Other than practicing mindfulness, my contemplative practices are an amalgamation of Stoicism, Buddhism, Christianity, and a cornucopia of various sources. Instead of treating the works as religious texts, I use them as wise teaching tools to help myself and others during times of intense suffering. Meditation and wisdom have been intertwined since antiquity and have been represented in various works: from the Book of Wisdom in the Old Testament, to Epictetus and Aurelius in ancient Greece, to Lao Tzu in China during the Warring States Period, and to Thich Nhat Hanh and his contemporaries today.

How do we overcome the struggles, difficulties, temptations, and obstacles in life? For me, it’s wisdom, and it can be found in many places. If you look carefully enough, there are many phenomena in our daily lives that can impart wisdom to us.

There is no best time to practice but staying attuned and aware of what is around is always a good start. We sometimes think that it isn’t possible for us to be acquainted with our spiritual side because we live in cities with noise and traffic, or we have a difficult work environment. We may think we need some kind of spiritual retreat to clear our mind or start practicing. But even in places of adversity and frustration there are life parables and lessons to be found and learned. Even in the midst of our daily lives we can recall the stories of the Gautama Buddha, the Lotus Flower Sutra, or Saint Anthony’s temptation.

The composition Reflections seeks through sound to bring listeners into a state of meditative awareness. The piece ends with a bell-like figure akin to a monastery bell, reminding the listener to move into the world from their meditation.

Jon Tho studied at the Lasalle College of the Arts Singapore, where he graduated with honors as a major in composition. His compositions were awarded 1st and 4th Degree Diploma in the Golden Key Piano Composition Competition (Austria, Vienna); international category, 2nd Prize in the Academia Musica (Austria, Vienna) International Music Competition; solo category, and a finalist in the Fidelio Piano Composition Contest (Spain); jazz and impressionist category. He also represented The Pianist Studio as a guest judge for the KORG Junior Piano Competition 2019. Jon also obtained Grade 8 from the University of London; London College of Music (LCM), and the Associated Board of Royal Schools (ABRSM) for piano and music theory. Jon Tho is a member of the Composers Society of Singapore (CSS) and The Boston New Music Initiative (BNMI).

More on Jon Tho’s work can be found on our Links page.