Ethan Joins Kechara Full Time!!

“Fame, youth, money and all is impermanent. Even with it all, most people get lonely or helpless when they get older. We shouldn’t hold on to all these worldly happiness.”

It was this statement that helped Ethan Chu realize what he has known all along but had yet to understand it clearly..

His life has always been colourful, animated and full of excitement. When he was young, he was known to be a really disobedient (cheeky..!) kid. He didn’t go to school, and would run around with his friends a lot. Partially due to his parents separation, his peers influenced him and he would get up to no good without his parents knowing.

Out of love, his mum was worried and wanting the best for him sent him to Melbourne mid-way through high school. He stayed there for 4-5 years and started to pick up studying. He knew that his parents would be happy to see him get a certificate, so he studied hard to graduate from high school. Going onto university though was a difficult personal choice…His personal aim has always been to do fashion. So he came back to KL to attend Carven Ong Fashion Academy.

Starting as a sales assistant in a local boutique, Ethan worked his way up. There his employees knew that he liked fashion A LOT, and since they needed help and needed an assistant he was hired to promote a Hong Kong brand. He stuck through the typical fashion ladder, and learned everything from experience…learning the process of TV commercials, magazine spreads, photo shoots etc. This kicked off well for him, and he saved his money up to open a small shop in a KL city mall.

Wanting to experience different things…he then applied and got another job in the fashion industry. This time doing vision merchandising he handled a lot of projects with clients like Adidas, Izzue.com etc. His manager was very, very impressed with his “I’ll learn” attitude.

Picking up all these skills people would call him to do external styling jobs. It was both in Ethan’s skill and passion that he is good at what he does. Since a very young age, he has always loved to play dress up. With his friends, he started this movement called ClubKidd, where people express themselves through the way they dress & make up….which inspires people. People of ClubKidd would do this not for the attention, but for themselves. Ethan has always liked to dress up for himself, like an actor he feels good being in another character.

People in the clubbing night scene started to take notice and a lot of people would want to turn up at his parties…they would want him to host parties, hold events..and he would even be interviewed by local and Thai newspapers!

Even with all the media support and the fun that comes along with having lots of friends and nights out…the more he did it, Ethan said the more he felt it gradually became more meaningless. He started ClubKidd for his passion of fashion and music…but there were many people who started making use of him, and he started feeling silly doing it. Almost as if it became a job, he said that he felt stupid dressing up. It became no longer for him…

He withdrew from the scene…and he said that dharma came into his life at the right time.

His close friend, Bryan, is very inclined towards the dharma and Buddhism.. So accompanying Bryan, he himself started to understand more and more..

The only connection that Ethan has had with Buddhism previously was whenever his parents would take him to the temple to pray to Kuan Yin. As a child, he was always sick. He doesn’t know why, but he would have everything from asthma to rashes. Even though his mother was a Christian, she would go with him to the temple and ask for Ethan to be Kuan Yin’s godson. So as a child and growing up, Ethan would look up to Kuan Yin as his godmother…he would always talk to her whenever things goes wrong in his life…following his dad by lighting joss sticks and praying.

People know Ethan as a very kind-hearted person. He would help whoever who is in need of anything. Even though people hurt him very badly, he would still help. Though his life has been up and down, Ethan would be the one who his friends would go to to talk..and he would always try to keep on the “right path”. He is known as a good listener and a very patient person. Whoever who needs him, he will help and whenever give up on those he knows.

Ethan tells those in Kechara how much he didn’t realise how dharma helps people. He always thought that it was just pray, pray and lighting joss sticks. He sees how much it has changed his life so far, and says that he wants to learn and know more, apply it to himself, then help others at the same time. He likes to feel what others are going through, by listening and being in their shoes. He says that once he’s in their shoes, he can help them.

He doesn’t feel that dharma is about himself. His way of doing things is that if he helps others, he feels that it was help himself at the same time.

Tsem Rinpoche

Ethan as Mickey?? Hehe

Ethan in The Flintstones??

Ethan on a normal day???

Ethan on a veryyy not normal day!

Ethan’s respect for the sangha

Ethan at Elle Bangkok Fashion Week

Liaison Su Ming giving a khata on my behalf to Ethan. She passed him a framed photo of Vajrayogini. How auspicious to receive VY on his first day!

Ethan reciting the King of Prayers in order to start his motivation right for Joining Dharma work….it is important to start any activity correctly. What is written in the King Of Prayers summarizes it al well.

Ethan first day at work! 
The Kechara Care the team did the King of Prayers with Wee liang and Jean mei in front of Ladrang’s main altar.

Ethan’s gift for me…thank you Ethan!!