Have you ever written short notes to the divine? Depending on your beliefs, the divine could be Jesus Christ, Supreme Brahman or Allah; they are all symbols of the all-knowing, all-powerful and the One who’d help us in times of need. Saying our prayers is one thing but to put our hopes on pen and paper is equally meditative.
I stumbled across this fascinating area at the Chin Swee temple where anybody could write down their hopes and fears to Buddha on a piece of card. On the grounds of temple itself sits an enormous, 15-meter high Buddha who oversees the entire peaceful valleys of Genting. You could hang your tiny note onto the branches of some miniature trees lining beneath Buddha. It’s one simple act that’s simple yet thoughtful.
Check out some of the notes that caught my eyes:
These notes were really something. Some bittersweet and some simply moving. I loved the one below, written in Malay by a Chinese schoolboy. It read: “I want to do well in school and score 100 marks.” That one reminded me of my own ‘stressful’ schooling days filled with exam preps and…more exam preps (very Confucian of our culture, I know). N and I wrote our notes too, addressed to our Creator, and hung them side-by-side on a tree (do tell me if you could find ours if you’d ever give this place a visit!).
Reading all of these notes made me realize that, despite our different beliefs, all of us inherently wish for the same things in life. Health, prosperity and long-lasting happiness with our loved ones— you name them, we all want them. Nothing is more comforting than knowing that. So the best thing I did was to keep all of these notes, written by many strangers from all walks of life, in mind and include them in my prayers.
