On the Baptism on Easter

This is not what I would usually do. But I think it's a very big shock, even to me, let alone my parents who are already in their fifties.

I woke up at 8 in the morning today, to see a message from my mum. "Your brother is going baptise today. Mummy very disappointed." "Pls help advice him. Pa cry in front of Skype also can't stop him He talk non-stop. Pls help! Quick! Quick! Quick!"

Imagine the shock that I have when I read how panic Mum was. Usually I would probably just doze back into sleep, but when it's such a big news, I myself took some time to come to my senses.

Mum called me within a few seconds later and was crying over the phone, "Have you read my messages?"

I just read. He's already baptised?

"Not yet. It's still night time over there. But this afternoon he's going to the church Your dad kneeled in front of the webcam and cried, but he still doesn't want to change his mind."

Silence.

I have no idea how to console her.

I would not dare to say I know a lot of Buddhism, but I suppose I have learnt enough to know in brief how we should react. So I told her that there's no point we cry over it. He's already decided, then we couldn't stop him. Probably he's influenced by his friends, probably the country as a whole, probably because he doesn't have enough karma to be a Buddhist this lifetime. But having said that, that doesn't mean him being baptised now, he would be a Christian the whole life. When the Buddhism in him matures in the future, he'll still be a Buddhist. Mum was a bit calmer after that, and started to worry the church that he was going to be baptised was some diverted demonition whatever.

So the next thing I did, was to send the text message to the brother. "What kind of church is it?"

"There's no denomination, but the church is a baptist."

Sis called then, also sounded pretty sad. She talked to the brother over Skype, and the brother said he'll consider postpone the baptism for the time being. Sis told him to think of our parents, his decision is too sudden for them.

I know it shouldn't be a matter to even be worried about. We were brought up the conventional Buddhist way, going to the temple, burn josstick, pray so that we pass our exams and what nots. But it was only last year when I was knocked into my senses and started to understand more about it. I visited Jang Sem Ling after the lowest point of my life so far, and that somewhat helped me find a solace. I texted the brother again, not asking him to postpone straight away, he'd seen his God as how I've seen mine, he has every right to do what he wants, but I asked him to put our parents' priorities in his mind first.

"Okay, I know... I'll think about it. Thanks."

Sis called again later. She said Mum was calmer, but we're still unsure how Dad was. She called the brother over Skype again, and he too, was crying on the other part of the world.

Why let the choice of our religion hurt ourselves so much? Blood is always thicker than water. The brother have had the dream of Jesus long ago when he started to read the Bible before going to bed. It was since years ago that he had made up his mind that he wanted to become a Christian. But somehow, the parents just couldn't accept it because they themselves had been cheated off their money when they went to a church in the past. And they've nailed into our minds since that Buddhism is the best.

Like, erm, from what I've learnt from my friends, as long as what the religion teaches you is right, then it's not wrong to believe in it.

But sometimes, I just couldn't help but to think that when the brother becomes a Christian, it would just somehow affect our family ties. I talked to him about it, he said he knows what's the difference of religion and tradition. But him becoming a Christian doesn't mean he will ditch us.

And at this moment in time, as to why he decided to become a Christian, it's his choice and it's not for us to stop him. Buddhism doesn't force a person to become a Buddhist. It is after all, the state of mind. When you understand the logic of it, then you know what's right. But of course, when you pray to a worldly God, you get your reward, that's what a lot of people do. But praying to a worldly God doesn't give you the chance for enlightenment. We after all, the ultimate goal was to leave the cycle of this samsara. So perhaps, his karma wasn't enough. His affinity with Buddha wasn't as strong as his affinity to Adam's God.

I really hope the parents would be able to calm down. There's nothing we could do. It's his life and how he decides to do with it. From the Buddhism point of view, force is not the right thing to do. Heck there's no wrong and there's no right. Whatever we're doing now, it's all in our mind.

I probably might not know what I had before, but I know I had the experience of being in a semi-conscious state when I somehow see images and sculptures of Buddha arranged along the walls, so many of them that it was very grand, and sometimes one from this corner would just burst with golden dusts floating up towards the sky, assuming that person, finally achieved nirvana and become a Buddha. And I saw mine, wondering if I could leave the samsara as well, and at that moment, I thought I could just leave. But there were a lot of matters tying me down. Doing medicine is just a part of the plan this life time. And the ward rounds next week. Dinner with friends. Everything else was stopping me from going all out and somewhat, 'die'. Everything else, was what my friend told me, our attachments.

But having said that, I know it's very difficult for the parents to understand, as compared to sis and I who have attended some dharma class to see what the whole logic is. Just maybe, my affinity with Buddha is stronger as compared to everyone else in the family.

Have a great week everyone.

Disclaimer: This post is purely written based on what happened in my family. It has got nothing to do with anyone's else's believe or religion. No offense intended.