Cum incep eu ziua....

"Prima ceasca imi umezeste buzele si gitul; a doua cesca de ceai ma rupe din singuratatea mea, a treia imi patrunde in maruntaie si acolo amesteca mii de idiograme bizare, a patra imi produce o usoara transpiratie si tot raul din viata mea pleaca prin pori, la a cincea ceasca sunt purificat; a sasea ma duce in lumea nemuritorilor, a saptea....Ah! A saptea...dar nu mai pot sa beau. Simt doar suflarea vintului rece care imi umfla minecile. Unde este Horatiu?[paradisul chinez] Ah! Lasati-ma purtat de aceasta briza suava!"

LOTUNG
poet chinez Tang

...

It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them.

Dalai Lama

About Meaning & Purpose of Life

Un discurs din suflet, pentru cei ce aud.

Speech of 'Buddha Boy' in Nepali

Micul Buddha, in 2009. Si a vorbit...

Din nou, despre ceaiul verde

Attributes of Green Tea

* Protects against many common degenerative diseases.
* Potent Antioxidant
* Can reduce the risk of food poisoning.
* Suppresses the production of the uremic toxin methylguanidine.
* Has a deodorizing effect on bad breath
* Satisfies the appetite and helps with caloric restriction

Epidemiological studies show that people who drink green tea have significantly lower risks of many diseases including cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Lab studies show that green tea extract protects against many common degenerative diseases.

Green Tea polyphenols are potent antioxidants, especially in the brain. Some studies show that the polyphenols most prevalent in green tea (the catechins) are far more potent in suppressing free radicals than vitamins C or E.

Green Tea can kill bacteria. Taking green tea with meals may reduce the risk of bacterial food poisoning. Drinking green tea may kill oral bacteria that cause cavities and bad breath. Green tea is also effective against a strain of staph that has become antibiotic-resistant. Green tea promotes the growth of friendly bifidobacteria in the intestine and prevents the growth of dangerous intestinal bacterial strains such as clostridia and E. Coli.

The polyphenols in green tea suppress the production of an uremic toxin (methylguanidine) to improve the clinical appearance of the kidney after renal failure. A human study showed that the toxic compound methylguanidine decreased significantly on month after the administration of green tea polyphenols. Six months later, the mean methylguanidine level was about 70% of what it had been at the initiation of treatment.

The Japanese drink green tea is known to suppress foul breath caused by certain foods. The deodorizing effect of green tea leaves has been known for centuries, and tea leaves traditionally have been used as deodorants. A study demonstrated the deodorizing action of green tea polyphenols in a test against methyl mercaptan, the compound most closely associated with halitosis. Green tea also has been shown to suppress bad smells produced by trimethylamine and ammonia.

Smooth tasting organic Japanese green tea is considered a gourmet treat by many tea drinkers. Japanese green tea can provide a satiating effect that enables people to reduce their caloric intake.

Good Green Tara mantra

un adevar...

Este de preferat să trăieşti în infern alături de un mare înţelept, decât în paradis alături de zece proşti.

Paramahansa Yogananda

Meditation On Buddha Shakyamuni

Prepare for this meditation by doing a few minutes of breathing meditation (focus your attention on your breath) to calm your mind. Then bring your attention to the suffering that all sentient beings undergo: the sufferings of heat and cold, hunger and thirst. Just as you experience many sufferings, remember that all mother sentient beings experience suffering at least equal to--if not greater than--your own. Determine to undertake this practice in order to awaken your own buddha-nature, quickly attain enlightenment and lead all other sentient beings to that same state of permanent, lasting happiness.

Visualization

The visualization of Lord Buddha is composed entirely of light, not mundane materials. In the space before you, at the level of your forehead, imagine a jewel-encrusted, golden throne. Each corner is supported by two snow lions with white bodies and turquoise manes and tails; these are the embodiment of bodhisattvas. On the flat surface of the throne is a fully opened lotus; this is symbolic of the awakened mind, arising from the mire of samsara. On the petals of the lotus are the flat disks of the sun and moon which serve as cushions for the Buddha, representing the Buddha's realizations of emptiness and bodhicitta. On the moon disk sits Buddha Shakyamuni.

Buddha's body is made of golden light. He is seated in the "full vajra" or lotus posture. He is dressed in the robes of a monk which do not actually touch his body, but are separated from it by about an inch. His face is very serene and beautiful; each hair on his head is individually curled to the right, not mingling with or touching others; his ear lobes are long; and his eyes are slightly opened.

His left hand rests in his lap in the meditation pose, holding a begging bowl, filled with nectar. The palm of his right hand rests on his right knee and his fingers touch the moon disk upon which he sits; this symbolizes his great control over anger, attachment and ignorance

Taking Refuge

From your heart, recite the refuge prayer and visualize that streams of golden-white light radiate from the Buddha's body in all directions, blessing you and all sentient beings.

You may also visualize texts of Dharma teachings on thrones near the Buddha which emanate with the sounds of the teachings contained in them. Imagine teachers you have read or heard seated on similar thrones around the Buddha. Imagine also that you are surrounded in space by all sentient beings in human form; your father and male friends and relatives are seated on your right; your mother and female friends and relatives are seated on your left; those you don't know and call "strangers" reach out to the vastness of space; those you call "enemies" are seated between you and the Merit Field of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, symbolic of anger in our mindstreams that separates us from feeling loving-kindness toward all beings and hinders our advancement to full buddhahood.

Imagine that you lead all these sentient beings in reciting the refuge prayer three times:

I take refuge until I am enlightened In the Buddhas, the Dharma and the Sangha. Through the positive potential I create by practicing generosity and the other far-reaching attitudes, May I attain buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings

Requests and Inspiration

From your heart, generate the request to the Buddha that he grant you inspiration to follow the path to full enlightenment; make this request on behalf of all living beings who are trapped in samsara.

Rays of light stream from the figure of the Buddha before you. This light enters your body and quickly removes all negativities, obscurations and hindrances, freeing you to progress quickly on the path. Imagine that this light flows not only to you, but to all living beings situated in space around you. Imagine that they all receive such inspiration and blessings as you recite the name mantra of Shakyamuni Buddha as many times as possible.

tayata om muni muni maha munaye soha

The Blessing of Body, Speech and Mind

Imagine that rays of light stream from the crown of Buddha's head to your crown; this light purifies the negatities of your body and removes the hindrances to attaining the enlightened body of a Buddha.

tayata om muni muni maha munaye soha

Rays of light then stream from the Buddha's throat to yours, pufifying the negativities of your speech and removing hindrances to attaining the enlightened speech that communicates clearly to all sentient beings, regardless of their level or capacity.

tayata om muni muni maha munaye soha

Finally, rays of light emanate from the Buddha's heart and enter your own heart center. This light purifies the negativities of your mind and remove hindrances to the awakened, omniscient mind.

tayata om muni muni maha munaye soha

Imagine that these light rays flow to all sentient beings, helping them to quickly reach a state of supreme awareness.

Maintain this visualization for as long as you can, reciting the mantra quietly to yourself or aloud and imagine that the light continues to stream from the Buddha to you and all sentient beings. Imagine that nectar accompanies the light and nourishes you completely, such is the nature of the Dharma.

Absorption

Imagine that the teachers and their thrones dissolve into light and are absorbed into the Buddha's body. Next, imagine that the texts and their thrones dissolve similarly and absorb into the Buddha. Imagine now that the throne is absorbed into the lotus, the lotus into the sun, the sun into the moon and the moon into the body of the Buddha. Buddha now comes to the crown of your head, facing the same direction as you, dissolves into brilliant, white light and dissolves into your body through the crown of your head, filling your body once again with this brilliant light.

Feel great bliss and joy as your body, speech and mind are completely transformed. Hold this feeling for as long as you can, experiencing the removal of all hindrances and obstructions to omniscience.

From this state, imagine in the space where you are sitting, arising from emptiness are the snow lions, the throne, lotus, sun and moon disks and yourself seated upon them in the same aspect as you visualized the Buddha before. Visualize and really feel that you have attained the state of omniscience; feel the enlightened compassion and wisdom of buddhahood.

At your heart appear sun and moon disks. At the center of the moon disk, standing upright, is the syllable MUM. Surrounding this are the syllables of Shakyamuni Buddha's name mantra: tayata om muni muni maha munaye soha. Streams of light flow from the MUM and mantra at your heart center to all sentient beings, completely removing their hindrances, obstructions, wrong views, delusions and traces of ignorance and thereby transforming them into the form of the Buddha as well. Meditate in this way for as long as possible, reciting the mantra quietly to yourself.

This portion of the meditation is called "bringing the result into the path." It is a very powerful method for transforming our normal view of and how we behave in the world. The result of our practiceis to attain full enlightenment; this activity of bringing the result of buddhahood to our present state is a powerful, transformative tool. You should not imagine that your body, speech or mind are the same; they have arisen from emptiness and manifested in the form of a buddha. This activity enables you to transform yourself and surroundings into vehicles that lead to full, perfect enlightenment.

Dedication

When you have completed this meditation, dedicate the positive potential of this practice to the benefit of all living beings, that they may be liberated from the hardships of cyclic existence and placed in a state of perfect peace and happiness. Remind yourself that your initial motivation for doing this meditation is to actually attain such a state as the means to be able to lead all other sentient beings to full enlightenment.

In your daily routine, bring to mind the feeling and attitude that you felt when you were just imagining the state of buddhahood. When your activities become particularly stressful, remember that such a state comes about by grasping after your "I" or some sort of non-existent self, by putting the interests of this "self" before all other mother sentient beings. Simply remembering a peaceful, blissful state--filled with love and compassion--is often enough to relieve a stressful situation; such times can be transformed into happiness by such a rememberance.

At other times, when you want to eradicate all traces of a disturbing attitude, simply reciting the Buddha's mantra om muni muni maha munaye soha is often enough inspiration to transform that state into one of peace and happiness. Reminding yourself that you are a "Child of the Buddha" and wishing to attain happiness for yourself and others helps to gradually remove such states of mind completely. When you do so, remember to dedicate the merit or positive potential to all beings, that they might do the same.

sursa

MY COFFIN SIMPLY IS

O poveste ZEN de un tilc ireprosabil. Similar, romanul ar spune ca "tot in patru scinduri ajungem"...

Once upon a time, in a certain town there was a coffin maker who opened and was running a store where he sold the coffins he made himself to the customers in the neighborhood. The popuplation in the town increased day-by-day.

The more crowded the population, the harder the making living. The harder the making living, the more serious and intensive the struggles and fights for foods, clothes, and medicine. The number of the dead also increased fast.

The more the people were dead the more coffins were made and sold, and of course, the more works to do and the coffin maker got to hire other people to help him in selling and delivering coffins to customers.

Among the number of employees, there were two young men who were muscle and strong handled the devliver coffins to the families of the dead and they wanted to make some more extra money, therefore, they helped the relatives of the dead to put the corpses into the coffins which they sold to them.

Their jobs became more complicated. They both wanted to make it easy for themselves but each of them followed two different ways.

One realized that the sizes of the dead varied and requested his boss - the coffin maker - make coffins in different sizes from which he could select the one which fited best the corpse in each case. Therefore, his relationship to the customers was good.

Unlike this salesman, the other one requested the coffin maker make one-size coffins for him. He did not care the sizes of the dead varied at all.

When the coffin maker heard the request of the man, he was very surprised and asked the man:
-How could you make the long and the short fit into the one-size coffins?
-It's very simple, sir. If I got some dead body whose legs are longer than my coffin length, I would cut them short to fit it. When I got a dead body whose legs are shorter than it, I would use my hands, one holds and one pulls, making them longer to fit the coffin and my clients should be satisfied. Do you understand what I mean, sir?
- I am sorry I do not know what you mean, my young man. Can you explain it to me?
- Oh! It's very simple, sir! My coffin simply is, but the dead bodies are complicated. I am trying to make it simple. Do you understand, sir?
- I am sorry again, I still don't get it.

Although the owner said that to the man but he made one-size coffins for him and the salesman kept selling and delivering the one-size coffins to his customers for a while until no one bought his one-size coffins anymore with the reason: His coffin simply is!

Told by Ouranus

gindul de azi pentru fiecare

Keep your thoughts positive, because your thoughts become your words.

Keep your words positive, because your words become your behavior.

Keep your behavior positive, because your behavior become your habits.

Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values.

Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny.

Gandhi

Rugaciunea Parintelui Arsenie Boca

Doamne Iisuse Hristoase, ajută-mi ca astăzi toată ziua să am grijă să mă leapăd de mine însumi, că cine ştie din ce nimicuri mare vrajbă am să fac, şi astfel, ţinând la mine, Te pierd pe Tine.
Doamne Iisuse Hristoase ajută-mi ca rugaciunea Prea Sfânt Numelui Tău să-mi lucreze în minte mai repede decât fulgerul pe cer, ca nici umbra gândurilor rele să nu mă întunece, că iată mint în tot ceasul.
Doamne, Cela ce vii în taină între oameni, ai milă de noi, că umblăm împiedicându-ne prin întunerec. Patimile au pus tină pe ochiul minţii, uitarea s-a întărit în noi ca un zid, împietrind inimile noastre şi toate împreună au făcut temniţa în care Te ţinem bolnav, flămând şi fără haină, şi aşa risipim în deşertăciuni zilele noastre, umiliţi şi dosădiţi până la pământ.
Doamne, Cela ce vii în taină între oameni, ai milă de noi. Pune foc temniţei în care Te ţinem, aprinde dragostea Ta în inimile noastre, arde spinii patimilor şi fă lumină sufletelor noastre.
Doamne, Cela ce vii în taină între oameni, ai milă de noi. Vino şi Te sălăşluieşte întru noi, împreună cu Tatăl şi cu Duhul, că Duhul Tău cel Sfânt Se roagă pentru noi cu suspine negrăite, când graiul şi mintea noastră rămân pe jos neputincioase.
Doamne, Cela ce vii în taină între oameni, ai milă de noi, că nu ne dăm seama ce nedesăvârşiţi suntem, cât eşti de aproape de sufletele noastre şi cât Te depărtăm prin micimile noastre, ci luminează lumina Ta peste noi ca să vedem lumea prin ochii Tăi, să trăim în veac prin viaţa Ta, lumina şi bucuria noastră, slavă Ţie. Amin.