Search Buddhist Channel

Terror of the Real Cheese Touch!

by Shen Shi'an, The Buddhist Channel, April 3, 2010

Singapore -- Based on the book, the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' movie reminds me of a phase of growing up that is probably more terrifying than being smack in the middle of the adolescent years.

When is that? It's the beginning of the above - that awkward transition when one tries to hasten growing up - cluelessly! This corresponds to the beginning of the middle school years - when one struggles with 'Zen' conundrums like 'Should I just be me? Is it awesome or uncool to be me? Who am I really? Is it cooler to just be me or to follow the cool crowd? But who is really cool?'

Greg, the protagonist kid realises that trying too hard to impress is... well... unimpressive, that being cool is to stick up for your friends, even if they seem conventionally uncool. In short, counter-intuitively, being cool is not being pretentious, self-conscious or full of self, but to be selfless in helping others in need. Of course, it's even more cool to win more friends through this! The 'wimpy kid' realises this and sheds his wimpiness when he decides to remove the dreaded 'curse' of the Cheese Touch and save his friend Rowley from certain shame when the latter was forced by bullies to nibble the nasty cheese.

The Cheese Touch is really a childish 'game', that originated from an accidentally and anonymously dropped piece of cheese on the school's basketball court. Neglected over time, it became increasingly mouldy and disgusting. From the book by Jeff Kinney, 'Then one day, this kid named Darren Walsh touched the Cheese with his finger, and that's what started this thing called the Cheese Touch. It's basically like the Cooties. If you get the Cheese Touch, you're stuck with it until you pass it on to someone else. The only way to protect yourself from the Cheese Touch is to cross your fingers.'

On a graver note, the Cheese Touch fosters senselessly paranoid discrimination, that renders one unfortunate student after another an immediate 'pariah' upon contact, a social outcast. Oh, the cruel games kids play! Incidentally, the Buddha spoke against unfair societal caste systems and supported the 'judging' of individuals by their nobility in thought, word and deed. The Cheese Touch curse needed a hero to vanquish and Greg saves the day by pretending to have picked up and eaten part of the cheese. In a somewhat profound speech on the stupidity of the Cheese Touch to schoolmates who gathered to see him with the cheese, he tells them that he was doing them a favour. Being less 'enlightened', they run away. However, Greg wins back his best friend Rowley.

My take on the real Cheese Touch is that non-vegan and thus dairy cheese shouldn't be 'touched', much less eaten - because of the cruelty involved in manufacturing it. From http://viva.org.uk/goingvegan: 'Cattle reared for milk production are exploited and made to suffer, just like animals reared for meat.

They suffer from lameness, mastitis (inflammation of the udders) and other illnesses and – worst of all – they are forcibly separated from their calves just days after they are born so that humans can drink their milk. Cows are not some kind of special animal that produces milk automatically: just like every other animal, including us, they only produce milk to nurse their young. Male dairy calves, meanwhile, are useless to the dairy industry and are usually shot at birth.' Supporting such cheese is truly a curse for seriously exploited cows! Shun it!

We Need Your Help to Train the
Buddhist AI Chat Bot NORBU!
(Neural Operator for Responsible Buddhist Understanding)

Dear Friends in the Dharma,

We seek your generous support to help us train NORBU, the word's first Buddhist AI Chat Bot.

Here are some ways you can contribute to this noble cause:

One-time Donation or Loan: A single contribution, regardless of its size, will go a long way in helping us reach our goal and make the Buddhist LLM a beacon of wisdom for all.

How will your donation / loan be used? Download the NORBU White Paper for details.

For Malaysians and Singaporeans, please make your donation to the following account:

Account Name: Bodhi Vision
Account No:. 2122 00000 44661
Bank: RHB

The SWIFT/BIC code for RHB Bank Berhad is: RHBBMYKLXXX
Address: 11-15, Jalan SS 24/11, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone: 603-9206 8118

Note: Please indicate your purpose of payment (loan or donation) in the payment slip. Thank you.

Once payment is banked in, please send the payment slip via email to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv. Your donation/loan will be published and publicly acknowledged on the Buddhist Channel.

Spread the Word: Share this initiative with your friends, family and fellow Dharma enthusiasts. Join "Friends of Norbu" at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norbuchatbot. Together, we can build a stronger community and create a positive impact on a global scale.

Volunteer: If you possess expertise in AI, natural language processing, Dharma knowledge in terms of Buddhist sutras in various languages or related fields, and wish to lend your skills, please contact us. Your knowledge and passion could be invaluable to our project's success.

Your support is part of a collective effort to preserve and disseminate the profound teachings of Buddhism. By contributing to the NORBU, you become a "virtual Bodhisattva" to make Buddhist wisdom more accessible to seekers worldwide.

Thank you for helping to make NORBU a wise and compassionate Buddhist Chatbot!

May you be blessed with inner peace and wisdom,

With deepest gratitude,

Kooi F. Lim
On behalf of The Buddhist Channel Team

Note: To date, we have received the following contributions for NORBU:
US$ 75 from Gary Gach (Loan)
US$ 50 from Chong Sim Keong
MYR 300 from Wilson Tee
MYR 500 from Lim Yan Pok
MYR 50 from Oon Yeoh
MYR 200 from Ooi Poh Tin
MYR 300 from Lai Swee Pin
MYR 100 from Ong Hooi Sian
MYR 1,000 from Fam Sin Nin
MYR 500 from Oh teik Bin
MYR 300 from Yeoh Ai Guat
MYR 300 from Yong Lily
MYR 50 from Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
MYR 1,000 from Chiam Swee Ann
MYR 1,000 from Lye Veei Chiew
MYR 1,000 from Por Yong Tong
MYR 80 from Lee Wai Yee
MYR 500 from Pek Chee Hen
MYR 300 from Hor Tuck Loon
MYR 1,000 from Wise Payments Malaysia Sdn Bhd
MYR 200 from Teo Yen Hua
MYR 500 from Ng Wee Keat
MYR 10,000 from Chang Quai Hung, Jackie (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from K. C. Lim & Agnes (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from Juin & Jooky Tan (Loan)
MYR 100 from Poh Boon Fong (on behalf of SXI Buddhist Students Society)
MYR 10,000 from Fam Shan-Shan (Loan)
MYR 10,000 from John Fam (Loan)
MYR 500 from Phang Cheng Kar
MYR 100 from Lee Suat Yee
MYR 500 from Teo Chwee Hoon (on behalf of Lai Siow Kee)
MYR 200 from Mak Yuen Chau

We express our deep gratitude for the support and generosity.

If you have any enquiries, please write to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv

TOP