Five-Color Healthy Diet

Diversifying the diet is one important rule of thumb for a healthy diet. By diversity we meant that we incorporate five colors of vegetables and fruits into our diet. Each of these colors, according to the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), corresponds closely to each of our five organs, one to one. By [...]

Daily Wisdom — Heaven in Your Heart

By Chan Master Wu Jue Miao Tian
Translated by Shilo, Harry and Ronald
Heaven in Your Heart
A true Chan Master is enlightened; all the sentient beings inside his body have been cleansed and liberated to the state of Nirvana. What is sentient being? What is Nirvana? Nirvana is a state of total blessedness, complete release from the [...]

More Guan-Yin Pictures

Many people told me that they loved the Guan-Yin pictures I posted last time. Guess what — Here are more!

USC Zen Class for Spring 2008 — Third Meeting

10 people showed up for the 3rd meeting including 4 newcomers.
I started the session with an introduction to Motion Zen followed by practice of Arm Dropping Exercise. Motion Zen exercises were taught by Bodhidharma originally who was the first patriarch of Chinese Zen. These exercises provide lots of physical benefits as well as a smoother [...]

Self-Loop: In Jokes and In Life

I wrote an article entitled Self-Loop: In Movies and In Life in which I explained why self-loop is such an intriguing idea that it makes many good movie scripts. Here is the sequel: Self-loop in jokes and in life.
The idea of self-loop can crack you up? No kidding! I have two examples below — I [...]

A Nondiscriminating Mind

One of our Chan/Zen practitioners brought up the following question:
We always say that we should have a nondiscriminating mind. However, Buddha said in the Diamond Sutra, “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).” Isn’t this a [...]

Enter to Grow in Wisdom — Harvard University

One of the oldest universities in this country, Harvard has a history that her students are proud of. Well, at least, my tour guide today is! He is a senior at Harvard, about to graduate in a few months, and is extremely knowledgeable about his school. His passion for his school was seen in his [...]

MIT Museum — An Inspirational Place

How I ended up visiting this place is not to be revealed. It’s not important anyway, compared to the so many stories inside this place to unfold: MIT Museum. Great innovation, great research, great entrepreneurship, great dedication, … any widespread praise for the MIT faculty and students can be found here. It’s a different kind [...]

Breathe Slowly With Me

Deep breathing is known for its calming effect. It relieves nervousness, increases oxygenation of the blood, and enhances metabolism. Humans are born to breathe; yet, few know that breathing can be used to improve health.
Our breath tends to be short and unrhythmic when we are angry or anxious. Knowing how to adjust breath in such [...]

USC Zen Class for Spring 2008 — Second Meeting

Today we had 14 people (same as last time!) and 2 of them were here for the first time. Most people came back from last week which is really encouraging. We used to have a big group in the first meeting and the size shrinks a bit over time. And it’s funny that sometimes we [...]

Imagine There Is No Rush…

John Lennon’s Imagine is an iconic song. It appeals for world peace, and pleads for end of fighting and wars. Here is the lyrics:
Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no [...]

Yoga Teacher Training Program and Certificate

My wife’s current yoga teacher, Purusha, holds a biannual yoga teacher training program for yoga teachers to-be and serious yoga practitioners alike. My wife is considering participating in it, the upcoming one, starting in April through around Sept. The program flyer for a previous series is included below. The 200-hour training program covers many aspects, [...]