Pay and grading

I don't quite agree with the pay and grading business where people try to "standardise" pay and grading scheme because they assume that most jobs are the same and most people doing similar jobs always do the same thing, to the same standard and therefore should be herded into categories.

In the normal world through, people are all different. Managers take responsibility for deciding who is worth what. It is part of what they are paid to do - to recruit people, retain them using reward system commensurate to their ability, skills and output. HERA doesn't care about that. They think managers cannot be trusted to do such job.

In a way, this eliminates the biases, prejudices and disparities. In another, you create frustration - in managers because they are not allowed to reward their outstanding subordinates outside of these pay structures and in workers because they know that they can never progress. The fixed pay and fixed grades demotivate workers by ingraining in them that however much they contribute, they will always be rewarded according to the structure anyway so there is little incentive to put in any extra

Mental ability

If people are exonerated for their crimes because they can prove permanent or temporary mental disorder, where can the line be drawn? People develop emotionally as they experience new things, meet new people, are exposed to incidence. Some advance further than others but when those who fail to develop, either through lack of opportunity or lack of will, can use the failure to their advantage after they have committed a crime and exempt themselves from punishment, who is responsible? They aren't responsible for their action if they are in the state where they don't know right from wrong. Should the rest of us be forced to accept this? Can the victims forgive them on the mental ability ground? Is there something wrong with that society? Should the society try to look after people's mental state? Should we renounce our personal responsibility to act responsibly? What happens when the society fails? How can we help children develop emotional competencies at home and school? Should parents be the main source of children's mental development rather than institution?

Corporate reward

Banks claim that free market forces them to reward their executives extortionate amount as a tool to attract and retain talents and ward off rivals' competition. The assumption then is that people are driven by one thing alone and that is money. Where are other incentives that keep people motivated like corporate ethics, the prestige of being part of successful organisations, personal and professional development opportunities and the passion for what you do?

It seems quite insulting to assume that people can only be incentivised by the amount they are paid. In that sense, these people are reduced to being just a slot machine, with only one purpose in life.

On relationship

Some say relationships shouldn't be hard work because, after all, it is assumed that you will have controlled most determinants in a relationship like the compatibility between you and the partner you have chosen, the time in your life when you decide to enter into a relationship, the level of interdependency, and so forth.

But then you have another group of people with different beliefs, who will say that you have to "work" at relationships. Because like most things, relationships are difficult, they are not perfect and they need to be nurtured. There are many things influencing which direction the relationship grows that are beyond one's control even including the two people in the relationship. People change and they are the least predictable of all variables.

Romance and relationship

Can people really fall in love after one date? Is it lust or is it all things falling into place prompting a miracle to happen? The cupid is just a rare occasion when two people are in the right place at the right time and in the right company? Gosh how nice it is to be observing this. How even more wonderful when you contribute to other people's happiness by making this rare occasion happen for them!

Is it ever good to be devoid of emotions?

I wonder if it is a blessing in disguise when you are denied emotional support from people around you because in the end everyone has to find their own way around their problems and one can only gain emotional experience by having to deal with instances first hand.

On the assumption that we all have to learn and acquire emotional competencies through direct experience, we would be independent from the network of support of friends and family and for some people who do not have access to such network anyway, it just makes perfect sense. I just feel sad though that the world would be such a place where only the emotionally strong will get through it and be selected in the natural selection scheme of thing. Vocabulary like compassion will not exist.

On the other hand, it could be argued that everyone can build such a network as long as they are committed to returning the favour. So basically, if you are emotionally available for people around you when they need support, then surely someone would be deemed to be there when you need them. And the concern for one another could be a genuine one even though you are not related as family or even friends, it does not have to be the case of "I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine".

And what is the answer?

Emotional intelligence

What an ideal world you would be in if you can always take a step back from a sticky situation and so you can be emotionally detached and deal with it constructively with no or little emotional involvement.

But in a situation where you are emotionally dependent on the other person or other people like in a relationship or in a family, can you really apply the same principle? Will it be at the risk of being heartless? We are not robot after all.

In Buddhism though, we are meant to be. All emotions - good or bad, elation or depression are defilements that one must strive to rid of. There is something intelligent about the Buddha teaching because it is so true. But you won't be emotionally mature if you succeed. You get to progress towards Nibbhana.

Fairness

I was told a couple of days ago that I should not be made to think that there is no fairness or justice. I wonder if fairness is what you make for yourself or a universal standard. Can one judge fairness on the merit of actions or how people react to them?

The key is the balance

There are so much people can learn from Japan. A lot of examples of extremes make your realise you can choose to take your life in various directions.

You can be very conscientious, work really hard at the expense of your personal life and achieve so much that you can be really contented with your work life. Or you can go the opposite way and enjoy life while putting work way behind. Or you can try to balance work, life, family, friends and try to have it all and potentially have a bit of everything or lose them all.

Life is such a series of choice making. It is a pity I happen to be indecisive.

Is there ever something for nothing?

Japan's economic prosperity, spotless facade and their immaculate tidiness and cleanliness do come at a price. People have worked extremely hard to turn the country into what it is and to maintain it that way. The price to pay is the long hours and the stress from striving to become perfect.

We take it for granted that there is something for nothing, that the state is responsible for planning, regulating and cleaning when in fact people have so much self discipline that they self regulate and do their own bits to contribute without state intervention. It could be something to be admired or aspired to but would other people be willing to pay the same price as the Japanese? Would we want to work the long hours? Would we mind being on a go constantly? Could we manage the expectation for such high standards?

On the Japanese poor

Japan is a rich nation. However, they do not seem to be obliged to look after the poor. I wonder if this is out of economic necessity or principle. Is it every man for himself?

Poor Japanese certainly cannot rely on state benefit, regardless of how old, incapacitated or vulnerable they are. People do not expect something for nothing which is fair enough but should this mentality prevail if there is enough to share with others less fortunate?

Management and interpersonal skills

On Management

Is it "management" or is it "manipulation"? Are you a good "leader", good "manager" or are you just good at manipulating?

I personally think people can intentionally manipulate, accept to be manipulated so we all get what we want out of the situation. Am I cynical? Can people be so samaritan they are a good leader for a greater good of mankind?

Is everything we do some kind of manipulation or other? And all for personal gain?

And is there always win-win because surely you win some and lose some?

On social network (again)

When it goes wrong. People become less inhibited in expressing their views. Things that are not normally said out loud, are "posted", "blogged about", "twittered". This can't be right. Sometimes posts are removed, deleted but the upset caused cannot be erased. It really is for grown-ups. The more sociable your network is, the more emotionally resilient you have to be.

on online social network

On online social network

Should online social networks be avoided because they induce defilements? Or can one be a master of their own mind that it should not matter what they defilements there are to be seen online? Does the less you know mean the more detached from sufferings you can be?

Online or not, we still live in intricate networks of our social lives. Just because you find something out online, it does not mean that your reaction would be different if you had found the same fact out offline. If one lives one's life with virtues in one's mind with an understanding about sufferings and delusions, in theory then one should not suffer and be deluded by any agents.

On people

I would like to think that I have changed, am changing and can change further for the better. My prejudices though prevents me from believing that other people can too. But that is my defilement.

Piggy bank

Mindfulness still eludes me in my pursuit of inner peace. I think I am doing a bit better understanding my mind, thoughts and the Buddha teachings. I still do not understand other people's minds and cannot relate to them emotionally. I wonder if it could be a blessing that I am generally detached from people's feelings and their emotions. Or is it in fact I am just distant, robotic and unkind?

A tribute to Maria for teaching me the piggy bank analogy - most helpful and easy to visualise. A very good lesson for a simple-minded like me.

Journalism

I am trying to imagine a life in journalism and wonder if journalists stop to think that what they are making a song and dance about now will soon become a past event and will be of little interest to people. News is reported by the minute and people are forced to consume it instantly. Most news are aimed to evoke passion in people - in good or bad way. Do journalists need to be a bit more moderate in what they are feeding us and do we need to consume more moderately?

People cry out about the 'new' government being Tory. They may have lost track of how short we live in comparison to the long list of things that occurred before our time and things that will happen after we are gone. So put in perspective, how bad can it be? Someone will surely survive.

Where is the real bear?

It puzzles me when people (in the West) talk grievedly about economic crisis and how hard people's lives are going to be when national debt rises to over 100% of GDP. True that being in debt is not very nice. Nor is having to cough up in higher taxes. But put in perspective, the worst that will happen to people in 'developed' countries is probably that people remain on the dole longer than they would have been under normal economic circumstances. In the absence of economic growth (which I see no point of), an ordinary man will have to tighten up, spend less and renew their view about thrift. Fewer restaurant meals, less spend on clothes, holidays abroad, smaller flat screen TVs, etc. Okay that is trivialising it a little but we might have forgotten that in a number of less developed countries whose economy is not judged to be in a crisis, people still live under the poverty line, with no means to afford 3 meals a day, let alone proper medication. With this in mind, should we still be gloom about bearish stock markets, falling currencies and higher taxes?

Life is so random

I feel that things that happen in life are such a series of random triggers. There are plenty of things that are beyond our control that we might as well give up thinking and planning.
Is the question, 'should we let life take us wherever it may'?

We could end up miles from where we try to be for the better or for worse despite our best intention to follow the plan or in some cases the path laid out for us. We could stick to the convention and yet we could still be swept away with the unexpected.

Or indeed is the only thing worth concerning about is our mind and how it responds to these stimulus?

ขันติ

I am grateful that Thailand has the head of government with the most patience. Imagine all world leaders with this dhamm - how the world would be so much better a place, although not by modern material standards but certainly the people would be less driven by greed. The leaders would then lead by example of how to live modestly and go about their lives moderately. There would less drive on the success measured by GDP, GNP, etc but more on social equality, cohesion and harmony. My prime minister Mr Abhisit Vejjajiva is a truly exceptional leader.

I am incomplete

It matters little where I am, what I do, who I am with. Because I am incomplete and lacking dhamma, there is no point to aspire towards better things in life. Rather than judging others, I should concentrate more on reflecting on myself and be grateful for what life has offered.

When the party's over

We just have to quit when it stops entertaining us. Why waste energy blaming others for our own disappointment. Of course it is natural for social animals like us to, at times, rely on others to amuse us but when the time comes we are all better off knowing that we can only rely on ourselves.

Despite the legal commitment even marriages, contracts, agreements, friendships and so on, every individual still plays his/her own game and when it stops being fun for one party or more, we can only accept it and move on.

More patience required

I failed again...

Blogging, Tweeting = Vanity?

Vanity or reflection?
Do we want others to know about what we are doing and thinking?
Do we want to know what others are doing and thinking?
Have we lost what little precious time we have for true reflection in the process?
Is it the case that we want to "know" more but "understand" less?
Or can we actually "learn" from it all?

Fun and game

I have to keep reminding myself of the impermanence of fun and excitement.

You can become so dependent on feelings and pleasant sensation that you long for the next fun time. You join social clubs to do things you enjoy doing with like-minded people - you have fun - but at the other end, you suffer when the fun stops or when the reverse happens for whatever reason.

I am too immodest to try to pull myself away from the fun but I have to remind myself to be mindful, to understand things and happenings for what they really are and for how fleeting they can be, to not get carried away in the current of 'fun'. I think the degree of suffering will be equivalent to the fun you have when you let your mind drift through all emotions.

Should people refrain or just let them pass?

Calm before the storm

A couple of days ago, I really felt that things were going so well and I was suspicious of whether they would last - a case of calm before the storm or whether I actually understood 'things' and was able to let go.

Sadly it was the case of the former rather than the latter and now I am on square one again.

I broke yet again and could not see that all things are fleeting and we are all on our own.

Now with the unrest at home in Thailand, I feel such a shame I have been so self absorbed that the little things that I thought mattered to me do not seem to matter much today. And even the incidents that appear to matter to a lot of people are in fact trivial to a number of others. People get drifted in the current of what they believe in when, to the less fortunate, the more and most important thing to them is about surviving.

To understand

It is all so fleeting and impermanent. Yet most of us still keep chasing after pleasures and trying to fend off unpleasant feelings. Some less so subtly than others. They pleasant feelings are quite addictive but when they are gone, you come down hard too.

One needs to understand that they are all mental fabrication, be mindful of them and then try to disassociate from them.

To mature

I am trying to get into the rhythm of this maturing business now. I had only been aging for a long time, never maturing. There is an acute difference but I had not realised before. I had thought that you mature just as you age. How wrong was I!

Set-backs and opportunities

So much excitement lately that I suffer from disappointment when I am out of action. I shouldn't be though. There are plenty of opportunities to be gained when things turn another way. You only have to be a bit creative and proactive to see the opportunities. And I only say this to try and cheer myself up!

I broke

That was such an illusion. I thought I was doing well but not at all after yesterday. I am still my old messed up self. Unable to let go and completely lost my cool. Back to practicing!

It is unimportant

Good climb yesterday. I was less dissatisfied. With myself, with objects, with people. Not because people or things were different but because I see things slightly more clearly.

A lot of things are unimportant. When you concentrate on the present moment, time stands still and nothing else is important other than the minute, the second ticking away in front of you.

It all becomes a bit clearer to me now what the Buddha taught. I am grateful I have met kind people, really exceptionally wonderful friends who showed me by their good example.

But I still need a lot of practicing. How long can I keep calm for?

I need to be mindful

It is exhausting. Like climbing mountains where you need physical fitness, with your mind, you need emotional fitness, mindfulness. And I need to keep fit, to be prepared for the ups and downs of my emotion. To try to steer clear from defilements - desire, love, hate, prejudice.

How not to be shallow

How indeed.

Is the answer - 'what is shallow, what is not?' ?

Or is it - 'well it doesn't matter if you are or not, who cares?' ?

There are bigger things

A very good lesson from my friends whom I travelled with.

Just had a look at photographs. I can't help but compare what different things we were looking at and what different perspective we were seeing things from. We went on the same trip. What we 'saw' though, are so different.

I was well looked after. Both my friends were so thoughtful about my needs. They were most kind and their kindness unconditional. I saw that for myself. I see that even clearer now through the pictures. To them, how we kept company was probably more important than the holidays themselves whereas I was too busy searching. Searching for fun, excitement, beauty. Things that are not that important after all. Sometimes I didn't even know what I was searching for.

Is it really important to get what one wants? Or is our relationship with others more important?

Breathe

Bumped into an old friend on facebook yesterday. It was a nice surprise. I had not seen or spoken to him in 16 years! Gosh I am ancient. I asked what he had been up to since secondary school and told him a bit about my life. Then I was saying how I wasn't sure about what to do with my life. He said "breathe".

Was that a philosophy, satire or a joke? But it was the best answer I have been given. Everything else really is unimportant.

The northern lights

Only a natural phenomenon, but I was moved. Maybe it was the surrounding but it was truly special. Makes you feel small and unimportant.