關於 last of us 2 hospital boss ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

【玳瑚師父客人見證】《差一點的車禍》
THE CAR ACCIDENT THAT ALMOST HAPPENED
文 / 蔡永文 先生 Written by Mr Justin Chua

我很幸運，也很榮幸，在2017年9月29日請到玳瑚師父爲我批八字。

在此，也想感謝季謙引領我聯繫玳瑚師父。這次的諮詢打開了我的思想，180度地改變了我的生活和價值觀。

這是我第一份的見證，因爲這只不過是發生在這六個月內的一部份好事。我相信在未來的時間里，將會有第二份和第三份，因為我需要時間去執行玳瑚師父的建議和提示。

先讓我說說這五件事：

1.「隱形的第三者」：

我的書房裡有一位看不見的第三者。雖然「他」沒有惡意，但我覺得他在情緒方面影響了我的家人。玳瑚師父很準確地分析，並解釋了這情況的來龍去脈及「他」的由來。

雖然「他」還在那裡，但我現在內心安寧。因爲我已經應用了玳瑚師父的兩個建議。我現在正在籌備執行玳瑚師父其他的建議，實行後就會寫第二份的見證。

2. 貴人：

批八字令我印象深刻的其中一項，就是認貴人。

自從我小時候起，我就知道我沒有一帆風順的生活，因此，我一直提醒自己努力工作，為我所做的一切付出更多的心血和心思。

玳瑚師父向我解釋如何確認我的貴人。諮詢結束後，我仔細去思考那些在我生活中幫助過我，指導過我的人，那些在我需要支持的時候給予力量，關懷和安慰的人。果真，他們就是師父爲我歸類的貴人！玳瑚師父的準確度200％！這是現代科學無法解釋的。

要引貴人出現，我必須累積更多的功德，這也是我自2017年9月底以來一直在做的事。關於功德，我將在以下再詳細說明。

3. 休息環境或住宅：

玳瑚師父建議，如果我的家人去度假，韓國將是最理想的地方。 （當然，歐洲也可以，但是需要多一點金錢）。他提到，去寒冷的國家旅行對我們會有好處。

我還記得他提到，對於我的八字，最好能住在水體或綠地/山脈附近。我們全家在一個滑雪的旅館住宿三晚，我終於明白玳瑚師父的建議。我們的房間位於山前，算是山腳。

以往我和家人一起度假的時候，我通常是最後一個在早上醒的，总想睡得更多，哈哈！但是在這三個的早晨裡，我是第一個醒來，最奇的是，我就如充了電似的，充滿活力，就像自然醒。

我的家人感到驚訝，因為我是最後一個睡覺的。（只有一間廁所，我會確定所有的家人使用完後，我才去使用，而且我還必須洗奶瓶，並準備第二天的一切）。突然之間，我體驗到玳瑚師父的建議是如此又一次的準確，及其寓意。

4. 車禍：

玳瑚師父曾預測2018年將是我可能發生嚴重車禍的一年。我很擔心。事實上，在諮詢之後，我每天都會檢查我的汽車輪胎，然後才開車。但是，有一天，我沒有檢查。如果我回想起來，那是因為我忙辦年貨的事宜（那時是立春之後），而我正趕時間。

同時，我車的空調吹出熱的空氣，壞了。我在網上搜索，找到一些可靠的維修空調公司，並與其中一些人進行了交談。我終於決定找靠近我家的維修公司，也因爲在通話的時候，老闆聽起來對我很老實、坦誠和真誠。到達他的店面後，他的一名員工爲我的空調進行了診斷測試，並建議我更換新的一套。同時，他剛好在我的一個輪胎上發現了嚴重的缺陷。

輪胎的鋼絲已經露出了！這顯示輪胎胎紋已經嚴重磨損。我非常困惑，因為一兩天前，我很肯定不是這個狀況的。我心裡在想，這公司真的拯救了我的命啊！

想想如果在高速公路行駛，輪胎可能爆裂，車禍肯定是致命的。萬一我的車撞到另一輛車，其他乘客或車輛受到影響，該怎麼辦？我感到震驚，也幸運。我和老闆聊了聊，並感謝他，然後......我想到玳瑚師父的指導，才發現這老闆就是我的貴人

這是否意味著我已度過了這個難關？我不確定，但我有一種感覺，在我的生活中修功德和累積功德，是讓這事化險為夷的關鍵。

5. 功德：

玳瑚師在臉書上的文章提到了修功德。自從我遇到他以來，我提醒自己時時刻刻要做善事。

一些簡單的例子：捐贈給窮人和貧困者，向那些需要幫助的人伸出援助之手。

例如：我每周會去廟訪，一位行走困難的奶奶要求我給她買一杯茶，雖然我不久前從樓梯上跌了下來，剛出醫院，我還是馬上買一杯給她。

另一件事：一個媽媽抱著嬰孩在細雨中等待一輛Uber，我把我的雨傘借給她們，也陪她們等。

一個簡單的善念，也能大有幫助。

我也常唸「住生短咒」。我發現在2018裡，貴人較頻密地在我的生命中出現。

玳瑚師父是一個嚴肅的人，但他對每個人都很關心。我記得當他給我提出一些建議時，我和他分享了我在執行這些建議時遇到的一些挑戰，他的表情是真的很關心，並提出了其他可行的方法。

如果有人想改善自己的生活，不要期待聽甜言蜜語或處處都稱心如意。最重要的是，採取正確的行動並時時用心努力。

謝謝玳瑚師父！ 🙏🙏🙏
祝福您身體健康、年年有餘、一年比一年好！🙏🙏🙏

⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯

*Testimonial Part 1 from Justin Chua*

I have the good fortune and privilege to have my Bazi read by Master Dai Hu around End September 2017. I want to thank Ji Qian for linking me up with Master Dai Hu as this session opened up my mind and changed my life.

This is Part 1 of my testimonial because after a span of six months, these are just some of the positive things that have happened. I am certain that in time to come, there will be Part 2 and Part 3 because I will need time to work on Master Dai Hu's suggestions, advice and tips.

Meanwhile, let me illustrate on five key specific areas:

1. "Invisible third party":

There was an invisible third party in my study room. While "he" wasn't malicious, I felt "he" did affect my family in terms of moods and emotions. Master Dai Hu was spot on in his analysis and explain the fundamentals behind this situation and "him".

While "he" is still there, I am at peace and things have become better because I have applied two pieces of advice which Master Dai Hu had suggested. I am now working on the next course of recommendations and I will update this testimonial when it materializes.

2. Benefactors:

One of the memorable aspects of our session was the identification of Benefactors.

Ever since I was young, I know that I do not have a smooth sailing life and hence, I have always reminded myself to be hardworking and put in extra effort in everything I do. Master Dai Hu explained to me on how to identify my benefactors.

After the session, I went back to reflect on the important people who have assisted me, mentored me and gave me strength when I am in need over the years.. and guess what, they fall into these categories of benefactors.

The accuracy is 200%, and this is something that modern science will not be able to explain. For benefactors to appear, I must accumulate more merits, and this is what I also have been doing since end September 2017.

More to be elaborated below.

3. Resting Environment or Residence -

Master Dai Hu suggested that if my family were to go for vacation, Korea will be the most ideal place. (Of course, Europe as well, but subject to our budget). He mentioned that a trip to cold countries will do us good. I also recalled he mentioned that for my Bazi, it is best to find a residence near a water body, or greenery/mountains.

I had a sneak preview of this and during one of our stays in a ski resort, I finally understood why. Our room was located right in front of a mountain. In all the vacations I went with my family, I was usually the last to wake up in the morning and always wanted to sleep more.

But for these three particular mornings, I was the first to wake up, and when I do so, I feel very recharged and energized, like I woke up naturally.

My family was even surprised because I was the last to sleep (there was only one toilet and I made sure all my family members use it first before it was my turn, and also I had to wash milk bottles, and prepare for the next day). And suddenly, Master Dai Hu's recommendations were spot on once again after I realized the significance.

4. Car accident:

Master Dai Hu predicted that 2018 would be a year where I would likely have a serious car accident. I was very worried. In fact, after my session with him, I checked my car tires every day before I move off.

However, for one day, I did not check. If I recalled, it was because I was busy with CNY stuff (it was just after 立春), and I was in a rush. Concurrently, my air con failed on me, blowing hot air. I googled, found some contacts for a reliable air con workshop, and spoke to a few of them.

I finally settled on one which was near my house, but also, the boss seemed to be really honest, upfront and genuine to me during the phone call. Upon reaching the workshop, one of his worker ran a diagnostic test for my air con and suggested that I change a new set. At the same time, he happen to spot a serious flaw in one of my tires. The steel threading have already appeared which means the tire is already bare and worn out.

I was pretty puzzled because I was sure it wasn't like that just one or two days before. I then realized that this workshop could have save my life.. imagine driving along the expressway, the tire could burst and a car crash is certainly deadly.

What if my car hit another car and other passengers or vehicles are affected? I was shocked and counted my blessings.

I had a chat with the boss and thanked him, and then.. I realized he was my benefactor based on Master Dai Hu's guidance. Does it mean that I have made it past this critical stage? I am not sure, but I have a feeling cultivating merits could be important in this incident.

5. Merits -

Master Dai Hu and his articles on Facebook mentioned about cultivating merits. Ever since I met him, I have made it a point to accumulate merits.

Some simple examples: donation to the poor and needy, lending a helping hand to people who requires it at that point of time

Some examples: While at my weekly temple visit, a grandma who has difficulties walking asked me to buy her a cup of Teh O, I did so right away even though I had fell off the stairs and out of hospital not long ago.

Another one: I offered my umbrella to a mother and her toddler while she was waiting in the drizzle for Uber.. simple thoughts to help others, goes a long way.

I also often recite the Rebirth to Pure Land Short Mantra. I find that benefactors appear in my life more often in 2018.

Master Dai Hu is a strict person but he means well to every individual. I remember when he gave me some recommendations, and I share with him some of my challenges in executing it, he looked genuinely concerned and suggested feasible alternatives. If anyone wants to change their lives and make it better, do not expect sweet words and a bed of roses. Most importantly, take the correct action and make a conscious effort.

Thank you Master Dai Hu! 🙏🙏🙏
Wishing you best of health, wealth and all the good things in life! 🙏🙏🙏

【賭上靈魂的女人】

青竹蛇兒口，黃蜂尾上針，兩者皆不毒，最毒婦人心。

I have a Bazi client, who has been a social escort for over a decade.

She didn't tell me the truth at the start. In fact, she "challenged" me to use my 6th sense and offered her Bazi.

I do not need your Bazi to read you inside out. Also, Bazi analysis is a highly methodological and scientific method to understand a person's past, present and future Destiny. I'm no medium. There is no 6th sense needed.

Over the many short messages before our meeting, she expressed her shock that I could read so much from merely her words.

I didn't have her birth details at that time, nor had I seen a single photo of hers.

With the internet era, a competent Metaphysics practitioner must have the ability to dissect a person's true character and intention, even from a simple "Hi".

Impossible? Too judgmental? You just haven't met a seasoned human scanner in real life. Or you don't know the true you well enough to see the rock hard truth in our words.

While messaging me questions about a (legitimate) business of hers, I replied with a verse written by my Grandmaster, Living Buddha Lian Sheng:

"君子愛財，取之有道。
不義之財雖到手，
無限後患跟著來。"

(While wealth is covetable, a gentleman makes his wealth through just and ethical means.
Ill gotten wealth, though in your hands, will elicit endless troubles pouring your way.)

She was astounded and asked, "Do you actually know what my job is? This is shocking..."

I guess I passed her challenge with flying colours.

.

She wasn't a sex worker, due to harsh circumstances like severe poverty or mountains of heavy medical bills for her family.

A drunk gang rape incident in her uni days changed her views on men and she wanted to take revenge on men. She lived a life of drugs and alcohol in between her lectures.

The way I see it, is her obsession for money that caused her downfall.

On one hot summer day in 2006, she answered a social escort advertisement. She was barely 21 and was influenced by what she read online.

The "Mama-san" who looked her over told her she needed to put on weight.

She was surprised. Wasn't it easier to earn money with a slim figure?

The Mama-san snapped, "Nonsense. Most men dislike a woman who is too slim. They prefer those with some flesh."

She silently made a promise to herself to swallow more burgers.

Her first client was an Arabic businessman. She was paid US500 for one hour.

That virgin taste of easy money lured her deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Clients of powerful backgrounds, Singapore and overseas, single and married, private and government sectors...one-on-one, multiple players, mass orgies...

She lived like a bird freed from her cage. Suddenly she could buy anything she desired, just by sweet talking and giving lusty men access to her nubile body. She was in and out of hotels, as frequently as 5 times a day.

The carefree lifestyle, the freedom of not answering to any boss and those money that poured from the sky was her drug.

In her own words, she was "the woman that all wives curse and fear".

She referred to herself as the woman the wife will loathe to find traces of existence, when the wife checks her husband's handphone with trembling hands.

It was as if she took pride in that.

How did her cause of seeking revenge on men become a twisted path of demolishing other women's marriages?

.

It didn't take her long to accumulate 6-figures in her bank account.

The more money she had, however, the more insecure she became.

She worried about losing it all. She deeply craved the warmth of love to complete her soul.

She was only 22. The client was manly, handsome and charming. He gave her $20K for her company.

She badly wanted him for her own. To be his wife.

With $100,000 withdrawn, she gave it all to her 2nd Mama-san. She decided she would use black magic to lock his heart. And soul.

But it was a fraud. The Mama-san started exhorting from her.

She was desperate and down to her last $2. She began stealing from her family and lying to feed the incessant demands and threats from her Mama-san.

She gradually realised this was her retribution of selling her body for quick money.

However, this new realisation didn't change her a bit.

She met a new client, Dave. He was a married man. It was love at first sight for her.

The initial joy she had from the money and attention he showered her blinded her wisdom to the extramarital affair.

She stayed in one of Hong Kong's expensive apartments at a prime district. But it soon became an soulless shell of loneliness that prompted her suicide attempts.

Dave coldly dumped her like a hot potato, as he didn't wish to handle an emotionally volatile woman.

.

Ken told her she bore an uncanny resemblance to his first love. She fell hard for his sweet words and gentle demeanour.

He weaved a forlorn tale of an emotionally abusive and lonely marriage, and how it was impossible for him not to to be attracted to her.

They travelled greatly and dined at expensive restaurants.

To have a married man giving his heart to her, was like tasting the forbidden apple. That first juicy bite satiated her craving to be desired. And to win another woman.

This time, she decided she would use black magic again to break up his marriage. She coveted that role of his wife. A permanent and lasting relationship, finally.

Black magic uses the dark forces of ghosts to carry out the client's wishes. She paid a good US$10,000 for a famous sorcerer and another US$4000 for her Thai amulet and mud puppet.

Did she capture Ken in the end?

They got into physical fights crazily. The amulet that controlled the ghosts backfired, and her sanity was devoured by the ghosts.

.

Her craziness drove her to swallow 200 sleeping pills and cut her wrists. ANYTHING to have him stay with her. Ken was horrified and visited her daily at the hospital. She felt triumphant. Finally, he was at her beck and call.

The happiness was short-lived. After her discharge, he broke up with her when he was on an overseas stint.

She went absolutely berserk and grabbed a knife to her throat. It felt that the ghosts wielded full control of her mind and body. Her mum kept yelling at her.

The realisation of truth came too late for her: A man, who lied to his wife and had an affair, will never be honest with her. Once a liar, always a liar.

She was warded into the high-dependancy unit at the mental hospital. Everyday, she was surrounded by suicidal and high-risk patients. They were bounded at their feet and hands. It was a petrifying sight. Was this the end of her life? She wasn't even 28. How did she allowed a man to destroy her prime years?

She sought to understand love and karma. She delved into Buddhist books, wanting to know what caused her to lose her mind. She started to have deep regret about taking short cuts in life and her laziness in earning money the ethical way. She saw, on her hands, the fresh blood of people's happiness that she had killed.

But the greed and anxiety in her couldn't be satisfied with a regular job. Or a single man who doesn't make enough to provide for her.

She was needy, attention-seeking and quarrelsome. I had called her a yoyo. I had spent many hours over a few months, replying to her messages.

Every day, she fought hard against the temptation to take up another escort job

.

「捨邪歸正」

I lost count how many Masters she sought advice from before she found me online.

She read my posts and was amazed by my tenacity to take failures.

She watched my video on suicide and became aware of the Hell that all suicide victims go to. To repeat that act of killing themselves every day at the same time they died.

Among the many things I said at our consultation, I could tell her the age range she sold herself and that it was a elder lady who gave her the chance. She was surprised at my accuracy.

I told her the only way out was to sincerely repent for her past misdeeds. Blind listening to Buddhist chants and sutras would do nothing to change her fate. That is passive. Being active is to recite it and abide by the precepts.

I instructed her to write out her story in as much details as possible, to lead other sex workers, or wannabes, suicidal people and men with affairs to the Right Path.

This was one of the fastest ways I know that can change a disastrous life around.

All the Thai amulets, crystals and pendants she stashed in her room MUST go. She spoke of their decreasing power over time, and it seemed like a never-ending black hole as she kept on buying more and more to help her legitimate business.

She asked whether she would be able to get a publisher to buy her story.

I told her to forget about making money from her book. Give it for free. Post it online. Somehow, somewhere, everywhere. Get the story out. Fast.

When her boyfriend left her a sum of money, I insisted that she returned it. Don't take money that you didn't earn it rightfully. She said that was her breakup fee. I put my feet down, and said it was a proper relationship between two singles, and she caused the breakup. Why would she need money for loving a man who had loved her?

She promised she would write her story.

But she lied to me. Just like how she lied of making the $49 donation the next day, before seeking a Bazi consultation with me.

She went to the Guan Yin Temple at Waterloo Street, and sought a divination stick. It was her favourite activity whenever she was troubled or at a dilemma.

Right after she left the temple, she messaged and questioned why she received a 下簽 (bad lot) for my recommendation.

I asked for the number of the divination lot and the actual question she posed.

"I want to write a story about my life to encourage women not to sell their bodies and for married men not to have affairs. I may be hurt or sabotaged by people, so please protect me."

That didn't sound like a question. But the Bodhisattva had a way in teaching sentient beings.

I was dumbfounded at the Bodhisattva's omnipresent accuracy and foresight, when I saw the divination number.

It was a bad lot indeed, but not because of the solution I gave to my client.

.

「莊子試妻」

Zhuangzi was a famous and well-respected Chinese philosopher of the Warring States Period.

One day at the mountains, he walked past a new grave and saw a woman kneeling over the freshly turned soil, hurriedly fanning it.

Not understanding the woman's behaviour, Zhuangzi asked for her intention.

The woman replied, that her husband lied beneath the soil. Before he died, he had said she could only remarry, when the soil of his grave dried. It was the rainy season at that time, hence her fervent fanning, so that she could quickly seek a new man.

Zhuangzi shook his head, when he heard of her heartlessness.

Unknown to many, Zhuangzi was an accomplished Taoist practitioner. With his supernatural powers, he helped the woman to dry the soil almost immediately. Thrilled at the dried grave, the widow gave her fan to Zhuangzi and hurried down the mountain.

Zhuangzi returned home, singing and waving the fan. His wife, Tian, questioned where he got the fan from. When she heard of the widow, Tian was so angry that she tore the fan into pieces and called the widow shameless.

Zhuangzi pacified his wife and said he had faith in her chastity.

A few days later, he fell very sick and died. Tian was saddened at her husband's sudden death and wept in sorrow

At his funeral, a very handsome young man showed up with his old servant. He said he was Zhuangzi's student, and a son of an important government official.

He wanted to perform the rites of a dutiful student, and helped in his teacher's funeral, by watching vigil for three years.

His good looks caught the eye of the newly minted widow, Tian. She sought to know more his eligibility from the old servant.

Within 20 days, they got married.

On the night of their wedding, the young man was struck with an ear-shattering migraine. Tian anxiously asked the old servant for help. The old servant said his young master had this strange illness since birth. The only cure was to consume the brain of a human. Back in his hometown, the father would take the brain from the prisoners sentenced for death for his son.

But in this remote countryside, where could they find a human brain as medicine?

Tian thought of her dead husband. She promptly took an axe and hacked open his coffin.

Zhuangzi leapt out from the coffin and mused this now-famous Chinese verse, "青竹蛇兒口，黃蜂尾上針，兩者皆不毒，最毒婦人心。"

Tian proclaimed that she heard noises in her coffin and wanted to see if Zhuangzi was alive.

Zhuangzi questioned the red finery on her and the red decor in the house. Tian argued that she wanted to welcome him. So she donned on the wedding finery to get married with him again.

The young man and his servant walked in. They were actually manifestations of Zhuangzi's supernatural powers.

Tian was so ashamed of her heartless and deciteful act that she eventually hung herself.

.

Every divination lot comes with a poem and a background story. This was the background story on my client's divination lot.

The poem states:

因名喪德如何事 卻恐吉中變化凶
酒醉不知何處去 青松影里夢朦朧

Virtues are destroyed in pursuit of self gain. Fear that the auspicious will morph into bad.

The drunkard knows nowhere to go. In the green forest a shadow lingers in a dreamy haze.

.

It is common to encounter clients that lack faith in my recommendations.

Some will ask many questions after our session, wanting to know why my solutions will help them or how I derive my solutions. There are also emotional clients who would flare up and lose all their manners, when they can't get an answer that they like from me.

I don't ask my doctor what ingredient goes into the making of my cough syrup and how it works scientifically in my body.

I take action by drinking it as prescribed. Because based on past experience, I trust that his medicine will work to help my predicament. I don't drink, I continue to be sick, I don't see results.

My suggestions don't require my clients to consume unknown medical liquids into their bodies. Yet few clients take action, when it comes to their Destiny.

Despite me being recommended by their friend who experienced positive results with my help, and have genuine testimonials to justify my fees.

That divination lot was Bodhisattva telling me: My client will not write her story, for she does not sincerely regret her past acts.

It was also a grave reprimand to her to mend her ways before it was too late.

But she didn't see the divination lot in the same manner as I did.

Not only does she lack faith in my words, she distrusted the holy words of the Bodhisattva too.

.

Give money, buy love, buy fame, buy business, buy wealth and buy that. No need hard work.

Such is the sexy appeal of many ghostly amulets. They appeal to people who want many things in life but refuse to follow the Law of Karma, to sow seeds the right way.

I see one client bidded for a Thai amulet from a Facebook Live. Another wanted to buy a multi-coloured bracelet, because "so pretty! Got power some more!" Luckily, his Wife who had learned some Buddhism from me stopped him.

.

In March 2017, this client sent me a message:

"Hi Ji Qian, hope you are well. Good luck for your Home Fengshui For A Happy Marriage tomorrow.

I was looking thru our past convos where we first started speaking online. Yes, Im a spoilt brat and Im a yoyo porcupine. I look at a sentence that is poignant - "the day you stop relying on men is the day you become prosperous". I wonder if that day will ever come. I I finally understand that my Facebook Adverts getting disabled is due to my past karma. And I haven't finished writing the repentance story which u instructed me to write in August. I think I know that I'm half-hearted in repentance, that's why I can't bring myself to finish the story. I'm just wondering if I am supposed to survive on my savings till my Facebook Advert Account get reactivated.

I haven't been able to find any new product to sell since XXX (sales also failing miserably). I am weak-willed and too reliant on men. The only thing keeping me from committing suicide is my mum and because I'm reminded by Shifu's words that a suicide victim is doomed to repeat the same act."

菩薩英明。

.

Last year, I had casually asked if I could share her story. She promptly gave me the permission.

Yesterday, one client called me unempathetic towards him. The way he wrote suddenly jolted my memory of this client. I had taken too long to write her story.

I told her to write in English and Chinese, and she did part of it.

The account you read of her past was adapted from her written work. Though there are many grammar and structural mistakes, she does write very well.

The poison in our hearts will eventually consume our souls if we do not purge it out. What joy is there when we resort to brutal force to keep a man by our side? Should he chooses to leave, that does not discount the value of our self worth. A man who isn't interested in you for the right reason isn't attractive.

The same goes for men who cheat or pay for sex. You are ruining another woman's life when you satisfy your lust.

When you inflict suffering on another being, in return, you get pain and suffering on yourself. So don't sow the seed in the first place. Repentance done right over a period of time can prevent your past bad seeds from germinating, and reduce your suffering.

If there is any merit in sharing her story here, I dedicate all of it to my client.

May she have the inner wisdom and stability to lead a virtuous life.

May she always be surrounded by good teachers to show her the way.

May her vile affinities be broken and replaced by good ones.

May her greed and hatred be subdued.

May she repent for her past transgressions in time.

No matter how long it may take, one step forward into the Light is one step away from Darkness.

.

ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྂ༔
Om Ma Ni Peh Me Hom

By now, you have probably heard about my father’s red box. Minister Heng Swee Keat posted about it last week. The red box was a fixture of my father’s work routine. It is now on display at the National Museum of Singapore in his memorial exhibition.

Some of my father’s other personal items are there too. His barrister’s wig (of horsehair) from when he was admitted to the Bar. And a Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch given to him by the Singapore Union of Postal and Telecommunications Workers after he represented them in the famous postmen’s strike in 1952.

I enjoyed my visit to the exhibition a few days ago. Was happy to hear that many of you went yesterday. The exhibition will be on until 26 April. – LHL

MR LEE'S RED BOX

Mr Lee Kuan Yew had a red box. When I worked as Mr Lee’s Principal Private Secretary, or PPS, a good part of my daily life revolved around the red box. Before Mr Lee came in to work each day, the locked red box would arrive first, at about 9 am.

As far as the various officers who have worked with Mr Lee can remember, he had it for many, many years. It is a large, boxy briefcase, about fourteen centimetres wide. Red boxes came from the British government, whose Ministers used them for transporting documents between government offices. Our early Ministers had red boxes, but Mr Lee is the only one I know who used his consistently through the years. When I started working for Mr Lee in 1997, it was the first time I saw a red box in use. It is called the red box but is more a deep wine colour, like the seats in the chamber in Parliament House.

This red box held what Mr Lee was working on at any one time. Through the years, it held his papers, speech drafts, letters, readings, and a whole range of questions, reflections, and observations. For example, in the years that Mr Lee was working on his memoirs, the red box carried the multiple early drafts back and forth between his home and the office, scribbled over with his and Mrs Lee’s notes.

For a long time, other regular items in Mr Lee’s red box were the cassette tapes that held his dictated instructions and thoughts for later transcription. Some years back, he changed to using a digital recorder.

The red box carried a wide range of items. It could be communications with foreign leaders, observations about the financial crisis, instructions for the Istana grounds staff, or even questions about some trees he had seen on the expressway. Mr Lee was well-known for keeping extremely alert to everything he saw and heard around him – when he noticed something wrong, like an ailing raintree, a note in the red box would follow.

We could never anticipate what Mr Lee would raise – it could be anything that was happening in Singapore or the world. But we could be sure of this: it would always be about how events could affect Singapore and Singaporeans, and how we had to stay a step ahead. Inside the red box was always something about how we could create a better life for all.

We would get to work right away. Mr Lee’s secretaries would transcribe his dictated notes, while I followed up on instructions that required coordination across multiple government agencies. Our aim was to do as much as we could by the time Mr Lee came into the office later.

While we did this, Mr Lee would be working from home. For example, during the time that I worked with him (1997-2000), the Asian Financial Crisis ravaged many economies in our region and unleashed political changes. It was a tense period as no one could tell how events would unfold. Often, I would get a call from him to check certain facts or arrange meetings with financial experts.

In the years that I worked for him, Mr Lee’s daily breakfast was a bowl of dou hua (soft bean curd), with no syrup. It was picked up and brought home in a tiffin carrier every morning, from a food centre near Mr Lee’s home. He washed it down with room-temperature water. Mr Lee did not take coffee or tea at breakfast.

When Mr Lee came into the office, the work that had come earlier in the red box would be ready for his review, and he would have a further set of instructions for our action.

From that point on, the work day would run its normal course. Mr Lee read the documents and papers, cleared his emails, and received official calls by visitors. I was privileged to sit in for every meeting he conducted. He would later ask me what I thought of the meetings – it made me very attentive to every word that was said, and I learnt much from Mr Lee.

Evening was Mr Lee’s exercise time. Mr Lee has described his extensive and disciplined exercise regime elsewhere. It included the treadmill, rowing, swimming and walking – with his ears peeled to the evening news or his Mandarin practice tapes. He would sometimes take phone calls while exercising.

He was in his 70s then. In more recent years, being less stable on his feet, Mr Lee had a simpler exercise regime. But he continued to exercise. Since retiring from the Minister Mentor position in 2011, Mr Lee was more relaxed during his exercises. Instead of listening intently to the news or taking phone calls, he shared his personal stories and joked with his staff.

While Mr Lee exercised, those of us in the office would use that time to focus once again on the red box, to get ready all the day’s work for Mr Lee to take home with him in the evening. Based on the day’s events and instructions, I tried to get ready the materials that Mr Lee might need. It sometimes took longer than I expected, and occasionally, I had to ask the security officer to come back for the red box later.

While Mrs Lee was still alive, she used to drop by the Istana at the end of the day, in order to catch a few minutes together with Mr Lee, just to sit and look at the Istana trees that they both loved. They chatted about what many other old couples would talk about. They discussed what they should have for dinner, or how their grandchildren were doing.

Then back home went Mr Lee, Mrs Lee and the red box. After dinner, Mr and Mrs Lee liked to take a long stroll. In his days as Prime Minister, while Mrs Lee strolled, Mr Lee liked to ride a bicycle. It was, in the words of those who saw it, “one of those old man bicycles”. None of us who have worked at the Istana can remember him ever changing his bicycle. He did not use it in his later years, as he became frail, but I believe the “old man bicycle” is still around somewhere.

After his dinner and evening stroll, Mr Lee would get back to his work. That was when he opened the red box and worked his way through what we had put into it in the office.

Mr Lee’s study is converted out of his son’s old bedroom. His work table is a simple, old wooden table with a piece of clear glass placed over it. Slipped under the glass are family memorabilia, including a picture of our current PM from his National Service days. When Mrs Lee was around, she stayed up reading while Mr Lee worked. They liked to put on classical music while they stayed up.

In his days as PM, Mr Lee’s average bedtime was three-thirty in the morning. As Senior Minister and Minister Mentor, he went to sleep after two in the morning. If he had to travel for an official visit the next day, he might go to bed at one or two in the morning.

Deep into the night, while the rest of Singapore slept, it was common for Mr Lee to be in full work mode.

Before he went to bed, Mr Lee would put everything he had completed back in the red box, with clear pointers on what he wished for us to do in the office. The last thing he did each day was to place the red box outside his study room. The next morning, the duty security team picked up the red box, brought it to us waiting in the office, and a new day would begin.

Let me share two other stories involving the red box.

In 1996, Mr Lee underwent balloon angioplasty to insert a stent. It was his second heart operation in two months, after an earlier operation to widen a coronary artery did not work. After the operation, he was put in the Intensive Care Unit for observation. When he regained consciousness and could sit up in bed, he asked for his security team. The security officer hurried into the room to find out what was needed. Mr Lee asked, “Can you pass me the red box?”

Even at that point, Mr Lee’s first thought was to continue working. The security officer rushed the red box in, and Mr Lee asked to be left to his work. The nurses told the security team that other patients of his age, in Mr Lee’s condition, would just rest. Mr Lee was 72 at the time.

In 2010, Mr Lee was hospitalised again, this time for a chest infection. While he was in the hospital, Mrs Lee passed away. Mr Lee has spoken about his grief at Mrs Lee’s passing. As soon as he could, he left the hospital to attend the wake at Sri Temasek.

At the end of the night, he was under doctor’s orders to return to the hospital. But he asked his security team if they could take him to the Singapore River instead. It was late in the night, and Mr Lee was in mourning. His security team hastened to give a bereaved husband a quiet moment to himself.

As Mr Lee walked slowly along the bank of the Singapore River, the way he and Mrs Lee sometimes did when she was still alive, he paused. He beckoned a security officer over. Then he pointed out some trash floating on the river, and asked, “Can you take a photo of that? I’ll tell my PPS what to do about it tomorrow.” Photo taken, he returned to the hospital.

I was no longer Mr Lee’s PPS at the time. I had moved on to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, to continue with the work to strengthen our financial regulatory system that Mr Lee had started in the late 1990s. But I can guess that Mr Lee probably had some feedback on keeping the Singapore River clean. I can also guess that the picture and the instructions were ferried in Mr Lee’s red box the next morning to the office. Even as Mr Lee lay in the hospital. Even as Mrs Lee lay in state.

The security officers with Mr Lee were deeply touched. When I heard about these moments, I was also moved.

I have taken some time to describe Mr Lee’s red box. The reason is that, for me, it symbolises Mr Lee’s unwavering dedication to Singapore so well. The diverse contents it held tell us much about the breadth of Mr Lee’s concerns – from the very big to the very small; the daily routine of the red box tells us how Mr Lee’s life revolved around making Singapore better, in ways big and small.

By the time I served Mr Lee, he was the Senior Minister. Yet he continued to devote all his time to thinking about the future of Singapore. I could only imagine what he was like as Prime Minister. In policy and strategy terms, he was always driving himself, me, and all our colleagues to think about what each trend and development meant for Singapore, and how we should respond to it in order to secure Singapore’s wellbeing and success.

As his PPS, I saw the punishing pace of work that Mr Lee set himself. I had a boss whose every thought and every action was for Singapore.

But it takes private moments like these to bring home just how entirely Mr Lee devoted his life to Singapore.

In fact, I think the best description comes from the security officer who was with Mr Lee both of those times. He was on Mr Lee’s team for almost 30 years. He said of Mr Lee: “Mr Lee is always country, country, country. And country.”

This year, Singapore turns 50. Mr Lee would have turned 92 this September. Mr Lee entered the hospital on 5 February 2015. He continued to use his red box every day until 4 February 2015.

(Photo: MCI)