心中的宇宙

最近我有幸受邀出席大华银行尊荣理财室举办的画展。这里平时出入的都是在大华银行投资逾250万的客人。当晚的受邀嘉宾就算不是尊荣理财室的客人，也是有能力成为它们客人的人。

这场画展的体验与ION Orchard那场可谓截然不同。在场的嘉宾通过云大师的解说细细品味大师的画作，氛围更加亲切。

展出的画作有一系列名为孔雀；在普通的光线下展现的是绚丽的孔雀，但在UV光的照耀下浮现出的则是无际的天体宇宙。

孔雀提醒着我们，努力过生活的当儿也要富贵高雅，为世界发光发热，带来价值。

其实，天体的展现还有一个更重要的讯息。

若孔雀代表的是我们，或是我们的楷模，那天体代表的就是我们的内心，我们的内涵。

我们经常落入社会陷阱，认为应该韬光养晦，降低要求，要自私自利以保自己的周全等等。

但要成就一番大事业的人就不能如此，我们应该跟画中的孔雀一样，让心中的宇宙不断闪耀扩大，创造出更美丽和宜居的空间。

我们的内心又是在什么时候最耀眼呢？那就是当一切看似陷入谷底时。这时，我们心中的宇宙会更闪耀，推动我们向前，直到旭日再次东升，展露出我们孔雀的那一面。

这就是云大师的艺术。它不仅仅是挂在墙上的画作，而是一盏指路明灯，提醒着我们心中要有闪耀的宇宙。

——Aloysius Siow

（译）

Self-Awareness and Self-Complacency

There was a stalk of rose so full of life. It was as red as flame, as mesmerizing as dawn. It blossomed into a beautiful flower and it was satisfied with that. Yet it stopped working hard to be the most beautiful, most lovely rose of them all. What a pity that was! For its beauty was short-lived. The rose would eventually wither with the passage of time, its beauty eventually coming to an end, leaving behind a stalk of lifeless, unappealing branch.

Humans seek self-improvement by nature. We have desires, we have dreams. Yet the realities of life such as the growing gap between the rich and poor and having to toil incessantly through the years have made some people lost their fighting spirit. “Contentment is enough”, they keep telling themselves that.

Humans are at the same time very adaptable, having been through countless changes in the history of mankind. However, in this modern world, the majority lack the desire for self-improvement, replacing natural instincts with “contentment”. By repeatedly telling themselves they have no desires and wants, these people will only end up using “contentment” as an excuse for being stuck in a rut.

Here at Lotus on Water, we are never contented. We are proud of what we do, but never complacent. Since the founding of our first Lotus gallery in 2006, we expanded to two galleries in 2009 and launched our third and fourth galleries in 2011. It is inevitable that the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth will subsequently emerge.

In Chinese, there is a saying, “人之初性本善”. “善 shàn” is a word with dual meaning, it can mean “kindness” and it can mean “change”. While the saying is usually interpreted as “Kindness is nature of man”, we believe it is really saying “Adapting to changes is the nature of man”. Change is the only constant. For us, our strong beliefs in Lotus on Water and the great visions it carries, is the constant in our lives. 

It is true that not everyone chases their goals and dreams. This is the choice of an average, mediocre man. But people who step into Lotus on Water, are people who desire change and improvement. These are people who have goals and dreams. These are people who do not settle for mediocrity. They are beyond average.

The Top Of Them All 独霸鳌头

The One And Only 一枝独秀

Instead of settling for mediocrity among all the flowers,
Why not stand out from the rest, be the best of the best.

We can choose to be an average person, we can also choose to be best among all of them. The greatest difference between these two, is while one works hard to stay at where he is, the other works harder to improve himself and his life.

When one is contented and complacent, he loses his passions and dreams. This is very much like the flower mentioned, blossoming without nutrients, proud of what it is without knowing that a lifeless and unappealing branch would be its final fate.

On the other hand, when one longs for self-improvement, growth, awareness, dreams, and live with a deep desire to improve his life, there will be countless beautiful roses that he can blossom into.

The Jadeite Leaf On The Golden Stalk 金枝玉叶

  

When I first saw this Exquisite jadeite, I saw a leaf. The longer I looked at it, I realized it is not only embedded in gold, it is also glowing with self-awareness and epitomizing self-growth.

With self-awareness, man grows. With self-complacency, man falls.

#Prosperity with Elegance#

-- Ong Yok Seong

(Translated)

Lion, the King of the Beasts, the Throne of Buddha

Mr Kan said that everyone has his or her favourite Exquisite jadeite and Mr Kan’s favourite is the Dragon Returns to the Sea, which has been chosen by a blessed regular who began with an Auspicious jadeite nine years ago.

Out of curiosity, I read up on this client’s story. Nine years ago, faced with financial problems, she encountered Lotus on Water and began her journey with us. From there, she moved from an HDB to her current bungalow. All these started with her courage to take the first step!

Learning about this touching story gave rise to some thoughts: We regret the first step we didn’t take as it usually means the difference between a brilliant life and an average one.

Therefore, whether you have the courage to charge forth like a lion or to lead an average life like a cat, depends largely on what you want in life…

Do you want to be the lion or the cat?

This is why I’m in love with the lion jadeite recently and amongst the numerous pieces in the Exquisite gallery, this is my favourite—Continuous Prosperity (Lianzhu Fu Lu Shou 连珠福禄寿). Every jadeite in the Exquisite gallery is unique and meaningful, every one of it carved from the raw jadeite boulder and into a piece that suits its natural colour.

And my favourite piece of jadeite is exceptional, it is carved with gourds (hulu 葫芦), lions (shizi 狮子)  and beads (zhuzi 珠子)—hence the name Continuous Prosperity (Lianzhu Fu Lu Shou 连珠福禄寿). On closer inspection, a green line extends from the bottom of the gourd to its mouth. What is this? What secret does this gourd hold?

It’s not a secret but a ribbon. Ribbons are supposed to bring wealth, and this ribbon extends from the bottom of the gourd to its mouth, it’s amazing! Overflowing wealth! I believe everyone knows the function of the gourd is to absorb and convert, absorbing negativities and converting them into positives. But this is no common gourd, it’s twice the size of the lion and everything absorbed by this huge gourd can be converted into endless wealth.

Endless wealth… it overflows like falling pearls…

  

This endless wealth rises from the bottom of the gourd and emerges at its mouth as pearls of water—don’t forget water means wealth—guarded by a ferocious lion. Many of you wonder why the lion of all beasts? I had been pondering over this for days before Mr Kan enlightened me and I finally got the answer.

Mr Kan wrote in one of his articles:

Already during Buddha’s time, he was compared to the lion:

演法无畏，犹狮子吼，其所讲说，乃如雷震——《维摩诘所说经·佛国品》

(Buddha speaks of Dharma fearlessly, like the lion's roar. His voice, like thunder.)

And not just his voice, where he sat was also considered the lion's seat or throne:

佛为人中之狮子。佛所坐处，若床若地，皆名狮子座。——《大智度论·七》

(The Lion's Throne, is where the Buddha sits. Wherever he is sitting or sleeping, that is the Lion's Throne)

The Buddha has been hailed as the lion in these lines, which reflects how mighty the lion is and how they are fearless in face of obstacles. Under the guard of the King of Beasts, the wearer’s wealth will grow exponentially and accumulate like the pearls of water in the jadeite.

This is also not your typical lion, it has a long tail that hooks the beads, guarding the wealth against others. The tail also curls into the shape of a jade sceptre (ruyi 如意), this suggests everything to be in smooth water (shishiruyi 事事如意) right?

With a side darker and another lighter, doesn’t this resemble the taiji 太极?

This jadeite is oval in shape and carved like a taiji—the dark-coloured side with the gourd is yin, while the light-coloured side with the lion is yang. With the yin and yang in harmony, it turns obstacles into opportunities and the bad into the good, bringing the wearer boundless prosperity!

I believe this ferocious lion will soon find its owner, and it shall protect him and bring him unimaginable prosperity!

-- Wong Chen Kiat

(Translated)