7th Zen Meeting at USC — Fall 2007

Today we introduced a new Motion Chan and a new Chakra. It’s Heart Opening exercise and Heart Chakra. We meditated on Navel and Heart Chakras for 25 minutes which is not a bad progress since the start of the semester…
Next week will be the last official meeting (we will still hold group meditation afterwards which [...]

Scrambled Words

I have laid out some difficulties that nonnative speakers faced in fast reading. One of them is the unfamiliarity of words as well as inability to differentiate similar words. And today when I was sharing my observation with Bronson, he introduced me to this research study on “scrambled words”:
http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/~mattd/Cmabrigde/
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, [...]

Five Free and Easy Ways to Donate to Good Causes

I shared some of the charity I am doing some time before. Some of them are free (such as clicking on the Hunger Site); some are not (such as World Vision child sponsorship). However, here is the complete free donation guide. YP my wife and I have compiled all the opportunities available. Extensive and informative. [...]

Daily Wisdom — Impermanence

The fourth Four Verses of the Diamond Sutra says the following:
一切有為法，如夢幻泡影，如露亦如電，應作如是觀。
Thus shall you think of all this fleeting world: A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
This is a powerful reminder that everything in our perceived world is [...]

Diagnosing Slow Reading for Nonnative Speakers — a Pointer on Speeding Up

Recently YP attended a seminar teaching and promoting their speed reading techniques. She got really interested. She really wanted to improve her reading speed. Yet at the same time, we also noticed that the techniques taught are not necessarily suitable for nonnative English speakers to speed up their reading. These courses, after all, are designed [...]

Daily Wisdom — Eyes Can’t See, Ears Can’t Hear

The third Four Verses of the Diamond Sutra is the following:
若以色見我，以音聲求我，是人行邪道，不能見如來。
Who sees my by form, Who seeks me in sound, Perverted are his footsteps upon the way, For he cannot perceive the Tathagata (the Truth).
The Truth is formless, thus cannot be perceived by conventional means that are used to perceive forms. We use eyes to [...]

Daily Wisdom — Non-Attachment

Here is the second Four Verses in the Diamond Sutra.
諸菩薩摩訶薩應如是生清淨心，不應住色生心，不應住色身香味觸法生心，應無所住而生其心。
All Bodhisattvas, lesser and great, should develop a pure, lucid mind, not depending upon sound, flavor, touch, odor, or any quality. A Bodhisattva should develop a mind that alights upon nothing whatsoever, and so should he establish it.
The Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng, when listening to his master, [...]

Daily Wisdom — Form is Non-Form

In the following four days, we intend to take a deeper look at the Four Verses of the Diamond Sutra, one by one. These wise passages revealed great deal of the truth. They are the truth. However, as you may find out later, they may appear to be paradoxical or elusive at first, as what [...]

The Power of Intention

Dr. Wayne Dyer has a book called The Power of Intention. What he talks about in this book, I think, if you want a one-line abstract, can be summarized by the title of his latest book, “Change your thoughts, change your life.” There are other books which address similar topics, such as The Hidden Message [...]

What Makes a Good Yoga Teacher?

Your yoga experience depends on your yoga teacher. Finding a good one is just as important as committing to the practice. Here is how.
Full article is available at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/431759/what_makes_a_good_yoga_teacher.html
Informative and insightful suggestions for those who are looking for a good yoga teacher. A yoga teacher makes a significant part in your yoga experience. Hope we [...]

Do Search for Good Causes — Goodsearch.com

GoodSearch.com is a search engine powered by Yahoo!, which donates half its revenue (from Commercial Ads), about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. For instance, say you want to support American Zen Association, a registered non-profit organization. Then just go to goodsearch.com and be sure to enter [my charity] as [...]

6th Zen Meeting at USC — Fall 2007

In today’s session, we were practicing Arm Dropping and Shaking the Heaven and Earth exercises. We were also practicing on a new chakra — Zen Chakra, at the top of our crown, but about 1.5 inches inside. Some already felt the heaviness in that area, which is typical, due to the energy of the life [...]