Thrangu

I don't understand my mother, and i probably will never. I'm having difficulty explaining this but today, my sister and i agreed that it's almost as if she's always holding a balloon with her brain in it. and whatever is in it goes with the wind.

Mother with her Rinpoche teacher, Winter 2007

My relationship with my mother is not like other parent child relationships. We treat each other like annoying best friends. It's actually quite funny. We'd be sitting at the dinner table and my mom would start stroking my arm pointlessly making baby noises like a pokemon,"beeby beeby beeby", i think she still hasn't realized that babies don't say 'baby", but rather ahgnga wahrr or whatever they make. She's also extremely blunt, burps in public and unzips her pants when she eats too much at nice restaurants. This is where we're in-common. But nevertheless, i do look up to her as a role model, sometimes. Deep down, i do love her and adore her, but really really deep down. we're still at the annoying stage, but it keeps our relationship interesting and exciting!

She's a buddhist, a real active one too. She spends about 50% on buddhism, 30% on family, 5% on shopping, 5% on work, 4% on technology and 1% on my dad. It's quite a balance, i don' t know how she does it, but then again, who does?

Right now, she is in the Final Stages of building a monastery in Vancouver. I'll be there in two weeks and at its opening ceremony at the end of July.

here's the website if you're interested!: Thrangu Monastery, CANADA

Last summer, my sibs and i volunteered to work there for a good 2 to 3 weeks. Look at us pound out these ornament blocks! So we developed an efficient work cycle amongst us four without being scolded by yanyan (Yanick, our supervisor)

This is how it looks like installed on the rims of the ceiling.

I go to a few buddhist retreats with my grandmother, mother,and sisters. It's one way for me to find mediation and balance in life. I am a buddhist, but not as religious as my mom's side. I do believe in karma, in reincarnation, in my next life. I do believe that i have to do good. .

This photo does crack me up a bit. i wasn't aware that they're trying to take a group picture. this was taken at the national park in Vancouver. It was quite a day walking around with a lot of red friends.

My father, on the other hand, is not buddhist. this where tension comes in.

A love story

My father signed my mother a cheque,

a thousand dollars to throw away her orchids,

which she loves most but he hates

for those hungry little bugs .

My mother bought with his cheque,

a thousand fish to free into the sea

for him on his birthday,

but he does not know.

Four summers ago, there was another retreat. At the same time there was a silent auction for participants, money went to building this monastery. So i drew a portrait of the 9th Thrangu Rinpoche, my mother's teacher. He is indeed a huge figure in buddhism. It was auctioned off at a hundred dollars, cha-ching!

9th Thrangu Rinpoche, Summer 2006, drawn in oil pastels

After all this, i can't resist myself putting up these family sillies from Tokyo 2007 at Hyatt hotel.

So earlier that day, i was at this junk store in Tokyo, and i saw this gold jumpsuit like the ones they use in human tetris, and i thought, "i have to get it". Then later on that day, i saw this at the mask store and i had to get that too.

So that night, at about 2 in the morning, my sister, kristine and i, woke up for our mission. I had asked my younger sister to let mom's room door open. So i crawled in, sat in in lotus position, in the dark, at the foot of her bed . It was a good five minutes before she saw me and bulged. enjoy!