Pen to Sword
Pen to Sword
Embracing the Year of the Snake: Chinese New Year 2025 Insights, Buddhist Wisdom, and Traditions
This latest episode from the team at Pen to Sword explores the upcoming Chinese New Year and the transition from the Year of the Dragon to the Year of the Snake, examining its implications for personal growth, relationships, and caution.
With insights from an expert panel including a Buddhist monk, listeners gain valuable wisdom on navigating the year with mindfulness about traffic and personal health while fostering connections.
• Overview of the Year of the Snake and its significance
• Insights into the Snake's traits and those born in this zodiac year
• Specific advice for Rats and Roosters during the Snake Year
• Risks for Snake Year celebrations in October and July
• The monk’s practices for the New Year in monasteries
• Encounters of spirituality with cultural traditions
• The role of preparedness and awareness in navigating challenges
• Emphasis on relationship-building in the Year of the Snake
Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you found value in this discussion, don't forget to share it with others who might benefit!
Pen to Sword is brought to you by Phecda.One. An exploration of, and education in Chinese Culture and how this relates to the rest of the world.
Check out: https://www.phecda.one/
Hello everyone, welcome to the latest episode of Pen to Sword. My name's Rob, I'll be your host today and we're going to be doing an episode on the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Lunar Year, and we're moving from the Year of the Dragon into the Year of the Snake, and I'm delighted to be joined by an expert panel this morning and I'll just get everyone to just say a quick hello, good morning. So I'll start. On top left is Matt. Hi, matt, how are you?
Speaker 2:good morning.
Speaker 1:Yeah, very well, thanks morning everybody you're a bit under the weather, but you've made it this morning. So a real trooper for for the podcast. Good morning and good morning, sharon. How are you? Yeah? Very well thank you, excellent, excellent, good to see you. Sharon. How are you? Yeah, very well. Thank you, excellent, excellent, good to see you. And George, how are you? How's things?
Speaker 4:Morning, I'm very well. Thank you very much. It's nice to be back on recording again, super stuff, and we're joined by Carl in China.
Speaker 1:Whereabouts are you today in China, carl?
Speaker 5:Yeah, the southern China is still quite warm.
Speaker 1:The spring is coming, so everything's fine, Excellent excellent and we're really delighted and honoured today to be joined by a new guest who is a Buddhist monk and he's given up his time to give us his expertise and knowledge around the Lunar New Year and particularly this episode about coming coming into the year of the snake. So it'd be great for us all to ask some questions and hear what he has to say. But, carl, would you be kind enough to ask the monk to introduce himself and tell us just a little bit about his background so we know who we're talking to? Okay?
Speaker 5:Okay, that master. He said he was very happy to have this opportunity today.
Speaker 6:I am a Buddhist master from Korea.
Speaker 5:Now he's. It's been more than 30 years.
Speaker 6:It's been more than 30 years.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah. So now he's come from China and now he has become the major monk in Korea and he's joined in the Buddhism religion more than this about 30 years now.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, so is he calling. Is he in Korea today? He's based in Korea. No, no, no, in China. Okay, whereabouts in China? Is he today In Jilin province? Well, we're very, very honored to have him as our guest, and that's excellent. Well, let's dive straight in. Please could you ask Tung Chien to give us, in his own words, an introduction into the Year of the Snake and start to share some of his knowledge about it, please?
Speaker 5:OK.
Speaker 6:It's a year of the snake. It's a year of the snake. It's a year of the snake, it's the best year of the snake, especially the year of the snake. The year of the snake, it's the best year for people to be close to each other.
Speaker 5:The Dragon Year comes into the Snake Year. The Snake Year is quite special for the human relationship between each other. It's the best for building up the relationship between humans.
Speaker 6:There are also small dragons this year, Especially in the field of career. What is the best? Dragon year is the best. This is the first year.
Speaker 5:It's a snake year, it's good for the people's work and it will be the prosperous year, especially this very good year.
Speaker 1:So, with the fact that it's going to be a good, prosperous year, is that going to be for everyone or is it going to be for people who are born in the year of the snake and that kind of thing?
Speaker 5:Yes, you can cook anything but you. It's the best for the rooster, the chicken, the year born and the mice, the mouse, the rat, the rat.
Speaker 1:Yes, why is it that it's going to be especially good for the rooster people that are born in the? Not like the old people?
Speaker 6:Especially now. I can say that he is especially good this year, but he is a little bit worse than before.
Speaker 5:Like for one year. It's like for rooster, for the rap year born people. Only one month. Should be careful. The rest year, the rest day, will be very good. The rap year born people is in the snake year. The lunar calendar is November. November should be careful about the traffic problem.
Speaker 1:Traffic? Yeah, okay, that's quite specific. Can I ask why traffic and why November? Is he able to expand?
Speaker 5:He said there is a principle In November you should pay special attention to the people born in the year of this. In November, the Soviet Union was born.
Speaker 6:Why this is the time when the country is very strong. In October, the Soviet Union was born. Pay attention to this.
Speaker 5:This is the and for the ear-borne people this is the fate about the rabbit ear-borne people. In November, traffic will be something we need to be very careful about. This be something is uh, you need to be very careful about this and just because of the traffic problem, the accident should be very, very careful. And also in july, this should the better should not attend any people died. All the people to send to the the any any uh people to see all the dying people that just need to keep away from that. That's very important.
Speaker 1:Can I clarify? Is it the people that are born in the year of the rat or people born in the year of the rabbit? Because you said rabbit, is it rabbit or rat? No, rabbit, the mice Rat. Born in the year of the rabbit. Because you said you said rabbit, is it rabbit or rat? No, no, rabbit, the mice rat. Yeah, okay, so for the people listening, so, people born if you're born in um 2008, 1996, 1984, you are born in the year of the rat and even even as recently as 2020. So if you've got any young children, I guess crossing the road in november, be very careful. I think that's what we need to summarize um and um. You mentioned there carl, or about the uh in july not visiting elderly people. Is that that? That's how I understood it. Is that correct? So you should. People die.
Speaker 5:If people died, they normally need to go to attend the, the, the, the, the events or like that Funerals?
Speaker 1:Do you mean funerals? Yes, funerals, yes, yeah, okay. Interesting, yeah, okay. And what about people that are born in the year of the rooster?
Speaker 5:No, For the rooster, the chicken year born people. Everything's good. Oh, it's going to be a good year. Yeah very good year.
Speaker 1:Well, you see I'm giving away my age, but I was actually born in. I'm a snake, so I was born in the year of the snake. So I'm really curious to ask what's entailed for me this year. So people that are born in the year of the snake could I ask?
Speaker 5:that he was born in the year of the snake.
Speaker 6:I just said that the year of the snake is very important for the transportation of the people.
Speaker 5:It's similar, like the mice year they're born, but also in October for the snake year.
Speaker 1:born people must be careful about getting sick, Okay okay, and what are the characteristics of someone that is born in the year of the snake?
Speaker 5:You mean what is the terrorist?
Speaker 1:What are they like? What are snakes In Chinese culture? What does the snake signify?
Speaker 4:What does the snake signify?
Speaker 1:So we've talked in the past about the ox being very strong, and we've talked about the rat being very clever and cunning. What?
Speaker 5:about the snake.
Speaker 1:What are the characteristics?
Speaker 5:Is there anything special about it? Because the student can't back down.
Speaker 6:For example, if there is a problem, the student has a bad temper. He wants to find a way to solve it, but he can't back down If something bad happens that he can't listen to.
Speaker 5:The biggest disadvantage is that this is the especially this weak character and but for the, sometimes it's very the character is very strict, very stubborn to move something forward, but this insight, the heart is hesitated.
Speaker 1:That's very interesting. How do I move this podcast forward?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, does that sound like you do? I think you better check your birth certificate, robert. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Carl, may I ask a question? Is there a difference between the snake and its various elements? So obviously we've got a 12 year cycle, so, for example, a wood snake will come around every 60 years. Is there a marked difference between the elements that you're tied to with your date of birth and your snake? So, for example, a wood snake, would that differ from a fire snake or do they tend to have the same characteristic?
Speaker 5:yeah, definitely is that the character is different in different elements in snake year.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So what would be the character for people born this year? So, going into a wood. I think it's a wood year, is that right?
Speaker 5:Yes, yes yes, he said this year is wood snake year. He said this year's child. What characteristics does he have?
Speaker 6:This year's child has a very intelligent mind. He has energy.
Speaker 5:Because this year is full with energy, so they must be very clever this year, very clever.
Speaker 3:What, tim? Sorry can I just cut across just instantly, because everybody goes to school with people born at the same time. So in five years time there's going to be a class full of half dragons and half snakes. And those teachers are just staring for it, aren't they?
Speaker 5:哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈. Majorly, it's a different. Okay, and also not only concerned about the snake ear, also need to see the month, which month you're born and that's the combination. This normal particularly, is a special character, but you need to think about this which month and the signal is different.
Speaker 1:Has anyone got any questions?
Speaker 4:Anything but any questions that they're like, anything but any questions that we can start to ask he mentioned earlier about november being a difficult month for, you know, traffic, dealing with with vehicles and traffic and stuff like that. Is that something that that that regularly comes around in the year of the snake, or is it something that he's calculated specific for this year? 这是灵感出来的。 the opposite with the energy outside. So this is the reason Understand.
Speaker 5:I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand, cole. Yeah, because the it's not calculated, come out the from the which month is. You must be careful for what? Just because the energy from come out from your soul is very weak for something, so make it is. You must be very careful in this especially special month, must be careful for what.
Speaker 4:understand that I think so. So you're saying that the energy in your soul indicates that that particular month will be difficult?
Speaker 5:yes, for particularly is uh is very quick to against, is uh some energy outside traffic is saying in November is your sickness, in October and in July if you see anybody died, and then this and your energy from your soul is must be. You know it's like cannot against to, cannot against to. How to say that must be very careful, and so is this for all people, or is it just specific? No, no, no, just specific for snake years born people.
Speaker 1:Born in the year of the snake. And just having a look, here we've got some quite famous people born in the year of the snake Pablo Picasso, Mahatma Gandhi, Robert Forsyth.
Speaker 5:And.
Speaker 1:Mao.
Speaker 5:Zedong, bob Dylan, xi Jinping yes.
Speaker 1:And Carl and Carl and Taylor Swift and Carl and Taylor Swift. So I would really like to ask Carl. I would really like to ask Tun Hsien as a Buddhist monk. I think our listeners would be really interested to understand what he, as a Buddhist monk. What does he do to prepare for the ceremony of the Chinese New Year?
Speaker 5:What do you do?
Speaker 1:in the monastery. What do you do? Are there any special things that he's responsible for with the community? Are there any things that he specifically does himself? I'd be interested to learn a bit more about his life.
Speaker 5:He wants to learn more about his life, for example, during Chinese New Year, he wants to be a Buddhist master.
Speaker 6:This is different. China is different from Korea.
Speaker 5:And you know, basically during the Spring Festival, this is different from China and Korea. They need to read the Bible and to do a lot of the Buddhism ceremony and, for example, there's different in Eastern Asia, Korea and China. That's quite different.
Speaker 1:And what are the main differences in Buddhism between China and Korea?
Speaker 6:它们的那个都是风俗喜欢的差别啊。 佛术是一个人但是你信仰的方法都不一样的。 场面也是咱们显著的孝行父母一样的那么尊重的那个。.
Speaker 5:And therefore it's basically is similar, but it's the way a little bit different In Korea. It's more like to give more willingness to people in Korea.
Speaker 1:Can I ask Carl, is it appropriate to with the Buddhist philosophy? Does it free them from the effects of the traditional lunar calendar or do they work with it? Do they very much embrace it? It's very important.
Speaker 6:On the first of January, the lunar calendar is on the first of October and on the fourth of July 十月初八还有七月四五鬼间吗.
Speaker 5:And for Buddhism, especially the three days is more important, like lunar calendar. The first day is very first day is a very big day. It's very important. And mid of July the lunar calendar, july there's a ghost festival and it's very important. And also the 8th of October is also another very important day.
Speaker 1:October is also another very important day, and can I ask why?
Speaker 5:the 8th of October is a very important date.
Speaker 6:What is the date on?
Speaker 5:October 8th it's the birthday of the Buddhism creator.
Speaker 1:Buddhism the creator.
Speaker 3:Okay, okay, yes, sharon, I suppose my question was if we're looking at the year of the snake in Buddhism, do they?
Speaker 3:because we're here in the West, we hear about people who like withdraw from life. Do they then aim to reach a stage where they can ignore this lunar cycle, or they accept that the lunar cycle happens and that they're affected by it? I'm not quite. I'm not asking my question very well, but I was just wondering if like, are they seeking to ameliorate the effects of a natural cycle that they know exists, or are they trying to put themselves outside of it?
Speaker 5:Can you repeat this? Briefly, summarize the question again.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So, very briefly, my question is for a person in the situation of Tung Hsien do people like him because I don't ask him personally unless he wants to answer personally do the Buddhists who retreat to monasteries and so on, do they work with the lunar cycle? That is, it's a natural cycle and they work with it, or do they try to withdraw from it and live outside of it?
Speaker 5:英历这块他有一些遇到一些事情, 就是自然规律或者是 现实的那个你 可以估计的那些规律? 你是想那个去 应对它还是说是想方设法 避开这些?
Speaker 6:这个是 人人都不一样, 但是一般我那个 人吧眼睛, 耳朵有鼻子, 但有舌头. I have a lot of people who have eyes, ears, nose and tongue, but people's nature is different, especially this year. People have different habits. I want to tell them about this.
Speaker 5:If you have found that someday it's not good and just try to keep away, to live outside of the especially need to be careful. That means it's just try to alarm people and you must be careful in which date and which month. That's the what he's trying to do, that to survive something.
Speaker 3:For example, can you pray or meditate to say, okay, this is a bad time for me, but I still have to go and do this thing that it's not a good time for me to do, I still have to do it. So maybe if I like 要说在这里面有没有通过念经 或者是祈祷啊.
Speaker 5:什么这样子能避开这些问题? 对?
Speaker 6:这个是念经的话. 比如说咱们中国来说避血避血, 血气不能进来. 为什么能量的 佛祖都有能量? 念经的话 正能量原来血气进不来. Why? Because the Buddha has the energy to practice the sutras.
Speaker 5:If you have the energy, the evil energy cannot enter and then it's for when you pray and read the Bibles and then it can increase your energy, can keep the all evil and bad energy away, to keep them away okay.
Speaker 3:So what we're so, what we're talking about in a sense, is that there's certain times of year that you're vulnerable. It's not that you can't do it, but you're vulnerable to the effects of something more than at other times of year. So for snakes or no, it was rat born people they're going to be vulnerable in november around traveling and transport.
Speaker 1:So and snakes.
Speaker 3:I think yeah so need to take more care and raise their energy to meet that vulnerability, not avoid it altogether say, okay, that's it, we're not going away we're not doing it, we're not getting the car, we're not getting the call.
Speaker 5:Not at all Like in reality. Is it like a reminder? Of course it's through prayer, it's like what you just said. It's like a way of practicing.
Speaker 6:For example, he just went to a place where the market was not good in January and October. How he wrote it down After a year he got not good. Write it down After a while. You will get sick.
Speaker 5:Your blood and blood pressure will be different In this case for example, like in some special month, and ask you to be very careful about the. Some need to be careful for something and you must alert and prepare if there's anything happen. You must be, you know, to have some way to avoid or to treat.
Speaker 1:That is the useful, is an alarm what, um, what else can people born in the year of the rat and the snake do to prevent bad things happening this year? Carl?
Speaker 5:请问有没有什么特别的安排跟说法呢?
Speaker 6:比如说这么说吧夏天下雨来的话天气一不一样的 给你带着今天有下雨你带着雨伞那样的吧 能下雨来没事吧.
Speaker 5:OK, for example, 刚刚怎么的一样的道理。 For example, for example just like the forecast, the weather forecast and it already tells you it's raining. Today, you can prepare an umbrella and raincoat, and if you don't do it and it must be it's wet after the raining and that is the way yeah, because I didn't bring an umbrella and I thought it was gonna rain.
Speaker 3:So yeah, the forecast tells you it's gonna rain, rain. Don't be crucified while you get soaked.
Speaker 1:What about, like you were saying earlier about how people need to be careful of their blood pressure this year, or they need to be careful with traffic and travelling and things like that? So what about things like training? Is it a good practice in Buddhism, for monksism, for monks? To? You know, I don't know. Do you know to to?
Speaker 5:he said 或者是什么有没有这样的那个说法?
Speaker 6:有啊 这样的人因为气氛吧 练功的时候特别注意点. 为什么不注意的话 自己身体里面的气下降的时候, 练的话外伤。 when I was a child I was trained to be a forester?
Speaker 5:Okay, if certainly you must be careful in special period, like in July, or you must be very careful during your training, because if you train you will be injured very, very easily.
Speaker 3:For snake born people.
Speaker 5:Yes.
Speaker 4:Specifically in July.
Speaker 3:So I think people outside tend to have a view that a philosophy or a theosophy like Buddhism encourages a kind of fatalism, that you can't do anything, that you just go with the flow and you just go with whatever happens with you. But actually that's not true. If you're told it's going to rain and you don't bring an umbrella, then that's not just know you are, you are supposed to. You're still a master of your own destiny, if you like, to a large extent, but you should be paying attention to what's happening around you yeah, yeah and so my earlier question, I think, was kind of geared towards for people who lead the very dedicated life like uh shun tian we're speaking to now.
Speaker 3:Is he trying to? Does he have to? I, I really can't put this properly. Is he trying to withdraw from that kind of uh slings and arrows? Or whatever happens to you, like day to day things go wrong. Is he trying to like put himself outside that or does he just accept it and his faith and his belief helps him deal with everything that happens every day?
Speaker 5:He said that in reality, for example, you can encounter some things. Do you try to deal with them or try to avoid these bad things? Avoid is to avoid, 还是说尽量避开这些不好的事情。 避开就行。 Is to avoid anything happen this way. It's the best way 咱们汉族人一般说是戴护身符嘛是不是. Yeah, and people they like to, using some special religion tools, like we call the 护 Hu Sen Fu, protecting the god, the symbol, the talisman. Some Buddhism tools can use that to protect yourself.
Speaker 1:Okay, so thank you very much for listening everyone. That concludes today's episode. I want to thank everyone that's been here, so thank you, dennis and Sharon, thank you George, thank you Matt, and thank you so much to Carl and, of course, to our guest Tung Hsien, for giving us so much insight into the Chinese New Year. So there you go, watch out for traffic in November. If it's raining, take an umbrella, and we'll see you on the next episode.