Visit to Ling Shan in Wu Xi, April 2014

For my first time, I went to visit this Buddhist Temple in Ling Shan of Wuxi, China (closer to Shanghai) as I heard that the construction of the whole complex was very expensive and fabulous.... I was somewhat disappointed to  find that it is a huge tourist attraction with a theme of Buddhist relics and stories in China. Still, the theme park can attract million of tourists.

Visit to Eastern China in April 2014

During my tour to Nanjing, which was the capitol city during Song Dynasty and became the capitol of the Republic of China in 1911. I was so impressed by the brief history of 'KMT' and its rule in China, the vibrant green environment and orderly patterns of the roads in Nanjing. I also love the lakes, green plantation, flowers in Yang Zhou. Of course, the delicious food and yellow wine in Nanjing, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Wuxi, Hangzhou and Ningbo will be remembered fondly. No wonder this part of China is so prosper as the citizens are enterprising and business smart.

Visit to Xi An November 2013

In November 2013, I visited Xi An, the ancient capitol city of 'Chang An' during Tang Dynasty, and it was the capitol of some 12 other dynasties in China. I found the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum site Museum (where one can see the sites of terra cotta soldiers), the First Grand Buddhist Temple called 'Fa Men Shi', the National History Museum and the ancient City Walls in Xi An to be absolutely fascinating!

Happy Retirement

After my retirement from the Police Force in the end of 2011, I have taken numerous trips overseas to see different scenes, cultures and travelled to places in Hong Kong where I did not visit before due either to remoteness or work commitments. I thoroughly enjoyed the experiences and counted myself very lucky as I still have the financial independence,  ‘youth’ and ‘fitness’ to appreciate the nature and man-made wonders.  I also signed up for courses and participated in tests and examination to challenge my intellect.  Then, what is next?  I started to write my blog!

As I grew older and hopefully wiser, I strongly believe in the three basic elements in sustaining a happy retirement:

(1)  sound financial planning and management;

(2)  good health, both physically and spiritually; and

(3)  good relationship

 

(1) Sound financial planning and management is important to ensure a stress free and sustainable retirement.  To achieve financial independence as a senior citizen, one has to start saving and to invest wisely and early. I cannot say I am good at investment even after 25 years of investment but I have been following advices of those wise men in the field, in particular, that of Warren Buffet:

On earning: “never depend on single income.  Make investment to create a second source.”

On spending: “if you buy things you do not really need, soon you will have to sell things you need.”

On savings: “do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”

On taking risk: “never test the depth of river with both feet.”

On investment: “do not put all eggs in one basket.”

On expectations: “honesty is very expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people.”

From my own experiences and as my personal choice , I am in favour of investment in real estate especially in crowded cities such as Hong Kong where demand of both commercial and residential properties is always higher than supply; the tax is simple and tax rate remains low. For more information, you may visit the site via the below link:

http://www.okay.com

(2) Good health, both physically and spiritually, requires self-discipline that will ensure harmony from within you and energize you endlessly. I am committed to regular physical exercises and meditation to maintain my health, and I have mentioned these in other parts of my blog and therefore, I am not going to repeat myself here. Instead, I would like to introduce some iron-rich vegetarian recipes in future.

  

   

((3)  Good relationship with family, friends, colleagues and clients will require ‘self-awareness’. When I was younger I was too pre-occupied with survival at workplace, family commitments and attaining other ‘human wants’, I confess that I was particularly not good at ‘self-awareness'. 

I am now working hard to improve my ‘self-awareness’ through meditation and reflections. For those who are really eager to improve ‘relationship’ with loved ones, family, colleagues, business partners, clients…., I would recommend practicing Vipassana (insight) meditation which is most practical as long as you can persist, and should sign up for meditation camps/retreat courses, e.g.

http://www.sunlun-meditation.net/

Good relationship starts from self-awareness, congruence between the inner self and behaviours; and finally, acceptance.

Charity Work

Supported by like-minded good friends and my family, I spearheaded to establish a charity organization called World of Compassion Education Fund Association (WCEFA) in the end of 2008 with the objectives of raising pubic money to help the under-privileged but diligent youngsters to complete their higher education in the remote autonomous districts in Mainland China. We have recently added a programme of teaching English to the local students in Xiangxi, Hunan. You may obtain more information about the charity via the below link:
http://www.wcefa.org.hk

As Winston Churchill once says, "you make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give." If you want to contribute, please donate via direct credit into the below HSBC account:
WCEFA A/C with HSBC: 808-598270-292. (Donations of HK$100.- and above are tax deductible.)

Over the years, I found the synergy among the Hong Kong volunteers and trust developed between us and the beneficiaries are invaluable. Both parties grow and glow from the processes. I learned to be humble and more about my own shortcomings.

In 2014, we aimed to explore and expand our charity work to another equally remote mountainous district in the west of Guangdong, which is closer to Guangxi.

Vipassana Meditation

I am learning and practicing Vipassana meditation in the Sunlun way which is to meditate with great mindfulness. I am only a beginner in this and still learning hard. Buddha pointed out the way of liberation from the rounds of birth. He taught the techniques of mental development to attain that liberation. Samatha can rid the yogi of his/her distractions or distractedness, establishes sharpness of mind and concentrated mind which will lead to tranquility. On the other hand, Vipassana offers insights into the true characteristics of phenomena and the way to attain liberating knowledge.

The objectives of such meditation are to achieve “Touch, Awareness and Mindfulness”.

Regular practices and persistence are basic rules to achieve...