May All Beings Be Happy

Is it possible?

This saying kind of "tingled" my brain perhaps several years ago. Let's dissect this idea.

According to Macmillan Dictionary – one of my favorite dictionaries – "being" means "a living thing". Therefore, "all beings" are all living things, which include all humans, animals, plants, as well as microorganisms, such as bacteria.

Now let's take a look at the second most important word in the phrase: "happy". The same dictionary defines "happy" as "feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation, etc." (I don't think anybody would disagree with this definition)

Now that we, hopefully, understand what the sentence means, let's move on to the question that has made me ponder: Is it likely that all beings will be happy?

Lions and zebras. I believe everyone knows the relationship between these two types of animals. To put it simply, lions try to hunt zebras and zebras try not to be hunted by the "kings of the jungle". Do zebras want to be feasted on by lions? Of course not; that's why they run as fast as they can when lions are chasing them. Do lions want to let zebras eat grass peacefully? Definitely not since lions have to fill their rumbling stomachs or otherwise they will die. So I guess it is pretty clear that either lions are happy or zebras are happy. It is utterly impossible that both kinds of beings are happy (please let me know if there is a zebra approaching a lion in order to be devoured by the predator, or if somewhere on Earth a lion, while being surrounded by a dozen zebras, fasted until it died).

It is just one out of, I believe, a huge number of predator-prey relationships on this planet – birds and worms, grizzly bears and salmon, Tyrannosaurus rex and hadrosaurs, you name it. Parasitism (such as, the relationship between fleas and your neighbor's beloved dog) is another happiness-is-just-for-one-of-them association.

It appears that we live in an unfair and nasty world. But that's how nature works. Species strive to continue their existence with a broad spectrum of behavior, even if it requires members of other species to suffer or even die.

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Animal Abuse

On June 21, 2016, the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival, perhaps familiarly known as the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, began in China, despite a cornucopia of opposition from inside and outside of the country. The dog-slaughtering event has aroused my desire to express my view on this fairly controversial topic: animal abuse.

Modern humans have existed for a relatively long time, around 200,000 years. Our ancestors must have fed on a wide variety of diets, including a great number of members of the animal kingdom. It makes a lot of sense to think so since the present time sees human consumption of numerous kinds of creatures – some of which you would probably gape at — as a means of surviving in the modern world. The Manadonese, a tribe native to Manado, one of the largest cities in Indonesia located in Celebes island, take it to an extreme. It is a common practice for the locals to eat bat, cat, and rat meat, as well as dog and monkey. Perhaps this ethnic group is comparable to the Chinese, who are also known to indulge themselves in enjoying a vast range of foods made out of animal flesh.

Is it morally wrong to kill a dog and devour it? Does it deserve to be abhorred to take out a clowder of cats and cook "steaks" out of them? As with a bunch of other things, humans can't be separated from culture. Different cultures may have differing attitudes toward this issue. Those who are accustomed to it would say it is perfectly all right – it might be weird for them not to eat a certain kind of animal. On the other hand, others might see this sort of act as being cruel and evil.

Actually it is not really difficult to work out why this can happen. People grow in different environments and are shaped by them. It is worth mentioning that humans naturally have feelings, such as compassion. Dog and cat lovers would say a BIG yes in reply to the two questions posed at the beginning of the previous paragraph. Being in contact with these types of animal for a long time – perhaps in most cases, since the creatures were born – have certainly generated affection and pity in them, hence the disfavor.

There was a controversy relating to this matter in Indonesia a few months ago: dog lovers protested to the owner of a pet shop in South Tangerang against a puppy/puppies being fed to the snake pet(s). When I first noticed this, I thought, What would snake lovers do if they knew this? Would they protest to the dog lovers?

It seems silly to actually grumble about this situation. If the human race has maintained their existence in varied ways, why should we, the current generation, feel agitated? In my opinion, as long as it doesn't have a negative effect on our species' survival, it really is no problem. (Some people might have a thought that it is simply wrong to kill an animal. However, do they care about the massacre of countless chickens that will end up at KFC's and McDonald's tables every day? I believe not – consistency is the key here.)

I am suddenly reminded of the killing of Harambe, a gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo, the U.S., which took place recently. He was shot dead with the intention to prevent a young boy who had fallen into the gorilla's territory from experiencing imminent death. While I agree that we need to conserve biodiversity, saving living things from extinction, our species has always to take priority over others.

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Death

The younger brother of my late grandfather has just passed away. The decease of the relative of mine propelled me into a state of questioning one of man's ever discussed subjects: death.

Birth and death are two phenomena that (must) take place in a person's life. People were born into this world via their mothers' – or in some cases, others' – wombs and will die of something (an accident, disease, shock, a combination of several damaging things, or some other cause) someday down the road. It seems that the human race still hasn't found a way to stop the latter from happening.

Death actually is a natural thing. If you think about it, all creatures, including dinosaurs, die. Species continually disappear and give rise to others, letting them fill the niches left behind.

However, Homo sapiens is a limit-breaking species. It is so astonishing that they have always achieved things that they always wanted to (think of the telephone, airplane, Internet, and the like). So, it won't be stupefying that some time to come humans can prevent the so-called unstoppable event.

The next question would be "What happens after death?" The quick answer is we don't know. Religions provide varied answers to this mystery, at least some of them referring to the concept of Heaven and Hell. But frankly speaking, we just don't have the faintest idea about what really happens after the "frightening" occurrence.

How long is a human's life? I guess it is, on average, in the region of 70 years or so. I think, with such a limited lifespan and our incapabilities to know when we will die, it would be wise to consider death as a humbling reminder of our "mere" existence and a motivation to make the most of our lives.

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True Man

I am writing this post partly because of the book I am currently reading, The Good Women of China by Xinran. In this book, which tells tales of the past lives of Chinese women, there are many accounts of men doing appalling things. In one chapter, a Chinese woman described all men as "filthy, lustful, bestial, and brutal", a conclusion that she made based on the gang rape she experienced when she was a teenager. It is just one of the many dreadful deeds of men's written in this book.

Another reason is my observation of men around me. Try living in Jakarta and you will understand right away. Traffic violations, including drivers running a red light, which is essentially dangerous, are so common in this city that they seem to have become a normal and acceptable practice (most drivers are males). One of the closest men of mine was (and probably is still) a gambler. And I can feel strongly that he is an idle man and not willing to learn. The result? There have been a lot of irritating effects imposed by him on me. I once met a university friend at Grand Indonesia, one of my favorite shopping centers in Jakarta. He, who was already married at that time, told me something that suggests that it is okay to enjoy "beautiful views"; they refer to other women's appearances.

Talking of Indonesia, corruption, violence, murder, and sexual harassment committed by men appear regularly in this country's media. One of the most recent pieces of shocking news is an already married man killed his pregnant girlfriend and mutilated her. This vile act happened in Tangerang, a big city which borders Jakarta. What is more, I have heard lots of saddening stories of unfaithful husbands, who might have made vows that they would be loyal to their wives until the ends of their lives whatever happened.

So, what does this mean? All of these (and other similar things) have made me think of myself, think of my existence. The world is filled with masses of evil men; they behave destructively in many different ways. I regard them as the antithesis of role models; I must be a true man. I feel the urge to be a good man, a respectable citizen, a devoted and loving husband, and so on. That is actually an honorable goal that all men have to achieve, including me.

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Endurance

I decided to write this article after a flash of inspiration that came across my mind yesterday. I am currently searching for a "good" distributor of imported books – that is, one that can offer low prices/discounts; I would like to "resurrect" my "now-extinct", precious dinosaur and English books, which have brought me to this point of my life.

As you are a close friend of mine, chances are you already knew that my little house got burned by a big fire last year. The much sadder thing is this disastrous event decimated almost ALL my imported books, which were worth approximately 8,000,000 rupiahs (around US$605). And, "uniquely", this took place after my second trip to Vietnam, which was very exciting.

Sad? Of course, I was. But this is life. We cannot really predict what is going to happen, and both good and bad will surely come along in our lives. I didn't let myself get carried away and made up my mind to be a tough cookie instead.

I reckon endurance is a quality that everyone must possess in this world. We need to foster an accepting attitude towards reality and stay strong. Life is not always full of sweet and sparkling things; there are a lot of rocks and spines ready to torture you down the road. These can be in the form of getting dumped by your boyfriend/girlfriend, losing your dream job, being lied to by your best friend, experiencing bank fraud, and so on. Many people have decided to end their lives, but it is not a very wise decision. We have the opportunity to live (although only once) and there is always more we can do. :)

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Why Jay Chou?

Who is this guy? Perhaps many of you have heard his name but are not sure who he is exactly (some people might mistake him for John Cho, a South Korean actor and musician). To make a long story short, Jay Chou is a famous – especially in Chinese-speaking countries – Taiwanese singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and so forth. And he was dubbed the "heavenly king" for a reason.

Me with Jay Chou wax statue at Madame Tussauds Singapore

Those who know me well – or at least friends of mine on Facebook – must know that I am a staunch fan of him. Thomas Huxley supported Charles Darwin's theory of evolution so much that he got referred to as "Darwin's bulldog"; I would be more than happy to be called "Chou's T. rex". :)

Maybe people around me are wondering, "Why is he fanatical about Jay Chou? What's so special about this man? Why is he always rhapsodizing about him?" I listen to and sing his songs every single day; I attended his first concert in Indonesia; and I have even written a few articles about him (never listened to Jay's songs? Click here) – well, it is a little act that I can do to spread the "good news" of JC (= Jay Chou): this is called "evanjaylization", a term which I coined last year.

Nowadays, many people, especially girls, are crazy about the Korean drama series Descendants of the Sun (which reminds me of birds: descendants of the dinosaurs). I guess it is largely because of the main actor Song Joong-ki, who is thought to be handsome or cute. It is also easy to point out other popular Korean artists, such as Girls' Generation (SNSD),  2NE1, Kara, T-ara, and SISTAR (bands consisting of several beautiful and sexy girls capable of singing and dancing energetically and simultaneously) and their male counterparts, such as Big Bang, Super Junior, SHINee, and 2PM, not to mention Psy, whose Gangnam Style MV has amassed over 2 billion hits.

Let's move from the east to the west. Countless names are ready to overwhelm us when we are talking about music. Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry are some examples; they have enormous fan bases scattered all over the globe. Justin Bieber seems to have gained favor again with his new catchy songs, such as What Do You Mean? Bands such as One Direction have also attracted people all around the globe and there's also old-time favorites, like The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones ... you name it.

But... Why Jay Chou? Why do I only stick to this not-talking-much, slanted-eyed man. Why do I always look for his CDs and/or DVDs when entering a music store but not others?

First of all, I 'm not a moviegoer. It is not that I loathe going to the theater, but it is just that the silver screen is not something I am enthusiastic about (seems legit, doesn't it?). I don't know much about acting and that sort of stuff, so although Jay has starred in several movies, including the Hollywood action flick The Green Hornet and the self-directed one Secret, I'm not really keen on them. (Nevertheless, as a "layman" I know that he is NOT a bad actor and CAN act. And of course I will always support him in all his endeavors. :-))

But music is my thing. It colors humans' lives in infinite ways, and Jay is a special gift in this matter. I think the answer to the question (the title of this article) is that, in terms of music, nobody can be compared to Jay Chou (this reminds me of his Incomparable concert and his war-themed song 無雙 (Wu Shuang), which translates to "incomparable"). Jay has a talent that no-one else has. He is a multi-instrumentalist in that he can play the piano, guitar, drums, and many others, but there's something more than that. American paleontologist Steve Brusatte says in an Earth Unplugged video that there's just something about dinosaurs, there's some magic to them, and there's some indescribable essence to them. Jay Chou is similar to dinosaurs in this way.

Bang Jay*, as I often call him, is a music prodigy. Other than his fantastic ability to play lots of musical instruments, some things that might fascinate you are as follows:

1. he composes and sings all his own songs
2. he writes lyrics for his songs (although a big part of them are contributed by Vincent Fang)
3. he writes songs for other singers
4. he has won countless music awards

HOWEVER, it's JUST NOT enough... Frankly, it is probably almost impossible to explain why I adore his music so much. You need to get your feet wet and I'm sure (hopefully) you will get addicted to it.

Jay's music is unique. To be honest, personally, I think his songs can't be categorized into any well-known genres, such as pop, ballad, and rock – that's why when people ask me what my favorite kind of music is, I answer "Chou style". However, it seems that Jay Chou's music can divided into several major types. Jay Chou's songs range from Chinese style (zhong guo feng) songs, such as 東風破 (Dong Feng Po) and 青花瓷 (Qing Hua Ci), through romantic, lovely ones, such as 簡單愛 (Jian Dan Ai) and 手寫的從前 (Shou Xie De Cong Qian), to gloomy, heartbreaking ones, like 說好的幸福呢 (Shuo Hao De Xing Fu Ne) and 安靜 (An Jing). Jay is also well-known for his rap ability: catch some melodies in 聽媽媽的話 (Ting Ma Ma De Hua) and 雙截棍 (Shuang Jie Gun). On top of that, Jay has attempted to produce rock-like songs, such as 龍戰騎士 (Long Zhan Qi Shi) and 跨時代 (Kua Shi Dai).

Jay Chou has been my idol for around 13 years. "Officially", the first song that I listened to was The One concert version of 雙截棍 (Shuang Jie Gun), thanks to my first brother, who borrowed his friend's VCD or DVD. Since that moment, I have grown up listening to his songs, which is something that I am proud of. Jay Chou was, is, and will always be in my heart.

*"Bang Jay" is a term that is occasionally used by Indonesians to refer to Jay Chou – "bang" is short for "abang", which means "older brother" in Javanese. I am not sure, but this was probably invented by me myself. :p

Articles you might be interested in:
Jay Chou's Songs for Weddings
A List of Jay Chou's Chinese Style Songs (Zhong Guo Feng)

Connection with Jay Chou:

Jay Chou Facebook

Jay Chou Instagram

JVR Music YouTube

JVR Music Official Site

English website about Jay Chou:

Jay Chou Studio

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Use It Up!

I've just visited Saigon, Vietnam for the third time and the vacation trip was totally amazing. I met lots of friends (old and new) and made newer ones, including members of Talking With The Tourist – as Cong Vien 23 Thang 9 (23/9 Park) is such a strong magnet for this Chinese Indonesian that I kept going there over and over.

I won't write every experience I had there but, instead, I am going to share a little lesson that I learned from this small part of my life.

February 24, 2016 was a day that I had been waiting for. It had been around two years since I realized I loved this huge city. I woke up around 6:30 in the morning and got prepared. Next, my father took me to the bus station from which we set out to Soekarno-Hatta Airport. I didn't book a direct flight ticket; I had to stop over at Singapore and then continued my journey to Saigon. Everything went well at the airport and I departed from Jakarta to Singapore at about 9:20 a.m. with Tigerair – it is an airline that I trust; I have always flown to Saigon with Tigerair and I have always been satisfied by its service.

I landed in Singapore at probably 11:30 a.m. Jakarta time or 12:30 p.m. Singapore time. Afterwards, I had lunch and, after doing some research on must-visit attractions in Changi Airport, I decided to take some hopefully eye-catching photos. My next flight was at 4:05 p.m. Singapore time and I thought I still had abundant time. What would happen next?

Changi Airport has so many beautiful spots, such as Sunflower Garden and Butterfly Garden, that I wanted to eternalize many moments there. At approximately 3 p.m., after collecting quite a lot of photos, I went to the information desk to ask for information about which gate my flight was set to leave Singapore from. The information lady told me the gate number and warned me to hurry. In response to that, I galloped to the destination gate despite a bit of doubt in my head. What is happening? As soon as I got to the gate, I was welcomed with confusion of the person I was trying to talk with. Then, another man turned up and told me that I had missed my flight – I saw a Tigerair airplane moving away, which was very likely my flight.

I was shocked to the marrow! I'd thought it would be a phenomenal trip but THIS "calamity" happened! As a result of this, I had to book another ticket – I spent more or less 75 USD on the next day's flight. I believe you know that the blunder was caused by me mistaking my cellphone clock time (Jakarta time) for a Singapore time.

So, what am I trying to say through this article? In spite of the horrible stuff, I decided to make this trip fantastic; I didn't want to miss out on great moments I should have in Saigon. I set a positive attitude towards everything and the trip turned out to be WOW!

Make the most of everything. Bad things happen but it is not the end of the world. Keep smiling and "use it up"! :) Continue reading