Mind activities of a Stone boy

This Rumi's poem inspires me this morning. I couldn't help putting it down here. TENDING TWO SHOPS Don't run around this world looking for a hole to hide in. There are wild beasts in every cave! If you live with mice, the cat claws will find you. The only real rest comes when you're alone with God. Live in the nowhere that you came from, even though you have an address here. That's why you see things in two ways. Sometimes you look at a person and see a cynical snake. Someone else sees a joyful lover, and you're both right! Everyone is half and half, like the black and white ox. Joseph looked ugly to his brothers, and most handsome to his father. You have eyes that see from that nowhere, and eyes that judge distances, how high and how low. You own two shops, and you run back and forth. Try to close the one that's a fearful trap, getting always smaller. Checkmate, this way. Checkmate that. Keep open the shop where you're not selling fishhooks anymore. You

Here is a few sites that I found that teach you how to swim faster! What a wonderful time that we live on. One can only wish that one day that knowledge can be downloaded into one's brain as that in the movie of Matrix. * Swim drill * From a youtube clip

I was a bit emotional after attending Archbishop's talk so I decided to write him an email, but I did not have his email address, so I sent it to the National Cathedral. To my surprise, I got a response. (I removed the names for anonymous reason.) Dear Mr. Stone Boy, I followed up on your request that your email be forwarded to Archbishop Tutu . I learned just a few minutes ago that it was, indeed, forwarded to his office in South Africa. Staff assistant Cathedral College - Hide quoted text - -----Original Message----- From: Stone Boy Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 3:22 PM To: Cathedral College Subject: Re: The Spirituality of Reconciliation Dear Sir, I attend the speech delivered by Archbishop last night. Would you please relay my attached message to him? Thank you, -Stone Boy PS: attached message Dear Archbishop, I had the honor to attend your speech tonight at National Cathedral. I appreciate very much your words at the end to encourage people to bring out the best in thems

Tonight I helped paint toe nails of a friend and I couldn't help thinking of the times when I touch up my car with thick paint.

This is another wonderful song by Leonard Cohen. Anthem The birds they sang at the break of day Start again I heard them say Don't dwell on what has passed away or what is yet to be. Ah the wars they will be fought again The holy dove She will be caught again bought and sold and bought again the dove is never free. Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in. We asked for signs the signs were sent: the birth betrayed the marriage spent Yeah the widowhood of every government -- signs for all to see. I can't run no more with that lawless crowd while the killers in high places say their prayers out loud. But they've summoned, they've summoned up a thundercloud and they're going to hear from me. Ring the bells that still can ring ... You can add up the p

This Sunday I attended a talk given by a senior member in my sangha. The talk emphasizes the point that one could get all the love he needs from himself. There are many ways to paraphrase this concept. It is self-love, the foundation of being able to love others. It is the concept that one could find all the happiness from within rather than from the external sources. It is the concept that one should be self sufficient without the need to count on others to provide happiness. It is an interesting concept that I have been exploring for many years. I still could not get it emotionally even though I understand it literally. I guess that it is the ultimate solution to the feeling of loneliness and being alone. When one is feeling lonely, usually it is the case when one needs some sort of love, companionship, feeling of connection with others, caring, and etc. If one could provide those kind of loves to oneself, one would not feel lonely any more. In a way, it makes so much sense that ther

I will make an effort to study this ancient text every day until I finish it. Here is the entry in Wikipedia. I will attempt to study these versions. Translated by Derek Lin Translated by J. Legge Translated by D.T. Suzuki & Paul Carus This one has original Chinese Text. I recalled back in the days (in high school). We tried to study the original texts. We (at least I) could not understand it. I only got the fuzzy meaning of it. Till this day, it is still fuzzy to me. The text was written in such ancient Chinese which could be written as in Greek to us. Since I am in the West now, many people here consider this as a sacred text, I will give another attempt to read it. Perhaps, with the help of multiple translations, I will finally gain some meaning of this text. My comments: There are 81 chapters of this book. The first chapter is the most famous one that contains this opening line "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the etern

I came across this interesting concept that is summarized by this word. Here is the first paragraph from Wikipedia. To say that something is "ineffable" means that it cannot or should not, for overwhelming reasons, be expressed in spoken words (as with the concept of true love). It is generally used to describe a feeling, concept or aspect of existence that is too great to be adequately described in words, or that inherently (due to its nature) cannot be conveyed in dualistic symbolic human language, but can only be known internally by individuals. In Zen it is often said that (by analogy) the finger can point to the moon but is not the moon; likewise words and actions can point towards what is ineffable but cannot make another know it. Here is the entry .

I had a good fortunate to visit this reserve with my whole family a week ago. It has giant cypress trees dotted in a beautiful forest area. I saw one tree named as "The Bear's den" and it claims to be 2,800 years old. (Well, it is not as old as this one .) This is almost unthinkable to me. That tree has been around before Buddhism was created! It is beyond my comprehension. That tree has witnessed all the super fast advancement of human civilization. It must bear lots of wisdom in it. What an odd logic I drew. Still, I feel the calming effect very much while walking in the forest. It is a treasure place from Taiwan.

While I was on vacation visiting my brother's family, my brother and my nephew gladly told me about Thunderbirds TV Series that they purchased in DVD format. Even my sister was hymning the main theme of the background music and I was impressed. I vaguely remembered watching them when I was way too little. I remember that there are 5 aircrafts, number 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. That was about it. I don't remember any character's names, not to mention that it was a foreign language to me at that time even though it was translated into Mandarin. Now, my English is so much better than before. I could clearly understand the whole episode. I am impressed by how advanced the idea and imaginative spacecrafts were even by today's standard. So, without further adieu. Here is the wikipedia entry of this .

The Roman politician and philosopher Cicero (1-6-43) tells the famous story about the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius II and his courtier Damocles, which he had read in the History of Timaeus of Tauromenium. The anecdote is often told as a reminder that for a powerful man, there's always danger, although the real point of the story is that happiness is fragile. This translation of Cicero's Tusculan disputations 5.61 was made by Gavin Betts. Indeed this tyrant [Dionysius II of Syracuse] himself gave his judgment as to how fortunate he was. For when one of his flatterers, Damocles, mentioned in conversation the wealth of Dionysius, the majesty of his rule, the abundance of his possessions, the magnificence of the royal palace and denied that there had ever been anyone more fortunate, he said, 'So, Damocles, since this life delights you, do you wish to taste it yourself and make trial of my fortune?' When Damocles said that he desired this, Dionysius gave orders that the man be

For some inexplicable reason, the following chant from a private in the movie keeps repeating in my head. I clearly remember how haunting that was to watch the whole movie back at one late summer night. I had a hard time going to bed after that. War is really a terrifying experience. It should be prevented at all cost. "This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of my enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen." Shouldn't people experience the dark side to really appreciate the bright side? Not really yet not sure. For now, le

Ego's tricks "One of the great dangers of transformational work is that the ego attempts to sidestep deep psychological work by leaping into the transcendent too soon. This is because the ego always fancies itself much more ‘advanced’ than it actually is." -- Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson The Tibetan teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, warned of the trap of spiritual materialism. He says we must be ever diligent to spot the ego’s use of the spiritual journey to further its own ends. We may think it’s spiritual to yearn for divine connection. And yet, if the longing is to fill an emptiness inside, just how does this differ from the one who yearns for money or possessions to fill the inner void? Do we look to our spiritual practices as proof of our evolved consciousness or as protection against fears? Any time we use spiritual disciplines to maintain our identity and security, we are not yet on the path of genuine spiritual development. "Enlightenment is ego’s ultimate disapp

“A coward dies a thousand deaths, a hero only one.” ~~Shakespeare

Do the Meditation Rock Allen Ginsberg To listen If you want to learn how to meditate I’ll tell you now ’cause it’s never too late I’ll tell you how ’cause I can’t wait it’s just that great that it’s never too late If you are an old fraud like me or a lama who lives in Eternity The first thing you do when you meditate is keep your spine your backbone straight Sit yourself down on a pillow on the ground or sit in a chair if the ground isn’t there if the ground isn't there if the ground isn't there Sit where you are if the ground isn't there Do the meditation Do the meditation Do the meditation Do the meditation Learn a little Patience and Generosity Follow your breath out open your eyes sit there steady & sit there wise Follow your breath right outta your nose follow it out where ever it goes Follow your breath but don’t hang on to the thought of your death in old Saigon Follow your breath when thought forms rise whatever you think it’s a big surprise It's a big surpr

Even if there is no one around to project negativity in our direction, we can perceive the moment such that we generate suffering. For example, you think of someone you don't like and you get upset (i.e. suffer). This could be someone who has never even met you and does not know of your existence. This particular example is far more significant than the example of people who are negative with us as it has everything to do with US (i.e. the way that we think). Hence the Buddhist emphasis on right view. --Kourosh 90 percent of daily thoughts are redundent -- re-cooked and reheated from the year, day or moment before. We can find freedom by releaseing but instead we like to cling and consequenctly suffer. It's so simple yet the lot of us don't get it. -- Fabrice (Brent met while traveling in India)

I just came back from Garrison Institute's retreat with Gehlek Rimpoche. Thank you both for encouraging me to go there. It was really a wonderful surprise for me. I am deeply touched by his teachings and the love and support from other participants. The Rimpoche showed me tremendous compassion and wisdom. The participants impressed me very much, too. Most people that I met seem quite advanced in Tibetan Buddhism practice already. Also, most people I met (and I met quite a few of them) there were married and in relationship, which sort of contradicted my belief that many would be single. It is a sign of a healthy sangha, I think! I had a good fortunate to meet with Rimpoche in a small gathering (about 15 people) for about half an hour. I sat directly across from him maybe 15 feet apart. And I could sense an uplift energy in me directly coming from him. It was so unusual and energizing. Later on, I asked a couple of people who were in that small gathering and they all told me the sam

(Quoted from here ) We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time. - T.S. Eliot Let go of the past! Let go of the future! Let go of the present and cross over to the farther shore of existence. With your mind wholly liberated, you shall come no more to birth and death. - Buddha "All conditioned things are impermanent" - When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. - Buddha To gain that worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else. - Bernadette Devlin Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play. - Heraclitus We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. - Buddha I teach that the multitudinousness of objects have no reality in themselves but are only seen of the mind and, therefore, are of the nature of may

Tonight I came back from a friend's office. He asked me to install a contact management software on a 5 year old Celeron powered laptop with 384 Mbyte RAM. The laptop is painfully slow. Every mouse click takes a painful few seconds to respond. The contact management software requires at least 512 Mbyte RAM to run. I suggested that it is time to get a new computer. But he won't listen to my advice and still would like to try to install that software on it. This decision eventually takes a toll on my patience. I could hardly hide my reluctance to work on this machine. I just wanted to leave and go home, but another friend of his, who is also none techie, was also there and kept asking me questions on why it didn't work. I answered his questions half heartedly. It was very stressful. Stressful to the point that I couldn't help but show my stress. What a bad experience is this! How would I maintain my equanimity in a situation like this? Is it possible?

Yesterday afternoon I went with a close friend to my garden to pick up some plants to be transferred to her garden. The spearmint plant that I planted the day before was dry and withered by the sunlight. I planted that spearmint on the spot due to accidental uprooting it while I was picking some of its leaves. The day before we also brought back some spearmint and peppermint leaves and branches in the house. They were drooping on top of piano now but still in a relative good shape. We all know that plants can't live without sunlight. Yet, a strong sun ray will easily burn off a delicate plant. This teaches me that things would flourish only in the right condition. But, what is the right condition? Even though sun, water, and air are crucial to plants, plants can only flourish with right combination of each element. Perhaps, balance is the key. This is really how things are in general. I could extrapolate this to human relationships. People only meet with the right conditions and th

(extract from http://www.wwdrums.com/how-to-play-djembe-a-12.html) There are two positions for playing the Djembe, standing and sitting. We find the best way to begin to play the Djembe is in the sitting position. This is the most common method with Drum Circles as well. You can also play the Djembe in a standing position with the use of a strap. For this article, we will discuss the sitting position. To play the djembe, sit up straight on the edge of a chair. Cross your ankles and tuck them slightly under you. Hold the djembe between your knees or thighs so that the bottom of the drum rests behind your heels. There are three basic tones for the Djembe. You can experiment and find variations on these tones. However, it's important to begin with first mastering the basics of these tones. A good practice method is to first work on your tones for 10 - 15 minutes each practice session then work on various rhythms using the tones. Here are the tones: Bass: Noted as B, Gun or Dun. Use a

"Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold." --Girl Scout song

A Thirsty Fish I don't get tired of you. Don't grow weary of being compassionate toward me! All this thirst equipment must surely be tired of me, the waterjar, the water carrier. I have a thirsty fish in me that can never find enough of what it's thirsty for! Show me the way to the ocean! Break these half-measures, these small containers. All this fantasy and grief. Let my house be drowned in the wave that rose last night in the courtyard hidden in the center of my chest. Joseph fell like the moon into my well. The harvest I expected was washed away. But no matter. A fire has risen above my tombstone hat. I don't want learning, or dignity, or respectability. I want this music and this dawn and the warmth of your cheek against mine. The grief-armies assemble, but I'm not going with them. This is how it always is when I finish a poem. A great silence comes over me, and I wonder why I ever thought to use language. "Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi translated by Coleman Bar

Blue skies Smiling at me Nothing but blue skies Do I see Bluebirds Singing a song Nothing but bluebirds All day long Never saw the sun shining so bright Never saw things going so right Noticing the days hurrying by When you're in love, my how they fly Blue days All of them gone Nothing but blue skies From now on by "Irving Berlin"

THEN a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the self same well from which your laughter rises was often times filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater." But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asle

How to free ourselves of negative emotions? 1. The use of antidotes: One fundamental point emphasized by Buddhism is that two diametrically opposed mental processes cannot form simultaneously. We may fluctuate rapidly between love and hatred, but we cannot feel in the same instance of consciousness the desire to hurt someone and to do him good. “One movement precludes the other; when you extend a friendly hand, you cannot make a fist.” a. It is equally impossible for greed or desire to coexist with inner freedom. Desire can fully develop only when it is allowed to run rampant to the point where it monopolizes the mind. … In the worst cases, desire can drive us continuously to seek satisfaction at any cost; the more satisfaction seems to elude us, the more it obsesses us. On the other hand, when we contemplate its disturbing aspects and turn our minds toward developing inner calm, the obsession of desire can begin to melt like snow in the sun. Make no mistake --- there’s no question her

This morning I served food (eggs exactly) to the homeless people at the kitchen. There were about 180 people passing my spot with scrambled eggs on their trays. I cracked 300 of eggs before that. When I looked at them in the eyes, most of them were neutral, some of them were disengaging, some of them were just gazing, but a few of them had sparkling in their eyes. I was especially impressed by one man. He wore a very positive demeanor and had lots of shen in his eyes. I was even energized by his bright eye sight for a brief moment in that windowless basement kitchen. That bright eyesight immediately reminded me of my friend John B. who is currently working in Africa right now. I always felt a sense of wonder and his expansive warm presence whenever I was around him. It made me wonder what made that man stand out from my radar screen. I am guessing that a person doesn't have to be sad when he or she is in a difficult situation. There must be an innate joy and innocence in everybody.

* All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there. * Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, idolator, worshipper of fire, come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times, Come, and come yet again. Ours is not a caravan of despair. o Variant: Come, come again, whoever you are, come! Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come! Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times, Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are. * Do not grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form. * Every tree and plant in the meadow seemed to be dancing, those which average eyes would see as fixed and still. * Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart. * Everyone sees the unseen in proportion to the clarity of his heart, and that depends upon h

How quick we are to form an opinion of a person, to come to a conclusion about them. It is satisfying to the egoic mind to label another human being, to give them a conceptual identity, to pronounce righteous judgment upon them. Every human being has been conditioned to think and behave in certain ways -- conditioned genetically as well as by their childhood experiences and their cultural environment. This is not who they are, but that is who they appear to be. When you pronounce judgment upon someone, you confuse those conditioned mind patterns with who they are. To do that is in itself a deeply conditioned and unconscious pattern. You give them a conceptual identity, and that false identity becomes a prison not only for the other person but also for yourself. To let go of judgment does not mean that you don't see what they do. It means that you recognize their behavior as a form of conditioning, and you see it and accept it as that. You don't construct an identity out of it f

I. Arrive & Preparing for practice - Track #1 Spirit of life * Arrive and connect with body, breath and surroundings * Notice your mental, physical and emotional state; note any particular needs or desires and create a personal intention * Reflect on the season of Autumn, the Solstice; movement, and meditation in your life II. Intention & Three Intentful Corrections - #17 Total Praise Breath, Posture/Movement, and Consciousness (mind, body, heart and spirit) III. Review with Relaxing exercises - #8 Hush 1. Open the feet by stepping to the left; toes pointing forward, feet in parallel 2. Shoulder, elbow and wrist circles (remember soft knees and legs, relaxed mind, easy breath) 3. Shift weight turning the head, neck and arms 4. Wave hands as willows or seaweed, wave hands as clouds IVa. Letting Go Consciously - * Shaking out stagnant Qi * Feel apart, tall spine, relaxed belly, chest and back; full circular breath; head tall, eyes slightly down; arms in front, tip of the tongue b

The supreme Lord said: "You are grieving for that which is not to be grieved for. Yet you are speaking like a great scholar. A true scholar would not worry about life that has ended or not ended." [Chapter 2 Verse 11] "There was never a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings. Nor will we ever cease to exist in future." [Chapter 2 Verse 12] "Just as the embodied soul passes from childhood to youth to old age, it also passes from one body to another. The undaunted person therefore is not deluded." [Chapter 2 Verse 13] "Heat and cold, pleasure and pain arise merely because of the contact of the senses with the sense objects. They are fleeting. Therefore O Arjuna, try to tolerate them." [Chapter 2 Verse 14]

Buddhaghosa, author of The Path of Purification , tells us that when our meditation begins to bear fruit, we will recognize in ourselves these signs of a loving mind: (1) our sleep is more relaxed, (2) we do not have nightmares, (3) our waking state is more at ease, (4) we are not anxious or depressed, and (5) we are loved and protected by everyone and everything around us. In the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha mentions eleven advantages of practicing love meditation. The Buddha speaks in these terms --- of what is advantageous and what is disadvantageous --- because doing so encourages people to practice. 1. The practitioner sleeps well. 2. Upon waking, she feels well and light in her heart. 3. He does not have unpleasant dreams. 4. She is well-liked by many people. She feels at ease with everyone. Others, especially children, like to be near her. 5. He is dear to the nonhuman species: birds, fish, elephants, squirrels. Species that are visible and invisible like to be near him. 6. She

It's the old rule that drunks have to argue and get into fights. The lover is just as bad. He falls into a hole. But down in that hole he finds something shining, worth more than any amount of money or power. Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street. I took it as a sign to start singing, falling up into the bowl of sky. The bowl breaks. Everywhere is falling everywhere. Nothing else to do. Here's the new rule: break the wineglass, and fall toward the glassblower's breath & This that is tormented and very tired, tortured with restraints like a madman, this heart. Still you keep breaking the shell to get the taste of its kernel! -- Rumi

Look at this article... http://www.westegg.com/unmaintained/carnegie/win-friends.html One can assume that it lies in the premise that the more genuine connections that we have in our life, the happier life we have. Now, it is very easy to see what my daily effort should be spent toward.

Chapter 7 Deep listening and Loving speech * We have so many means of communication, TV, radio, telephone, fax, email, WWW, yet we remain islands with very little communication between family members, individuals in society or nations. * When we cannot communicate, we get sick, and we suffer, we spill our suffering onto other people. We pay psychotherapists to listen to us, but psychotherapists are just human beings who also have problems, too. * One person looking at the root of your suffering is good. Two persons looking at it is better. Two people looking at it together is best. * Don't discuss the problems when you are hurt. Make an appointment to discuss it with the person. Also, wait to see if your hurt has transformed by then. If not, when you speak, you tell the deepest kind of truth, using loving speech, the kind of speech that the other person can understand and accept. When you listen, listen with all your attention and emphasize others. * When someone says "I love

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will f

But I have all the liberty to decide what state of my mind that I would like to put in. The vision is a powerful sense to affect how my mind would feel. Just image if I constantly put myself in a blue sky scenery, would I feel bad? just image if I constantly watch trashy TV programs and mindless commercials, what would I feel? If I watch unwholesome pictures all the time, what kind of impact it will have on my mind? So is the hearing a great sense of affecting mind. What if I only speak mindfully and speak according to NVC principle, what kind of positive impact it will have on my mind? Mind is the forerunner of everything and ultimately has the total control of what I would feel.

I do believe Einstein fused with the cosmos when he flashed upon e=mc 2 … for years I contemplated his brilliant equation -- and didn't get it, until, at the lotus feet of guru, I stumbled upon the spiritual bridge between the worlds. and here it is -- Buddha's spiritual theory of evolution -- that all things are inherently Imperfect, and Impermanent that we Own No-Thing not even those dusty shoes we left outside that ancient temple door. there are No Accidents -- our sitting together and sharing essence was preordained. forget Fixed Judgments -- they keep you stuck in sludge. Transform! Two cooks with the same ingredients produce different meals -- and it all derives from how we think, speak, and act -- a simple way of defining Karma. And that, in the ultimate analysis, we are all Einstein and much more – e=mc 2 to infinity. I think Einstein was in touch with the universe when he flashed open E=MC 2 . For years I contemplated his brilliant equation -- and didn't get it, u

David Swensen's Advice for the Individual Investor Swensen shares more investing advice in his book Unconventional Success. NPR.org , October 5, 2006 · Beware of the Mutual Fund Myth: Many Americans seem to like the idea of pooling their money in an actively managed mutual fund -- where, presumably, a professional money manager can invest it better than they could themselves. But Swensen says that doesn't work. He says for-profit mutual funds have an inherent conflict of interest. They make money by charging fees that suck profits away from investors in the funds. In fact, over time -- when you factor in the fees, taxes and other costs -- he says your odds of beating the market in an actively managed fund are less than one in 100. Most mutual funds get far too big and own far too many stocks, Swensen says. In Unconventional Success , he writes that, when a fund is holding 30 to 50 stocks or more, the odds become very likely that the fund will start to t

Tonight I went to Mark's talk @ IMCW. It has been a long time since he paid a visit to DC. I was thrilled to go see him with some of my innate reservation. The talk was nice and it seems to be part of his book tour. To be with the nature is a good way to bring the awareness into the mind. His talk and his manner remind me how open and spacious Buddhism practice could be! How wonderful! Here is his website: Awake In the Wild At the end of the meditation, I ran into an old girlfriend and I had no ill will at all when I saw her. What an amazing accomplishment that this practice has helped me. The true love and compassion shines through any corner of darkness

Feelings When Our Needs Are Met Feelings When Our Needs Are NOT Met. AFFECTIONATE EXCITED JOYFUL AFRAID CONFUSED EMBARRASSED TENSE Compassionate Amazed Amused Dreading Ambivalent Ashamed Anxious Friendly Aroused Delighted Frightened Bewildered Guilty Cranky Loving Astonished Glad Mistrustful Hesitant Self-conscious Distressed Open hearted Eager Happy Panicked Lost Distraught Sympathetic Energetic Jubilant Scared Mystitied FATIGUED Edgy Tender Enthusiastic Pleased Suspicious Perplexed Beat Fidgety Warm Invigorated Tickled Terrified Puzzled Burnt out Frazzled Lively Wary Torn Depleted Irritable CONFIDENT Passionate PEACEFUL

The untrained and unskillful mind run wild easily. When I get complacent and caved into the bad habit and pattern, I do unmindful things. The result usually is strained eyes, messy desk, scattering clothes, CDs,... It is not very satisfactory. Neither is fulfilling. Where is my crying baby? Where is the lazy bone? I will find you and nurture it. Keep asking the questions and the answer will come and action shall follow.

One of the monochrome paintings he produced later in life "The Shrike" expresses his ultimate teaching of swordsmanship, namely, "the myriad principles are all of the Void." The insect that can be seen roughly in the middle of the painting, crawling up the branch of the withered tree, provides us with a hint of the meaning of swordsmanship hidden within the work. Ono interprets the painting as such: The Shrike is waiting for the fish in the pond. She could shake the dead branch to make the insect fall into the water which will entice fish to come out and eat the bug. Before then, the insect has eaten up all the leaves of the tree which was transformed into a dead tree. The shrike could catch the fish, and strike her catch to the other pointed branch to kill it. Thus: Fish kills worm; worm kills tree; shrike kills fish...; The unseen kills shrike; new trees grow around the dead tree; Shrike, fish, worm, dead trees all turn into fertilizer to grow the new tree. Such i

Even in a selfish act, there is a sense of care and protection to oneself. It is very evident. Is selfishness always a bad thing? Sometimes, we could look closely and examine what is underneath. So, the basic care and self-preserving is there... does that imply care and love are born inherently in humans? It is just that we need to learn how to extend this inherent care and love to others. Or we need to learn a better skill to express this. A selfish act seems like a very ruidmentary expression of love and care. It is not very satisfying. It is same with learning to play piano. If you only dwell on playing Fur Eles, it is not very satisfying. The key is to train the skill and express it in a better/finer/more satisfying way.