How to keep cut flowers fresh for a week?

Article by Jerome:

I visit a florist to buy cut flowers today. She gave me some tips on how to keep cut flowers for a week! For sharing.

1) Change the water in the vase daily!
2) Place the flowers in refrigerator or a cool place. Keep them away from sunlight!
3) Add small amount of sugar into the water.
4) Do not cut away all the leaves as the plant is still alive! Only cut away the dead leaves.


Image from Freepik

The Story of A Target Shooting Master

Article by Ada:

My meditation teacher from Bodhi Meditation shared this story in one of his dharma talks, which I find very applicable to our daily lives.

Once upon a time, there was a man famous for his good ability in target shooting. Many people wanted to learn the skills and therefore went to look for him. However, many of them also left after a short period of time without learning anything substantial. 

According to a student who managed to master the skills, his learning journey is as such: 

In the beginning, the master asked him to carry heavy sacks of rice everyday. This task is tiring and seemingly unrelated to what he wanted to learn, and many students have left grumbling they did not learn what they wanted to. However, he stayed on, thinking perhaps the teacher may have his reasons for this. 

After about a year, the master begun to let him get into contact with the bow and arrows, but he was told that the goal was not to shoot, rather, to pull the bow and aim at the target for as long as possible. It was once again very tiring and difficult, but he persevered.

Many months later, he became very good in shooting. Why is that so? The two tasks actually developed his overall physical strength so he can aim well before shooting. A relatively weaker physical strength will make one get anxious and flustered more easily, hence unable to concentrate and lowering the chances of being able to shoot the target. 

What can we learn from this story?

1. We should follow the teachings by our teachers closely, and trust that they know best. It will be difficult for us to pick up what our teachers have to impart to us with doubt and a sense of superiority.
2. We should not look down on the fundamentals. Although they are simple, tiring and repetitive, they are the building blocks to our future success. 

What other learning points can you pick up from this story? Let us know and leave a comment! :)

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2) Master Jin Bodhi Facebook

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3) Official Bodhi Meditation Website

http://puti.org

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Golden Mountain - An Artwork by Master Jin Bodhi

Learn to let go to attain liberation

There was a consummate Zen Master Jin Bifeng during the Yuan Dynasty. He reached mastery in meditation and was able to conceal himself from Heaven and Earth, practicing effortlessly like a breeze. He had only one obsession – a jade alms bowl – that was bestowed to him by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. He brought the treasured jade bowl wherever he went, lavishing it with great attention, and allowing no one to touch it.

As time went by, Master Jin Bifeng’s secular time was running out, the two deities of impermanence, Heibai Wuchang descended upon his residence to summon him. They found, however, only his body without his consciousness. They could not fulfill their task, so they turned to Earth God to seek a solution.

“What time does Master Jin Bifeng usually wake up from his meditative state?”
“His timing is uncertain.”
“Is there any way to get him out of his meditative state now?”
“Yes, he is obsessed with a jade bowl. So long as his favorite jade bowl is tapped three times, he would return.”

The two deities found the jade bowl, and tapped it three times by Master Jin Bifeng’s ear. Anxious over his prized jade bowl, Master Jin Bifeng's consciousness immediately returned to his body upon hearing the tapping. The two deities then seized him and prepared to report back.

Master Jin Bifeng lamented: "It is because of my attachment towards this jade bowl that my years of practice and innumerable merits have gone down the drain. Now I’m subject to sentient being’s sufferings of impermanence, and of life and death!”

Turning to the two deities, Master Jin Bifeng pleaded, “Please allow me a final chance to enjoy my jade bowl before I leave with you.” "Sure! You can enjoy your jade bowl much as you want!", replied the two deities who then released the Zen master.

Upon resuming his secular form, Master Jin Bifeng retrieved his jade bowl and immediately dropped it to the ground and shattered it to bits. At the same time, he uttered, “Henceforth, I shall be liberated from all attachments!” As soon as he had resolved to do so, Master Jin Bifeng entered yet another meditative state, leaving a cryptic verse that read,

“To get hold of me, one must get hold of ‘emptiness’; only if ‘emptiness’ can be captured, can you then seize me.”

Greed is the first suffering to sentient beings.
Greed can cause one to overlook the original sincerity and conscientiousness, and can destroy all of one’s merits. 
Therefore, we must overcome this affliction, liberate ourselves from this suffering in order to be free from pain, sickness and attachments.

Illustration : Master Jin Bodhi Artwork – Golden Mountain
http://www.putichanxiu.com/cZone/mb/166.html

放下得解脫

元朝有位金碧峰禪師，禪定功夫很好，他能於天地間藏身，平生修行如清風一樣隨緣自在，了無掛礙，唯一的嗜好，就是喜歡把玩皇帝賜給他的玉缽，每天隨身攜帶著，寶貝的不得了，還不准任何人碰觸它。

光陰荏苒，終於金碧峰禪師的壽辰已到，黑白無常來到金碧峰禪師住處，卻只見肉身未見魂魄。黑白兩無常無法交差，只好招喚了當地土地神查問原由：

「平時金碧峰禪師都何時出定？」
「並無一定的時間。」

「那有什麼法子可以讓他現在出定？」
「有的， 他迷戀一只玉缽，只要對著玉缽彈三下，他就會出定回來了。」

黑白無常找到玉缽後，在金碧峰禪師的耳邊彈了三下。禪師因為心繫愛缽，聽到玉缽響聲，果真心急出定，黑白無常因此勾鎖住他，準備回去交差。

金碧峰禪師自嘆一口氣道：「都是我對這個玉缽的貪愛，修行多年，因為一念貪執，折損了自己的功德，如今竟還躲脫不了生死無常！」

金碧峰禪師向黑白無常請求：「請容我再把玩一次玉缽吧，我才能心甘情願的隨著你們到閰君那兒！」
「就是讓你把玩兩下子也無妨！」黑白無常想著，就放他回來…

當金碧峰禪師還魂後，拿起玉缽，隨即往地上一砸，將玉缽摔得粉碎說：「從今往後，我再無掛礙了！」說完，金碧峰禪師又入定去了，留下一偈：

「若人欲拿金碧峰，除非鐵鍊鎖虛空；虛空若能鎖得住，再來拿我金碧峰。」

人生之中第一苦即是「貪」。
「貪」能讓人忘記最初的「真誠」與「發心」，還能毀滅修行人的一切功德。
因此，咱們要想學習解脫之法，解脫心中的苦、解脫生活的苦，乃至於解脫身體諸多病苦，就要先學會去「貪執」。

圖片:金菩提禪師畫作--金山
https://puti.org/ch/wp-content/gallery/mobao1/jinshan.jpg

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3) Official Bodhi Meditation Website
http://puti.org
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The Buddha Statue and the stone step

On a famous mountain, there was a temple. In that temple was a beautifully carved Buddha statue. Numerous people climbed a hundred stone steps to the mountain-top to perform prostrations and offer incense daily. One night, one of the hundred stone steps leading to the mountain-top complained to the Buddha statue, “We are both made of stone. On what basis do people trample on me while you sit in the shrine and receive people’s respect?” The Buddha statue laughed and said, “You only suffered from a few cuts from the knife back then before you became a stone step. I suffered innumerable cuts from the carving knife before I became a Buddha statue!”

“The Buddha statue and the stone step” was one of the fable stories published by Master Jin Bodhi on 28th May. Through personifications of the Buddha statue and stone step, Master illustrated an important principle in the path of cultivation. The path of cultivation is akin to the process of carving a Buddha statue. Just as the Buddha statue has to endure innumerable cuts from the carving knife, the practitioner must endure numerous suffering and wrongful abuse from others and practice arduously till he becomes perfectly enlightened. Master Jin said, “The path of cultivation is like the famous tale ‘The journey to the west’. This tale described a Tang dynasty monk who journeyed to the west to obtain sutras and he had to endure 81 difficult problems. If there is one less problem, one cannot become enlightened. One less problem means one will lack one particular wisdom to solve a problem. In the path of cultivation, we should be like a Buddha statue, be resolute and fervent in our practice and never regress in our practice. When we have endured through all the problems, we will find that it was the problems that made us enlightened.”

【禅意故事 -佛像与石阶】

在一座名山上，有一 座寺庙，庙里供一尊雕刻精美的佛像。每天，数不清的人沿着上百级石阶走到山顶，在佛像前顶礼膜拜，烧香许愿。一天晚上，铺在山路上的一级石阶向佛像抱怨 道：“佛像呀，同样都是石头，凭什么我被人蹬来踩去，你却高高在上，被人供在殿堂，受人瞻仰呢？”　佛像笑了笑说：“当年，您只挨了几刀，便成为了一块石 阶，而我是经历了千刀万凿之后，才有了现在这个样子啊！”

这是5月28日师父发布在脸书上的一则寓言故事《佛像与石阶》。故事将佛像与石阶拟人化，通过彼此的对话与对比，揭示出一个重要的修行道理：修行之路就像塑造佛像的过程一样，佛像要经历千刀万凿才成就其庄严精美；修行者也要忍受痛苦与委屈，经历千锤百炼，才能修行圆满。师父曾经说过：修行 过程就如西游记里描述唐僧到西天取经一样，要经历九九八十一难。少一难都不能成就，因為少经历一种磨难，就缺乏了对治这种烦恼的智慧。在修行过程中，我们 必须像这尊佛像一样，坚定信念，永不退转，等把所有一切都经历完了之后，才发现正是这些磨难才成就了自己！

More information available at:

1) Meditation and Health
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2) Master Jin Bodhi Facebook
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3) Official Bodhi Meditation Website
http://puti.org
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Do not fritter your life away on materialism!

" As long as you, like most people, fail to recognize the true value of human existence you will just fritter your life away in futile activity and distraction. When life comes all too soon to its inevitable end, you will not have achieved anything worthwhile at all. But once you really see the unique opportunity that human life can bring, you will definitely direct all your energy into reaping its true worth by putting the Dharma into practice.

If you make use of your human birth in the right way, you can achieve enlightenment in this very lifetime. All the great Siddhas of the past were born as ordinary people. But by entering the Dharma, following a realized teacher and devoting their whole lives to practising the instructions they received, they were able to manifest the enlightened activities of great Bodhisattvas. "

~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche


Commentary by Jerome (20th April 2017):


Today I met an old lady who tried to commit suicide by jumping off the ledge of the corridor outside her flat. Luckily, her daughter stopped her in time. I listened to her story. Her husband and her used to own more than 100k worth of cash, an apartment flat and lots of jewellery. This amount of money was hard-earned money she accrued from decades of hard work and thriftiness. After her husband passed away 2 years ago, she slipped into depression. She started to have memory loss and eventually was diagnosed with dementia. She lived with her son and her daughter-in-law.

Instead of taking care of her, her son left her alone in his house in the day. The couple also colluded by asking her to transfer the ownership of the flat under their name which she did. They also stole her jewelleries and withdrew all the cash in her bank account. Not a single cent was left. When she found out about what they did, she was so heart-broken that she wanted to commit suicide.

Listening to her story, I felt so sorry for her. Many people spend their whole life chasing after money, fame, lust, honor and various materialistic goals. Some even claim to do it on behalf of their children. In fact, the real gift to their children is to instill proper moral cultivation, spend more quality family time with them and to practise the dharma on their behalf. Inheritance may not necessary be good for your children. There is a chinese saying that family inheritance will not last beyond three generations. The first generation fought hard to accrue them. The second generation enjoy the hard-earned cash and the third generation depletes all the inheritance on luxurious goods.

If one donate their money to charitable causes, one's children will receive the merits of their parent's charitable behaviour (family honor, philantrophic family, etc). If one meditates, one will cultivate an upright and gentle character and instill proper moral character in their children. If one will to chant, one's ancestors and children will be blessed by gods and Buddhas (or any other supreme celestial beings you respect)

Honor, fame, money, lust and other materialistic goals will come to end one day. Use them wisely and rightly. Do not be their slaves. In this way, you will live the most fruitful life with no regrets.

Reference:
Nyingma Masters - https://www.facebook.com/NyingmaMasters/photos/a.664868596951329.1073741828.661664957271693/1030225903748928/?type=3&theater

How did meditaton help Cheng-ting improve her physical beauty and family relationship?

 Improving physical beauty and family relationship.

Cheng-ting has a successful career and a happy family. She loves to exercise and enjoys the beauty that life offers. When her daughter gave birth to her grandchild, she helped her to recover from childbirth and took care of her new grandchild. The resultant stress caused her blood-sugar level to increase, her weight to increase, and her complexion is no longer as radiant.

She first stepped into Bodhi Meditation and learnt Energy Bagua after her daughter introduced her to it.

Since then, her physical and mental health transformed. Her blood-sugar level returned to normal, she lost weight and maintained a good figure. Her skin is once again fair and glowing. She is also now more compassionate and forgiving. People around her are inspired by her positive attitude.

Let’s listen to her meditation experience and share her joy of transformation brought on by Bodhi Meditation.

【Key words: meditation, Energy Bagua, high blood sugar, weight loss, temperamental】

家庭與美麗兼顧的機緣

她是愛美麗、愛運動的騰庭，擁有成功的事業、幸福的家庭。然而因為忙於照顧女兒坐月子以及幫女兒帶小孩，她血糖高了，人變胖了，臉色也暗淡下來。

一個偶然的機緣，在女兒的推薦下，她學會了走「八卦」，並因此而結緣禪修。

令她沒想到的是，禪修竟讓她的身心從此脫胎換骨：不僅偏高的血糖指數恢復了正常、身材變得苗條美麗、皮膚重新變得嫩白光滑，而且還變得更加慈悲寬容，學會了用陽光積極的心態去影響身邊的人……。

一起來聽騰庭的禪修故事，見證禪修帶給她的蛻變。

#愛美、#幸福的家庭、#帶小孩、#血糖偏高、#苗條美麗

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Metabolic syndrome. A rich man's disease in developed countries.

What is Metabolic Syndrome?

The metabolic syndrome, also called insulin resistance syndrome or syndrome X, is not a disease but a group of signs and symptoms including obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels, and high triglycerides (fat-like substances in the blood).

Why is metabolic syndrome a serious problem?

Having a combination of these characteristics increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Keeping your weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol and triglyceride levels under control can help you to live longer and decrease your risk of heart attack and stroke.

 

How do we diagnose metabolic syndrome?

Most expert groups define metabolic syndrome as the presence of three or more of the following characteristics in a person:

• Obesity as seen by waist size greater than 90cm in South-East Asian men or greater than 80 cm in South-East Asian women
• Fasting blood sugar >5.6mmol/L or previously diagnosed with Diabetes
• Increased blood pressure (130/85 mmHg or higher) or if you take medicine for high blood pressure
• Increased fasting levels of triglycerides (greater than 1.7 mmol/L) or if you take medicine for high triglycerides or low HDL cholesterol
• Decreased fasting high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (less than 1.03 mmol/L for men or 1.29 mmol/L for women) or if you take medicine for high triglycerides or low HDL cholesterol

How common is metabolic syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is becoming increasingly common. About 22 to 34% of people have metabolic syndrome.

The following factors are thought to increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome:

• Being overweight (body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or more)
• Menopause (in women)
• Increasing age
• Smoking
• Eating a high-carbohydrate diet
• Lack of physical activity
• Family history of diabetes or metabolic syndrome

What are the health risks associated with metabolic syndrome?

Type 2 diabetes is much more likely to develop among people with the metabolic syndrome. Healthy lifestyle changes, such as weight loss and exercise, can help to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

People with metabolic syndrome are at increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary artery disease (collections of fatty material inside the heart's blood vessels), cerebrovascular disease (collections of fatty material inside the blood vessels leading to the brain), and high blood pressure. Cardiovascular disease can lead to heart attack and stroke. 

What are the investigations or lab tests we can do for metabolic syndrome?

The metabolic syndrome is diagnosed based upon a physical exam and some blood tests. These include:

• Measurement of blood pressure and body weight;
• Measurement of waist circumference;
• Measurement of fasting blood sugar; and
• Full lipid profile (panel of tests to check the levels of your good and bad cholesterol)

What is the treatment for metabolic syndrome?

The goals of treatment for the metabolic syndrome are to:

• Reduce or eliminate underlying problems (eg, obesity, lack of activity) by losing weight and becoming more active.
• Treat cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, if these problems persist despite losing weight and exercising.

Management of the metabolic syndrome usually includes losing weight and becoming more active.

• Your diet should be low in fat and cholesterol.
• The Mediterranean diet is high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and olive oil. This diet can help to lower weight, blood pressure, lipids, and improve insulin resistance.
• The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet can reduce blood pressure, weight, lipids, and fasting blood glucose levels. The DASH diet requires you to eat no more than 2400 mg of sodium per day, four to five servings of fruit, four to five servings of vegetables, two to three servings of low-fat dairy products, and all foods must contain less than 25 percent total fat per serving.
• Exercise
• Exercise can help with weight loss and can also help to reduce the size of the abdomen, especially in women. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, most days of the week.
• If diet and weight loss do not adequately reduce your LDL levels or blood pressure, a medicine may be recommended.
• Quit smoking
• Smoking cigarettes significantly increases the risk of coronary artery disease and has many other health risks as well. You and your family are strongly advised to stop cigarette smoking.

References:

Uptodate

Disclaimer: This article provides general advice for the public. Please seek official advice from your primary physician.