ChangCL's Blog

Educators' Kenshu (29 Dec 2019)

2019-12-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Bring It All Back - S Club 7 with lyrics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4oXDxPFT_s&feature=youtu.be

_____

Theme: "Back to ABC" (of an educator/teacher)

What is the "A" of "Back to ABC"? -- 63 23 59
https://www.mentimeter.com/s/47d5ff5a1c29e8bc4cd8aaa15e3aa7f6/7c822506a7c0

What is the "B" of "Back to ABC"? -- 92 58 1
https://www.mentimeter.com/s/c455f7548315196fce0a030d521d2f6e/b21412bfb94c

What is the "C" of "Back to ABC"? -- 74 54 63
https://www.mentimeter.com/s/36263389099a5496f11de574f4d46317/b73f7854e557

_____

A collection of blogs for various purposes...

2016-01-05T05:22:00.000-08:00

My collection of blogs for various purposes:

Communication channel for my pupils: http://cclpupils.blogspot.sg
Communication channel for InfoComm CCA members: http://pcsinfocommclub.blogspot.sg
Communication channel for Scouts CCA members: http://pcsfalcon.blogspot.sg
Collection of intriguing Math problems: http://cclmath.blogspot.sg
Collection of news I deem educational: http://cclnewsworthy.blogspot.sg
Collection of articles worth pondering about: http://cclfiller.blogspot.sg
Collection of articles in my pursuit of mastering EL & CL: http://ccllinguist.blogspot.sg
Something related to music: http://cclmusic.blogspot.sg
A tribute to my country: http://cclhomeland.blogspot.sg

Give something

2015-12-24T20:31:00.001-08:00

December 25

If a person is hungry, we should give them bread. When there is no bread, we can at least give words that nourish. To a person who looks ill or is physically frail, we can turn the conversation to some subject that will lift their spirits and fill them with the hope and determination to get better. Let us give something to each person we meet: joy, courage, hope, assurance, philosophy, wisdom, a vision for the future. Let us always give something.

Daisaku Ikeda, SGI President

Offer a Prayer! That's the least we could do

2014-01-01T00:15:00.002-08:00

Have been doing some thinking...

The world is getting more and more inter-connected. With the advancement of technology, particularly the popularity of the new media, news from all over the world are made available to us at an alarming rate unprecedented in the history of mankind.

These news include both good and bad news. Given the myriad amount of information bombarding at us, we can do one of two things when we learn about disasters happening around the world. We can either be apathetic or empathetic.

As can be observed in our society, we have more people who are apathetic than empathetic.

Being human, I believe none of us start out being unfeeling. It's just that after being exposed to seeing and hearing tragedies happening ever so often around the world that people become so accustomed to them that they eventually become indifferent and resume their way of life in the state of normalcy. They would be thinking, "After all, what can I possibly do anyway?"

On the other end of the spectrum, there are others who would be totally overwhelmed by such news of tragedy that they would yearn for the end of the world to come sooner so as to end their and others' sufferings sooner.

This is a dangerous mode of thinking, I must say. Surely, all things that live, will die sooner or later. However, there is absolutely no necessity to hasten the death of any individual or group of people or organisms on Earth!

Fortunately, there is something called "prayer" -- that is the invention of our human race.

Given our short human history, there exist so many religions around the world. It is not the purpose of my write-up here to argue on the superiority of any particular religion. However, suffice it to say, any prayer (regardless of which religious affiliation), coupled with concrete actions, for the happiness of people around the world and for the attainment of World Peace, will go a long way in making this world a better place for us and others to live in.

Hence,

in order not to be deemed as apathetic and inhumane;

at the same time not to be overwhelmed by empathy that we become dysfunctional in carrying out our normal role, let us offer our sincere PRAYERS (based on whatever religious affiliation you are having) for the happiness of the victims of accidents, natural disasters or political plight all over the world.

I feel that so long as we can start to do this (offering up sincere prayers) for suffering people that we come to know, we are resolving the uneasiness in our hearts -- progressing from apathy to empathy.

Of course, offering prayers is the very least we could do.

Should anyone feel that they want to do more in terms of rendering physical or financial help to alleviate the sufferings of people in any part of the world, by all means. :)

I hereby, not just wish but, pray for a happy 2014 for everyone that I know, and for World Peace!

Fwd: FW: The Power of Nonviolence

2013-08-21T11:19:00.001-07:00

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K.

Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of
Puerto Rico, shared the following story as an example of nonviolence in
parenting:

"I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my
grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in
the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no
neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going
to town to visit friends or go to the movies. One day, my father asked me
to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the
chance.

"Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she
needed and, since I had all day in town, my father ask me to take care of
several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my
father off that morning, he said, "I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together."

"After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest
movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I
forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.

"He anxiously asked me, 'Why were you late?" I was so ashamed of
telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, 'The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait," not realizing that he had already called the
garage.

"When he caught me in the lie, he said: "There's something wrong in the
way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the
truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk
home 18 miles and think about it."

"So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the
dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for
five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never
going to lie again.

"I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the
way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I
don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing
the same thing. But this single nonviolent action was so powerful that it
is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of nonviolence."

By Dr. Arun Gandhi

[forwarded from an email]

Give something... words of encouragement

2013-07-29T18:55:00.001-07:00

There may be some people who, for one reason or another, have no room in their hearts to enjoy the beauty of flowers. They come home from work, complain about their day, and go to sleep. We can try to help them change their mindset by drawing their attention to the beauty of flowers or a work of art. That often is enough to get them to open their hearts and minds to all sorts of new possibilities.

[GT6-July-30]

1. The Worries and Hopes of Youth

2012-10-02T09:07:00.002-07:00

... It is especially important not to leave behind regrets about your teens, the time to establish the all-important foundation for the rest of your lives.

...I would like all of you to experience the satisfaction of having accomplished something -- it doesn't matter what -- in your own way and capacity, even if it's something as simple as cleaning, participating in club activities, doing volunteer work or whatever. The main thing is to be satisfied knowing that you've contributed something, that you've done your best. Please become individuals of whom others can say with admiration: "There is something different about him that sets him apart" or "She is someone I can really respect."

Press forward in the midst of problems

... Please do not allow yourselves to succumb to negativity and cynicism. Suffering is to be found in any era. Youth is a time of problems, pain and confusion.
And grades are probably not the only source of worry or anguish you face. You may have problems at home, with your health, with how you feel about your looks, with members of the opposite sex or with friends. Feelings of pain, insecurity, frustration and sadness may assail you. Youth means grappling with all kinds of problems. It means resolving them, in spite of all difficulties, pushing aside the dark clouds of despair and advancing toward the sun, toward hope. This strength is the hallmark of youth.
Having problems, making mistakes or feeling regrets is only natural. What's important is to be undefeated by them. In the midst of worries and struggles, always look forward and advance.
Suppose you are lost in the jungle. You want to find your way out and reach the ocean but don't know which way to go. What do you do? The answer is to keep moving ahead, taking a course that leads to a river. If you follow the river downstream, you will eventually reach the ocean.

A great leader is a friend to the suffering

... A famous person once told his son, "Your grades can be mediocre, but please become a person of outstanding character." Greatness as a human being is not determined by educational background or social position. Even people who graduate from top universities may engage in criminal activities. And there are some among the so-called elite who are overbearing and arrogant. I want I want to foster leaders, not elitists.
A truly great person is a friend to those in suffering, pain and misery. Such a person can be called a leader of the new century.

More often than not in today's society, the suffering and disadvantaged are ostracized, despised and pushed to the margins. Many of our current leaders are guilty of doing this. This is deplorable mistake.

Study should be for the purpose of finding a way to help those who are suffering. Many leaders today, however, look down on them and only add to their misery. There is no society as cruel, arrogant, cold or cowardly as ours.
...

(Not getting into a school of first choice)

Not attending the school of your choice may certainly be disappointing. But viewed in the long term and from the essential point of study, it doesn't really matter that you graduate from a well-known school.

... Mr Toda: "Become an inspiration for those who cannot attend good schools." Those who start out under difficult circumstances and go on to become first-rate individuals can be sources of hope and inspiration for many. Pelase remember always that academic background isn't everything.

At any rate, since you have been accepted to a school -- even if it is not your first choice and regardless of how society judges it -- it's important to decide that the place where you are is the very best, that it is the perfect place for you to learn all you want. This way of thinking is far more constructive and beneficial in the long t=run.
It's foolish to allow your confidence to be undermined by the opinions of others. You are all in your teens; limitless possibilities are open to all of you.

_____
(The obove is excerpted from Discussions on Youth by Daisaku Ikeda, pg 6)

Takeaways from "Discussion on Youth"

2012-10-02T08:42:00.001-07:00

Introduction
Preface by SGI President Ikeda
Editor's Note

Part One: The Hopes of Youth
1. The Worries and Hopes of Youth
2. Youth: A time to challenge
3. Friendship and Perspectives on life

Part Two: The Heartbeat of Youth
4. What is Love?
5. Finding Happiness in Your Work
6. What is a Global Citizen?ddddddddd
7. Bridging Out your Best
8. What is Kindness?
9. The essence of human rights

Part Three: Youth and Self-Improvement
10. The Joy of Reading
11. Knowing History is Knowing Yourself
12. Appreciating Art and Culture
13. Dialogue with Nature
14. Discovering Great Literature

Part Four: Youth and Faith
15. Why Do We Chant Every Day?
16. Why Do We Have an Organization?
17. Weaving the Fabric of Peace

Part Five: The Questions of Youth

18. What is Freedom?
19. What is Individuality?
20. What is the Power of Prayer?

Part Six: Youth and the Future
21. What is a Good Friend?
22. It Takes Courage
23. Why are the Good Despised?
24. Why Go to College?

Part Seven: The Energy of Youth
25. Life and Death Are One

Postscript

Appendix A: You are the Hope of the World
Appendix B: Youth are struggling between problems and hopes

The Power of Nonviolence

2012-04-27T21:03:00.001-07:00

The Power of Nonviolence

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K.

Not being blessed with material wealth in your youth is not a shame, but a source of pride

2012-04-26T04:30:00.000-07:00

Though you may not be blessed with material wealth in your youth, you should not be the least bit ashamed. On the contrary, this should be a source of pride. The true misfortune would be to be too richly blessed that one loses any ambition to succeed, becoming a spiritless young man with an old man's heart.
[GT6-Apr-23]

A great goal makes for a great man

2012-04-26T04:27:00.001-07:00

A profound ideal makes for a profound life, and a great goal makes for a great man. A life without an ideal, a goal, may lack any effort or difficulty, but there is no joy of improvement, either...
[GT6-Apr-26]

whether you have that determination and courage or not to live or a greater purpose In that is revealed your true worth as a person.

2012-03-31T19:51:00.001-07:00

In every field, there is shallow and profound. It is the same in life. Do you live for yourself alone, or for a greater purpose? It is easy to live thinking only for yourself. But to live for a great ideal requires steadfast commitment and courage. The question is whether you have that determination and courage or not. In that is revealed your true worth as a person.

无论在那一个领域，都有它的深浅。人生也是一样，究竟这一生是否单为了自己而活的呢，还是为了更大的目标和价值而活的呢？活着只想到到自己是很容易的，但是，要为一个大理想而活，就必需坚强的决意和勇气了。问题是能否建立这决意和勇气呢？这可以说是决定了生为人的真正价值了。

[GT6-Apr-1]

Religions should unite the potential for good in people's hearts toward benefiting society and humanity and creating a better future.

2012-02-18T18:36:00.001-08:00

For Today and Tomorrow

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Saturday, February 18, 2012

Religious strife must be avoided at all cost; under no circumstance should it be allowed. People may hold differentreligious beliefs, but the bottom line is that we are all human beings. We all seek happiness and desire peace. Religion should bring people together. It should unite the potential for good in people's hearts toward benefiting society and humanity and creating a better future.

Youth should actively seek out challenges and hardships

2012-02-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

Youth should not seek an easy comfortable path. No one develops in a pampered environment. Youth should instead actively seek out challenges and hardships, transforming them all into valuable assets as they strive to become individuals of outstanding character and ability.
-- Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

There is no such thing as a life without trials and tribulations

2012-01-10T06:13:00.001-08:00

There is no such thing as a life without trials and tribulations. A life without meeting obstacles is a weak one. One cannot depend on someone who has not had to overcome difficulties.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

Human Revolution is what that brings about reformation in our families, local regions and societies

2011-12-05T21:56:00.001-08:00

Where can we find the royal road to reformation and change? Emerson
declared: "Not he is great who can alter matter, but he who can alter my
state of mind." He strongly urged us to undergo an inner reformation. I
want you to be assured that the challenge to which we set ourselves day
after day—that of our human revolution—is the royal road to bringing about
a reformation in our families, local regions and societies. An inner
revolution is the most fundamental and at the same time the ultimate
revolution for engendering change in all things.

The human heart is unfathomable. It is fickle and constantly changing. From
moment to moment, our inner state of mind changes; we experience various
emotions - joy, sorrow, anger, pain. Life, too, is full of changes. That is
why, for countless centuries and millennia, humanity has pondered the
fundamental question of what constitutes the best and surest was to lasting
happiness.

-- SGI President Daisku Ikeda

Only those who have forged a spirit as strong as steel that are victorious or successful

2011-12-05T07:38:00.001-08:00

Life is a battle. Unless one has an unbreakable steel-like spirit, one cannot accomplish momentous undertakings. When we look at historical figures, and in modern society as well, it is only those who have forged a spirit as strong as steel that are victorious or successful. There is no one who has achieved success by taking it easy. There is no ultimate victory to be found in such an approach.

-- SGI President Ikeda

Fwd: "Cultivating the Greater Self," and other news

2011-11-29T16:45:00.001-08:00

From: "Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning & Dialogue" <info@ikedacenter.org>
Date: 29 November, 2011 21:16:37 GMT+08:00
To: changchengliang@gmail.com
Subject: "Cultivating the Greater Self," and other news
Reply-To: info@ikedacenter.org

In This Issue

8th Ikeda Forum
Soft Power Seminar
Core Convictions

November 2011
E-Newsletter

The Ikeda Center e-newsletter is designed to keep you up to date with our activities in support of peace, learning, and dialogue.

Quick Links

Ikeda Center Website

E-Newsletter Archive

Print Newsletter Archive

Dialogue Path Press on Facebook!

"Cultivating the Greater Self"
A report from the 8th Annual Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue

How can we best understand the Buddhist concept of the "greater self" in our culturally-diverse world? How can we encourage its emergence in situations large and small?

On October 22, 2011, four speakers and nearly 100 attendees gathered at the Ikeda Center in Cambridge to discuss these and other questions during the 8th Annual Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue.

During the morning session, Virginia Benson of the Ikeda Center considered the importance of dialogue with others and Ann Diller of the University of New Hampshire outlined the challenge of dialogue within oneself. In the afternoon, Bernice Lerner of Hebrew College looked at how our attitudes affect the emergence of the greater self and Lou Marinoff of The City College of New York expounded on why an accurate view of life is essential to this emergence.

>> Read an article about the event here!

>> View a photo gallery!

Soft Power & Globalization

Seminar brings Langley and Yalman into discussion with Boston-area university students

On September 26, 1991, Daisaku Ikeda delivered an address called "The Age of Soft Power" at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Nearly twenty years to the day later (September 29), Nur Yalman (left) of Harvard University and Winston Langley (right) of UMass Boston came to the Center to discuss with fourteen Boston-area university students the relevance of Ikeda's vision in the rapidly globalizing world of 2011.

The professors emphasized that Ikeda's vision of soft power is primarily educational and spiritual in nature, seeking to spark the inner transformation of individuals. In their view, when we activate what Ikeda calls our "inner resources of energy and wisdom" we are better able to steer economic and technological globalization in positive directions.

>> Read about the seminar here!

Our 7 Core Convictions

New feature helps define the Ikeda Center's work

Over the summer Ikeda Center staff engaged in a process of identifying the core convictions that inform our work. In our view, these are the convictions that, if widely accepted and acted on, will lead to a significantly more peaceful, harmonious, and flourishing world in the decades to come.

Seven in all, the convictions cover themes relating to dialogue, humanistic education, human potential, human dignity and the sanctity of life, inner and outer transformation, poetry and imagination, and interdependence. If you go to our website you can read brief essays about each conviction as well as supporting quotes from the writings of Daisaku Ikeda.

>> Learn more about the Ikeda Center's core convictions!



Contact Information
Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue
396 Harvard Street * Cambridge, MA 02138
phone 617-491-1090 * www.ikedacenter.org

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Develop yourself for the happiness of yourself and your loved ones

2011-11-29T01:53:00.000-08:00

Forge a solid self and develop within you the power to attract happiness to your life. Then you yourself will be happy and fulfilled, and you will be able to lead your family, your relatives and your friends to happiness, too.
[GT6-Nov-26]

Integrity, Perseverance and Hope -- make one invincible

2011-11-29T01:47:00.000-08:00

The real world is harsh. The number of envious, prejudiced, cold-hearted and selfish people will no doubt increase. In society, you may encounter people you do not like and you may well have to work under bosses you find hard to get along with. That is why the three qualities of integrity, perseverance and hope are so important. No one is a match for the person who possesses these qualities.
[GT6-Nov-29]

Overcoming hardships make life interesting

2011-11-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

Climbing over mountains and making our way through valleys is what makes hiking interesting. The walking may be challenging, but it allows us to experience wonderful vistas and arrive, in the end, at our destination. Simply flying to the spot in a plane would be boring. The same is true of life.
[GT6-Nov-17]

Human revolution means transforming our lives from unhappiness to happiness

2011-11-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

Where can we find the key for turning our lives in a positive direction? Absolutely vital in this question is the philosophy of human revolution. Human revolution offers the only certain path to happiness and victory in life. Human revolution means transforming our lives from unhappiness to happiness.
[GT6-Nov-18]

怎样才能够改变人生呢？要改变人生就必须要有人间革命的哲学。这是唯一正确的人生幸福胜利大道。把不幸变为幸福的是人间革命。
[今日指导(六)，11月18日]

"Human Revolution", a process of inner transformation through Buddhist practice. SGI members believe that it is a process that leads them to develop their character and to act not only for personal fulfillment, but also for the betterment of society. They believe that happiness is being able to experience the profound joy that comes from winning over any problem in life.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/soka-gakkai-international#ixzz1e7QXm3Bf

True significance of learning -- to contribute to society and humanity

2011-11-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

Please do not spend your youth avoiding hardship and taking the path of least resistance. Please seek out difficult challenges and work hard. And if you are going to take on hardships, let it be for the sake of high ideal. Do not stay closed up in your own tiny shell, pursue your studies with the high ideals of helping your friends and contributing to society and humanity. This is where the true significance of the pursuit of learning lies.
[GT6-Nov-19]

年青的时候不要逃避辛苦，也不要贪图安逸。你们要主动尝受辛劳。反正是辛劳，那就为了 “伟大的理想” 而辛劳吧。不要躲在自己的小世界里，希望能够持着 “为朋友”、 “为社会” 和 “为人类” 的崇高理想来努力学习。学问的真正意义就在这里。
[今日指导(六)，11月19日]

Overcoming hardships to grow as human beings

2011-11-01T08:34:00.001-07:00

If everything is smooth sailing right from the beginning , we cannot become people of substance and character. By surmounting painful setbacks and obstacles, we can create a brilliant history of triumph that will shine forever. That is what makes life so exciting and enjoyable. In any field of endeavour, those who overcome hardships and grow as human beings are advancing towards success and victory in life.

[GT6-Oct-31]

It is important to live with purpose

2011-10-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Some people spent their days pursuing idle amusements. Some live aimless lives, succumbing to indolence and apathy. But neither of these ways of living will ever lead to true fulfillment or happiness.
[GT6-Oct-23]