How to be rich How to be strong

Posted by :admin On : February 10, 2011
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Category: Daily Meditation, East Asian Philosphy & Cultures, Longevity and Beautiful Aging, Mind-Body Medicine

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To Understand others is to be knowledgeable;
To understand yourself is to be wise.
To conquer others is to have strength;
To conquer yourself is to be strong.
To know when you have enough is to be rich.
To go forward with strength is to have ambition.
To not lose your place is to last long.
To die but not be forgotten-that’s [true] long life.

Translated by Robert G. Henricks

There are many differenct translation, however Robert Henricks is my favorite.

Yes, The way to be rich is to know when you have enough.

And Robert says; the author clearly should have added a line between lines 4 and 5 that would contrast with what follows,

“To have money is to have wealth, but to know when you have enough is to be rich.”

There are too many things we want to possess, and our desire and greed don’t know the end, so we suffer from loss, failure…and so on.

Our ancient teacher is preaching here; If you know you have had enough and you are good as you are, You are with “T.A.O.”

The entire TAO TE CHING by Robert Henricks Here.

How You Deal with Being Sick

Posted by :admin On : February 8, 2011
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Category: Daily Meditation, East Asian Philosphy & Cultures, Longevity and Beautiful Aging, Mind-Body Medicine, To The People

So glad, finally I am writing about the way of being sick, or how you feel still O.K. even when you are sick housebound or bedbound. Since My mother has been ill for years, now at a nursing home, can’t walk, wheelchaired, with hemodialysis three times a week, hypertension, so fragile, I started thinking about the memories with her more and the feeling of being sick and weak.

Should ‘being sick’ really mean that you have no joy or peace or compassion in you?

I’d like to see this whole preconception differently.

We are allo aging and dying inevitably, however this doesn’t need to mean that any of those negative ideas come to your mind such as unhappiness, failure, loss, pain and ending.

I wish that I could never lose myself LOVE, JOY, PEACE AND FREEDOM under any harsh condition.

Below is the book about the attitude of seeing the sickness from the one expriencing the long term chronic disorder. hopefully many people benefit from this.

how-to-be-sick-cover

When I first got sick, it didn’t take long for me to accumulate a collection of healing CDs from a variety of spiritual traditions. They had one thing in common: I was instructed to breathe in peaceful and healing thoughts and images, and to breathe out my mental and physical suffering.

In tonglen practice, however, the instruction is to do just the opposite. We breathe in the suffering of the world and breathe out whatever kindness, serenity, and compassion we have to give. It’s a counter-intuitive practice, which is why the Buddhist nun and teacher Pema Chodron says that tonglen reverses ego’s logic.

If you want to read more about the author and her book, go to 

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/31/132675079/learning-to-live-a-full-life-with-chronic-illness

Zen From the Little Kid’s Book

Posted by :admin On : November 2, 2010
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Category: Daily Meditation, East Asian Philosphy & Cultures, Mind-Body Medicine

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zen-shorts-by-jon-j-muth

The other night, my 5 year-old son brought his new book “Zen shorts” written by Jon J Muth to me for reading, And the word “zen” just caught my attention, hmmm, Zen for kids?

With the beautiful watercolor images, while I was reading it for my two kids, I have found this also really good to the grown ups, yes I am also touched and felt of “Zen.”

One of the stories told here is actually my favorite among many zen stories simple but quietly striking teaching for your mind deep. I like to enjoy this with you and maybe your little ones.

“The heavy load”, story goes….

Two traveling monks reached a town where there was a young woman waiting to step out of her sedan chair. The rains had made deep puddles and she couldn’t step across without spoiling her silken robes. She stood there, looking very cross and impatient. She was scolding her attendants. They had nowhere to place the packages they held for her, so they couldn’t help her across the puddle.

The younger monk noticed the woman, said nothing, and walked by. The older monk quickly picked her up and put her on his back, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other side. She didn’t thank the older monk, she just shoved him out of the way and departed.

As they continued on their way, the young monk was brooding and preoccupied. After several hours, unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. “That woman back there was very selfish and rude, but you picked her up on your back and carried her! Then she didn’t even thank you!”

“I set the woman down hours ago,” the older monk replied.
“Why are you still carrying her?”

Now the question goes to you all,
“Do you think you have carried it long enough?”

We carry many things, many worries and angers etc…don’t you feel that heavy load still on the body, which creates the enormous amount of the burden physically and emotionally as well? Now take a deep breath and hold a bit and exhale through your mouth with ‘haaa’ sound – with that out-breath, unload all the weights.

The very unique and special power of Zen story is that it gives you continually thinking mind a temporary stop and in turn the space…the emptiness and then every one has a different question and answers rising – there is no one right question nor answer.

Be alert and mindfulness, move and live your breath always…