Gurhkas, UK and HK

In Britain, the High Court is to begin hearing a test case brought by veteran Gurkhas from Nepal who've been refused permission to live in Britain. All foreign soldiers who've served Britain for at least four years are entitled to settle in the country, except Gurkhas who retired before 1997. They have to apply individually, and at least 1,000 have been refused - many on the grounds that their ties to Britain weren't strong enough.

Just makes me angry to hear the above news. It's so true that the British are so racist. Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders (and South Africans) too used to enjoy privileges that others in the Empire did not. These Gurhkas and also the presence of the large Indian / Pakistani community in Hong Kong were due to the fact that Hong Kong was part of the Empire. As HK returned to China, it was understandable if Gurkhas, Indians and the Pakistanis did not want to be part of this "new" country.

The UK should not forsake the Hong Kong - Chinese but even if they choose to forsake the HK- Chinese, they should respect these from the Sub-continent who came to HK just because of the British, not because of the Chinese. On the other hand, HK authority to welcome them to stay, if they choose to. China has always been multi-ethnic, as they claim. So why not having Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese as official minority nationalities in China?

2008-08-22/23 楊梅天主堂的藝術靈修

楊梅天主堂的藝術靈修：成年人及年青人一起，為我是首次！

Shichien - a jolly good landscape architect

Could anyone believe that it has been TWENTY years, TWO DECADES since I started my post-grad studies at U of Edinburgh???
I was aspiring to be a landscape architect... a bit disillusioned with becoming a town planner, wanting to do more designing...
There I met Shichien Huang, a fellow student from Taiwan, Architecture graduate from 成功大學 - 2o years ago. At the top floor of Minto House, 20 Chambers Street, Department of Architecture, EH1 1JZ.... (I still remember the PostCode...!)

After working in Taichung for some years, she continued her career in the other China (Mainland), got married to a lucky man in Beijing and started a family there.

She came back to TW to visit her family (and really for the 20th anniversary of graduating from Cheng Kung University) and we met up one day to visit a wooden sculpture museum in Sanyi, County Miaoli.

She has now an adorable son, 7 years old.

I still remember one time, when she was mentioned by Dr Byrom (the director for the Landscape Architecture Programme at U of Edin) in her absence to a guest lecturer, the comment was: "Shichien [pronounced in a French way with the CH sounding like SH-- what a beautiful name - she must be jolly interesting person." Indeed, Shichien is jolly interesting and has been a jolly good friend all these years.

什麼是藝術 / 靈修 / 藝術靈修？

什麼是藝術：

• 難明、通俗、高深、娛樂、音樂、繪畫、曲高和寡、歌仔戲、雲門、果陀、米勒、色香味……
維基百科：藝術迄今還沒有公認的定義。通常認為，藝術是人類以情感和想象為特性，來把握和反映世界，表示對世界及自身，對二者關係的看法的一種特殊方式。其通過審美創造活動再現現實和表現情感理想，在想象中實現審美主體及客體的相互對象化。通俗的說，藝術也就是人的知識、情感、理想、意念綜合心理活動的有機產物，是人們現實生活和精神世界的形象表現。因為人類的某些經歷是難以用言詞來表述的，為了表述這些深存在內心的最強烈的感情和思想，我們就使用一種稱之為藝術的更敏銳、更精巧的語言。藝術借助人類的感性反映世界，包括客觀和主觀的世界。藝術更多的是“創造”。藝術是人類心裡真實情感的反映。

什麼是靈修：

• 心靈、上帝、宗教、奧秘、蠟燭、寧靜、修道、信仰、禁慾、平安……
維基百科：靈修即「靈性的修煉」。是一宗教術語。
Wikipedia: Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit 心靈, a concept closely tied to religious belief and faith宗教信仰, a transcendent reality超越的實體【：天主 / 上帝？】, and one or more deities神明. Spiritual matters are thus those matters regarding humankind's ultimate 終極nature and purpose, not only as material biological organisms, but as beings with a unique relationship to that which is perceived to be beyond both time and the material world. 越超時空及物質世界

什麼是藝術靈修：

• 「藝術靈修」揉合欣賞藝術、藝術創作以及靈修經驗，可以藉此探討兩者相同的地方，去闡揚藝術及宗教信仰、心靈成長的關係。
• 你需要有藝術的氣質：因為人需要學會觀看、認得美麗、發揮創意……
• 你需要有靈修的情操：因為觀看、美麗、創意是心靈的活動……
• 所以來一下「藝術靈修」……

導師簡介：

• 負責人伍維烈為天主教方濟會修士，持蘇格蘭愛丁堡大學景觀建築碩士、加拿大滑鐵盧大學環境學（城鄉規劃）學士、台灣輔仁大學道學碩士、香港中文大學教育文憑等；於1998年起為不同教友、宗教團體、堂區等主持以藝術為媒介的靈修講座、退省等，曾任教於馬鞍山聖若瑟中學，任宗教科主任及文化聯科主任；於該校任教時，曾於2000/2001年實施教育署校本課程計畫設計「信仰 | 藝術」（優異設計獎）、2001/2002年負責演藝發展局之薈藝教育計畫「神奇彩衣縈鞍山」（傑出計劃獎）等；2003/05年獲美國耶魯大學神學院獎學金，負笈美國深造「宗教與藝術」、獲宗教學碩士後回港，專注推動藝術靈修。

2008-6 Fujen University Camp

FMM Sisters Retreat 修女避靜

學員分享：聖言藝術工作坊聖神篇

請到思高中心閱覽原文。

Random thoughts

Words of wisdom from friends for my recent "breakdown":
"Wishing you renewal and re-integration of yourself this year! breakdown is to buildup, like TRANSFORMER";
"Rather than being a master for others, being a master of others is to master oneself."