Illusion of PERMANENCE

A decade or two ago, when we saw the dawn of digital photography, we were told

and believed that the digitized photo will be safe and permanent.

Unlike silver based photo image which is vulnerable to the chemical deterioration

etc. digitized information is the most reliable, solid archive of the recording.

—– Really  ? ? ?

non

After nearly three decade, the people who bought early CD music, started to notice

that their disc has been deteriorated and no longer playable due to the

ageing of the plastic material.

CD player just show you a sign [ No Disc ] or music became corrupt and repeat the

same passage again and again. —– The average life of CD is 20 years.

Considering the 100-year-old Wax-cylinder Gramophone Record still able to give the signals out,

I wonder what an advancement of technology was.

non

And I noticed, some photos saved in a USB flash memory has become [ Invalid ] —– ? ? ?

Data was just evaporated.  Since I have no idea what  image existed there.   I just give up.  Nothing I can do.

—– The data in the flash memory last 5 years.

non

HDD / Hard disc is notoriously fragile animal.  One drop would nullify hundreds of Giga byte of data instantly.

( Mechanical and electrical life span of HDD is about 5 years.    Therefore, you may need to copy the data

again to new HDD, before trouble occur )

It is absolutely true. Digitized image never changes and as it is the simplest form of the

information which consists only 1 and 0, it would be most reliable form.   Yes, Information is,

but not a media which recording or storing them.   Without a media, the data can not exists.

And the danger of electrical glitch which corrupt the data or OS could be always there.

The more you open the file, the more chance to have it.   The larger the HDD, having the more danger.

(Just imagine, a  2.5″  HDD disc on the photo having less than 5 square inch surface. —– Assuming, on there

30 Giga x 8 magnetized (and not magnetized) dot are aligned —– you know how small they are.

Picking up the data, whether each point was magnetized or not, from the disc which is rotating  5400 round

a minute —– it is an incredibly tricky business, even when everything worked perfect = soon or later,

something not perfect come to affect the over all function = you no longer able to read the data.  That’s it. )

—

A collection of Photos and Video images I had been accumulated in my old laptop which I have copied into

a USB flash memory to read in my new laptop was just disappeared all together.    4 Gb size of data has just gone.

The screen shows ” File is empty / 0 bite ” —– great !

( Later, I recovered the lost file in the  4Gb USB memory using [ Mini Tool Power Data Recovery, Free Edition

program ]  which I downloaded free —– saved about 15,000 files out of 20,000 though, all jumbled-up, without

caption or file name = you know,  How the situation is nightmarelish —– 😦   and   😀  )

non

In this situation and its hard reality, the internet data storage service was born —- though, like my experience,

one day its might just disappear.   Service might be withdrawn, even by human error,  or the file even the

site management itself could be hacked in, and the data could be lost.  The more important the data is, it would

be the more profitable for the hacker to steal it.  The Cloud computing may seem very convenient and

very very powerful though,  of cause,  such concentration of the data can be seen just as a huge

treasure trove,  and inevitably attract the organized cyber criminal.   Cynical irony is, even if the

data has been extremely highly encrypted, billion combination of code can easily  be deciphered

using even more computing power of the Cloud. —– Nothing is safe and permanent.

So that the wise mind-set is, —– accept its nature, it might be there, might not be there,

and live with which is remained to be there.

If the photo is there, use it.  If not there, it’s not there.   Never cling the idea  [It should be there ].

(Better keep the crucial data locked up as a print-out copy —– then how about a fire ?  😀 )

non

Your loved one might be there and smiling at you.

You enjoy it,  but might not be there any longer,  still not to be desperate.

You enjoy your precious memory. —– Live on what you got in your hand.

___/\___ Have a peaceful day.

—

PS: ( Photo above was taken by Canon 5D Mk-II with TSE 24 mm-L II — This is a pretty well made good lens )

—

DHARMA is Everywhere

Since I wrote and explained the Dharma in relation to spontaneous compassionate cases in

Japanese Disaster, a reader asked me “Is the Dharma prevails only in such special occasion ?”

—– Of cause not. Dharma is everywhere, where ever you go, always with you.

Simply because, that is how we exist and live.

===

In the sea, there is the Phytoplankton which is fixing solar-energy with their photosynthesis.

(I have no idea how many billions of tons of them all together there.) They are the most fundamental

organism to form the food chain, and they are eaten by the small fishes etc.

And the small fishes were eaten by the larger fishes and so on —–.(And on top of the chain, we eat

them large or small and in fact we are pushing many of them to their extinction )

On the land, the Plants are doing the same, creating themselves, looks out of nothing ( in fact, using

solar energy and the water + somewhat 10 materials ) —– then Herbivorous eat them.

—– In the Yellowstone Park US, now the re-introduced Wolves are regulating the population of

Elk ( kind of Reindeer ). ( When the man hunted down the Wolf, the Elk’s population exploded and

the vegetation has been devastated by the over grazing Elk —– So, man needed to put it back )

===

Those mechanism, so-called Ecosystem and its balance is the part of the Dharma,

so that some people call them as the Natural Law. Of cause, those mechanism are even inside of our

physiology as well, such as called Homoeostasis which controlling and keep the body condition constant.

The Dharma is not just a part of the science BUT crucially it is also a kind of will or direction

to over-see the EXISTENCES.

Why the Nature needs to have the balance ?   Or man’s body needs to be kept consistent ?

Because it is the will or direction of the Dharma to the Nature to BE HERE,

and the HUMAN BEING to EXIST. —– Rules / The Dharma couldn’t be explained  just with the

Science. Such as The Second law of the Entropy is a direct contradiction to the Creation of the Life. 

Why the particular atoms were INTENTIONALLY combined, not dispersed by the Entropy and

became to the Amino Acid and to a Life-form.—– ( It couldn’t be explained just with the Gravity )

( Yet, it doesn’t mean Human being got blank cheque. Since, we are only a small PART of the NATURE )

===

—– So, when we need,we eat we drink, we do the business etc etc —– on top of those fundamental

life’s activities, we form the society, we think and invent and so on, which we calls Culture and the

Civilization.   Still we are a part of the Dharma which is inherently keeping the things in balance.

To keep-up and follow those rules of the Dharma, we don’t need to even think about —– even if we

are asleep we still continue to breathe, heart keeps working.   So that, even with those very very inventive

Civilization and the incredible level of the Technology, we were still bound to keep fundamental rules

—– we still need to breathe Oxygen not CO2 or any fancy gas.

===

The Human being is, as it is an artificially modified version of the Ape ( generally called Evolved )

having fundamental paradox within.

Basic aspect and the function is still remained as it was originally designed as a part of the Dharma.

Though, the Culture and the Civilization, not mention the Technology which changed the condition and

the environment within few thousands years, are not necessary following the Dharma.

In other words, what Human being invented or created out of their over sized brain –— the result

of their thinking, is often contradictory to the Dharma. ( Imagination can start from purely

imagined base or abstractive idea, hence it can be an utter delusion )

===

As a matter of fact, we Human being is a compound of contradiction and the Paradox.

Therefore, it is having the inherent stress even for Just to be Here. —— ( So that, we are

having unconscious feeling of doubt or question, “ Something wrong. There must be answer

to make the things clear “ which has been driving a man to seek What is the TRUTH )

And this is what Buddha pointed out and taught. —– Better to live humble, simple life, even though

it is effectively the denial of the fruits of Civilization and the Technology.

And to eliminate the useless, trouble making thinking and to live in Mushin, hence able to

see and live with the Dharma.

___/\___

===

SINSAI . INFO — A Website to Help Others

—

Only four hours after the Japanese Disaster, an information website called SINSAI.INFO started.

The site is giving the extracted information of what people tweeted or the report to tell what is the

situation there or needs of help in the Geological, Graphical framework.

On the beginning it was started by a small group of the IT engineers lead by Haruyuki Seki, though soon

many more volunteers joined through internet while communicating each other by the Skype Chat and

became a formidable volunteer work force.

And the persons who did similar work for Christ Church Earthquake Relief project, using

[Ushahidi Feed] open-source program which organizing and displays the information on the map

has joined, and the top expert of the web design, top expert to organize the information as the geomedia and

top expert for interfacing to other system by designing applications hence able to provide the information

through mobile-phone or to use with Android etc has all joined together.

It became a working group, almost a dream team, no commercial project can ever dreamt of, or

no commercial project can afford to employ them.

—

What was the key, How and Why, the activity like this started ?

Everybody wanted to do something to help, the sense of duty told them “Have to do something”

It was a spontaneous fundamental urge of the human psyche to help others, unconscious sense of duty,

when someone faced the situation which needs the help.

The situation  itself has driven the people —– not one’s intention or will, neither ideology.

This was a situation where the Dharma worked. And the people who is connected to the Dharma

spontaneously reacted. —– Since it was the Dharma, it was not an individual mind or intention.

This is the Selflessness of the Dharma.   And as the people having and following the Dharma,

every person worked selfless —– or it must be said, in their default state as a part of the Dharma.

—

( I doubt, if it was a commercial project, they would not have worked together in such selfless

manner.   In a commercial project, there are certain work convention exist, which limits what

the one should do —– what you ought to do must be compatible to what you were paid, and

within a reasonable working schedule —– it became a subject of relative assessment.

It mean, The Person is seeing the Work in distance / as an object = It is not in ICHIJO ( Oneness )

In contrast, free voluntary work has no limit —– free mean, no price =  priceless mean it can be

infinitum hence the quality has to be absolute and there wouldn’t be any limit of working time.

This is the condition of WHAT the MUSHIN meant and WHAT the MINDFULLNESS appeared.

The crucial point here is, they did this spontaneously / nobody asked them BUT they did

almost automatically —– How and Why ? —– Dharma inside of them, has DRIVEN them )

On top of it, the program system they have based on, Ushahidi ( Meaning “Testimony” in Swahili ) is

an open-source program. There is no monopoly or copyright control. Open-source is selfless.

And this program was best suited to organize the information in geological order.

—

The drive to start a voluntary work to set-up and run SINSAI. INFO Website was purely came from

its situation.   Dynamics was there in the Dharma and the Dharma has no self.

The situation, a phenomena of the Earth, cracked open.

As the drifting earth’s Tectonics plate collide and the stress increased, it had to be adjusted = then

the plates has moved causing big earthquake and its movement caused the huge movement of the

sea water as well, created huge Tsunami.

The movement of the plates followed the Dharma, in its Earth level action to regain the balance.

It was simply unfortunate to the human-being happened to be there.

—

Then, seeing the situation, the Dharma in Human level responded, since some of the people

were born to be good in their IT skill, for them to react in the aspect and the possibility in IT field was

their second nature.  They found the way to help the victims in their natural capabilities.

So that, their solution was the Information website [ SINSAI . INFO Ushahidi Feed ].

Since its starting point was the fundamental compassion, therefore Ego, Greed etc has no place

and the task and the requirement is Just Do the Best.

There was no place to accommodate useless thought.

In fact, they had barely enough time to set-up and made it functioning.

They frantically worked some time all through the night.

Yet still, their action has been following the Selfless Dharma, it was the right action, destined to succeed.

( Otherwise why the Dharma made them to start in the first place . And of cause,

the Dharma is the Universal force, it covers the Buddhists, and non Buddhists all alike).

This is really the Dharma at work.

___/\___

—

SOCIETY

In the media reports of Japanese Disasters, a peculiarity of Japanese society was shocked the world.

“Why Japanese can keep calm and not express their grief ? “

I explained a back-ground —– their deep embedded Ethos / Fatalism originated from the

Buddhism —– in the previous post.

—–

But there is the another aspect which is even deeper and common to all the human-being.

We human-being is a social animal , we live, and have to live as a member of a society.

We are definitely a descendant of the packed animal like monkey, chimpanzee, not a lone panther.

Hence it is written in our gene, and so-called instincts are programmed accordingly such as the

gripping hand of a baby is to cringe to a mother.

To be a social animal, there is the order of the society and its rules. Any member who couldn’t

comply the rules, will be excluded from its society —– and slow death is the fate.

Where those rules were posted ? Ethos and those social code are not written but kept by the

member, the member themselves are the role-model / manifestation of the rules.

As society is operated by their member who possess the same Ethos and the Rules, and it is

almost the same even generation after generation, all the social activity, social systems are coherent

with the same Ethos. Everything shows the same manifestation and follow the same rules.

This exact coherency can be observed by even a small baby and learned by them and written

down into their subconscious memory. In fact this is the so-called Collective Unconscious.

But this is the case when the society is having universal, coherent system and the Ethos.

Among the member, some might become rebel though, the person is only temporally rebelling

or just behaving the reverse of existing rule —– nothing new just a reverse.

But when the population who is possessing fundamentally different Ethos, moved into other society,

it start to show completely different situation.

In metaphor, when non-thieving society received considerable size of thieving group, the Ethos of

both societies break down. ( Even thieving society and their way of life having their own strict rules,

taboo, who to steal or who is the senior thieves and the violent punishment who break its rules )

A kids of Non-thieving society learn the thieving, and a kids of Thieving society learn to

escape a punishment claiming his Human right 😀

Everything break down and only Ego exposed.

A baby start to see two conflicting systems and the rules, hence unable to figure out what is the Ethos of

the Society —– there couldn’t be a Collective Unconscious but just an attitude of

convenient cherry picking of excuse and the knowledge of “How to avoid “ —– it’s mean avoid

to be a member of the society. In fact there is no longer a society and its integrity exists.

—–

Fortunately ( or unfortunately ? ) Japanese society still maintain themselves as a society,

as foreign element is still negligible, even an outcast group Yakuza responded to the disaster, with

hundreds of truck load of relief supply delivered to the evacuated people.

Even though Yakuza were branded as the criminal organization, they are undoubtedly nobody else of

Japanese, and a part of the same society, hence share the same compassion and the sense of duty.

—– simply because, they grown up in the same society ( Even Yakuza was once an innocent

small boy,as you know 😀 ) hence build up the same Ethos as a Japanese.

—-

In reality, to make a baby to a Japanese, other than the teachings in a school and the family and the

circulating popular culture, such as everybody should have the same gadget and ware same kind (well

some pre-classified types) of fashion, there is a hidden secret of social pressure to a person

to conform the social code.

It is more akin to the chorus of the hen in the Animal Farm. When this chorus starts, even a person

who has been saying different opinion suddenly changes the colour and join a chorus, the louder the better.

This is a moment to a person to assess what is the majority and join them.

When the majority is behaving in a certain way, just do the same. To remain within the same group

and the society is the imperative in Japan. Whether it is true or not, right or wrong, just go with them.

So that, when nobody is crying –its mean, no-one should cry. The unwritten code says “Mittomonai

( It looks disorderly, and embarrassing ) “ Anybody brake-off from here, there is a danger to be ostracised.

As a result, everybody looks calm on the TV.

—

Funny side-effect of this conformative society is, as the expectation and the imaginary eligibility

of a man is fixed, such as socially acceptable income and the status etc, under the stagnated

Japanese economy, most of the ordinary man is no longer regarded to fit to marry —– hence

so many people are forced to stay single. ( A research found that among the eligible age-group,

only 6 % of men were regarded to fit the expectation of the woman, its mean, if a woman marry

other than rare 6 % , she will face a humiliation, a chorus of “Mittomonai”.)

—

When no dominant voice led the chorus, hens couldn’t know what to do.

Strangely, they still knows when somebody start to show up with unconformative opinion, they

overwhelm the opinion with their noisy chorus and suppress it. Therefore no fresh innovative idea

(other than imaginative Manga story) nor strong decisive idea coming out of Japan.

This is the situation in Japanese politics too.

Therefore, when they faced a crisis of Nuclear accident, they only try to avoid the Japanese public

fallen into a “Mittomonai” panic, by pretending nothing serious happened, thus do-nothing —-take

an emergency measure itself looks “Mittomonai”—– until it’s actually exploded.

Then everything got too late to take any measure. —– though, a criticism like this will be seen by a Japanese

as an act to expose “Mittomonai”Japan, hence has to be suppressed —-> So that , there wouldn’t be any

“Mittomonai”situation, therefore, able to keep calm face. Face is more important than the safety.

Beautiful isn’t it ?

—-

DISASTER in Japan

 

–

–

–

–

——————————————————– Here Everything was lost

—————————————————–anything remains is the HOPE

————————————————–and the WILL to Re-build the LIFE.

–

–

–

–

Seeing the Earth Quake and the Tsunami report from Japan is nothing but a heart-braking to me.

To see a photo of a flatten muddy field which caption says, There used be a town, its empty span of

nothingness shocked and made me wordless. Emptiness of almost perfectly flushed-out field.

—

It seemed, the western reporter, photographer prefer to pick up dramatically or even funnily

piled-up devastation. An orgy of destruction. ——— but to Japanese, as I am, it is not funny at all

nor the object to be amazed.

—

Another cultural differences appeared in the western media is, all the report found it is even strange,

the reporters unanimously says ” how Japanese can keep emotion in check and stays calm ?”

The emotion is the default feeling of the human-being, hence it is more or less the same to any

culture. Though, emotional expression is not instinctive, in other words, it is cultural.

Whether it is emotional or not, expression is a way of the communication, therefore even

an emotional expression is dependent on the situation.

—– there was an interesting psychological study and the video images of the small children.

When a small child stumbled and fallen, having a pain the child started to cry. —– You will think it is

a natural emotional reaction.

Though when the same child stumbled and fallen on the empty street where nobody else is in sight

( except a hidden video camera ), child didn’t cry, and stand up by herself.

This is the true nature of the human-being. —– communication is to appeal to others.

Having emotion is one thing. To express is other.

If there is no other person to help, no need to express. —– even small child knows this

and behave accordingly.

AAAAA

In the western culture, where the Ethos and the psyche was shaped in the cast of Judia-Christian religion.

In there, the God is a humanized image or notion. And the relation of the believer to

the God is one-by-one base. You have to stand before the God in person. Hence you have to talk or express

to him — otherwise you can’t to be heard.

Therefore, unless you express and assert your Self, you are not exist. And under this understanding

even a word expressed by a person may not necessary enough. Hence, a written contract became essential.

So that, express and express and make a claim is the basis of the psyche.

And as the relation to the God is one-by-one, when something happened, shout “ Why me “

AAAAA

In comparison, the Eastern God or the place of the mighty power is the Heaven,

or Buddhist’s  explanation is the Dharma. The rules of the Universe.

Regardless, whether you face it or not, believe or express yourself or not, you are under the Dharma.

As all the occurrences and the existences are in this Dharma or under this Dharma, hence even a huge

natural disaster may produced by this same Dharma, hence you can’t argue with it.

Nor there is no use to complain or express your emotion. —–  Shout and cry is no use. The matter is

just think what you can react to the situation. What you have to do the next.

And in the case of huge natural disaster, as the same fate has come to everybody, and as everybody

was created by the same Dharma, everybody has the same feeling and facing the same situation,

one crying wouldn’t make situation any better.

Thanks to Japan has very little foreign element in their psyche, everybody is sharing the same psyche

—– even to the people who was not affected by the disaster, they share the same pain,

hence the help started almost instantly. And no looting at all.

—

In the Buddhist’s explanation, this is the moment when the Dharma prevailed.

As everybody having the Dharma in them, when they sees the situation far beyond the human

comprehension, lost the word, hence lost any thinking, therefore the mind became

blank = blank open space = Mushin —> The Dharma, hence its nature of Charity and compassion prevailed.

And the Dharma is inside,  whether the police is there or not, no looting occure.  Since Dharma knows it.

—-

I only hope the people who had this disaster to recover and able to re-build their life.

( And in this given opportunity, Japanese can root out their rotten government and rotten policy in their

nuclear generating system )

___/\___

—

Why SUPERMAN Fly — not Japanese ROBOT ?

You know,  the Super Hero has Super Power which is beyond of human imagination.

—– well, it is in a case of Western Hero such as Superman, even Harry Potter kind.

And did you notice,  Japanese equivalent of them are often the Super Robot. — In old days, it was like

Astro Boy (鉄晼アトム), IronMan 28 (鉄人２８号 )and then Gandam etc who needs to charge-up or inject

the energy fuel —– doesn’t look like having super natural power.  No, they are not super natural Hero.

Strangely you may think, Japanese Super Hero is a variant of Ninja / Extreme Human. ! ! !

The origin of those Super Hero came from the Ethos and the Myth of each culture.

The Western God is the Almighty.  You can’t count what power he got.  It is unknowable.

And the same apply to the counter part, the Devil.    So that, they fight using super natural power.

In western tradition, to have a supernatural power is the norm to a Hero, Anti-Hero, Witch or Sorcerer.

But in the East, only the people in the Hades use supernatural power, and it is evil.

Hence, a Hero in the Eastern film, fight with his almost superhuman power and skill, yet it is still human skill.

Chinese Kong-Fu Hero, Japanese Sward Master, Ninja —– are all Hero in this category.

In a film, those Hero does incredible jump, still they never fly.

—

In order to spread the kids’ fantasy, a new type of Hero started to appear in the Japanese comics in 50th.

They are the Robot,  as it becoming within technological feasibility and reality.

So that, starting in my generation, the Japanese kids were growing up with Robot stories.

In tradition, Japanese Hero has to remain to be a human, regardless whether he got superhuman like power.

If not human, it’s a monster and never be a Hero.   And this principle applies to a Robot Hero too !

Japanese Robot has to be not only realistic but also Scientifically rational, even in a comic story.

If the energy run-out, even a super Robot needs to fill.  They are not a product of Myth or wild fantasy.

When those Comic Robot Hero fly, they open the exhaust of small jet engine, then blasted to the sky.

Hence they are realistic and scientifically rational, it made the kids to think its structure or mechanism.

Which lead those boys (and girls) to study science or technology —– and created today’s Robot on the end.

This is the reason why, they like to create Humanoid. —— still couldn’t forget their Hero.

If their Hero / Robot Hero was irrational and operated by the magic,  kids would just grown up

and forget a childish silly story —— nothing to do with science in their future life.

——–

It is showing remarkable contrast of  Eastern and Western psyche.

But a question here, is, have any of you ever seen flying-man, let alone any super natural act,

not mention the super natural power of The God and The Devil ? ? ?

There is no such things in the Buddhism.

Buddhism is in the Dharma which inherently follow the rationality.  Or, by observing the

manifestation of the Dharma, people found and learned, What the Rule of Rationality is.

( Rationality is not an invention of the man )

Therefore the Dharma having no magic.  Hence, Buddha himself prohibited to practice magic.

( Of cause, there is certain unknowable in the Dharma, but it is invisible any way,

and nobody can touch it.  Therefore even Buddha didn’t  answer for this question )

___/\___

—-

My HEALTHY LIFE

Ha ha ha ,  I know it is utterly misleading. 00 Because I don’t have a notion of Healthy Life.

I am just living as I am. —– and just happen to be healthy   ( apparently  🙂  )

If I have to analyze any peculiar practice  which might be related to my health is ——

I’m keeping my hands, nose and throat as clean as possible —– or just wash them very often.

To keep the hands clean was especially essential to handle photographic films.

But to keep the nose clean was taught by a teacher in my junior school.  Which was to take water in

the hands and suck it in the nose, then blow it out three times ! —– All the pupils in the class were

horrified, saying it’s too dirty though I convinced at once —– it’s a good idea and very rational, why not. 🙂

So that, when ever I came back to my place, like take off shoes, to wash hand, nose and gurgle are

the automatic routine.  Though, it might be related to a sublimated Japanese Shinto Custom — keep clean.

And there is no such thinking which relate this practice to health matter exists.— Just doing it.

It is not possible to have objective comparative test of  IF-NOT.    We got only one life and I couldn’t

replicate my same life, but only having NOT washed hands, and see what would  happen.

Simple fact is I rarely get ill, nor catching Cold, Flu.  Still, I don’t know whether washing hands are anything

to do with my health.  —– very funny you may think though, I rarely use soap ! —– same as, I don’t

use washing-up liquid.   I have one in the bath-room and another in the kitchen though they last—-may be

six months or more ?   My view of the soap is —– mankind is using soap not more than one or two hundred

years.  Removing our own natural oil, then applying pig-oil with artificial fragrance, is not a good

idea and the waste of the money. —– If I were ever smelly soapless person, still  it’s not a problem at all,

since I wouldn’t come closer to others less than an arm’s length  😀

So is a shampoo, I just shower the hair removing a salt in the sweat and use a shampoo less than once in

a month.  The shampoo is notoriously bad to the head,  the reason why I still have full head of hair, in more

than three feet long  pony-tale might be because of  not using shampoo. (So, one bottle of it last years  😀  )

—-

I eat anything though, the amount has been reduced in comparison to when I was young.

( I still have the same body weight 60 Kg / 9.5 stone,since when I was 15 years old ! —– When I was

physically very active, such as climbing the mountain , eat twice amount was no wonder though, sitting on

front of key-board  blogging or making electronic circuit needs to eat less —– and I never eat chips)

For my cooking, generally I use one carrot, one onion, a grab of green or green pepper etc and 150g~ 200g

of protein, meat, chicken, fish or egg etc everything from fresh ingredients, except  fish-tin (tinned fish has

no artificial preservatives) and smoked fish or bacon (to make bacon soup ) tofu or fried tofu are the rare

processed food.  And cooking them in many different way (by the way, I don’t buy cooking oil —– oil comes

from ingredients such as chicken naturally) and eat them with rice, pasta, noodle  etc.

So, I’m eating more or less the same food every day with my own cooking —– in past 25 years ?

Buying fresh ingredients is the cheapest, but I buy a lots of not cheap fruits as well.

And cooking from the fresh ingredient may take a bit longer cooking time still, my electricity bill

for a quarter is only £40~£50  (I don’t have gas —- I knew it become expensive ) 1/3 of other people.

——

This is literally, humble life —– or some said almost a life in poverty  😀

And I don’t take any drag, never do gamble, stopped to drink alcohol , never eat junk-food nor buy

fizzy drink but drink 1.5 ~ 2 litter of the tea —– hence there may not be any cause to get ill.

( Arh, no chocolate !  😀  )

In addition,  I gave-up woman 25 years ago.  So, no psychological up and down. —– Peace ! ! !

On top of this life style,  I used to have very vigorous exercise  (which looks like dancing  😀  )

once in every week, and these days I’m still doing it, may be once twice a month.

—-

It is hard to define a reason  why  I live  without getting ill — was it thanks to my  food life, exercise regime?

But, one thing I can definitely sure is, not to ever think or worrying about it.

If there is no crime, there is no criminal law or such concept at all.  Once if somebody start to think about it

then the notion of such activity teaches the possibility or another menu to the mind.  Shall I try ?

In a same way, a notion of illness trigger the imaginal symptoms and it become noticeable.

(Noticing ? Feeling ? —– isn’t it just in the Mind ? )

Even an intellectual medical information, once it caught your attention, it remains in your mind.  And as

often you think it,  it become your long-term memory and the memory / mind deepen and goes into your

subconscious —– as subconscious is in the old cortex in the brain, with its close proximity, it start to give

an influence to hippocampus / limbic system of the brain,  where the physiological control of the body

is taking place —–> hence stress and imbalance of the hormones —–> real illness !

Mind makes people becoming ill. —– It is a vicious circle and the domino-effects.

Here the Paradox of the Buddhism again, as long as the one is bothering with the notion of Health

or Illness, no healthy life ever come.  Here require the teaching of Mishin again.

So, better start Healthy Life when you are healthy and having full of vigor, and make it routine.

To keep the same healthy routine is far easier than to change a bad habit or regime.

___/\___

—

CLEANING

Currently in Japanese Twit-Sphere, a heated debate for the Cleaning their class-room is going on.

It started by a secondary school boy who is saying ” Its no use to clean the class-room by themselves.

It is not efficient enough.   Why not use the professional cleaning company ? ”

Against this, many people are saying  ” Its only a cheeky excuse, he just want to have a lazy life ” etc.

And others are saying, school is not just for studying knowledges but also for leaning the attitude for

the life, morality.   Some are saying even in religious context.

It is the same tendency, even in the western society, once it was spoken  in a religious context, the others

reacts at once,  in almost in allergic vigor —— saying feel uneasy, or even dubious.

—— It was in an unfortunate history, when a religion was spread, they always take over the morality

and the wisdom as a part of their own teachings, such as ” Thou shalt not kill, is their God’s commandment ”

—– But long before religion was invented, it was an established commonsense in the human society.

And, when a religion became out of fashion, because of even a fundamental  morality was mistaken

as a part of such religion, it became a target of rebellion.

—-

As a matter of fact, the tradition of cleaning their school room was originated from the Buddhist’s temple.

Since the school has started as the monks teaching the reading, writing to the local kids, the tradition

( in fact, it was a part of Buddhism practice ) to clean the room by the kids is an inseparable part of

the school’s teaching.  And by doing so, the kids learn and grown into a person of their own life.

Life is a violent imposition of the tasks to all the living things.

Nobody ever asked and born as it is.  Everybody came to this world,  without any expectation or

preparation at all.——- Somebody may born into a harsh desert country as an ugly boy or a pretty girl

in wealthy western society etc, as in a variation of fifteen billion. ——- Without question, without

complaint, the one has to live or start to live their own life.—– It is the harshest imposition.

So, the kids learn this reality, starting with cleaning the room, without question as everybody is equal.

( To ask somebody else to clean the toilet, always create the seed of discrimination in any society )

By doing so, the kids learn to be humble and to be selfless, and learn to act in equality.

In the same time, to find the best way to clean and master the skill —– it’s a training of the

trouble shooting, practice creativity.  On the end, even a kids can achieve to do the work in

Mushin (Mind of No-mind )

To have a clean class room for comfortable study environment —— is only one of the by-product.

——- Though, this kind of opinion seems not welcomed in today’s Japan —— to have a lecture from

somebody else is an invasion and interference to the individual’s human right. ! ! !

( in the point of political correctness )  Beautiful.   Ha ha ha 😀

—-

Make Rice-Cake in 15 Min’

O-Mochi, Japanese Rice-Cake is an essential ingredient in the Japanese New Year.

Without eating it cooked in O-Zouni, we don’t feel New Year has arrived.

As it is deeply imprinted to us with the strongest memory, the taste, it makes a part of the

fundamental Ethos to be a Japanese.  It is in deed, a part of the Collective Subconsciousness.

Imprinted into the subconsciousness almost a hard-wired program, it is the imperative.

( So, the Buddhism is relying on this mechanism of the human psyche )

A matter of fact, Rice-Cake is common in throughout southeast Asia.  Essentially it is a pounded

glutinous rice, hence it is a very very sticky soft cake and some time it was made sweet.

( By the way, when the cell of starch was pounded and broken, the gluten will be released and the long

chain of protein entangled and it become sticky, so that if you pound even baked potato, it

will become very sticky. —- try this in your home  🙂  )

When this rice-cake was dried and baked with soy-source flavor, it become rice-cracker, O-Senbei.

—–

Since I arrived to this country,  I tried to make rice-cake myself. —— I’ve steamed glutinous rice,

or boiled it and try to pound etc etc without success.

Every year when the season came,  I tried different way and on the end,   with a feeling of defeat and

resignation,  I did the most inconceivable cheat (to the Japanese psyche) —– use a glutinous rice powder

just mixed with water and heated in a microwave cooker. —- m m m, wao !  ( not Jaw-Dropping  😀  )

I found supplely sexy white body laying in a rice bowl and she was so soft and sticky  😀 —

She was a perfect Mochi  😀 ( In reality, I’ve experimented the amount of water and the setting of the

cooker from the Mochi to completely dried up and burned into the rice bowl to a soggy gluey staff)

Since I found this technique,  I accustomed to make the Mochi in a square plastic food container, or make

a mix in a bowl then cover it with prepared Red-bean sweet paste and heat it —- to make an  An-Mochi  🙂

Traditionalist would say, it is a dreadful cheat though —- so far non of the Japanese ever noticed

difference and didn’t aware it until I told them.  ( Anyhow it is the genuine glutinous rice  😀  )

So,  If anybody want to try,  here is the suggestion. You need to get Glutinous Rice Powder from Chinese shop.  One pound bag ( would be about £1 ) may

make more than two-pound ( 1 Kg ) of  Rice-cake.  The size of a cake in the top photo is 2″x1.5″x 0.5″ —–

half of a bag may make 9 of such cakes ( Using 4.5″x 6.5″ food container ) and it would be a good

amount for 3 to 4 people’s meal.  ( One such cake is equivalent to one bowl of a boiled rice ).

To start, mix the powder with small amount of water, then gradually adding the water to make proper mix.

It should be more soggy than a bread making dough.  Still, the mix shouldn’t run down even if the

container was hold 45 degree but it allow the air bubble to come up slowly when you hit the bottom.

( You need to hit many times, and pierce the bubbles —— or it will blow-up when heated  🙂  )

The mix should be less than 1/2″ deep in a container.  Never attempt to make thick big one  😀

( Instead,  you can stuck together many pieces of cooked  Mochi to make it big —->Kagami-Mochi )

When the mix is ready, put a cover and put into Microwave cooker,  Med’ High —– 5 minutes.

( You may better watching inside of cooker —– if the rid of container

was blow up, Switch off. )

When it was cooked, then have a good use of your brain to take the

cake out of container.  Use of potato starch would save the stickiness.

Cut the cake in your taste.  And it is good to eat straight. —— wrap up

with Sea-Weed (Nori ) with a cake a bit wet with Soy-source.

Or put into a  Soy-source based soup ( with chicken what so ever)

like dumpling.  It called O-Zouni.

Which ever the cooking,  it’s better to give a bit of baked skin which

would enhance crispy flavor.  Japanese use charcoal fire to bake them,

though,  I found a use of gas-torch is pretty handy and effective too.  Ha ha ha  😀

( The truth is, my electric grill has been used for storage of food staff, and full-up —– sorry )

To make O-Mochi from the Glutinous rice powder is, not only it is much cheaper but unlike

plastic wrapped Japanese Kiri-Mochi, it is free from any artificial additives and white breach

——- since, dry powder needs no preservatives.

Once you found your formula,  mixing and cooking wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.

So, try O-Zouni.  And have a flavor and taste of Japanese New Year.

___/\___

—-

A Dirt for Health ? ? ?

A woman who is an ex-direct action activist and having quite open-minded thinking said to me,

” A scientist said, the reason why the kids these days are so allergic to everything,  is because the sterile

city environment,  and on top of it,  the attitude of the mothers became dirt-phobia,  hence the kids life

became hygienically too clean and depriving the opportunity of them to build up the resistance and

immunity against the germs and toxic substances.”  ” So that our family is drinking a tea with a pinch

of dirt in the pot” —— m m m.

” I think, in certain extent, it is true, but I don’t think you are right ”  ” Along side, did you teach them

to wash their hand and washing them in the bath ? “

” Yes of cause ”

” The teaching and the message of washing the hand having two meanings, one is in hygienic implication

and the other is the spiritual teaching to observe the one’s cleanness in the life.  If the kids sees you to put

dirt in the drink,  the consistency of the message is completely break down. For a teaching become

sublimated and became a part of one’s spirituality,  its need to have absolute consistency. ——do you

know, a dog-poo on the street, where does it goes and disappearing ?

It dried up and ground by the shoes, blown away by the wind.  So, the air we are breeding  having the

powdered dust of the dog-poo as well.  Without noticing, we are taking enough dirt into the body.

So that, there is no point intentionally put a dirt into a tea,  it wouldn’t do any good but spiritually it is

the dreadful act.  In worst case, your kids may get wrong message and think ” I am safe to do dirty act,

as I got immunity or strong enough to defy even STD ” —– It’s an awful situation ”

” Oh, you are very opinionated person ”

” Bloody hell, it is not an opinion.  This is the common sense ”

——- oh, dear  🙂

—–