It started with a post from Carlos Celdran about a tour he did with new Tourism Undersecretary @entengromano, which led to @TeamManila making tourism posters for free:

Bloggers journeyingjames and otherworldpixie made their own posts of support, not to mention countless tweeters, and voila, now we have one viral volunteer campaign for Philippine tourism created in an instant.

DOT Undersecretary Enteng Romano tweeted back: “Still thinking of how 2 harness d outpouring of volunteerism 4 DOT. Hope to come up w some ideas 2moro.”

Let’s hope this to be the start of a real dialogue for tourism development!

I dug up my old post on how to help tourism back in 2005, fresh from my Spain trip and right when I started manilarat:

I am a great fan of the potential of the Philippines (and of the Filipino). I was born and raised in Manila, but there has always been the curiosity and eagerness to explore our culture through travel, conversations, daily interactions with people.

A month ago I left the family business and started working for the Department of Tourism. On the premise that I was there #1 to help tourism, and #2 to find out how government works from the inside.

I left the DOT after the Island Paradise Adventure Race Project (which is still held every year, but under the Development Bank of the Philippines now), and my biggest take away then was that for what I saw as the necessary work for Philippine tourism, the place to start was not the national government, which I felt had very limited authoritative power development-wise.

Five years and a new Tourism Law after, I don’t know if things are still the same.

But for sure, in our own circles, there are lots to do, and do now!  Quoting from that same post in 2005:

everyone always has something to say about tourism. i know i always romanticized it, holding up high “how i think things can be improved.”

many ideas–bright ones at that–get lost in implementation. and im learning firsthand that most of the time, no one really wants to be accountable for implementation. especially in government.

coming up with a great project and starting it is actually doable.sustaining it is not, or at the least, it is difficult. according to a colleague who’s been with the DOT for more than 10 years, projects fail mostly because of politics– everyone wants to run his own show; no one wants to carry on flagship projects of previous officials.

fact of life.

so what’s a private citizen to do?
i say sell the country in his own circle… be a walking salesman of what it means to be a filipino, to live in the philippines. work within one’s reach, with what you have control over, and stop barking at the government (it’s not only exhausting, it’s really just not effective).

statistics show that word of mouth is still one of the preferred modes of securing information about our country. we should capitalize on this. that’s why i have such faith in blogs and travel writing!

Let’s hope things have taken a turn for the better in our government and #helpDOT, but let’s also do our part as private citizens!  Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

(Image from the FSG site)

Break free. Breathe
Detour. Detox.
Retreat. Renew.

We invite you to three months of a simple way of life in the Chan (Zen) tradition learning the religion, language, culture, arts, diet, and philosophy of Humanistic Buddhism.

Discover and experience not just a new perspective in life but also, more importantly, about yourself, in a meditative lifestyle guided by the Buddha’s ancient teachings adapted into the modern world of converging cultures.

THE PROGRAM

Officially called the FGS Philippines Humanistic Academy of Life and Arts, this temple stay and studies program is open to those who want to learn our way of life, to take a break from the world they are used to, or to cultivate spiritually, whatever religious background they are from.

The program will offer three months of:

~ Classes introducing Chinese Chan Buddhism, its philosophy and practice
~ Monastic life experience, routine, discipline and etiquette
~ Vegetarian and silent meals using two bowls and chopsticks
~ Nightly walking and sitting meditation
~ Other forms of meditation like tai chi, calligraphy and tea ceremonies
~ Buddhist rituals like chanting every morning, full moon and new moon
~ Basic Mandarin reading, speaking and writing
~ Special workshops on arts, crafts and music
~ Communal or team work in cleaning and events

Accepted scholars for the second batch will live full-time in Yuan Thong Temple situated in the small but bustling city of Bacolod, Philippines from September 15 to December 15, 2010. The food and lodging are all sponsored by Fo Guang Shan Philippines, but costs of transportation and personal necessities need to be shouldered by the accepted scholar.

I met Dave (who posted about the upcoming course) and Artyom, who are part of the first batch of the FGS Philippines Humanistic Academy of Life (started May this year), at the one-day Zen meditation at the Mabuhay Temple.  They’re graduating tomorrow, July 31 (yay!). They stayed for two months in Bacolod and completed their last month here in Manila.  Artyom is pursuing further studies in the FGS university in Taiwan.

More details at the couchsurfing event thread and the FGS Philippines multiply site, including answers to frequently asked questions like “What if I am not a Buddhist?” or “Do I have to shave my head?”.   Dave says a typical day in the monastery would be:

…waking up to the sound of a woodblock at 6:00 AM, and proceeding to the main shrine for morning chanting. Breakfast follows, then a formal class (Mandarin and/or Buddhism) with a monastic, then lunch. All meals are silent. After lunch, there is time for walking meditation and rest. An afternoon class is next, then personal time to shower, wash clothes, and clean rooms. Temple work will be scheduled assignments to help in the kitchen, keep the garden or temple grounds, or other tasks. Dinner will be called at 6:00 PM. After which, an evening class follows and meditation. Everyone will be called to bed at 10PM. There will be days of the week with different schedules, depending on the occasion. Some days will have special workshops on artwork, music, cooking, gardening, or events. Every Monday is a rest day (no classes but it will be time for cleaning own rooms, personal study, writing, etc.).

You can also look at everyday life in the temple through pictures of the first batch of three-month monks in Bacolod here.

Found this video through Carlos Celdran, who says it’s a “1960′s travelogue on The Philippines… from the ‘New Horizons’ series by Pan American Airways.”

The German narration made me zone out on some parts, but I especially loved the clip on sipa!  I always wondered why we were taught that sipa was our national sport given that I never ever played it or saw anyone play it, but wow here’s proof that it was part of Pinoy everydays once upon a time.

Interesting to note that even after fifty years, we’re still using some of the same travel come ons (both subject matter and style) for Philippine tourism…

Just the same,  what a lovely peep into our past!

I’ve always been interested to pursue meditation as a complement to the search for clarity, and I’ve been particularly curious about Zen.

When I saw an  invitation to an introductory course to meditation, I took it as a sign that it was time (and that I was ready) and registered for the course:

Chan meditation, as it turned out, was not just about sitting, and was different from what I knew of Zen.

Emphasis was given on Chan living, meaning the integration of meditative practice into day-to-day living, and we spent the morning learning about the “One Hundred Tasks of Life” by the Venerable Master Hsing Yun, which is a checklist of 100 guidelines to help practitioners tackle everyday life, establish one’s persona, deal with the world, relate to others, be sincere, and cultivate the spiritual self.  Some examples:

• Stick to a regular daily routine. —> so simple, but also difficult, especially for structure-averse people like myself!
• There is no absolute difficulty or ease.  Diligence turns the difficult into easy, while sloth makes the easy difficult.  —> so true! Don’t you think that just the act of delaying something gives it a heaviness?
• Be honest and kind, and always give others space to retreat, as one day they may be of help to you.  This is also to reserve future potentials.
• Show kindness through speech and facial expressions to make others feel as if they are bathing in the spring breeze.  —> what a lovely idea!
• The ability to admit your faults is the greatest virtue.  It is also the greatest courage of all.  —> interesting to see courage as coming from an act on the self…

It felt like a quick dip into the everyday Buddhist mindset, more so because instructions were given in Mandarin (followed by an English translation).

What really jump started the morning for me were the smiling faces of the masters in their brown robes.  These women just exuded “holy”, “joy”,and “clarity”, and being in their presence was contagious–even if I came to the temple as open-minded as possible to what would be presented, I realized I still brought biases with me… Seeing the masters so exuberant and yet so simple helped me let go of those biases and “clear my mind” as much as I could, at least for that one day.

Here’s one of my favorites insights from the talk– just reading it now makes me smile all over again:  “A nonhuman is one who does not smile when necessary.”

Lunch was provided for, and we had a two-hour break to eat and socialize.  Expecting a strict vegetarian diet, I was so surprised to see a long buffet table, complete with three or four viands, soup and black gulaman!  Was definitely not your typical meal in a Buddhist temple!

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing calligraphy, physical exercises, and sitting meditation itself, all of which were explained as meditation.  “Everything is meditation,” they kept reminding us.

Many people came out of the workshop all smiles, and I think it would be safe to assume that at the very least, everyone had a relaxing time.  Those who were interested to learn more were encouraged to contact the temple for future meditation exercises, especially once construction of the Meditation Hall is completed.

Again, thank you so much to the wonderful people of Fo Guang Shan Philippines for opening your doors to us, and to Artyom of couchsurfing for the invitation!

* * *
ABOUT THE MABUHAY TEMPLE:

The Manila Mabuhay Temple is on 656 P. Ocampo Street, Malate.  It is about 10 minutes on foot from Vito Cruz LRT station (towards Roxas Boulevard), not far from the Rizal Memorial Stadium and Century Park Hotel.

It is still completing construction works, but is open to visitors from 7am to 8pm everyday.  Our friends Dave and Artyom, who are finishing their 4-month Buddhism study program at the temple, recommended avoiding Monday visits as it’s their day for errands.

Artyom told us to look for “a modern 10-storey white building” and not a traditional temple, so I was expecting the typical boxed condominium with dark hallways, etc. I was floored when I got to the place– it was huge! And lovely! With lots of light coming in! It just had an over-all pleasant feel to it:

That’s the temple main entrance above… it leads to the main hall below:

For more information, please call Fo Guang Shan Philippines at (632) 523-4909 or email fgsphilippines@gmail.com

Masarap daw.  Have you tried it?

My knowledge of Filipino art is shameful, so it took Crisi’s strong arm to finally put me face-to-face with an Onib painting last Thursday. Crisi has been raving about this Onib piece for so long, always telling me to drop by the art galleries in Shangri-la to look for it. Wasn’t a coincidence that when we passed by last Thursday, we met not just the gallery owner of Artistree, but the owner of the Onib painting himself, Vic Salta.

The painting wasn’t on display, but Vic was gracious enough to take the painting out of storage for us to take a peep, and later on take our pic with it, such a joy!

Two BIG THANK YOUs, for the beautiful art, and for the random kindness!

* * *
If Mr. Salta hasn’t put it back in storage, Onib Olmedo’s Tamed Horses can be viewed at the Artistree Gallery, Shangri-la Plaza.

Turns out there’s an art exhibit of the Saturday Group of Artists until July 26 (two Mondays from now). What a lovely pick-me-upper in the middle of a mall!

Was also so happy to see this piece by Migs Villanueva, who was such a patient writing mentor for our group of fiction-writing babies in 2005…(indulge me– I wrote a piece that got published then!).  Migs invited us to her first (?) painting exhibit a few years after that, but it was a nice surprise yesterday to see that she’s still at it, and exploring new themes:

There was also a Blanco! I didn’t recognize the first name from the Blanco kids I saw in the Angono museum, maybe it’s by one of the grandkids?

Lovely fantastical images…

Am glad that Filipino art is made more accessible to Pinoys today, most of whom find more reason to frequent malls than museums…

Coming in a few weeks is the 2nd Annual Manila Art Fair, which is a bigger (and hopefully just as successful) sequel to last year’s Manila Art09 “Asia’s Latest Contemporary Art Fair”!  Yahooo, excited for that!!

* * *
Art at the Shang is an exhibition of the Saturday Group of Artists at the Grand Atrium, Shangri-la Plaza. It runs from July 14 to 26, 2010.

Super convenient,there’s lots of parking available, and there’s hardly ever a line.

You just bring your envelope or postcard, have it weighed, then pay the postage fee.

Makes it more encouraging to send real  letters to friends and family abroad, who am sure will welcome the change from texts and emails to old skool snail mail!

*     *     *

The Meralco Post Office is along Ortigas Ave., right by the entrance gate to the Meralco compound fronting MC Home Depot.  There’s a Meralco paying station next to it.

It is open on Mondays to Fridays from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.  The sweet old man who mans the office told me he’s there even during lunch break, yay! Cut off  for same-day postage is at 12 noon.

Google’s Jane Butler shares trends on How Consumers Search Travel Online for 2009-2010.

Interesting to note:

• Popular keywords involve last minute deals:  “summer vacations” , “all inclusive vacations” , “travel packages” , “train tickets” , “cheap plane tickets” , “package deals” , “last minute flights” , “last minute cruises.”
• People looking for last minute deals book their trips online usually a week before they travel.
• Travel videos are important research tools for both business and personal travelers.
• Mobile research is key:  25 percent of business travelers access online travel information from their mobile device (vs. 8 percent of personal travelers and 16 percent of affluent travelers).
• Good for bloggers: “Travelers are searching more for local, point-of-interest-based information around a destination while planning for and during a trip,” more than hotel, car rental, and air searchers.
• Tip for those looking to build hotels: It’s still location, location, location. “Google has seen a 66 percent growth since 2004 in “Near +” and “Close To +” terms in the Hotels & Accommodations Category on Google.com”

Last March 2010, I visited the Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and was dumbfounded that such an atrocity happened, and happened in the 1970s.  The Cambodians made sure none of it was left unremembered, and right in the center of its capital is a museum where visitors–and Cambodians themselves–can understand, even in passing, what went on in that place, while the rest of world went about its business.

Today I read about a memorial in Bosnia put up by Phillip Ruch, a German activist who is demanding accountability for the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995.  “The Pillar of Shame” will be a mound of shoes–16,000 of them–each pair for a life lost in the ethnic cleansing that  still haunts people to this day.  Ruch says that the memorial serves as a “warning for all future U.N. employees never again just to stand by when genocide unfolds.”

We Filipinos should learn to be not so forgetful either.   Do you think we’ll someday see a memorial for our murdered journalists, or the Ampatuan victims?

Maybe we don’t really forget, but we don’t remember either.