Monday, December 05, 2011

《无拘无束》

Here is one of my original Chinese song compositions titled 'Wu Ju Wu Shu', which literally means free and easy or unrestricted. This is the first time I wrote both the lyrics and tune for a Chinese song entirely, and sung it myself. Hope you will like it. Do check out my other songs on Youtube as well! :)

这是我独创的一首中文歌曲。若想看到我的其他作品请到Youtube观看。希望你们会喜欢与支持!:)

Music and lyrics written by Ong Wei Guang
Performed by Ong Wei Guang
The pictures used in the video are my personal pictures.
Copyright © Ong Wei Guang

In today's fast-paced and stressful society, we often wish that life could be less hectic. When was the last time you gazed at the clear blue sky, longing to be free like a bird? I hope this song can imbue in us a sense of optimism and provide us with temporary respite from our worries.

《无拘无束》

词曲:王伟光
演唱:王伟光
Verse 1: 每一天睁开双眼
温暖的阳光透过窗帘
清新的空气悦耳的音乐
我弹着吉他尽情歌唱

Chorus:
如果能够穿越时间
如果可以回到从前
相信一切都能改变
让未来变得更加美好

如果能够飞往天边
如果可以看到永远
抛开心中所有顾虑
每一天充满着无限希望
Oh...oh...yeah

Verse 2:
躺在草原上仰望着蓝天
多想和鸟儿飞向天边
自由自在无拘无束
伸出双手就能碰到天

(repeat chorus)

La la la... Oh...oh...yeah

如果能够飞往天边
如果可以看到永远
抛开心中所有顾虑
每一天充满着无限希望

《追梦》

I have finally decided to update my blog after so long. Haha. So what have I been up to during my blogging hiatus? Well, I picked up a new found hobby - song composing. Actually I tried composing my own songs way back in primary and secondary school but I didn't know how to play any musical instruments then and had no formal music training, so the songs which I wrote back then weren't nice and I gave up. I picked up the guitar after my A levels and after I was able to play and sing, I decided to give song composing another shot. So, here's one of my original chinese song compositions titled 'Zhui Meng', which translates into 'The Pursuit of Dreams'. Hope you will like it! :)

大家好,想和你们分享我和我的朋友的作品《追梦》。这是我第一次尝试写一首有rap的歌喔! 希望你们会喜欢!:)

Title (English translation): The Pursuit of Dreams
Composer: Ong Wei Guang
Lyricists: Ong Wei Guang, Lim Wan Yi
Performed by: Yeo Kea Yee, Ong Wei Guang
Guitar played by: Ong Wei Guang
Video edited by: Ong Wei Guang
The pictures used in the video are my personal pictures.

Copyright © Ong Wei Guang

We all have dreams and aspirations, but many a times we do not pursue them because we are afraid of failure. More often than not, we regret things which we have not done rather than things which we tried but failed. There will definitely be trying times in life, but failure is just a test. No one can predict the future and there is no use harping on the past. We should instead focus on the present. I hope this song will inspire people to stop procrastinating and boldly pursue their dreams, because opportunities seldom come twice. :)

"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters." - Seneca

《追梦》

作曲:王伟光
作词:王伟光,林宛仪
演唱:杨嘉仪, 王伟光

(Verse 1)
Oh...oh...
世界分秒在改变
无人能预购明天
理想今天没兑现
昨天也已经走远

(Verse 2)
人生里挫折难免
不要让逃避出现
唤醒起勇气面对
失败只是种考验

(Pre-chorus 1)
未来的路也许遥远
遇到挫折笑脸面对
黑夜里星光闪闪
点亮了心中的梦想

(Chorus)
期待不一样的未来
不要一直徘徊
要追求梦想不要再等待
爱让生命更精彩
心田里有你在
所有的烦恼全都被抛开
抛开。。。抛开。。。
(Pre-chorus 2)
挥霍的光阴取不回
已没时间继续浪费
抱紧每个难逢机会
让生命绽放光和彩

(repeat chorus)

(Rap)
世界是我的舞台
每天上演自己的编排
我的宇宙由我主宰
梦想的未来都要勇敢去摘
让所有想象的阻碍
全从心中抛开抛开
鼓起勇气把梦想赢回来
1,2,3 Oh yeah

(repeat chorus and rap)

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

The Meaning of Prayer in Buddhism

The below article was written by Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda.

Nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. It does not grant any special favours on request.

Man is not a fallen creature who begs for his needs as he awaits mercy. According to Buddhism, man is a potential master of himself. Only because of his deep ignorance does man fail to realize his full potential. Since the Buddha has shown this hidden power, man must cultivate his mind and try to develop it by realizing his innate ability.

Buddhism gives full responsibility and dignity to man. It makes man his own master. According to Buddhism, no higher being sits in judgment over his affairs and destiny. That is to say, our life, our society, our world, is what you and I want to make out of it, and not what some other unknown being wants it to be. Remember that nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. Nature does not grant any special favours on request.

Thus in Buddhism, prayer is meditation which has self-change as its object. Prayer in meditation is the reconditioning of one's nature. It is the transforming of one's inner nature accomplished by the purification of the three faculties?thought, word, and deed. Through meditation, we can understand that 'we become what we think', in accordance with the discoveries of psychology. When we pray, we experience some relief in our minds; that is, the psychological effect that we have created through our faith and devotion. After reciting certain verses we also experience the same result. Religious names or symbols are important to the extent that they help to develop devotion and confidence.

The Buddha Himself has clearly expressed that neither the recital of holy scriptures, nor self-torture, nor sleeping on the ground, nor the repetition of prayers, penance, hymns, charms, mantras, incantations and invocations can bring the real happiness of Nibbana.

Regarding the use of prayers for attaining the final goal, the Buddha once made an analogy of a man who wants to cross a river. If he sits down and prays imploring that the far bank of the river will come to him and carry him across, then his prayer will not be answered. If he really wants to cross the river, he must makes some effort; he must find some logs and build a raft, or look for a bridge or construct a boat or perhaps swim. Somehow he must work to get across the river.

Likewise, if he wants to cross the river of Samsara, prayers alone are not enough. He must work hard by living a religious life, by controlling his passion, calming his mind, and by getting rid of all the impurities and defilements in his mind. Only then can he reach the final goal. Prayer alone will never take him to the final goal. If prayer is necessary, it should be to strengthen the mind and not to beg for gains. The following prayer of a well-known poet, teaches us how to pray, Buddhists will regard this as meditation to cultivate the mind:

"Let me not pray to be sheltered from danger, but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved, but for the patience to win my freedom.
Sadhu ...... Sadhu ....... Sadhu ......."