The Long Road

This Samsung advertisement, featuring James Magnussen, is awesome.

It shows the commitment of an Olympic competitor and the focus on the goal of winning an Olympic goal medal, despite all the distractions.

Giving With No Attachements

There is a Buddhist saying:

"You will be the Great Power [Strength] Bodhisattva [Mahasthamaprapta] if you show joy and unselfish giving to others; you will be the Great Compassion [Avalokiteshvara] Bodhisattva if you show kindness and compassion."

This means that every person can be a Bodhisattva.

When a person compassionately does good for others, he is the Great Compassion [Guanyin] Bodhisattva. When a person gives as much as he can and donates with resolution and brave zeal, he is [like] the Great Power Bodhisattva.

When donating our money, strength and time to help other people, we must also embrace the spirit of the Emptiness of the Three Entities – donors, recipients and alms.

None of the three should exist in our minds.

We must not keep thinking about the good deeds we have done. We must not feel we are particularly kind, nor should we keep in mind that we have donated valuable goods to other people. Moreover, we must not feel that the recipients of our generosity owe us any favor.

The essence of Emptiness of the Three Entities is that we try our best simply to help other people and not cling to the good deeds we have done. Then our deeds will bring boundless merit.

Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating
by Thich Nhat Hanh


Mindful eating is very pleasant. We sit beautifully. We are aware of the people that are sitting around us. We are aware of the food on our plates. This is a deep practice. Each morsel of food is an ambassador from the cosmos. When we pick up a piece of a vegetable, we look at it for half a second. We look mindfully to really recognize the piece of food, the piece of carrot or string bean. We should know that this is a piece of carrot or a string bean. We identify it with our mindfulness: "I know this is a piece of carrot. This is a piece of string bean." It only takes a fraction of a second.

When we are mindful, we recognize what we are picking up. When we put it into our mouth, we know what we are putting into our mouth. When we chew it, we know what we are chewing. It's very simple.

Some of us, while looking at a piece of carrot, can see the whole cosmos in it, can see the sunshine in it, can see the earth in it. It has come from the whole cosmos for our nourishment.

You may like to smile to it before you put it in your mouth. When you chew it, you are aware that you are chewing a piece of carrot. Don't put anything else into your mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the carrot in.

And when you chew, chew only the carrot, not your projects or your ideas. You are capable of living in the present moment, in the here and the now. It is simple, but you need some training to just enjoy the piece of carrot. This is a miracle.

I often teach "orange meditation" to my students. We spend time sitting together, each enjoying an orange. Placing the orange on the palm of our hand, we look at it while breathing in and out, so that the orange becomes a reality. If we are not here, totally present, the orange isn't here either.

There are some people who eat an orange but don't really eat it. They eat their sorrow, fear, anger, past, and future. They are not really present, with body and mind united.

When you practice mindful breathing, you become truly present. If you are here, life is also here. The orange is the ambassador of life. When you look at the orange, you discover that it is nothing less than fruit growing, turning yellow, becoming orange, the acid becoming sugar. The orange tree took time to create this masterpiece.

When you are truly here, contemplating the orange, breathing and smiling, the orange becomes a miracle. It is enough to bring you a lot of happiness. You peel the orange, smell it, take a section, and put it in your mouth mindfully, fully aware of the juice on your tongue. This is eating an orange in mindfulness. It makes the miracle of life possible. It makes joy possible.

A Real Man

"If you want to be a real man, then you must know about etiquette and rites.

You must put humanity, justice and virtue as your utmost values.

When you achieve ambition or success, you have to pull the masses up with you.

When you are down, you do not resort to crass behaviour or fawning.

You should not allow wealth to dazzle and confuse you, nor should you allow poverty to take away your aspirations.

More important, you must not allow coercion and force to intimidate you and make you lose your integrity and moral courage.

If you can achieve these, then you can be considered to be a real man!”

- Mencius


The Chinese Sage, Mencius', observation is true during his time and it is still very relevant today.

With all the temptations, greed and evil-doers around, it is not easy to be a real man, someone with values and integrity.

Expect the Best

“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”

- W. Somerset Maugham, English dramatist & novelist (1874 – 1965)


I truly subscribe wholeheartedly to the above statement by Somerset Maugham.

It is really when you expect the best of everything, the best outcome and the best result, that you really see how the Universe is manifesting in all its glory.

When you expect the best, you put out your intentions to the Universe that you are not going to settle for less than the best. And because of this intention, the Universe will deliver exactly what you expect.

If you expect bad results, you will get what you expect. If your expectations are one of excellence, that is what you will receive.

So, which would you want in your expectations - the best or the worst.

It is your choice...

Beauty Unfolding

Flottille (detail) from Etienne Cliquet on Vimeo.

You can fall into a meditative state watching the unfolding of this origami sculptures due to the capillary action of the water.

Such simple beauty to enjoy...

What a Wonderful World

What a wonderful world indeed!!

The world is a miraculous marvel with all its beauty.

The Dreamslide

Check out this video about the Dreamslide, invented by a French man, Jean-Marc Gobilliard.

It seems to be very fun to ride - it does not have a bicycle seat and you move the Dreamslide like you are walking.

It costs about US$1,500 and you can order it at their web-site : - www.dreamslide.com