Fish Liberation

This seems to be a month of affinity with animal liberation, 1st attended bro Benny's fish liberation at the open sea using a cruise ship from Harbourfront. It is a more convenient place to meet for me compared to Changi which is his more frequent meeting venue for his monthly life liberation, and the cruise ship will be a better arrangement to invite my family along. When received sms abt the event, I immediately ask my parents if they are interested & glad to know that they were and so was my sister who surprisingly didn't refuse the invitation.

One point I like bro Benny's session is I can be ensured he will try to find the best place to release the animals of the day depending on their nature/requirement of habitat. Another point is I like his leading of the group in chanting and helping the fishes/animals take the Three Refuge to not only benefit their physical life but spiritual life, and we sincerely wish for the liberated animals not to be reborn into lower 3 realms after this life. He will also has a Q&A session to highlight frequent myths people have abt fish liberation which I think is useful, especially for 1st timers.

If one is not available to attend the event and would like to particpate in his monthly life liberation event, one may just transfer money to his designated life liberation account, inform him to confirm receipt and by end of day, he will inform of donors how many life had been liberated for the event and let all rejoice which I think this sms info is important so that people know what the money had been spent on and will rejoice & be motivated to support future events for the many lives saved thru combined effort.
May All be Well & Happy. Amituofo.

Wise Dana?

Dana at S state is kind of a disappointment.
Ice-cream given & food given out.

Something to rejoice but no, comparatively to earlier states visited, that seems to be a richer town & as it is a carnival event, most are well-dressed for outing.

Chaos happened at certain point of distribution that caused me to realise that there is still a long way for me in compassion.

Was also disappointed with the behavior of a shop-owner who feigned kindness in volunteering to help us store a few cartons of of ice-cream in their "big refrigerators" and later when we wanted to retrieve from them, they claimed that had not happened and whatever in their refrigerators were theirs and even refused to return the carton containers around the shop (I was told the containers were on lease from the ice-cream company so I guess we had to compensate them for the loss as well ).

However, there are some comforting Thank you from our recipients of distribution.

That was a beautiful place from pictures & of great cultural heritage but was in no more mood to appreciate that. However, there are some comforting events later in evening.

Alot more of wisdom & compassion needed to handle the situations.

At poorer state, was disturbed to see that they would hide their given food under their clothes or bag to get another portion while at affluent town also same.

Friend commented that at poorer state, they want more as they do not know when is the next dana or for their kins who is not present while those at more affluent places is greed.

Maybe once in a while giving dana raises their expectations, the long term solution would be via education and teaching them how to farm for food rather than relying on dana.

Friend commented that at a Buddhist country, at the refugee camp, when they 1st visited, they gave them money, but on repeated visit when the refugees were asked for their wish list, you guess what they want?
More money? No... they just want the blessing strings that often given out by Theravada Venerables. Simple wishes, happy people...

At Bodhgaya where we made another round of dana of food to the public, I was touched to see a polio-infected boy who, like a leader go around to ensure his friends in similar state got their food and the way they helped feed each other really touches one.
May they be blessed and have a better life...
Amituofo...

Reflecting...
We are fortunate to be living in Singapore, be the ones to be able to give Dana, be at a state where over the weekend, there are so many Dharma activities for one to choose from.
What if the conditions for my next rebirth is not good & I end up in a place not as conducive, will I be so engrossed to improve my physical conditions that I will not practise good and where Dharma is not heard of? then conditions deteriorate further?
That thought further enhanced my aspiration to pass my final exam to gain entry to Amitabha Buddha's Pureland where there is only conducive environment to advance and improve my compassion and wisdom til I am ready again to help many others back in Samsara.
Amituofo...
May I meet good teachers and fellow mates and advance on the right path to gain entry to your Pureland after this life.
Amituofo _/|\_

Snap-shots of other species

No Problem to take on more load....

Little Calf sleeping soundly under the shade protection of its mother

Prostrating doggie at Bodhgaya

Guardian of the temple who is on constant alert to invaders

Tamed deers at Deer Park welcoming feeds

Proud species of monkeys at Sri Lanka, preferred to be left alone

Energetic Monkeys who won't mind trying new snacks: chocolate rolls

Hugh Squirrels only interested in nature fruits, No to chocolate rolls !

Important to have enough Sleep

Extracted from fwded email
-------------------------------
Last few years there were many young excutives below 50 years old just drop dead even though there were as fit as a cow. Please read on.

What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India

A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India . He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road . Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India . However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner ( in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away ), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?

A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

The Real Reason

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out':

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep ( and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled ).

The Evidence

Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.

Some Excerpts:
· Short sleep duration ( <5 2009.="" 350="" 5-6="" 500="" 6="" as="" bp="" br="" by="" compared="" for="" high="" hours="" in="" increased="" kills.="" know="" longer="" night.="" or="" paper="" per="" published="" risk="" slept="" than="" those="" to="" who="" you="">
· Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.

· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive ( maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line ).

In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising ( marathoning! ), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep ( 7 hours ), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep.

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail/article to as many of your colleagues/friends as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.

Take care if you're a young excutive, RL



P.S. - Forward the above to save some young fellows.

================

Ok, I am going to have a early night's sleep tonight:P

Celebration Day of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva (Guanyin Dan)

A quick visit to the S'pore Buddhist Lodge at Kim Yam Road (along River Valley Road) this morning (Lunar 19th of Sep09). Their Four direction Thousand-Arms Guanyin at 4th level. Very Serene.

Like conveying the message: MAY ALL BE WELL & HAPPY! :-)

It is accessible by buses along River Valley Road before/after AA centre: 32, 33, 54, 139, 195

Its Official website is http://www.sbl.org.sg

Robe Offering & Pindapata Ceremony 2009

Yellow/Golden colored umbrella sheltering the Buddha Tooth Relic

Devotees crowded the Hall at Spore Expo.

Well, this is certainly an eye-opener event for me to attend the Offering 10,000 Robes & Pindapata (Alms round) Ceremony 2009, organised by Mahakaruna Buddhist Society, last Sunday, 1 Nov 2009 which happens to fall on full moon day of lunar September.

It was announced 11,200 robes will be offered to Sangha around the world, especially to Sri Lanka, Myammar and India.

Maybe it is Sri Lanka culture? They made a round around the hall with the offerings and let devotees touch the offerings as a symbol of offering made by all.

It was touching to see senior elderly monks who for the sake of benefitting devotees, made their Alms round despite some with difficulty in movement. If their volunteers not mindful to help them empty their alms bowl in time, it can be quite heavy but they still strive on. Was informed later in the event that at least 2 of them are more than 90 years old.

It was also interesting to be introduced to Sri Lanka culture amidst attending the event via their Sri Lanka drum & dance performance.

Anti-Aging through a Vegetarian Diet

Attended the talk last Sat, 31 Oct by Dr Sanjay Doshi , organised by VSS.

It is definitely a very informative talks which imparted quite a lot of tips on healthy eating, especially on anti-cancer or cancer prevention food.
Hopefully VSS could reproduce the main points on their web.

The benefits of Broccoli was much elaborated, a good source against breast cancer.

Tomatoes' nutrient effect would be very much enhanced after processed or cooked as the heat breaks down the cell wall. A good source against prostrate cancer.

My favourite, Avocado, is good at causing 17% drop in total blood cholesterol, reducing greatly the bad cholesterol.

Garlic, which I dislike has stop cancer-causing substance , speed DNA repair & kills cancer cells. Best to peel & chop the cloves & let it sit 15-20 minutes before cooking. This process activates the enzymes & release sulfur containing compounds.

And this is 1st time I heard about Flaxseed which is to be very effective at reducing cancer, stroke and diabetes. Best effective is to consume 2-4 tablespoons of grounded flaxseed daily.
A newbie to me that I would like to find out more & try...

Carrots only known to me as rich in Vitamin A was also recommended for consumption as one that helps stops cancer cell growth. Thought eating it raw will be direct nutritional but was advised that steaming it whole then cutting into slices will gives it best effect. Juices was less encouraged as juicing will immediately release sugar into the blood.

Couldn't remember all the goodies mentioned in the talk & hope they have more such informative talks in future. :-)