HCFoo's Blogyard

Recently a well-spoken poet named Beau Sia has responded to Rosie O’Donnell’s racist “ching chong” incident via YouTube:

It was a very lesbian Oscars this year. Not only was the year's biggest award show hosted by an out lesbian, but Melissa Etheridge took home the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Jodie Foster was a presenter. Dame Judi Dench was also nominated for her role as a predatory lesbian in Notes on a Scandal, but lost to Helen Mirren for The Queen.

How did Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts' picture get here? Check out this website. You will either laugh about it or question if it is true. The other picture is Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt (who is currently dating Michael Buble).

So what happen to Linda Onn? She was supposed to be at the Kodak Theatre for Star Movies' red carpet show but we only saw Dominic Lau did the hosting job alone. Sources said that Linda Onn refused to follow the dress code for reporters and insisted on wearing the black and white modern kebaya created by an Indonesian designer which she mentioned in the press last week. Hence, she was axed from the co-hosting job. (New updates: I came across this blog. Check out his posting here and here for more details.)

Have you seen the KL Red Carpet Live "Breakfast With The Stars 2007" earlier on before the Oscar awards show? Can anyone please tell the host Zainal Alam Kadir to shut up and let his co-host Joey G talk? Why must he be so annoying, dominating the show and acted as if Joey G wasn't there? Poor Joey G. Whenever he opened his mouth and about to start talking, Alam interrupted. Joey G looked embarrased and yet professional enough to remain cool.

Oh yeah, why were there so many Akademi Fantasia (AF) rejects at the KL Red Carpet show? I thought this was supposed to be attended by local 'stars'. I expected to see people like Afdlin Shauki, Saiful Apek, Rosyam Nor or Sharifah Amani since this is a movie-related show. I'm not looking down at the AF 'stars'. I'm just disappointed because most of them were not prepared and knew nothing about movies. Not only they didn't know how to speak English when asked by Joey G (again this was the reason why Joey G felt awkward) they didn't even know what were the nominated films. For example, Vince can't even named a single film in 2006. Then most of them haven't even seen a movie which was nominated for the Oscars. The worst was when a 'star' was asked which movie he thought will win the Oscar, the answer was 'Salma Hayek'. Duh. Sorry but what a hopeless show.

However I must praise a few 'real stars' like AC Mizal, Anuar Zain and Aznil Nawawi because they are really professional. They were well prepared and knew what they were doing.

I was at the Astro Fest on Friday. My sister got 3 guest tickets so I went there with my pal Syong. Jess was supposed to join us but couldn't make it in the last minute.

It was raining when we got there at 4.45 p.m. The registration started at 5 p.m. We queued up, submitted the lucky draw numbers and were given free magazines (I took VMag and ifeel). My sis told me to go to the main stage on the east wing as there would be Astro tours going on at 5.30 pm, 6 pm and 6.30 pm. The food and games were still not ready. While waiting at the main stage, we saw Lina Teoh. At first I didn't realised it was her because I thought she wasn't in the entertainment scene anymore.

At 5.30 p.m., it wasn't crowded yet. So my friend and I decided to try out the games available like archery, basketball-shooting, golf-putting, darts, etc. Then we quickly proceed to the building to take the Astro tour. We were taken to Studio 1 where shows like AC Di Sini, Roda Impian and Akademi Fantasia Prelude took place. Then we went to the radio stations. And that's about it.

We were quite hungry so we decided it was time to have our dinner. We had ice kacang, satay, fried kueh teow, nasi briani, etc. It was all free! :D

We continued to play games at the fun fair and won a couple of coupons for lucky draw. At 7.45 pm we went to the jazz lounge and managed to get ourselves a table. We had some fruit punch and suddenly we heard fireworks outside the lounge (which is next to the main stage). My sis told me it was the first time they had fireworks on Astro Fest. Then we continued to enjoy ourselves at the air-conditioned room at the jazz lounge. The show kicked off with the performance by the local band Jazzy Chillerz featuring Razak Rahman on the saxophone. After a couple of songs by Jeanie with the band Jazzy Chillerz, we decided to leave because it wasn't our taste of music. The jazz numbers were too old for us.

We played a few more games, won another coupon and exchanged for gifts. Syong won a can drink and I won two can fruits. We decided to go home and packed our stuff to go to Gentiing.

I'm a huge fan of John Legend's music. Here's his new single P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care). It is a great song. I saw the music video on MTV yesterday and I thought it was very exotic. Here's a blog review of the music video.

It's already the 8th day of CNY. Kinda not up-to-date to blog about the celebration now. So, I'll just post some food pictures (no close up pictures of pork) here. My dad prepared all these food for our family dinner on Chinese New Year Eve. He definitely knows a thing or two about cooking.


I always like beaches. So here's a picture taken while my family and I had our evening drinks at Hyatt Hotel by the Teluk Cempedak beach on the 3rd day of CNY. I was kinda shocked when they charged RM25 for a glass of orange juice. Perhaps I forgot it was a 5-star hotel.

Disclaimer: For non-Muslims or Buddhists only unless if you are reading this for knowledge purpose. This is a Q&A with HH Sakya Trizin.

This is the continuation from part 5.

Q: Love and compassion are good, but doesn't there come a point when it is better to be angry with people? Is anger ever justified?

A: Maybe, if the intension is white, even though the action is black. Even if you are angry, if it is with the thought of benefiting a being, your anger arises from compassion, and whatever arises out of compassion is good. If the root is medicinal, even if the fruit appears bad, it will be medicinal.

Q: Buddhism is often thought of as leading to negative and passive behaviour.

A: This is true if you enter and abide in Liberation. But if you enter the Great Way, instead of selfish desire for liberated quiescence, you have compassion which is the active desire for benefit of all beings.

Q: Buddhism is sometimes said to be atheistic because it holds that there is no God.

A: Buddhism does not believe in a God as the creator of the world and, in that sense, you might say it is atheistic. If however, God is something else, a divine compassion or a divine wisdom, manifest in the form of a deity, you might say that Buddhism is not atheistic but polytheistic.

I intend to make this short for easy reading. In the next post, we'll look at what is Emptiness, a term often used in Buddhism.

Disclaimer: This interview was taken from the book "Pointing Towards Vajrayana" published by The Singapore Buddha Sasana Society Sakya Tenphel Ling. The Palden Sakya Centres of American Buddhism Sakya Shei Drup Ling actually holds the right of this text.

Making Malay literature (kesusasteraan Melayu) a component in the Bahasa Melayu subject may not necessarily increase the level of interest among students. Students are learning KOMSAS (komponen sastera) just for the sake of exam and do not show genuine appreciation for Malay literature. They may have read about cerita jenaka like Lebai Malang or Pak Kaduk, but try ask them if they have read about Pak Pandir, you'll be surprised that some of them may never even heard about the silly character before. Anyway, I don't suggest for Pak Pandir to be included in the syllabus though.

Sometimes I wonder if the ministry of education knows how to choose the right reading material to be used as textbooks. Maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps the problem lies in the children of today. They have no heart and soul for the poor or even tragic characters in their anthologies and novels. Many times when students were asked to read the novel Meniti Kaca, they will laugh about the character Mahyun, the mother of Nazar (the main character), because she had this penyakit nanar and who was later sent to Hospital Bahagia (so now you know why they laugh about it). When the mother was found dead under a coconut tree by the river, some students may even find that plot funny. Not only that, the majority of city kids can't relate to the story because the latar tempat and latar masyarakat in the novel were something they can't imagine of.

In a similar setting in Hadiah Hari Guru, a boy named Ramli was so poor he had to give ulam pucuk janggus as a present to his favourite teacher, Cikgu Fatimah. In reality, especially in this 21st century, a touching storyline using poverty and simplicity won't leave much impact on our students like the way it used to work on students in the 70s or 80s. Poverty still exists but this common kampung setting which keeps repeated in the school syllabus just won't work anymore especially in convincing the modern kids on how lucky they are. Perhaps we should have more short stories like Tina and Tangan Kanan, Kiri atau Kedua-duanya which are better readings for students because they emphasized on family values. I simply love the fact that the authors of the two short stories like to over use the teknik plot imbas kembali (flash back) and gaya bahasa hiperbola (exaggeration) respectively.

There are a lot of good puisi (whether tradisional or moden), prosa and drama in the anthologies used by students. Even the novels are good. However, it is not enough. In my humble opinion, students shouldn't just limit themselves to the textbooks. They must read more than what they were asked to do. There are a lot of good books that worth reading such as Syair Siti Zubaidah, Hikayat Malim Deman and Sayang Si Tina just to name a few. Sayang Si Tina, by Ali Majod is one of my all time favourite. The story is about a student called Tina who was involved in an accident and left her paralysed. The touching story is about the acceptance of oneself as well as the acceptance of others.

On the other hand, teachers must be creative in teaching KOMSAS in order to increase the level of interest among students. Instead of just asking students to read from the textbooks or give tonnes of notes on sinopsis, plot, gaya bahasa or nilai dan pengajaran, why not guide your students and start asking them to write their own piece of sajak, pantun or drama? I always believe that the opportunity to write and being guided will unearth someone's talent in literature.

Since most students never believe they could write a sajak (because teachers rarely ask them to do so), I'll share some tips on sajak writing in the coming post. I'll also let you see my first sajak published by Dewan Siswa when I was in Form 5.

A1: Back in those years, MGS, both primary and secondary schools were top schools in the district of Kuantan. We had two very respected and dedicated headmaster and principal, Ms Yap and Mrs Judith Quah respectively. I think we were one of the very few schools that emphasized not only on academic excellence but also encouraged students participation in co-curricular activities. MGSS was (I use past tense because I believe the management is very different now) a school that run not only by the principal and teachers but also the students. Students played active roles in making events such as sports day, special tuck shop, teachers' day, etc a success. In terms of discipline, there was no doubt that my school was the best.

Q2. What about the teachers?

A2: I don't have any particular teacher that I really like though. Perhaps there was this teacher, Cik Jarina. I remember she was the only Sejarah teacher that didn't just read notes to us. In fact, I still remember her lecture (more like a storytelling) on the Renaissance topic. She even reminded us to watch a movie set in the Renaissance era on TV2. The movie actually helped me to understand the topic even more.

There were a few good teachers like Sister Susan, Ms Wong and Mrs Cheah too. I must say Sister Susan was a good English teacher. She actually taught us an Abba's song called Fernando!

Well, there was one particular teacher that I hate. I don't even remember her name. She was transferred from another school, and knew nothing about me. I was in Form 4 then. She punished me for not bringing a new exercise book without listening to my reason. Well, I was on MC the day before and nobody informed me or had a spare copy for me. So, this bloody teacher asked me to stand outside the toilet for the entire period. Damn malu because I always had good reputation in school. When my form teacher, Ms Wong saw that, she told that bloody teacher that she shouldn't be doing that to me especially when the class was on (I was in front of them listening to their conversation). I was thankful for Ms Wong not because she defended me but the fact that she knew my character.

Oh, by the way, have you guys ever made your teachers cry? Well, my class, despite being the top class in our form, we made a few teachers cried because they couldn't stand our noisiness, stubborness and laziness. One of the teachers who became our victim was Encik Azman.

Q3. What were the nicknames that you most remember?

A3: MGS was popularly known as Monkey Girls' School (my Sis told me it's Monyet Gigi Satu). And yes, the girls were like monkeys, making noises, hyperactive, etc. I had a nickname too. My friend, Elena started calling me Aboo when we were in Form 2. The nickname actually came from my surname, Foo. As for my fellow schoolmates, I still remember a few nicknames like SuperG (G means ganas), OTC (otak tak centre, ooops), Mr Chew, and.... (getting old, can't remember). As for the teachers, I remember we disliked an agama cum counselling teacher. We called her Doraemon.

Q4. Who were your best friends?

A4: When I was in Standard 1, I don't have to worry about not having friends during the first day of school because most of my kindergarten friends were there. And I still have a few friends from the kindergarten whom I still meet up once in awhile now. When I was in the lower secondary level, I had two best friends, Norzana and Neela. The three of us were like representing the three main races in Malaysia. I also became good friends to Shu Fen, Cindy and Shuh Yong, whom I still keep in touch until today. In fact I still meet up with Shuh Yong every week as we stay nearby.

Q5. What were your favourite subjects? What subjects were you good or bad at?

A5: My favourite subjects were also the subjects I'm good in. I particularly love History and Bahasa Melayu. I did have a couple of Bahasa Melayu teachers who liked my writing. I even remember a trainee teacher who praised my sajak.

I love science subjects but most of the time I had no idea what my science teachers taught in class. When I asked my friend Shuh Yong recently, why most of our classmates did so well in their exams eventhough they did not know what our teachers taught in class. She told me it was because our friends attended tuition classes and I didn't. So I ended up struggling in my pure science subjects.

Q6: Were you active in extra curricular activities?

A6: One good thing about my school was all students were compulsory to take part in at least three associations and one sports club. For your information, Persatuan Bahasa Malaysia (PBM) and Persatuan Bahasa Inggeris (PBI) were compulsory for all and we had to go back to school every Saturday for that. I think our teachers were very committed because they had to sacrifice their Saturdays and went back to school to assist us in our extra curricular activities. I love PBM and PBI because every classes had to perform depending on the theme that week. We had to act, sing, debate, etc. I particularly love acting and I always got the male lead roles. Perhaps it was because I was tomboyish and tall.

I joined a lot of activities throughout my secondary years: PBM, PBI, Persatuan Sains, Sidang Redaksi (school magazine), ping pong, volleyball. I was also a library prefect and had some minor leadership roles in sports. I was a shy kid back then and being a leader was the last thing on my mind. I think the highest leadership role I got back then was as the class assistant monitor. Even that also was like a burden to me. Perhaps, it was because I had a tough time dealing with some personal issues it affected my self esteem.

Q7: Any unforgettable memories when studying in MGS?

A7: Wow, I'm not sure if can list everything here. I think the best time I had was during the Sports Day and the Special Tuck Shop. MGS had the best Sports Day event compare to other schools in the entire Malaysia, I guess. We had cheerleading, house decoration, marching and the usual race and telematch. Each year we would choose different activity to take part in the Sports Day. I'd tried everything except cheerleading (:D hey I did wrote a rap piece for my Schleman house to be incorporated in the cheerleading session) In my humble opinion, MGS students were the most independent students I ever knew. For example, when I took part in the house decoration for my Schleman house, we had to walk about 1km to search for bamboos. We brought our parang, chopped the bamboo trees and dragged them back to school all by ourselves without any help from adults. As for marching, we had to practise months before the event. We practised almost every evening until all of us became so dark (very, very dark).

Gosh, I love Special Tuck Shop. Each Tuesday, a class would take turn to run the school's canteen. We would stay back after school the day before the tuck shop to do some preparation; fill up the tong with water, boil water, prepare syrup, get the utensils ready, etc. There were a lot of things to buy too. Students and class teacher would go out and buy stuff using the fund we had collected since the beginning of the year. Aside from complicated food like laksa or nasi lemak which we normally order from parents or supplier, everything else were cooked and prepared by students with the help from our class teacher. I loved to prepare drinks, selling food and drinks and go to the supermarket during school hour to buy extra materials (of course with the permission from our class teacher). Even the cleaning part after the tuck shop was fun! At the end of the day, we got our share of profits. Recently I heard the Special Tuck Shop is no longer allowed in my school. What a stupid move. How could they rob away the tradition and learning experience from the students?

I think most of us were afraid of Monday because we had Spot Talk during assembly. The principal would choose a class randomly and then a student from the class (randomly as well) must go on stage and began her speech about the topic given to us on the previous week. Even if we were not chosen, we had to write an essay about the topic and submit to our form teacher after the assembly. We wrote in Bahasa Malaysia and English on alternate basis and it was an every week task. I'm not sure if my school still practice it today. It's a shame if they don't.

There were a lot more to say but I guess that's it for now. I'll go back to my hometown this CNY holiday and I will search my closet for some old photos and school magazines so that I can include them in the next post.

Yesterday, I finally saw my teenage student, A. We were supposed to start our tuition class in January. However we had to delay the class until yesterday due to his illness, which he told me was known as Crohn's disease.

I was quite shock to see how much weight he had lost during the school holiday. I remember very well that our last class was in November and he was still the chubby looking boy. It was heartbreaking for me to see him losing 9 kg in just 2 months.

I decided to read about the disease starting with wikipedia. According to the site, it is said that the usual onset is between 15 and 30 years of age, with no difference between men and women. The main gastrointestinal symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhea, which may be bloody, and weight loss.

The cause of Crohn's disease is not known. It is only known that the disease occurs when the immune system contributes to damage of the gastrointestinal tract by causing inflammation.

My student, A, will be on a long term medication and would not be able to take part in any outdoor activity. I hope the doctors will be able to help him recover soon.

Disclaimer: For non-Muslims or Buddhists only unless if you are reading this for knowledge purpose. This is a Q&A with HH Sakya Trizin.

This is a continuation from part 4.

Q: Are the hells metaphors for states or amounts of suffering or do they really exist as described in the Buddhist ‘Sutras’?

A: Something really exists, I think. Actually it says in the Sutras that they really exist much more terribly than they are described because, it says, the Buddha didn’t fully describe them. If he fully described them, people would have fainted.

Q: How real are they?

A: They are real as the life we have today. Yes, many people think that they are not real, like a dream. But actually, we are happy and unhappy in dreams, just as real as we are when we are awake. This present experience also is not real, but we think everything around us is real. Hell is as real as this. Of course hell, also, in reality, is not real. This is also not real. What is this, then?

Q: Do the Buddhas suffer?

A: No, they never suffer. They are absolutely free from sufferings.

Q: Do they see suffering?

A: They don’t see suffering, either.

Q: Then how can they help people who are suffering?

A: They don’t suffer. This answer is one of the differences between the Sakya and Gelugpa orders; the Gelugpas say that the Buddhas do see suffering and we say that they do not. The man who has awakened from sleep doesn’t have dreams. This impure Samsaric scene of suffering is like a dream; it’s like an illusion. So the man who has awakened from this illusion can never dream again. But, due to his Bodhicitta, (Enlightenment-mind) and his compassion, help for others spontaneously arises. But the Buddha himself never sees suffering. For him, all things are transformed into pure appearance.

Q: Is the Buddha involved in ‘Karma’?

A: He has achieved the final Karmic result, the highest and the best possible results of Karma.

Q: Can anything happen to us that is not the result of our own actions?

A: No, never.

Q: Can the Buddha perceive the results of his or other’s acts?

A: Yes, for instance, there have been many prophecies, but I don’t think the Buddha sees or perceives these results. Where there is a need for a prophecy, it just arises spontaneously.

Q: Can we modify the results of past acts?

A: Certainly. The Vajrasattva meditation can purify many of our past bad actions, but in any case, the creation of good causes and merit is very helpful and necessary.

In the next part, we will get more answers from HH on Buddhism.

Disclaimer: This interview was taken from the book "Pointing Towards Vajrayana" published by The Singapore Buddha Sasana Society Sakya Tenphel Ling. The Palden Sakya Centres of American Buddhism Sakya Shei Drup Ling actually holds the right of this text.

The international movie screening at the Asia-Europe Institute (AEI), University of Malaya is back. I'm sure those of you who read papers already know the screening will be from today until this Friday.

A few years ago, AEI and ATMA-UKM (Institute of the Malay World and Civilization, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) used to collaborate and had regular screening of international movies here in UM. My friends and I loved it very much because it's free entertainment on every Wednesday and not to mention the generous refreshment after the show.

Later, the fellow researcher at AEI who run the programme left UM and formed Kaki Kino. Together with Dr Wan Zawawi, they brought the weekly international movie screening to FINAS. I was very disappointed by the move. Not long after that move to FINAS, Kaki Kino landed themselves in trouble when one of the films screened had explicit scenes.

Anyway, I'm just glad that this programme is back at AEI with new management. Hopefully they will make it a regular event.

Date/Time: 5 - 9 February 2007, 8.30 pm Venue: Auditorium, Asia-Europe Institute Organiser: Asia-Europe Institute, UM and Goethe Institute Contact Person: Puan Joharah (+603-79674645)

Movie Title: Mostly Martha Date: 5 Feb 2007 (Monday) Time: 8.30-10.30 p.m.

Movie Title: Comedian Harmonists Date: 6 Feb 2007 (Tuesday) Time: 8.30 -11.00 p.m.

Movie Title: Good Bye, Lenin Date: 7 Feb 2007 (Wednesday) Time: 8.30-11.00 p.m.

Movie Title: Nowhere In Africa Date: 9 Feb 2007 (Friday) Time: 8.30-11.30 p.m.

Disclaimer: For non-Muslims or Buddhists only unless if you are reading this for knowledge purpose. This is a Q&A with HH Sakya Trizin.

This is a continuation from part 3.

Q: Is animal rebirth really possible for a human?

A: Yes, definitely. There are many stories of animals being reborn as humans as a result of good actions and of humans being reborn as animals, too, as a result of bad actions. Some animals are extremely kind, especially to their offspring, and by working very hard they can create enough causes to achieve human birth.

Q: Why is human birth so important?

A: Human birth is extremely precious because, through human life, one can achieve not only high rebirth and Nirvana, but also one can practice Dharma and get Enlightenment.

Q: Does it really help us to think a great deal about impermanence? We always know we are impermanent, and thinking about it too much might make us miserable.

A: Yes, it does help. Tsongkhapa said, “A prisoner has only one thought: When can I get out of this prison? This thought arises constantly in his mind. Your thought on impermanence should be like this; meditate on impermanence until this state of mind arises.”

Q: Are we really in the position of prisoners? We often do find things pleasant in Worldly Existence.

A: But that pleasure isn’t permanent, is it? That very pleasure can lead to disaster, can’t it? So we are happy now, but we never know what might happen in the next hour. There may be a complete disaster. Since pleasure is impermanent, since it is very uncertain, you are not actually happy because your pleasure is colored with anxiety. In fact, you are never happy because you don’t know what will come and thus anxiety is inevitable there.

In the next part, we will get to know from HH about suffering.

Disclaimer: This interview was taken from the book "Pointing Towards Vajrayana" published by The Singapore Buddha Sasana Society Sakya Tenphel Ling. The Palden Sakya Centres of American Buddhism Sakya Shei Drup Ling actually holds the right of this text.

I watched the CNN news yesterday and they featured the story about an unusual street artist, Adam Neate. What differentiate him from other graffiti artists is he leaves his canvases in the streets.

Adam used recycled cardboard boxes as canvases. Most people on the streets do not bother (or perhaps I should say appreciate) his artworks until they were told that Adam's work worth ₤10,000 a piece.

Despite his new found fame, he will continue to do what he normally do (leaving his artworks on the streets).

Here's a video of him at the HYPE exhibition.

This is a continuation from part 2.

Q: How does this help us? The practice of Buddhism will not make us less impermanent.

A: It will not make us less impermanent, but it will give us the certainty that, in our coming lives, we will have less suffering. The practice of Dharma, of religion, means – briefly speaking; avoiding non-virtuous acts; and performing virtuous acts. When you behave in this way, it is obvious that you will be happier in the future.

Q: Does it mean that, since we expect less from this life, we will also suffer less?

A: Yes, that too, but more important, by thinking about impermanence we will be moved to practice Dharma quickly. The thought of impermanence helps us to speed up our path a great deal.

Q: What are the six realms and their sufferings?

A: As I said before, no matter where you are in Worldly Existence, you are suffering. Suffering is of three kinds: the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and the suffering of conditioned existence. The suffering of suffering is when you have a headache or something like that. It is simply suffering which everyone accepts and thinks of as suffering. Then the suffering of change is the suffering undergone through perception of change. You are with friends today but you have to depart; when you go, you meet enemies. Nothing stays, and seeing this, we experience the suffering of change. The suffering of conditioned existence means the unsatisfactoriness of worldly activity. We do many things in the world but are never really satisfied. There are always more things to be done, which we cannot do and this frustration is suffering.

The lowest of the six realms are the Hell-realms, of excessive heat and cold, and the 'neighbouring hells' which are also states of great suffering, and which last for incredible periods of time. The cause of these states of suffering is hatred. Then there is the realm of hungry spirits who are tantalized by food and drink they cannot swallow. This is the result of desire and stinginess. The animal realm is well known to us and birth there is caused by ignorance. The human realm, too, we know. The fifth realm is of the demi-gods who are constantly engaged in war with the gods, out of jealousy and who will thus naturally suffer in their next lives. The gods seem very comfortable. They enjoy great pleasures and immensely long lives, but sooner or later experience old age and death. As they have done nothing but enjoy themselves, they will not have created the merit to achieve high rebirth and will fall into states of great suffering. The three lower worlds' beings experience the suffering of suffering exclusively; humans experience all three, but chiefly the first two, while the gods suffer mainly the last two.

The last of the Four Recollections is of Karma, the law of Cause and Effect. In the Buddhist view, everything we have today and everything we do has a cause in the past. In fact it is said that if you want to know what you did in the past, you should look at your present situation; whether you are rich or poor, ugly or beautiful, this is the result of past actions, as the future, whether happy or otherwise depends on what you do today. Everything you do today will produce a result in the future. If a tree's root is medicinal, the flowers, the leaves, the bark and everything that grows on the tree, will be medicinal, and like this, an act that grows out of the opposite of desire, aversion and ignorance will produce happiness. If the root of the tree is poisonous, then everything that grows on the tree will be poison, just as acts of desire, aversion and ignorance produce suffering.