors that would have followed as he had family to support and he was better able to do this in private practice.
 
Besides his work as a surgeon, for which he was relatively well known as he was left handed, he was very active in the church. During the war, while escaping into rural Guangdong, he and my grandmother operated an orphanage for war orphans when they could barely feed themselves. Later on, when he had made his fortune, he endowed some schools and set up scholarships for the needy.
 
Obviously in light of my grandfather's many acheivements, my achievements rather pale in comparison. But it did get me to focusing again on the things that really matter. For me of course there is my martial arts practice, and I am deeply grateful for the many teachers that I have, and still have (especially as they are all getting older also) and for the many friends that I have met through various seminars and this blog.
 
Looking back on the past year there were a few standout achievements that I am especially proud of, academically I received my Master in Buddhist Studies from Hong Kong Univeristy (after four years of part time study after work) so my grandfather and I are both HKU grads. From a religious perspective, I also completed the first part of the 88 temple pilgrimage in Shikoku and if everything goes well I hope to complete the second part in October this year. It was always a disappointment to him that I never embraced Christianity, and he always referred to Buddhism as "that Indian belief".
 
From the martial arts perspective, one of the highlights of my year was spending some time one-on-one with Mike Sigman in Colorado which definitely expanded my horizons in the internal arts. Although my back is much better, I spent much more time on weapons work and hope to continue to study the sword and other weapons - perhaps learning the Wudang Sword and Bagua Spear this year.
 
From a qigong and energetics perspective, I also took the Level Two in Blu-E healing (Advanced Aspects) and plan to take Level Three at the big conference in Findhorn Scotland later this year. 

Of course there are many other things I want to do, but looking at the world situation it is sometimes hard not to be more than a little pessimistic. I just hope in 2013 I become a better person, do more charity work, go deeper in my meditative practice and generally try to become a light in the darkness rather than adding to the pervasive darkness of our times.  

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