Emptiness

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form;

Emptiness is not separate from form,

Form is not separate from emptiness;

Whatever is form is emptiness,

Whatever is emptiness is form.

The same holds true for sensation and perception,

Memory and consciousness. 

- Red Pine

Emptiness is the usual translation for the Buddhist term Sunyata (or Shunyata). It refers to the fact that no thing - including human existence - has ultimate substantiality, which in turn means that no thing is permanent and no thing is totally independent of everything else. In other words, everything in this world is interconnected and in constant flux. A deep appreciation of this idea of emptiness thus saves us from the suffering caused by our egos, our attachments, and our resistance to change and loss. - James Ure 

True emptiness exists when the mind is clear and all forms have disappeared. Externally, there are no objects. Internally, there is no mind. There is only emptiness. In this state even emptiness does not exist. In true emptiness there is no space, no desire, no will; there are no appearances, no thoughts. All realms of existence are dissolved. In absolute stillness there is no self and no other. There is only Earlier Heaven in its undifferentiated whole. - Shui-ch'ing Tzu

Proverbs

What is worth doing is worth doing well. - Unknown

You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. - Unknown

The busy bee has no time to be unhappy. - Unknown

The old cow thinks she was never a calf. - Unknown

Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. - Unknown

Calamities may be blessings in disguise. - Unknown

There is light at the end of every tunnel. - Unknown

A good name is better than a good face. - Unknown

Kill not the goose that lay golden eggs. - Unknown

A drowning man will clutch at a straw. - Unknown

Open confession is good for the soul. - Unknown

What happens, happens for a reason. - Unknown

Cut your coat according to your cloth. - Unknown

He who pays the piper calls the tune. - Unknown

There is many a slip twixt cup and lip. - Unknown

God helps those who help themselves. - Unknown

You cannot have your cake and eat it. - Unknown

A lion may be beholden to a mouse. - Unknown

There are two sides to every picture. - Unknown

None but the brave deserve the fair. - Unknown

A constant guest is never welcome. - Unknown

Potato Garden

              An old man lived alone. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his predicament. 

              Shortly, he received this reply, “For HEAVEN’S SAKE Dad, don’t dig up that garden, that’s where I buried the GUNS!”

              At four am the next morning, a dozen police showed up and dug up the entire garden, without finding any guns. 

              Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened, and asking him what to do next. 

              His son’s reply was: “Now plant your potatoes, Dad. It’s the best I could do at this time.”

Will Hot Air Shake Off That Cold?

The claim: Hot, humidified air can help to cure a cold.

The facts: Inhaling steam or humidified air - a cold remedy as old as the steam kettle - supposedly clears congestion, improves breathing and kills cold viruses, which are sensitive to heat.

Laboratory studies show, for example, that the rhinovirus - the most common cause of colds - is inactivated at temperatures above 43 deg C.

Yet a number of studies have failed to find strong evidence that a dose of heated, humidified air makes any difference for sniffling, sneezing cold sufferers.

In 2006, a report in The Cochrane Database Of Systematic Reviews examined the remedy by combining data from previous studies.

The report included six randomised controlled trials in which cold sufferers were exposed to heated water vapour.

Three of the studies showed benefits, while the others found either a worsening of symptoms or no change at all in antibody levels or shedding of viruses.

One of those studies, carried out at the Cleveland Clinic and published in The Journal Of The American Medical Association in 19994, had 68 cold sufferers sit through 60-minute steam treatments that raised the temperature inside the nose to the required 43 deg C. The treatments had no effect on symptoms like congestion and sneezing.

Ultimately, the Cochrane report concluded that steam inhalation should not be recommended as a remedy for colds until more studies bear out its usefulness.

The bottom line: The evidence for heated or humidified air as a cold treatment is lacking.

- The New York Times 

A Bet

              Bob walked into a sports bar around 9:58 PM. He sat down next to a guy, who doesn’t look like he is the brightest light in the harbour, at the bar. 

              The 10 PM news was coming on. The news crew was covering the story of a man on the ledge of a large building preparing to jump. 

              The man looked at Bob and said, "Do you think he'll jump?

              Bob said, "You know, I bet he'll jump.”

              The man replied, "Well, I bet he won't."

              Bob placed a $20 note on the bar and said, "You're on!"

              Just as the man placed his money on the bar, the man on the ledge did a swan dive off the building, falling to his death. 

              The man was very upset, but willingly handed his $20 to Bob. "Fair's fair. Here's your money.”

              Bob replied, "I can't take your money. I saw this earlier on the 5 PM news, so I knew he would jump."

              The man replied, "I did, too, But I didn't think he'd do it again."

              Bob took the money.

Teachings Of Buddha

One must not accept my teachings from reverence, but first try them as gold is tried by fire. 

You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can't solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside. Knowing yourself is most important. 

Don't just go and believe in the teacher because he says a fruit is sweet and delicious. Taste it for yourself and then all the doubting will be over.

Teachers are those who point out the direction of the Path. After listening to the teacher, whether or not we walk the Path by practicing ourselves, is strictly up to each one of us. 

We must learn to let go of conditions and not try to oppose or resist them. Know your own body, heart, and mind. Be content with little. Don't go and hold on to emotions.

Self is a fever; self is a transient vision, a dream, but truth is wholesome, truth is sublime, truth is everlasting. There is no immortality except in truth. For truth alone abideth forever.

By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one made impure. By oneself only is evil stopped, by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depend on oneself. No one can purify another.

The noble swerve not from the right path let happen what may, and crave no longer after worldly joys. The wise remain calm and constant in mind alike in joy and sorrow.

The one of few desires is the happiest. The one who knows contentment is very rich and honoured.

Just as the dweller in his body passes through childhood, youth and old age, so at death, he merely passes into another kind of body. 

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

Yield not to idleness, neither give way to lust nor cravings. He who is full of earnest, diligent in devotion to others attains great happiness.

Friends

A friend...

… never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down. - Arnold H. Glasow

… that you have to buy won’t be worth what you pay for him, no matter what that may be. - George D Prentice

… that frowns is better than a smiling enemy. - Suraine

… should bear his friend’s infirmities. - Shakespeare

… in power is a friend lost. - Henry Adams

… will see you through when others see that you are through. - Unknown

… to all is a friend to none. - Unknown

Friends are …

… those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. - Ed Cunningham

… relatives you make for yourself. - Eustache Deschamps

… treasures. - Horace Bruns

… like Angels who brighten our days in all kinds of wonderful, magical ways. - Unknown

… like a beautiful garden. They require regular care, and friendship is a plant which must be often watered. - Unknown

Love is ...

Love is ...

- missing someone whenever you’re apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you’re close in heart. - Kay Knudsen

- a gift. You can’t buy it, you can’t find it, someone has to give it to you. Learn to be receptive of that gift. - Kurt Langner

- but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition. - Alexander Smith

- an emotion experienced by the many and enjoyed by the few. - George Jean Nathan 

- something eternal, the aspect may change, but not the essence. - Vincent Van Gogh 

- always a stranger in the house of avarice. - Andreas Capellanus

- the harmony of two souls singing together. - Gregory J. P. Godek

- the noblest frailty of the mind. - John Dryden

- when you take away the feeling, the passion, the romance – and you find out you still care for that person. - Unknown

- like a violin. The music may stop now and then, but the strings remain forever. - Unknown

- the essence of everything beautiful, the force behind everything wonderful. - Unknown

- a word, no words can define; a power nothing can confine. - Unknown

- the key that will open even the hardest heart. - Unknown

- is for fools wise enough to take a chance. - Unknown

- giving, especially when it hurts. - Unknown

- a fire which burns unseen. - Unknown

Humming Away Sinus Problems

The Claim: Humming can ease sinus problems.

The Facts: When a cold leads to a sinus infection, the misery can double.

Some researchers have proposed a surprising remedy: Channelling your inner Frank Sinatra.

Sinus infections generally occur when the lining of the sinuses - hollows in the bones of the face around the nose - becomes inflamed.

It then traps air and pus and other secretions, leading to pain, headaches and congestion.

And what better way to keep air moving through the sinuses and nasal cavity than by humming a a tune?

In a study in The American Journal Or Respiratory And Critical Care Medicine, researchers examined this by comparing airflow in people when they hummed and when they quietly exhaled.

They found that the level of nitric oxide - a gas produced in the sinuses - exhaled during humming rose by 15 times.

Another study a year later in The European Respiratory journal found a similar effect: Humming resulted in a large increase in nasal nitric oxide.

Since reduced air flow plays a major role in sinus infections, the researchers suggested that daily periods of humming might help people lower their risk of chronic problems. But further study is needed, they said.

The bottom line: Studies show that humming helps increase airflow between the sinus and nasal cavities, which could potentially help protect against sinus infections.

- The New York Times 

Success …

… in any endeavour depends on the degree to which it is an expression of your true self. - Ralph Marston

… isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. - Arnold H. Glasow

… does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time. - George Bernard Shaw

… does not come to those who wait . . . and it does not wait for anyone to come to it. - Unknown 

… requires effort; failure little or none. Success is self-evident; and so too is failure. - Unknown

Success is …

… neither magical or mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals. - Jim Rohn

… a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome. Not everyone can be Number One. - Arthur Ashe

… full of promise till one gets it, and then it seems like a nest from which the bird has flown. - Henry Ward Beecher

… achieved by development of our strengths, not by elimination of our weakness. - Marilyn vos Savant

… only another form of failure if we forget what our priorities should be. - Harry Lloyd

… determined by those who prove the impossible, possible. - James W. Pence

… nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day. - Jim Rohn

… simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time. - Arnold H. Glasow 

… often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction. - Al Bernstein 

… the maximum utilization of the ability that you have. - Zig Ziglar

… steady progress toward one's personal goals. - Jim Rohn

… where preparation and opportunity meet. - Bobby Unser

… a ladder you cannot climb with your hands in your pockets. - Unknown

… counted sweetest by those who never succeed. - Unknown