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What Merits

Friday, Oct 9, 2009 11:46PM / Standard Entry

The Chinese has longed had traditions and customs for almost everything, I have always asked my grandmother when I was a little boy why was it necessary to have such a bang whenever there was a Chinese funeral. They have a so called brass band playing loud marching like music accompanying the casket to it's burial or crematory grounds. I never had any convincing answers even until the death of my grandmother. When I asked my dad he too did not gave me any assuring answers. When I got older some elderly people told me that all the things that went with the funeral was for merit making. I asked what was merit making. They said that it was to enlighten the soul of the departed and that he will have a smooth journey to heaven. So I questioned, why would someone do merits for another when he has already passed away, in what way would the departed benefit from such an act? What if the departed was a murderer and had all his life done nothing but vice and lead a negative life....would all these merits benefit the departed?

In real life if someone committed a crime, he would be sentenced depending upon the seriousness of the crime itself, nothing anyone can do would lighten his criminal act, it is only he himself who would bear the degree of the crime and accept his punishment. So back to the so called merits done for the departed....will they really be freed from their sins that they have committed just because merits has been done for them?

I've heard from many of my close friends and people about their encounters and abuses they have experience in their lives, most of them said that the people who abused them never came to a good end. I believe it's true too, you get what you give, even though the events my have happened many years ago and some people may say that God is unfair to let such people off when they are still suffering the agony while the culprit gets away scot free.

Whether there is a God or not or whether it is fair or unfair, I always believe that there is always a cause and effect in everything that takes place. it may not happen now but it will happen later because when something is activated it will react to it.

People are born different, different mentality, different egos, different motives and different backgrounds, all these makes someone to be what they are as we are brought up and being instigated by the nature of it. Ultimately we still have the will of choice, we can choose to do things in anyway we want it to be.There is no right or wrong just good or bad.

The Story Of Angulimala

Angulimala or Anguliman was a child who went thru much misunderstandings and abuse by his family and even his own Guru thus he became outraged and turned himself against the world, he started killing anyone who gets into his way and cuts off their fingers to make them into a a garland which he wore.

One day he saw the Buddha walking along his way and immediately tried to attack him, after several attempts in vain he prostrated before the Buddha and followed the life of an ascetic just like his Master. Even after he has become a monk and repented truly,people still recognized him and one day attacked and killed him. Prior his death the Buddha asked him " Were you angry when they beat you up?" Anguliman said " No Father, when I killed people I did not know what I was doing, similarly they too did not know what they were doing"

Even upon ones sincere repentance no one escapes his karma, however Anguliman upon his death has attained nirvana and became one of the best known Arahant(Arhats)

I believe in doing merits when you are alive and that is to do things within ones means but to do it sincerely. There are many people who are more unfortunate than us and to do merits is to help as many as we can. Help in the right manner, help with common sense, help so they can help themselves. Giving or lending money blindly is not helping but encouraging bad habits to form, donating blindly to any entity without first finding out how and where the money is being distributed can be very demoralizing.

When my grandma passed away there were no brass band although a grand traditional event took place, it was quiet and peaceful throughout the procession, quite unlikely for someone whose roots went back all the way to the last emperors era but it was quiet. My dad's was even quieter. Of course the usual rites were carried out but nothing of the loud type.

I met a lot of good people in my life especially those who have passed away, till this very day their memories stays intact and vividly clear. If their impression to me was so clear and good, I think that they have accumulated good merits in their life here already. We only want to remember what is good don't we ?

Ignorant is not an excuse whether it is intentional or not. No law in the world would overlook someone for being ignorant, you break it you pay for it.

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Cancer Fighting

Friday, Aug 14, 2009 9:08AM / Standard Entry

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.

4.. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow,
gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not
result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like
NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses
but only in very sma ll amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and
substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans.

Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try
and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at
temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-- best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc..) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

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When everything else Fails You

Monday, Aug 10, 2009 10:35AM / Standard Entry

Often we panic when things goes wrong especially when you are a believer of a faith, in Feng Shui or something else.....it's a very natural feeling.......however we have a bad habit and that is we tend to point our finger at others for the failure we are encountering.

I need to stress that Feng Shui is not a solve all solution in life, there are other aspects that may contribute to certain problems in our life, take a look at your Bazi first, if the element of that year isn't favorable to you, don't expect anything to be good. Even though you have Feng Shuied your home to the fullest extent you might still have some issues here and there, remember that things could have been worst if you have not Feng Shuied your house or update it annually. What you can do is to enhance whatever element which is desirable for you and that is to wear certain colors which represents that element or to add accessories of a particular element favorable to you.

Another thing is to keep the faith strong and stay positive even though you are at your worst situation. Remember that negative thinking clouds you with bad omen so stay positive always or at least try hard to stay that way. Do positive things which is beneficial towards others. Yes do it even though life sucks all time for you, you need to create a positive aura around you first prior being able to tap on the positive aspects you want in life. Getting angry with staffs and throwing your temper because financially you're in some kind of trouble will aggrevate the situation further.

Instead, do up a list and ask clients about your service or what needs improvement if you're in the service line, stop blaming others and look deep into your own situation first, Have you done enough to satisfy your clients needs, are the air conditioning units functioning well? Is your food up to standard? Is your service fast? Are the staffs you employed use their common sense in many unforseen or difficult situations. Were past issues taken care of? Were there any overlooked issues?Are your clients or customers happy? Have you revamp what needs to be done, have you paid your staff well etc etc? The list is perpetual but you are the best person to analyze the overall situation. Nick the problem immediately and you will have less issue.

I've learnt thru the years that diverting your attention on something positive and totally unrelated to your business makes a big difference in acquiring a new level of persuit and adventure which eventually lead you to higher grounds. You can't have negative energy around you if you want positive results, there can be no pretence in this, it's either you get it done right or you stay in the doldrums for eternity. Listen to opinions and be unbias about new things or products even though you don't like them. It takes a little time for anyone to get adapted to new things .

If you don't give others a chance you don't give yourself a chance, if you're a believer of a faith don't ever doubt it because it is your backing bone, if you even think of doubting it you are in fact doubting yourself and your capability. Positive energy attracts a positive environment.

Another thing I've learnt is to spend money when times are bad, yes spend money. I'm not asking you to spend every single cent that you have but spend it in a reasonable amount. By spending money it means you are loosing a certain amount of your wealth by doing this you are actually minimizing the Karma that you have. That means when we loose something we are loosing some bad Karmas so good Karmas will manifest later, do this with a positive thinking. Spend your money positively not vice please. You can spend on unneccessary things as long as it isn't on vice, do charity etc or just buy something for someone.

We've always done things for ourselves, try doing it for others and you will be amazed by the happenings that is going to take place. Stop the habit of blaming others and look deep into yourselves , not only will you find that things are easier resolved but you make the environment around you positive. So it s VERY important to be POSITIVE, I know it's hard but you really need to try if you want to see good things happening around you.

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The Squawking "Macaw"

Saturday, Aug 8, 2009 7:11PM / Standard Entry
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ud7cX6ZAqE&feature=related

I'm sure most of us at some point of time would've came across toddlers and even young kids screaming their guts out at restaurants and in public areas to the nuisance of many who are either trying to eat or have a peaceful outings...Yeah I know I'm cynical but I think I'm right to say this. I've written in my previous blog before on a subject similar to this "Scream LIke Slayer Not Anyhow"

I was sitting in a japanese restaurant trying to have lunch, as soon as my ass could touch the seat, the kid behind me was screaming at the top of his voice, even the waitress was agitated and "Shhh" the kid, but the parents weren't bothered, everyone in the restaurant was looking at the kid but no one did anything. All the dad did was trying to pacify him by slow talk, the dad's mom I supposed(Grandmother) was caressing the kid as if what the kid did was right. OMG !!!!

None of the parent did anything to quieten the kid but just allowed him to make the noise he wanted. All the kid did was only SQUWAK...one syllabus only and he goes like this "WAAAAK !!! WAAAAK !!! WAAAK !!!" I meant it he went exactly like this.
These people thought that kids who Squawk like a Parrot are normal....they want to assure themselves that their kid is not mute. After squawking for over 15 mins I had it. I raised my voice and said " This "BIRD" should be exhibited in Jurong Bird Park coz he squawks like a F***ING Macaw but better.

In one of my Parrot book, it said ;

Reacting to screaming in any way inadvertently (by yelling back or even just whispering) reinforces this behavior
If Tom Araya of Slayer is not the the example of your screaming type try Tim "Ripper" Owens(Video attached)
, if you don't like both its fine....anyway they became famous for their screams and they make big bucks being in a Metal Band....they don't just "Squawk" I meant scream for no rime or reasons.

"
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Bird And Fish Market In Jarkarta

Saturday, Jul 25, 2009 3:51PM / Standard Entry

Yup, it's the usual Feng Shui trip to Indonesia again for me and after biz is done it's straight for some fun again, this time I went to the Bird and Fish Market, they are of different places but it was near the Hotel that I stayed so it's great !

Man ! You can't believe how some of these people can endure that kind of environment and have worked there for most part of their lives. It should have a sign written and read "Beware of bird droppings pollution" Forget H1N1 or bird flu. I did not take shots of the more exotic local birds like flying foxes coz they are actually meant as food or asthmatic cures. You don't want to see grotesque pics of how they are being dissected for their gall.....Gosh!

Other than that they have a vast variety of handmade wooden bird cages with carvings and an assortment of local parrots which they either breed or caught from the wild. There are imported Parrots as well but their prices are well above what is sold here in S/pore. Here you are guaranteed that they are captive bred and comes with CITES papers and a ring around the bird's leg to give them their identity. Wild birds are protected and you don't want to have any private dealings with AVA here. Most birds there are song birds and you can find the occasion Guinea pigs and reptile shops here and there. If you ask me I think one ought to bring a bird which was bought there straight to a Vet and have it inoculated before bringing them home.

Next it's to the Fish Market, you can find all sorts of local and exotic fishes from tropical to marine fishes, its a colorful affair and its way cleaner compared to the Bird Market. My client bought an almost 1 metre Aba Aba fish from at one of the stalls there, I was with him and he asked if it was o to replace the leaking water feature in his Hotel, It's a rare find and since the Aba Aba fish swims with its top fin wavering like a flag all the time I felt it was a good choice because after all the tank is placed at the North of his hotel and with only One Aba Aba fish in it it is quite an exotic symbolic as #1 represents North. I want that fish too if I can find one that size !

Aba Aba (Gymnarchus niloticus)

The marine fishes and corals for sale is also a very nice looking experience, it's different from the shops here in S/pore where everything is systematic and clean, over there it's old school.....just so cool !

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