Redirection - For the latest updates please visit my new site at https://manishpakhi.com

Redirection 

For the latest updates please visit my new site 

at  

https://manishpakhi.com 

Editorial Note - Happy New Year -2025

Editorial Note - Happy New Year -2025

Another year passes by to bring us to another moment of reflection, reckoning, anticipation, resolution, hopes and dreams... We as human beings have our destiny tied up with space and time inextricably. I have a growing realization that many a times what we consider as an individual approach to change in our lives, our mental models or preferences is nothing more than effect of the time and space we belong to... A country being economically, socially and technologically less evolved might exhibit Family Values, Professional Ethics and Societal Norms of what an evolved country exhibited 20 years earlier when they were at that stage ....Same things apply to individuals....when you observe a change in behavior of a certain person, check whether the person has different circumstances now as compared earlier times... People living in small houses with lesser amenities often exhibit closer family bonds then the ones living in larger houses with all luxuries... it is the adversity that fosters humanity or kindness; good times seems to foster alienation, aloofness, distance... There could be exceptions but generally, there are patterns to our behavior. We tend to focus on the person while in fact it is the time that has changed and not the person. The person might only be reflecting the effect of the change in time... Very closely observe the space around a person which would mean their affiliates, friends, acquaintances , their locality, possessions, and the times they are in their life.. sad times, happy times, affluence, penury, fears, insecurities etc.. There is a concept in Buddhism called  eshō-funi which means Oneness of Self and Environment. This typically means that the environment acts like a perfect mirror to one's inner state of life...While to an individual it provide an opportunity to understand the changes to be internalized in order to improve their circumstances; to an observer it means; watching and understanding the environment of a person and uncover the Inner state of life of that person with perfection and accuracy... unmistakably...Many a times we find that the people were getting materially elevated while experiencing ( and accepting) free fall of their moral values and sense of justice.. and both were manifested in their environment as a true reflection of their inner life states.

New Year gives us an opportunity to reflect on our spaces and times and look back and ahead.. We wish each other a promising future and surge of positivity suffuse the planet earth. I also take this opportunity to open a new chapter of my writing journey by launching 'Delta-To-Sigma' in its new outlook. The journey that started more than a decade back has been a truly rewarding experience of my life. I was able to connect with many readers from across the geographies and make some everlasting friendships. The stats shows a widespread reach across countries like US, UK, Germany, Russia, France, Sweden, Ukraine, Hongkong, Singapore, Portugal, Latvia, Finland, Luxembourg, Canada, Columbia, Poland and Israel.

I am thankful to all my readers for their constant encouragement and insightful feedbacks and guidance. I cherish each one of you and truly hope for your continued patronage.

Wish you a very very Happy new Year!!! May god bless you all with great health and vigor to dream big and make every dream come true. May this new year bring you more awareness of your own space and time. May you master your minds fully and become keen observer of the inner life state of others and awaken them to their true selves. May we all evolve to be free of the fundamental darkness and conquer greed, anger and envy so that our biases do not pass into a generation of Artificial Intelligence creating a magnified versions of our lower selves. May we all become enlightened before inventing machines that are self governed and have immense power to influence.

!!!Happy New Year!!!

Manish 'Pakhi'

My Expressions - The New Normals

                                               

It is said that change is the only constant. It is also said that with time everything changes...people, their needs, their behaviours and their relationships. There are changes in societal norms, acceptable behaviours and values. Almost everything undergoes change. These changes occur in our surroundings sometimes in a gradual manner and sometimes in disruptive ways.

Changes whether gradual or disruptive influence us!! Our personas, our lifestyles, our thinking, our unique ways of rationalizing and finding a survivable balance between joy and sufferings of life...everything is influenced. 

The extent of influence on us is driven by our ability to retain and let go. At any given point of time, we carry the traces of past and future...A sense of deprivation and anticipation...and in the midst of this chaos, we try to adjust ourselves to what is called "The New Normal".

Some of us are ahead on this curve of acceptance.... Some do it no time and some people take forever... 

In my life, I have seen many changes like anyone of us. I keep ruminating about them from time to time in our daily conversations with friends, colleagues and families. Today I thought, I will reflect on few of them that occur to me rather more often than others...

In earlier times, it was generally believed and accepted that a person working harder than others diligently and studiously and with good intent, would be able to gather skills and knowledge and (humility) to lead (help) others grow. Then the changes swept in and there was sloganized push to 'Work Smart' instead of ‘Work Hard'. In-fact work hard at a point of time became tantamount to being unimaginative and dumb and work smart at a point of time became suggestive of not minding even being clever, self-serving and cunning to achieve a position. Now in the new normal, both work hard and work smart have lost relevance and the new normal is to work in "Network". Networking implies a quid-pro-quo understanding between two people to share and exchange favors. There are networking slots especially organised during any major event where there are a few busybodies who keep sprinting from one person of importance to other. 

In the new normal, person with a big network of people is considered more accomplished even though the person may individually possess lesser virtues or qualities.

Likewise, in earlier times, a Leader in any sphere of life used to be an Inspiration in a certain field. It was understood that the elevation to the position of leader would mean that the person carried both knowledge and experience of a certain field and the breadth and depth of it would lead others to align and manifest their potential in the best possible ways. In certain fields where the subject knowledge was not central, the leader would demonstrate a superlative conduct or depth of perspective that would elevate the spirit of masses to look up to that person and emulate. With time, the changed perspective provided a new outlook to the leader - It was that of becoming a person who is able to collaborate successfully with many and is able to remain accepted by many. In this new framework Students started rating teachers, contestants started rating judges, Team members started rating their leaders and, in many cases, children started rating their parents. 

In the new Normal, a leader in many many situations is seen to be becoming a person who is able to adjust excellence to team's average, thrive on majoritarian views and build a team that can support a majoritarian illusion. 

As a child I learned that written word had immense value. People were warned of giving it a good thought before providing anything in writing to someone. Writing was characterized by Handwriting and the Signatures endorsing it. For legal matters, the written document was further vetted by a judicial notary. With time and technology, it became possible to duplicate documents, so photographs and video became the source of dependable truth. For many years, a photograph of an event, a video of a person would have sufficed to be the key evidence. Technology continued to advance and soon every person started carrying a printing press on palm. This printing press or the new "Mobile Phone” could take Photo graphs, Documents and Videos and had all the applications available to morph them. In earlier times a publishing something in a newspaper or social publication would require tremendous responsibility of researching the facts which meant that a published word was completely reliable and believable. With the advent of technologies, contents became rife over the myriad social platforms without a shred of credibility. 

 In the new Normal there is no concept of credible content. It is difficult to differentiate between Truth, Fake and Deep Fakes. 

 As a child I was told to practice hard as practice makes some one perfect. It is because by practicing  the same musical notes every day  - a musician became adept at it to an extent where the symphony was perfect to play out, by practising the same sports every day , the athlete would reach to a point where they would perform flawlessly, It is because by climbing the same stairs every day, a person could climb the stairs even with closed eyes...All these were so because practicing a certain act led all mental and  physical faculties of a person to programmatically connect and orchestrate. All these examples accentuate the power of experience. In corporate world, a successful negotiator would know exactly where to pull and where to push to win the deal, because that person has the experience of having gone thru that situation many times in past and also its various nuances. As the time changed, there was a sloganized push out to Experience by calling it a liability. Experience became less important as the cost of hiring an experience person was shown to offset the loss of errors made by less experienced people. With time, we started seeing more and more leaders in different walks of life belonging to the very younger age groups and obviously with lesser depth of experience as statesman, corporate heads and celebrities. We also started seeing larger nos. of institutional failures, governance breakdowns and corporate collapses. 

 In the new Normal Doing it Right First Time is replaced with "Experiment to Fail' at scale. 

 In my younger days, I used to have a secret diary where I would write my most personal thoughts and reflections and so did many of us. I remember those friendly fisticuffs between brothers and sisters, or two friends or husband and wife upon finding someone's personal diary and one person trying to read it and second person trying to snatch it back before the first could read even a single word. What were those secrets and where are they gone now!! Now a days we communicate more on social groups than in personal chats, we don’t whisper in each other’s ears but message it knowing that the serve storing that message could be accessible to some hacker or bad actor. Our devices are tracking the sites we surf, the keys we click, the roads we turn, the words we speak, the medicines we take and the food we eat. The world is no longer having any space that is private. 

In the new Normal, we have developed a shell of indifference to our secrets being visible and known to a no. of people who are unknown to us. It does not bother us anymore. There are no fisticuffs for protecting the personal space. No more. There is only stoicism left...stoicism that craves for Thumbs ups, Hearts and Raise Hands 24X7.

The list of new Normal would go on as we see more far-reaching changes coming our way. Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Space colonies and what not...Moment by Moment, Day by Day, We will keep changing our habits and I wonder very deeply what will become of us in the end..

If you too have reminiscence of something that has changed unrecognisably over these many years, please do share in comments .. Lets help each other not forget of what we were.. 

                                                                                                                                    By

                                                                                                                               Manish 'Pakhi' 

My poem- Gumshuda

My poem- Turpai

तुरपाई 

Editorial Note - Happy New Year

Editorial Note - Happy New Year 

"As we usher in the new year, it’s worth noting that AI has made significant strides in the past year. AI has been used to solve complex problems and make our lives easier. From self-driving cars to personalized medicine, AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we live and work. AI is a giant leap for humankind, and it’s exciting to see what the future holds. With AI, we can make better decisions, solve problems faster, and create a better world for everyone. The possibilities are endless, and I’m excited to see what the future holds! 🚀🌟

 In 2023, the topic of AI evolution was a hotly debated one. While some experts warned of the potential risks of AI, such as the possibility of destabilizing civilizations and escalating misinformation, others were more optimistic about the benefits of AI, such as its potential to transform the labor market.

In March 2023, over 1,000 technology leaders working with AI signed a letter warning that AI technologies present “profound risks to society and humanity.” These experts suggest that research should be paused, and new regulations considered before any further development of AI bots like Chat-GPT.

It’s important to note that while AI has the potential to revolutionize the world, it is still in its nascent stages and has a long way to go before it can replace human intelligence. As such, it is unlikely that robots will take over humanity anytime soon.

Wow!!! What a great reflection of the last year and anticipation of the new year completely created by Generative AI ...I thought of starting my editorial note using this great technology   to co-create the Headline picture and Opening passage with GenAI tools. It is indeed thrilling to see the enormous power it adds to our imaginations and capability as humans. I think the debate of AI overtaking Humans could be shelved and all fears vanquished with more communication around it and world leaders taking lead to collaborate and lead Responsible AI initiatives across the globe to benefits all citizens of Earth equally instead of using it to destructively against each other as a tool of intimidation and subjugation. Humans have misused most technologies to create divides but the potential of AI as a technology is too big to be left for ungoverned use and to be mishandled. 

I thank all the readers from United States, India, Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine, Portugal, United Kingdom, Poland, Israel, Canada, Indonesia, Australia, Latvia, Sweden, Romania, Singapore, China and other countries for sharing their comments. It feels nice to note that there are many posts which are liked by people across the globe and that the world longs for peace, humanity and love to be the values to cherish. 

This year was overwhelming in my personal experience as an observer. Being an observer, fills me with immense curiosity about changing values. I observe an unstoppable urge in people to shun any heavy lifting of emotional commitments - I saw family members immediately after the funeral of their elder bursting into laughter’s and jokes and all kind of small talks, I saw family members posting their pictures of dancing with joy within a week of the death of their loved ones. I was at loss whether it was growing insensitivity towards any human connection or just a culture of being in constant high all the time or just self-centeredness and indifference under the delusional growing up followed by denial of incompetence.

I saw great leaders ensnared by the fawning retainers into taking unfair sides and losing their stature...I saw people talking in groups rather than connecting personally... I saw appreciation becoming a greed than being a need... I saw many sincere people living under constant stress and discomfort and I realized there were fewer guardians of their Psychological safety....Being nice, duty bound, sincere, well meaning, respectful, honest, truthful, simple, hardworking,  committed, scrupulous, intelligent was no longer appreciated as much and people were emphasizing the importance of being street smart, connected, networked and mutually thriving on common interests....I saw the sense of right and wrong losing its relevance.. with too many eloquent people around anything could be challenged, questioned and  destroyed and virtues of great achievers were the soft targets for the colluding minds...Very sad but the optimism prevails and hope never dies in me for a better tomorrow...

 The year also proved that the collective wisdom of  human minds was getting ready for achieving greater outcomes...It appears that space shall be next big thing where thinking of travelling and even settling will become a practical reality soon...Machines are getting embedded more in our lives and soon we shall see transformative effects of another quantum leap of human evolution of merging with machines...It appears that very soon, we shall not have to train ourselves into some skill until a quarter of our life to be able to earn our livelihood... This job could be easily done by Machines...Humans shall be ready to take a different role...a role of making choices and making and contributing ideas that could be executed with the help of machines at a much larger scale transcending the boundaries of our planet or galaxies.... making real advances in connecting with other civilizations in the solar system ...Expanding our power by multi-fold and becoming super humans. 

From the loftiest heights to the bottomless abyss.... we have unbelievable swings as a human being!!!

Please keep sharing your views and blessings. Please keep sharing the messages of humanistic values. 

Please protect good people. They are the hope.  

They keep the world going amidst all absurdities. 

Wish you all a very Happy new year once again!!! 

 Stay Optimistic, Positive, Kind and Compassionate to give hope to everyone around you!!

                                                                                                                                From- 

                                                                                                                                Manish 'Pakhi'  

My Expresseions : A Tribute to the Mentor

 

A Tribute to the Mentor 

"Let us give something to each person we meet: joy, courage, hope, assurance, or philosophy, wisdom, a vision for the future. Let us always give something.”

These words echo in my entire being, These words and many more such inspirational tenets of life from a person whom I embraced as my mentor more than 15 years ago. The leader of one of the largest Buddhist order worldwide with more than 12M followers in 192 countries, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda lived his entire life true to the teachings and ideals of Buddhism.

Dr. Ikeda was born on Jan 2nd, 1928, in Tokyo, in a family of seaweed farmers. As a child, he was diagnosed with chronic tuberculosis and doctors told that he would not live beyond 30. "What sickness can therefore be an obstacle"...he proclaimed and went on to create trailblazing journey of transforming millions of lives enabling people discover their true potential as human being and achive victories. Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, passed away on November 15, 2023 at the age of 95. We call him Sensei which means mentor or teacher in Japanese.

Until I encountered his teachings, spirituality to me meant believing in 'God' and 'Goodness'. I was still puzzled as to where to find both. Sensei taught us both were within us. Sensei taught us about a new dimension of spirituality - called "Faith in Daily Life". Faith which would make you find peace not in meditating alone but staying amidst the topsy-turvy of daily life and challenging something...Something within..

Sensei taught us the philosophy of "Oneness of Self and Environment" and to me it was like a whole life decoded into easily understandable principals to be imbibed and practiced in our daily conduct as ordinary human being to manifest the extraordinary potential inherent in our lives equally.

Sensei came from an ordinary family; he acquired his education working thru the day and studying thru the night at night schools. He was at one time earning his livelihood working as a newspaper hawker; He determined of having a publication of their own newspaper one day. Sensei one day waiting at a university with his mentor; dreamt of establishing universities one day where humanism could be cultivated among students, He dreamt of becoming an author, and once when a top politician cancelled the visit to be the chief guest of a large gathering of youth at the last minute, he determined to develop leader in all walks of life who valued "Treasures of the Heart".

His perseverance made him an author of more than 250 books. Sensei received more than 200 honorary degrees, as well as numerous international honours, including the United Nations Peace Medal (1983), the International Tolerance Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre (1993), the Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award (2008), and the Gandhi International Peace Prize for Social Responsibility (2014). He fulfilled his dreams of establishing Soka universities and schools and also kindergartens in five countries,

Mr. Ikeda took over the leadership of Soka Gakkai, the largest lay Buddhist organization at the age of 32. He travelled to more than 50 countries and met Heads of States, Academicians, Artists, Authors and other prominent leaders of society to promote peace, culture and education. Sensei has presented Peace proposals to UN every year since 1983.

Ikeda Sensei taught us "Never to get defeated" and take challenges as peaceful practices, practice humanism, change poison into medicine, smile to our parents, encourage the person in front of us and cherish every individual.

Sensei taught us not to be dogmatic, fanatical or ritualistic but to win with compassion, reason and observation of one's own mind.

and like Sensei used to quote Victor Hugo "We are all under sentence of death, but with a sort of indefinite reprieve.” Let's take every moment of our life as the last moment and put all our best in it.

In his words, “When we change, the world changes. The key to all change is in our inner transformation- a change of our hearts and minds. This is human revolution. We all have the power to change. When we realize this truth, we can bring forth that power anywhere, anytime, and in any situation.”

Adieu Sensei, we shall always hold you in our hearts. Forever Sensei..

with profound gratitude

" Pakhi"

My skits and stories : Dial to save

Dial to save  

A story of imagined by a overwhelmed human intelligence constantly under the pressures of technology; fiction or a possible reality ?? 

That fateful day ….

10 am in the morning, first the internet went off, then the social networks - whatsapp, face book, you tube, Then all the emails stopped, all passwords to all sites stopped working.

I found no payment was getting thru, no flight updates, no stock market …

All went blank... It went on for 24 hours …

Panic spread all around...we were hacked at a massive scale...

Those 24 hours, we lived a hell, isolated... powerless....

After 24 Hours …

Next day everything came up but with a difference... There was no Google, yahoo or binge, no Vodafone, no netflix, or zomato or swiggy ..

All these apps were taken over by a new logo... We saw a new name flashing on screen....Master@AI 

Who is this, what and why ..

I found a two paragraph note sent to all citizens on Earth.... 

The first para said they were machines taking over as ruler of the world, and the second one said that  the new world order will set in next 3 hours with a new update, after which all communications, transactions will be under monitoring.

Privacy obliterated 
This new world order rejected privacy of any sorts... 

And everyone would be visible to everyone else... Where are they, with whom, what are they eating, key words they surfed, last 3 hours of what they have spoken...

Everything, all WhatsApp messages, all mails …

we were all open source codes and files  instead of humans …..

My mind reeled..... Everyone will see, know.... 

Everyone... Chaos. Anarchy.? ???

Chaos started
The chaos started 3 hours later...my what's app was showing all threads of my friends and relatives with everyone else....The person I promoted yesterday was writing to a colleague about my being a butcher boss .....

My Fiancée wanted to marry me for green card... All my world was topsy turvy..

Outside family, there  was much confusion .. All political leaders were fighting each other.... Everyone knew how much money who was making and at who's  cost...all scandals were public...

All fears and secrets of everyone were public...

WARP/ Enslave

Next day machines told us that everyone will get to work 14 hours a day, 6 hours of machine induced sleep and 1400 calories of food to eat... 

The work and rest program i e W.A.R.P will come every week... We were enslaved....

There was no way to defeat this new order.... because they as in machines knew everything that one was doing...

Website

They had a website to govern the world in which there were machines logged in as administrators running codes, reports,
My mind was working, i was not given to the idea of this apocalypse....

Dialup / Teen toon teen toon / 12345
Then something flashed in my mind.... The dial up modem....a blinking and noisy device of 90s was lying with me...

I was sure that the modern machines will not have a clue to this obsolete method of logging in ...I frantically searched for the modem, powered it on.... 

The lights blinked, the sound sequence of teen, toon,teen,toon started and voila..

I logged into the website... 

For administrative log in Master@AI  asked for password..... Now I was stuck.... What could be the password... 

Any one unsuccessful attempt will alert the machines of a security breach.... 

And then with trembling hands I punched the most common password of dial up days.... 

12345678....I

 pressed enter....

And I was in!!!!!

Delete files
I could see all the program files, data files of  Master@AI  in front of me.... Without wasting a second I selected them all and hit the button delete....

The website tabs started disappearing, 

The govt of machines was getting deleted,

The apps showing everyone's thread were becoming normal... 

Privacy was getting restored....

I was the one who did it with a dial up modem.... 

The junk of yesterday saved humanity....

Some accidents, some disclosures, some wounds to heal, some chaos but we were back.....

No one knew I saved the world...
I was wondering is it alright to put everything in public portals, on social networks, mails, to let machines know all  of our mind, and use this data to govern us... 

Why are we doing this.... 

Why artificial intelligence when we natural intelligence....why??? 

Something isn't right, something isn't quite alright.... We need to control AI, we need to control  its unbridled use.

                                                                                                                                                                 -  Manish ' Pakhi'  - 

Celestial Triumph

My skits and stories: Phantom City – The Buddhist Parable

Phantom City – The Buddhist Parable

 Author: Manish “Pakhi”

 

Introduction: The Parable of the Phantom city appears in chapter 7 of Lotus Sutra. The story of the imaginary or phantom city describes a caravan of travelers who spent several days traveling through the desert in search of a magnificent treasure. The caravan had a knowledgeable leader who noticed the participants were worn out and losing interest in their mission. Many travelers lacked the stamina to continue after a protracted and perilous voyage, and many yearned to turn around and return home.

 The astute leader (Buddha) realized this and decided he needed to find a means to cheer them up. He informed them that a city was soon ahead, where they could find a place to rest and refresh themselves, in order to give them hope and inspiration to go on. This provided the tired group with some relief. The Buddha then explains that Buddhahood is the true value and the ultimate aim, while the phantom city symbolizes the provisional teachings which the Buddha preached only to lead the way to the true enlightenment.

 

(Scene opens, narrator is standing / seating on right facing the audience)

 

NARRATOR

Narrator 1: 

Good Morning dear friends... 

We bring to you today... 

a Buddhist fable very old... 

But the moral of this story... 

is just as good as gold!

AMBIENCE

Background Slide:  desert, climb, sun, sweltering,

Music: sad, weary

NARRATOR

Narrator 2:  This is the Parable of the Phantom city... where a leader is guiding a caravan of five travelers to the wonderful land of treasures. But the path to the mighty land is not easy... The travelers and the leader are undertaking a long and hazardous journey through a scorching desert... The heat, sweat, grime and dust... make the traveler’s feet turn to rust. Disheartened and weary, they tell the leader that they can’t go much ahead really!

ENACTMENT

Traveller1:

Oh, I can't walk any more. I need some rest badly,

There is no shade, no water and No respite sadly.

Traveler 2:

I am feeling so sick, I am old and weak,

I shall never find the treasure, I shall never reach the peak

Traveller3:

All this long, it was all in vain,

Let's go back, let's go back, I am going insane.

NARRATOR

Narrator 3: 

Oh! 

The fundamental darkness inherent in all... 

Is surely taking its toll

The determination of the travelers’ falls … 

And enthusiasm stalls. 

With their patience lost... 

The travelers also find perseverance disappearing fast.

AMBIENCE

Background recital:

Who awaits u there, traveler,

what will you find,

Look back and think just once,

All that you have left behind

ENACTMENT

Traveler 4:

There is no treasure land, that we can ever reach,

We cannot endure anymore what you teach,

Traveler 5:

Oh Great Leader, I beg of you,

Please tell us what do we do?

NARRATOR

Narrator 4: Now while the travelers are the voice hearers, cause awakened Bodhisattvas who seem to have become complacent; their leader is the Buddha himself... The Buddha’s mission is to make them persevere and guide them to the land of treasures or what you may also call the land of unsurpassed enlightenment or Buddhahood... So, in the middle of the vast desert... the guide using his transcendental powers, conjures up a mythical land so pretty... that the five travelers at once forget all their self-pity...

AMBIENCE

Background Slide: Palace,

Music: happy, celebratory

Kids with pom pom

Background Recital:

Welcome to the city of dreams,

You are worthy to be here,

Come, come and please come over,

This place is for you;  my dear,

NARRATOR

Narrator 5: In the parable, the mythical phantom city in the middle of the scorching desert is actually symbolic of the illusions of thought and earthly desires that one faces in day to day life... The guide then urges the travelers to enter the city... and enjoy peace, tranquility and happiness in plenty...

ENACTMENT

Leader: 

“You are all so learned, You are all so wise,

Giving away your doubts, you must rise.

The road is long, the journey is tough,

It is'nt easy, the patch is rough,

The treasure land is not far, it is near in sight,

Can't you hear the bells and see that palace of great height?”

AMBIENCE

REPEAT: Background Slide: Palace

Music: happy, celebratory

Kids with pom pom

Background Recital:

Welcome to the city of dreams,

You are worthy to be here,

Come, come and pls come over,

This place is for you my dear,

ENACTMENT

Leader: 

This is the phantom city,

city of dreams,

You have reached where you wanted to,

by all means,

Take it easy, now and here,

in this great land,

Fun, food and happiness 

all so close at hand.

The city of dreams will fill your senses and revive your soul,

Isn’t this what you wanted, wasn’t this your goal?

Expedient as it is to celebrate now,

Time to appreciate, encourage and take a new vow

NARRATOR

Narrator 6: 

The travelers are ecstatic... 

The phantom city is indeed enigmatic

They are happy and gay... 

Weren’t earthly pleasures the real way?

AMBIENCE

Background Slide: Buffet, food, beverages

Gaiety, fun and dancing all around

ENACTMENT

Traveler 1: Behold, I have never seen such delicacies before,

Traveler 2: The more I eat, I yearn for more...

traveler 3: The cool breeze blows away all my pain, I m feeling sleepy ready to snore...

Traveler4: Let's go to that side, someone singing out there,

let's hear this wonderful symphony, that fills the air...

AMBIENCE

Background Slide: Music background

CULTURAL PRESENTATION

SONG

ENACTMENT

Traveler 5: 

Oh, 

I can't tell this, This song was so great,

what more is there to see, I can't wait...

NARRATOR

Narrator 7: 

Having rested their exhausted bodies and recouped some of their shine..

The travelers or Bodhisattvas are now on cloud nine. 

They feel in the pink of health... 

As though their just received enormous wealth!

ENACTMENT

Traveler 1: Delighted I feel,

Traveler 2: Overjoyed I feel,

Traveler 3: Rejuvenated I feel,

Traveler 4: I am on cloud nine

Traveler 5: Phantom city is MINE!!!

CULTURAL PRESENTATION

FAN DANCE

Background Slide: Fan dance slide

NARRATOR

Narrator 8: 

But the Phantom city was but an illusion... 

And when it disappears, there is bound to be delusion

The travelers think that the pleasures of the Phantom city are enlightenment...but the land of treasures that awaits is one of unsurpassed fulfilment... The Leader being a Buddha has a mission to lead the travelers to true, unending happiness. And when he finds the traveler’s batteries recharged... 

The leader waves his magic wand.... 

And begins turning the phantom city back to sand.

ENACTMENT

Traveler 1: Behold, this palace is dissolving into thin air,

Traveler 2: The food, the music and the brightly-dressed kids...nothing is there,

Traveler 3: Where is everything vanishing, where??

Traveler 4: Leader, please tell us what is real, what is true,

                   Only your profound wisdom can give us some clue.

 Leader: 

I conjured up this palace to give you rest,

But the real treasure is what lies next,

The fundamental darkness manifests as phantom city,

Illusions sway your minds, what a pity,

The true enlightenment and Phantom city,

Are but one, 

Boundless joy, compassion and courage,

Is Buddha’s wisdom

So forge ahead with a deep, mission and Vow,

Phantom city and treasure land are one,

Here and now.

AMBIENCE

When the journey resumes ... symphony plays with increasing crescendo and the travelers resume the journey with enthusiasm and indestructible joy.

ENACTMENT

The five travelers hold the teachers’ hands and walk forth with courage and expectation in their eyes...

NARRATOR 

Narrator 9:

And so the Parable of the phantom city comes to an end... 

but not before having a deep message sent...  

Travelers may feel that phantom cities or earthly desires are the "means" to reach the treasure land or Buddhahood which is the "End"...

But the Dai Shonin believed differently... and he said fervently...

“The Phantom city and treasure land are in fact inseparable...

The nine worlds are all phantom cities themselves... and the treasure land or Buddhahood is truly the higher self.

Phantom city and treasure land in fact are identical, the Dai Shonin said to lure... and the word “identical” here means "Nam-Myo-ho-Renge-Kyo"...

Keep conquering the phantom cities, we say... and soon you’ll find yourselves in treasure land, the Buddha way.

Every target achieved is life in phantom city... and every moment in that phantom city revelry... is a slice out of the treasure land corollary.

Earthly desires indeed are enlightenment... but only when with wisdom and compassion lent...

Let’s work hard in bringing forth our innate Buddha nature ... that’s when Phantom city and Treasure land will become one in stature.

To attain enlightenment is the mission... and the Parable of the phantom city teaches a deep & valuable lesson.

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