Buddhism in my life

I credit most of my exposure to Buddhism to my wonderful mother. If not for her, I might have started very late or not at all to understand this profound and astoundingly wonderful philosophy of life. When I was very young, I would often join in the early morning prayer sessions of my grandmother and my mother. Not that I understood much at that time. The text recited was of the Mahayana tradition and the chanting would be in Teochew which was beautiful but difficult to do. I have often been amazed at the power of their lungs! My mum frequently brought me to different temples. The one I visited very frequently at first was my grandmother's Buddhist Centre in Upper Serangoon. It was in a small bungalow and it was called "Qi Oon". As children, my sister, cousins and I were very carefree and do not frequently sit still. We would play beneath the mango trees, using the white chalky stones in the gardens to draw pictures and play at cooking or playing catching. There were times we were seated in the shrine hall, and I remember vaguely the reverend throwing out rice, ringing a bell and doing hand mudras. He was also wearing a funny hat. I thought it was very interesting. Only until now do I know that particular master, who has since passed away, was actually a Theravada monk who continued on to practice Vajrayana. He was later of the Nyingma lineage. Then when I was older I started Dharma classes. My mother would bring me to a Mahayana temple somewhere very remote (I think it was in Punggol) every Sunday. I really liked the place, it was very peaceful, big and beautiful. The reverend abbot was very benevolent. There was also an old aged home belonging to the temple. We not only learned about the foundations of Buddhism (e.g Eightfold Path, Four Noble Truths, story of Buddha's life - at least that is what I think was taught, I cannot remember in detail now) but also had extra curricular activities. I joined a music class and was taught to play drums using my hands and also using sticks. But I must admit my sense of rhythm is terrible. Till now I cannot master playing 2 beats with one hand and 3 beats with the other at the same time. For a period of time, my mother was a fervent devotee of Ven. Fa Zhao of the Golden Pagoda Temple. She brought me there very frequently, when she took lessons in tying Chinese knots, when she was helping out at the temple or when she was joining pujas there. The style of chanting was Chinese Mahayana, and I was still amazed how people could keep up. It was very lovely but when slow the notes were drawn very long and when fast, it was a little too fast for me. The most beautiful time was when there were lamp offerings. There would be no lights in the whole temple and everywhere people were carrying big flower lamps and passing the flame from one person to another. I remembered an auntie asking me what mantras I knew or what I chanted. I told her I usually chant the name of Avalokitesvara (Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa) and also the mantra of Jun Di Fo Mu (an incarnation of Avalokitesvara). That was about all I knew at that time. Later my mum taught me to memorize the Heart Sutra, which I recite frequently, even now. But I have switched to chanting "Om Mani Padme Hung" instead of the name of Avalokitesvara. My mum told me that I was the god-daughter of Guan Yin (Avalokitesvara) and I must have the utmost devotion and respect for Guan Yin. Every year, during the birthday of Guan Yin, we would go to the Guan Yin temple at Tembeling Road to offer incense. To me, there is no confusion regarding the gender of one of the most well-known Bodhisattvas. Form is emptiness and emptiness is form. Male or female, the Bodhisattva manifests as he/she wills, in order to benefit sentient beings. The Bodhisattva is not attached to his/her form, it is sentient beings who are attached to form and develop attachment or aversion.