Mind activities of a Stone boy

While I was in Bodh Gaya, I had a privilege to attend 3 night of Mahamudra lecture given by Gamapa. The teaching took place at Tergar institute. There was a security check on each person before s/he enters the big hall. It was interesting to see such a phenomena that a spiritual teacher has lots of body guards. I thought that the spiritual teachings are beyond politics. We strive to live in a good life in this not-so-perfect world. Mahamudra is a teaching about the mind in Tibetan tradition. A Song of Realization: The Fivefold Mahamudra 1. If the stallion of love and compassion Does not win the race of altruism, He will not earn the praise of the crowd of gods and humans. So, earnestly focus your mind on this preliminary practice. 2. If your body, the king of the enlightened form, Does not hold the throne of the unchanging basis, Mother dakinis, the citizens, will not appear. So, earnestly focus on seeing your body as the yidam deity 3. If, on the snow moutain, the lama of the four kay

Last night it was a good cause for celebration as I made my first banana bread in my life. It is so delicious... Above all, it is so easy to make. Here is a recipe that I found online. I put it here and will try this one instead of the one from my cooking bible. Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 eggs, beaten 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas (about two of them) 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts preferred) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs, mashed bananas, and nuts into creamed butter until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bre

December 25th, 2007 Bodh Gaya is indeed a land of Buddha. Many countries have their presence shown by building a monastery there (including Taiwan!) Yet, it is very rural. I happened to be there when Kagyu Monlan Chenmo was taking place. Pilgrims from all over the world were there. It could appear to be a big Buddhism convention for people not familiar with Tibetan Buddhism. I met a couple of Rinpoches as well as meeting the young Karmapa and heard his teachings. It is truly amazing to meet someone that possesses such a high spiritual wisdom at such a young age. In addition, the place where Sujata fed Buddha Kheer (rice cooked with milk) is very near by surrounded by endless rice fields. It is not far from paradise, perhaps it is due to the compassion of Buddhism, it seems that it is the place where beggars come, too. December 17th, 2007 Varanasi is a very unique place indeed... It is a place for Hindus to come to die and get cremated. I spent a few hours at a Ghat watching the whole c

Over the Chinese new year, I went with my whole family to a hotel on the eastern part of Taiwan where hot springs are abundant. The main feature in this hotel is spa treatment. It has many hot spring pools that one could dip in. One pool, interestingly, is filled with lots of doctor fish who is ready to eat off you deceased skin. It is an interesting experience, indeed. It feels very itch to be nibbled by those small creature and the feel do feel much smoother after coming out. Here are some reports online. Humans are amazing... They can turn fish into a doctor. :-) * Fresh-eating fish * It is in Turkey , too.