Articles by rb

过生活要过到無為而活是一件很不简单的事。
我们每天忙忙碌碌。以为是在做一些有意義的事，那未尝不是一种借口。

無為而活需要的是更细慢的思考去把一件你想完成的事情不完成。

有為需要力量。無為需要度量

A Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh who is a teacher, author, poet and peace activist, offers a practice known widely as the mindfulness.

慢在當下

Slow down your mind and you can become master of each movement appreciating everything that is being offered to you, and you return the offering to create a seamless exchange of energy.

Slowing down is the pre-requisite of mindfulness.

Enjoy this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMwMi8KwNcA&feature=related

我们的問題在於時時刻刻都不活在这一時刻。不是想昨夜的激情，就是想明天的爱情。当下的一刻却是一點都不在乎。我在竹林里練瑜伽時，感受到慢下来的當下才是生命的真谛，呼吸的中心。什麼時候想試？明天嗎？

Play this in the background while you read on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eu3WIXuzmo

Just last month, French impressionist painter, Claude Monet’s painting- “The Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil” fetched a whopping $41.48 million dollars at Christie’s auction house. Here we are working like a dog, and an old painting from the 18th Century is worth an amount that is able to feed 2.2 million hungry mouth in Africa?

And it seems that the older the paintings are, the more ‘valuable’ and this is the norm in the art world. Why is it that we need time to slowly warm up to an object before giving it value? We tell ourselves that everything old is of value, that it represents culture from the era or it holds meaning from a certain person’s point of view. But what’s the big deal of these meanings and memories? Why do we not value older folks and treasure their knowledge?

Why do we love objects that are old and not people? What is wrong with us?
What’s love got to do with slow?

Have you ever wonder why we need to sleep for so long and why we spent one third of our lifetime in slumberland? Can we sleep any slower?

In 1963 Pop artist Andy Warhol produced a film titled ‘Sleep’ which consists of long take footage of John Giorno sleeping for over five hours. Talk about a slow moving film! I am not sure why he made the film, but I think it was Warhol’s excuse for admiring over his lover at the time. The long cult following of this ‘anti-film’ is a strong proof that love and time has an inseparable relationship.

為什麼爱和時間總是剪不斷,理還亂？

It is ironic that a watch company became so well known after its series of advertisements were about the vow of love. We seem to ‘measure’ real love by its length. We would hear couples who have been going out proudly declaring: “oh we have been together for the past 5 years!” And when we see white hair couples holding hands walking on the street: “oh that is so touching. So romantic!”

I don’t question the meaning of love, but why should the measuring index be base on the linear time rather then say, vertical time? i.e. why do we will often ask ‘how long is your love’ rather then ‘how deep is your love’? Since I said pain is usually associated with slow, so having a lengthy love maybe more painful then we want to admit. Perhaps the answer to love is to take it slow but digging deeper into our subconscious? Time is such an abstract notion and is dependent largely on the perception of our mind, I would put all my energy in a love that has ‘depth’ rather then distance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpRFeJEG6_o

Why is it that when we are in-love, time goes by really fast? And time stood still when we are not?

When a man loves a woman at first sight. After a night of passion, they realized they didn’t agree with each other and suffering sets in. The time during their love making went by really fast because they were really enjoying it. But after that love, the pain that came after stretches on, as if time has slowed down a few times. Now why is that?

We can find in science magazine on how our brain function when we are emotional and when we are logical. I am sure there is a logical and emotional explanation of this. But I have not seen any write up on why the perception of time will change. Does that mean when our right emotional brain is in charge, time speeds on, and when our logical left is in charge, time slows down? Isn’t that something the scientist should research on?

我說過我會談談什麼是《痛慢》！因为我不相信有痛快这种感覺。用爱來做比喻，如果你人在熱戀中，你會覺得時間飛逝。一旦你失戀，感受像渡日如年呀！

痛和慢似乎是分不開的。真正值得研究的地方是人的七情六欲与時間快慢的關係～令人玩味。

一對新婚夫妻，因戰亂而被逼分開 。於是許下諾言：“不在乎天長地久，只在乎曾經擁有！”有誰不曾被他們,恍恍如夢的真情所感动？

我质疑爱情难道不是应该很長很慢的去维持的嗎？為什麼在這個年代，爱的真諦也是internet speed？不但快而也多。即然如此，一个人就可以擁有很多个‘曾經’的感情嗎？所谓的天長地久也不過是我们短暫的一生。何来的天地長久？

1992的一則手錶的電視廣告,给了整个时代的人上了一堂對爱觀念錯誤的课。

“擁有的天長地久，只存於一殺那間。”

你在乎嗎？　我很在乎。

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpeTBJdR1Zw

西成活裕是“ 壅塞學”的創始人。 他的理论宣称只要有東西流動的地方，就會發生壅塞的情况。但是他多年来研究得到的结果是与一般人相反：他的逃生壅塞學:故意在避難口擺放障礙物，有時避難時間反而會變短。原因是比较大的人流碰到障礙物而分散为较小的人流，所以在逃生口不会形成壅塞。其实有时壅塞也不完全是坏事，它让你可以慢下来，想想自己在什么地方，想想自己在瞎忙什么。有兴趣知道更多一点，去买一本书壅塞學来瞧瞧！

Katsuhiro, Nishinari is an associate professor lecturing in the University of Tokyo, He specializes in ‘Mean Field Theory for pedestrian outflow through an exit’ & ‘information-based traffic control in a public conveyance system: reduced clustering and enhanced efficiency.” and the book he published recently is something I highly recommend if you can read Chinese. I can related traffic control and the speed of things. For example wouldn’t it be nice if when we are stuck in a traffic jam, instead of getting mad, we just get out of our car and pick up a wild flower ( I doubt we can find any roses) and enjoy the moment?

Peranakan is a terms used for the descendants of the very early Chinese immigrants to the Nusantara region, including both the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java among other places, who have partially adopted Malay customs in an effort to be assimilated into the local communities. The Peranakans are known to have a rich but slow lifestyle which I admire a lot.

A local designer Miss Von Tjong who has designed a series of Peranakan Bears Baba Bears and  Nyonya Bears are selling at the retail stores in Sentosa, Singapore. Very cute and charming. Check them out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan

I find it rather interesting that there is a common link between the Otaku and the Long Tail theory. The long tail describes products that are selling in small volume to a small niche group of customers for a long period of time. The focus is typically on the length of time of the sales. But if you look carefully at the niche group of customers, they have the characteristics of Otaku. The Otaku takes it long and slow to show their loyalty to the things they adore. Those who study economy should look into both phenomenon because I think both compliments each other.

御宅族指熱衷於次文化的人，但現在一般多主要指熱衷於動畫、漫畫及電腦遊戲的人， 與狂熱者、發燒友有著某種程度的相似之處。長尾理論里那些購買少數熱銷產品的眾多小市場不就是御宅族吗？在熱衷之中是不是看到一种”慢熱“的情懷？

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku

The book ‘The Long Tail’ by Chris Anderson ( met him a year ago- nice chap) is the ultimate book on slow economy. The slow here is not a negative financial term, but a celebration of a slow and prosperous return for products that have the trait of sustainable and possibly long life material goods.

We have just turned the corner of the new century, it is definitely a plus to have a new perspective on the economy-driven age. Wake up!

http://www.thelongtail.com

很多人都知道有長尾理論这部書。它的基本原理是：只要存储和流通的渠道足够大，需求不旺或销量不佳的产品所共同占据的市场份额可以和那些少数热销产品所占据的市场份额相匹敌甚至更大。即众多小市场汇聚成可与主流大市场相匹敌的市场能量。但我認為關鍵性是在于長尾的速度-这條尾巴必须是缓慢的。

更長更慢

I KNOW I promised to blog every Tuesday and Thursday. But I did say it could be just for a while… (heheh… excuses. excuses…)

But being SUCH a busy person & all- I have to do my deejaying at the daytime disco and conduct yoga classes during the night. I have decided to blog every Wednesday from now on so I could conserve some energy and assess the purpose of this blog.

我RB说过做事情不想虎頭蛇尾。 但我是真的贵人事忙-日間布打Bar Deejaying，夜間傳授瑜伽

逢星期二和四寫blog也寫了四个月。为了走更長更慢的路，我打算暫時改成每星期三寫一次。

還是好過没有。。對嗎 ? 嘿嘿。。。

Crave for speed
Since we are on the topic of transportation. Let’s talk shop about traffic. The perception that a train is slower then a plane to take you from one point to another is a norm. But TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse), a train services that shuffles passengers from London to Paris has been doing very good business by selling half  the price compare to taking a plane. And the train passengers have been flocking to take the rails in droves. While the flights promote speed, the rising number of air travelers have slowed down the checking in process, and indirectly allowing an old and slower transport to shine again.

Maybe the question is no longer about speeding to your destination. Perhaps the answer lies in the meaning of the journey towards your destiny? Next time you sit in a train, take a minute to contemplate. No, take a few hours to contemplate.

The speed of things can change the geography of the mind.

贪快
TGV通過法國鐵路網路與瑞士相連，通過西北高速列車鐵路網路與比利時、德國和荷蘭相連，通過歐洲之星鐵路網路與英國相連。 由於旅行時間短、乘坐手續簡便、車站位於城市中心，因此短途旅客大多放棄飛機而乘坐TVG。

鐵路一般给人的印象是慢吞吞的。但是越来越多人开始选择‘慢’的途径。或许我们都意识到无论多快还是快不过注定的终点。

那索性慢下来。

 “ look, no foot ! ”

Anxiety is a negative energy. It is a counter force of wish energies coming your way. So wait with a grateful slow and a knowing that good will come.
Then wait no more.

台湾最近流行踩踏單車，而且是踩踏單車環島。大家就凭一句話，一張圖、一段文，喚起上路踩踏！從此，踩踏便成為生活中不可或缺的重心，是休閒、是放鬆、是挑戰、是交心、是旅行、是探索、是發現、是感動。在這個屬於自己的『練習曲』天地裡，恣意演奏出動人的故事。《單車環島練習曲》- 有一部好看電影和一本好讀的書。

單車環島練習曲

Besides this film, there are many feature films produced around the world that deal with the subject of bicycles. In fact there are so many that they have a regular festival just to showcase these films. Things that people do…

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.info/

A friend who is studying in Singapore made a comment that “Ten years living in Singapore, I’ve always had the impression that Singapore is moving on so fast, and therefore we have to work fast. Comparing to Singapore and Australia, for example, would be a great difference in terms of the pace of life the individuals face. Maybe that is why I wonder why my life is all about work? Because I feel that I don’t have time for this for that except work work work. And even when I am about to sleep, the back of my mind will still be thinking about work. Wake up? Work! No life..grrrr..”

Well, if you ask me, the reason why we go faster and faster is due to this clock that somebody invented. How did we live during a time when there wasn’t any clock? Nobody actually knows the reason why the day was split into 12 hours and each hour split into 60 minutes and then each minute into 60 seconds. One theory is that it was the Babylonians who worked out that there were 12 full moons in a year which gave them a 360 day year. They also knew the relationship between the radius of a circle and its circumference, which split the circle into six segments. Dividing this by two gave them 12 segments, which also fitted well with their religious beliefs that the number 12 had some kind of special significance.

But again, how did they know how to define ‘year’ unless they determined a year equals to 360 days in the first place or otherwise how did they work out the 12 moons? It kind of drives you nut thinking around in circles doesn’t it? Maybe that is why a clock is round? Which brings me back to the question. Why do we need to follow the clock?

開始認識《三弦》的時候是看到吕杰的演出。當時想： 原來慢慢的古樂也可以新彈。Jessica 的個人專輯 “The Beauty of San Xian” 也剛發片。十二首曲目在她的指下弦把西方的舊歌一一翻新。感覺快新鲜！目前聽說華納音樂只限新加坡發行，說不定哪天也會發到其他國家去。

Visit Jessica Lu’s personal website to find out more about how she has taken a very slow musical instrument to produce a somewhat fast music. Her album is available in most of Singapore’s music stores.

 www.princessjessica.net

繼續討論快感和慢感到底有什麼區別。我的看法前者是屬於五官上刺激的一种反應，而后者却是内在情绪的牽動。两者互應互動，使我们更完整的掌握身，心的活力 。

快感=快的感應

慢感=慢的感動

I am having problem translating this into English. But I am happy if anyone could do this for me. Its fascinating how one language can express something better then the other and vice versa. I believe that the more languages you mastered, the better understanding you will have of the world we live in.

In Berlin there is a tiny but stylish bookstore by the name of Bildschöne Bücher, which has grown out of its highly successful website. Founder Bodo von Hodenberg curates the store and the 25 titles on sales at any one time are mainly photography, art and design books.

In this fast and high volume turn over of books, we really need to slow down and smell the pages.

www.25books.com

德國的首都～柏林, 有一間書店很慢。因為店里在任何时刻只賣二十五本書。
書中自有黃金屋，所以你得慢慢的把金塊挖掘。

Lin Yutang (1895 –1976) was a Chinese writer and inventor whose original works and translations of classic Chinese texts into English became very popular in the West. But it was one of his works- The Importance of Living that was written in English that brought him international fame. He is in my mind, the father of Slow who started the slow movement.

I know a lot of individuals who like to stay in lala land and get up late. I know its not healthy and I don’t do it. But getting up late and getting up slowly is two different philosophies. I enjoy getting up in slow motion. It’s like letting your body and soul come together second by second and enabling the whole of yourself to finally come together.

I wish somebody comes up with a site call: www.slowlywakeup.com

看不懂嗎? 去學好英語 ！

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Taniguchi

还是我RB啦！
我周围的人都希望我能‘快’一点，但说实话。
有时一快，易犯错，反倒慢了下来。那干嘛呢？何况我一快便流汗，一流汗，我的皮肤便变色。。。 别问我，问我爹娘！

有时不能不佩服新加坡的创意。
如果我是吸烟者， 看了香烟盒上的图像还真的有点不开胃。
这种当头一棒的视觉效果可能不能小看。
越看越觉得慢死的恐怖！

I am always fascinated by the hidden creativity that Singapore exhibits. This sort of creative energy is not your typical display in design, art or media, but rather related to some form of policies. Singapore is one of very few countries that not only discourage smoking, but ban cigarette advertisement. And most interesting is the graphics that the authority has enforced the tobacco companies to include. It draws out the fact that you will die a slow death if you continue puffing away.

www.npb.gov.sg Select Topic: Smoking & You

Nanyin is a very slow kind of music. I have been going to the performance by Siong Leng Music Association for the past 2 years, and I am only starting to know a bit more about the content.

If you like house, rap or funk or even rock music…. then the rhythm of Nanyin probably isn’t your cup of tea, but I highly recommend that you try it out. I always believe you need to go for things that you think you don’t like to affirm what you like. And along the way if you discover something new about yourself. Great!

www.siongleng.com

有没有听过南音？
那是一种超慢的音乐。不听听看你不会明白的。开始真的不习惯，但听得多，又好像有所悟道。 您试一下！

無為而活是一部很易明白的书。無為不是無所作为， 而是不做那些無效的、無益的、無意義的事。
Wabi Sabi Simple” is a simple and imperfect book. But that is what makes it such a pleasure to read. This is the Chinese version published in Taiwan. English version available but not easy to get.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

I am trying to put some discipline into my life.

Staring a blog is a big responsibility. I mean… I can blog slowly and let this blog die a natural death.

But.

Then why start it in the 1st place? So I made up my mind, I will try to blog twice a week: every Tuesday and Thursday.

At least for a while.

我RB 不愿做事情虎頭蛇尾。

所以逼自己每星期二和四一定得来寫个什麼的！

好过没有。。對吗?

我幾年前聽說王景生的名字時，他活在一個分秒必爭的倫敦時裝界。今天的他，過的卻是與寮國絹織師配合創作的慢活。他要的另一種生活方式是我所欣賞的。記得有空去看看他的個人展Re-Woven–就在新加坡美術博物館。到四月。

www.benny-ong.com

我RB是兩棲物。白天我在布打Bar做DJ，閑來自修，夜間我在山上傳授瑜伽。黑白分工讓我可以更好的調理我的生活節奏。慢活已經不只是一種生活態度，它是一個必須。就像語言：我中英雙通。但寫了英文，我就往往懶得寫中文。所以不要期待我做你的翻譯！