{"id":1869,"date":"2012-09-14T09:14:24","date_gmt":"2012-09-14T08:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/?p=1869"},"modified":"2013-07-01T17:10:21","modified_gmt":"2013-07-01T16:10:21","slug":"interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY HO by Albert Harris"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Johnny Ho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Vajra Buddhist Centre in Singapore is at the top of a narrow wooden staircase, the entry to which is through an unassuming doorway on the busy corner of Geylang and Lorong 40.\u00a0 At the side of the doorway is a Chinese vegetarian restaurant, a rarity in this city of gastronomic diversity.\u00a0 I\u2019m here to meet the secretary, Johnny Ho.<\/p>\n

We were meant to meet at 1.pm buthaving the foresight to call him, he tells me that our meeting
\nwill have to be delayed as he has to pick up a monk from Taiwan at the airport.\u00a0 It is now 5.pm<\/p>\n

With the sweat pouring down my face, (Singapore often has a humidity level of 100%) I enter the shrine room which is surprisingly cool with standing fans spinning in various positions around the floor.<\/p>\n

Johnny tells me he was born in Singapore but not as a Buddhist.\u00a0 I\u2019m from a Tao family, originally Tao<\/em>, he tells me in his clipped Chinese-Singaporean accent.\u00a0 I ask him how he became a Buddhist and he says a friend had told him Buddha does not control you.\u00a0 You believe in him, you go to him<\/em>.\u00a0 You don\u2019t believe in him, you can move back.\u00a0 You have a problem you go back to him.\u00a0 He\u2019s really wonderful.\u00a0 Things are very free in a Buddhist society.<\/em><\/p>\n

He tells me he was thirty-five when he turned to Buddhism, Thai Buddhism at first, meeting many teachers.\u00a0 Alex is his personal friend and he was the one who helped him turn to Buddhism, in particular Tibetan Buddhism.\u00a0 Nodding his head he says, No one can do it on your behalf \u2013 you have to do it yourself and give your heart to the society.<\/em><\/p>\n

The building does not belong to the centre but is rented.\u00a0 Originally they practised on the other side of the city.\u00a0 They moved into the building about seven years ago with ten members.\u00a0 By going to a house, there\u2019s no fun because you\u2019re maybe with your family.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

On my first visit to the centre a few days before, we were welcomed by Madame Soh, a petite lady of indeterminate age who smiled without saying much, leaving me with the impression that she didn\u2019t speak much English.\u00a0 The deference with which she was treated by others leads me to think she has played an important role in the functioning of the Vajra Buddhist Centre.\u00a0 Johnny says her role was important to the establishment of the centre.\u00a0 Whenever their finances were in the black, they would not ask her for help:\u00a0 but when they were in debt they requested money which was forthcoming.<\/p>\n

He tells me, We met Ringu Tulku Rinpoche this year <\/em>[2012] for the first time.\u00a0 He was on the way to the World Buddhist Organisation in Jakarta and through some email corresponding he agreed to come to Singapore to give us a talk and teaching.\u00a0 He stayed in Singapore for a few days.\u00a0 First he gave a general teaching then he gave a two-night teaching at Ngee An Auditorium<\/em> in Singapore and he gave some teaching here about dharma.<\/em><\/p>\n

He says his sangha liked his teaching because he knew English and he explained things very well.\u00a0 He gave a very important Tibetan teaching. Most of them <\/em>[the lamas] we do not understand the language, but Ringu Tulku, he knows very well and gave us a lot of explanations.\u00a0 There were about 30 or 40 people in the audience.\u00a0 We managed to get one <\/em>Ani [Ani Khusang Lhamo who translates for Sangye Nyempa Rinpoche] who could speak Chinese and English and she translated.\u00a0 Hopefully I will meet him again in the future; he is still in our minds.\u00a0 We have a very strong image of him.\u00a0 He\u2019s not doing it for himself, all his hard work is for others\u2026you can go to his website and see a lot of things. He does not gain anything for himself, all is for others.\u00a0 We are very lucky to find a Tulku at that high level.<\/em><\/p>\n

Johnny says that he hopes to own a place in the future.\u00a0 He would like a property in Singapore but property in the city is very expensive.\u00a0 The centre relies mostly on members.\u00a0 It costs $S3000 per month to run the centre.\u00a0 On top of this are the charges for facilities like electricity, rates and water.\u00a0 Most of the committee members pay if they can afford it.\u00a0 They rely on the donation box to pay for food for the resident lama who stays on the upper floor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0On the walls are some beautiful thankas representing various aspects of Buddhist lore.\u00a0 One is of King<\/em> Gesar<\/em> which seems older than the others.<\/p>\n

He will not make any pilgrimage this year because he has a lot of activities including a visit from Lama Norlha Rinpoche, a meditation and retreat master who will give a teaching and empowerment.\u00a0 He is resident in America.\u00a0 The Sixteenth Karmapa and Kalu Rinpoche had brought him to America<\/em>, he says.\u00a0 He is from the nyingmapa sect<\/em>, he tells me.\u00a0 He teaches the Six Yogas of Naropa only in retreat.\u00a0 He will not teach outside of the retreat.\u00a0 You can go to his website and see. <\/em>[http:\/\/kscmiami.wordpress.com<\/a>] He teaches Kagyupa<\/em> only.\u00a0 Those who practised about twenty or thirty years ago, they know his name.\u00a0 He can teach Nyingmapa, Gelugpa, Kyagupa, <\/em>[and Sakyapa].\u00a0 He knows all about dharma. <\/em><\/p>\n

What I remembered most when I left the centre was the profound effect Ringu Tulku Rinpoche had left on the sangha at the Vajra Buddhist Centre in the short time he was there.\u00a0 Also, the contrast between the cool, shaded and peaceful ambience of the centre and the bustling, noisy streets outside brought home to me what a haven the centre is.\u00a0 Singapore is home to hundreds of Buddhist dharma centres, but they need an inspired and dedicated member like the personable Johnny Ho to develop; and my wishes are that he is successful in finding a more permanent residence for the sangha \u2013 and a place for teachers as inspiring as Ringu Tulku Rinpoche to visit in the future.<\/p>\n

\u00a0About the author<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Albert is a retired teacher and has taken a year out to travel with his wife, Fulmaya.\u00a0He is currently researching the possibility of \u00a0establishing a home for the elderly in Nepal. Further information on his travels can be found on facebook and at www.blowthegaff.blogspot.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Vajra Buddhist Centre in Singapore is at the top of a narrow wooden staircase, the entry to which is through an unassuming doorway on the busy corner of Geylang and Lorong 40.\u00a0 At the side of the doorway is a Chinese vegetarian restaurant, a rarity in this city of gastronomic diversity.\u00a0 I\u2019m here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nINTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY HO by Albert Harris - Many Roads<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY HO by Albert Harris\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-14T08:14:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-07-01T16:10:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1092,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/files\\\/2012\\\/09\\\/jonnyhopic4.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Personal Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bodhicharya.org\\\/manyroads\\\/interview-with-johnny-ho-by-albert-harris\\\/\",\"name\":\"INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY HO by Albert Harris - 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