Finding The Miracles In Life's Struggles
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Respect All Living Creatures
04 weeks
by Alice Lin
in Uncategorized
One summer, the ants crawled into my counter of the dressing room from outside to get away from heat. Looking at them, I suddenly realized that they are biological beings just like us. I could not just kill them because to do so is equivalent to murder. So I decided to communicate with them, I begged them to go home or return where they came from. Surprisingly, I could not find any trace of them when I came back several hours later. Same things happened in several occasions.
There was an unusual occurrence that I remember quite well. It was in the early morning; I saw hundreds of ants appearing on the floor of my bathroom. I was shocked to see so many of them, and they darken the floor. Again, I begged them to go home. Honestly, they would be killed or wiped out if my family members were to see them. I made sure I closed my door tightly when I went out.
I came home after a few hours. I was shocked to see the spotless floor, so clean as if someone came to mop the floor. I worried that someone might have come in to clean my room, and killed all the ants. Hurriedly, I went to ask her daughter. She assured me that no one dared to touch “mother’s ants.” I finally realized that we can communicate with the ants. I also believe that we can correspond with many other creatures.
It was cold a few days ago; I first saw the ants appearing in my bathroom. This was the first time that I saw ants came to my new home. I did the same thing as before. I told them to go home, and they disappeared. It happened three times.
It reminded me what had transpired in the past with ants, when I read the following article. Indeed, all living beings should be respected. I am most touched by South African who would stop and wait patiently until little creatures safely travel across the road.
Why did the tiny caterpillar cross the road? To form an incredible 17ft long convoy
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1308342/Why-did-tiny-caterpillar-cross-road-To-form-incredible-17ft-long-convoy.html
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:00 PM on 2nd September 2010
This is the moment a group of tiny caterpillars formed an incredible 17ft long convoy to cross a road.
Some 136 caterpillars made the single line and wriggled top-to-toe across the road, linked by a thin silk thread which set their path.
And their safety-in-numbers approach had the desired effect as the slow-moving convoy was easily seen by motorists, who were held up for 20 minutes as it made its way across.
Bumper to bumper: This slow moving convoy of migrating caterpillars was spotted in the Kruger National Park by Jamie Rooney, from High Wycombe, Bucks
This incredible convoy is the ultimate commuter train – a trail of tiny caterpillars heading off into the bush. An amazing 136 caterpillars wriggled top-to-toe across a road on their migratory route in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Hold up: Traffic stopped while the slow-moving
caterpillar convoy crossed the road
The spectacle was captured on camera by British tourist Jamie Rooney, who was visiting the famous Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Jamie, from High Wycombe, Bucks, was in a Jeep full of tourists when their driver slammed the brakes just inches from the crawling caterpillars.
Jamie, 38, who works in website sales, said: “It was an incredible sight.
‘We were out driving in Kruger National Park for a safari, when all of a sudden the driver shouted out and slammed on his brakes.’
‘He managed to stop just in time in front of this amazing trail of caterpillars, which was stretching across the road.’
‘Conservation is a massive deal in South Africa and the idea is that if there is any living creature in the road you have to wait patiently until it is safely across.’
‘We got out to get a closer look and counted 136 caterpillars in convoy, all moving together across the track.’
‘They were following a very, very thin silk thread on the ground and it took them about 20 minutes to get across the road safely.’
‘Our guide had never seen it before, but he’d heard about it and explained they were migrating into the bush where they would disperse.’
‘It’s like the mass migration of bigger animals like wildebeest, but on a different scale and pace.’
‘When they arrive in the bush, they turn into chrysalis and then butterflies.’
‘It’s a rare sight. It was an absolute joy to watch and a great experience to be able to get down close and see it first hand.’
Stone Show
02 months
by Alice Lin
in Uncategorized
43 year old Italian artist, Stefano Furlani, creates amazing characters and scenes with stones carefully selected for their color, shape, and size, found by him and his son on the beaches of the Italian town of Fano. It all started with an amusing game of finding stones with unusual shapes and geometries, but then they began to start putting them together, assembling more and more detailed and elaborate compositions. But their pieces built during the day were destroyed by the evening. So Stefano got the idea to paste them on a wooden base to cherish their little artworks for life. The designs range from animals, to famous music and movie stars, and to underwater scenes.
Furlani’s work has been acclaimed in Italy, written about in London, and a new show will be appearing in Germany this fall. His efforts began as a way to entertain his young son Davide on the beach in their town. Now he takes his skills to school in Italy where he helps young disabled children create their own work of sea–stone art. In July, he will be coming to Massachusetts For his first exhibition in the U.S. How I wish I could go to see his marvelous stone arts. The following are some of his creations.
Where is the Rosary? – Zen Story
03 months
by Alice Lin
in Uncategorized
“The prayer beads are gone, but the Buddha is still with us!”
There was a temple known for possessing a string of beads that had been worn by Buddha, and only the old abbot and seven disciples knew where they had enshrined the beads.
The seven disciples were very savvy, and the old abbot felt that he could have entrusted any of them to brighten Dharma.
Unexpectedly, the beads suddenly disappeared.
The old abbot asked seven disciples: “As long as the beads are put back in its place, I will not pursue the matter, and neither will the Buddha.”
The disciples shook their heads, and no one admitted to anything!
Seven days passed, and still nobody knew the whereabouts of the rosary.
The old abbot said, “He who took it and admits will have the rosary.”
But seven days passed, and still no one admitted.
The old abbot was disappointed and demanded: “You will all go down to the Mountain tomorrow. He who took the beads can stay if he wants to.”
The next day, six of the disciples packed their things and said goodbye. Only one stayed behind.
The abbot asked him: “Where is the rosary?”
The disciple said, “I did not take it.”
“Why did you stay behind to be called a thief, if you did not take it?”
The disciple said: “We have been suspicious of each other. Someone needs to bear the responsibility so that the rest of us will get relief. Besides, the rosary is gone, but the Buddha is still with us.”
The old abbot smiled and took the rosary from within his robes and put it on the disciple.
This story gives me a lot of enlightenment.
Not all things need to be made clear.
Some things are more important than the ability to speak clearly: the ability to bear and act; the resolve to do so; to reverse; to change; to think of themselves, but also others; to take care of the overall situation, this is the law.
This is not only a realm; it is great wisdom.
Prayer of Awakening Our Strength
04 months
by Alice Lin
in Uncategorized
I found this prayer, originally in Chinese, at a time of great stress, and it gave me hope and comfort in that time, so I have decided to translate the prayer for my readers.
喚醒力量的祈禱
Prayer of awakening our strength
God and I are one
I am not only mere flesh; inside me is the presence of love.
I am a spiritual being; a manifestation of the perfection of love, beauty, and kindness.
My true self has infinite love, light, and wisdom.
Because of love, my heart is completely free; I can totally live a life of love and connotation.
I come to this world not to suffer, but to learn love, to give love, to convey love; to awaken the love of hearts of people, and also to enjoy the fullness of life and beauty.
I am a capable person, I am a rich being, and perfection is my other name!
I am not alone, I have never been alone; because God and I are a whole. All things and I are one.
Though I appear as flesh, I am a spiritual being; the perfect presence of the sacred and the entire satisfaction.
I appreciate my divinity, and I respect the deity of others as well.
How I respect God, likewise I respect others.
My every breath is the breath of God, I always remember I am loved, I always remember to have a connection with Him. I always call on God.
He created all that we need, and He and I are one. He and I are inseparable!
I thank all the things in my life; I thank God. He is with me all the time. I appreciate the wisdom of the universe. It connects with me every moment.
Ceaselessly I look to the goodness and come back to my nature. I continually return to the being of joy and perfection.
May I not see other people’s fault, only to see the goodness in them. May I not see the darkness of the people, only to see their inner light.
The image is from www.campus.rieti.it
Now,
The stream of boundless joy has flowed into me and filled me.
Infinite wisdom has also gushed into me and inspired me;
Unlimited prosperity has run into me and guided me.
Unconditional love shines brightly in my heart.
Immeasurable wisdom brings the light into me.
Eternal life appears inside of me like an endless stream;
A steady flow of the fountain of life emerges with furious energy.
Now, my heart is ready, and I am completely open for what is to come.
A Shoe-Shine Boy’s Right Time
06 months
by Alice Lin
in Uncategorized
From http://blogs.d24am.com/cineset/files/2012/09/vinicius.jpg
Last week, I wrote about everyone having their own time and their own pace, and that everyone is at the right place at the right time. Since then, I found articles on the Internet about the movie “Central Station,” and the story of how the director found the film’s lead actor.
The film centers on Rio de Janeiro’s Central Station, where director Walter Salles was approached by a nine-year-old shoe shiner named Vinicius de Oliveira, three weeks before filming began. But Salles was wearing white tennis shoes, which couldn’t be shined, and the boy asked him for money for food after being turned away, as he hadn’t eaten for the entire day. He also promised him that he would pay him back after a week. Salles gave him money and didn’t think much of it, knowing he likely wouldn’t be paid back, until he returned to Central Station to begin filming a month later, and the same boy waved him down and ran after him, to give him back the money he had borrowed three weeks earlier.
Salles saw something in the boy and told him that he had a gift for him at the studio. Rather than come alone, Vinicius brought all of the shoe shiners from the station with him to accept it so that he could share Salles’ gift with them. The director’s gift, however, was the lead role in his movie. Even if some of the other boys might have been better actors, he gave the role to the boy who had earnestly borrowed money from him, and who had brought his friends to share in the gift that he was to receive, because he could see the kindness and innocence in him that fit the character he was to play.
“Central Station” went on to receive international acclaim and win a Golden Globe for best foreign language film in 1999. A then twelve-year-old Vinicius went on stage with Salles and his co-star, Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro, to accept the award at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. For a boy who was working by the age of nine, who had never seen a movie before suddenly getting the chance to be the lead actor in one, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Vinicius was in the right place at the right time. He also tried to give his opportunity away to the other shoe shiners as well, but because he was kind and sincere, this opportunity didn’t miss him. You are also in the right place at the right time, but don’t let selfishness cloud your opportunities.
