The Dharani of Great Compassion

It is stated in the Dharani Sutra that "Those who recite and hole the Spiritual Mantra of Great Compassion will not suffer any kind of bad death and will obtain good rebirth". This mantra is known to all Chinese devotees of Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Shih Yin Pusa) as the "DA BEI JOU". The efficacy of this Great Compassion Mantra has been proven countless times. Ask anyone who has practised this mantra and they will have lots to tell you about the wonders of this prayer. With some effort anyone can recite it for the sake of benefitting others. Before you begin with the recitation, you must recite the below verse of adoration 3 times:
"Namo Chien Shou Chien Yen
Kuan Shih Yin Pusa
Gong Der Yen Man Wu Ai
Da Bei Sin Tor Loh Ni"

followed by the recitation of Kuan Yin's name 3 times:
"Namo Ta Pei Kuan Shih Yin Pusa".
After which the Dharani is recited. For easy memory of the above Dharani, you may start your practice by listening to the song version sung by Imee Ooi



Below is the Dharani:
Namo Ratna Trayaya
Namo Aryavalokitesvaraya
Bodhisattvaya Mahasattvaya Mahakarunikaya
Sarva Bandhana Chedena Karaya Sarva Bharva Samudram Soshana Karaya
Sarva Vyadhi Prasamana Karaya
Sarva Mrtyu Upa-drava Vinasana Karaya.
Sarva Bhaye Su Trana Karaya
Tas,a Namas-Krtva Idam
Aryavalokitesvara
Bhasitam Nilakantha
Pi Nama Hrdayam Avarta Isyami
Sarvatha Sadhanam Subham Ajeyam
Sarva Bhutanam Bhava Marga Visuddhakam

Tadyatha Om-Aloke A-lokamati
Lokati Krante He Hare Aryavalokitesvara
Mahabodhisattva He Bodhisattva
He Mahabodhisattva He Virya Bodhisattva
He Mahakarunika Smara Hrdayam
Hi Hi Hare Aryavalokitesvara Mahesvara Parama
Maitra-citta Mahakarunika.
Kuru Kuru Karman Sadhaya Sadhaya Vidyam
Ni Hi Ni Hi Me Varam Kamam-gama Vitta-kama Vigama
Siddha Yogesvara Dhuru Dhuru Viryanti
Maha Viryanti, Dhara Dhara Dharendresvara
Cala Cala Vimalaa-mala Murte Aryavalokitesvara
Jina Krsna Jata makuta Valam Pra-lamba
Maha Siddha Vidyadhara
Vara Vara Maha Vara Bala Bala
Maha Bala Cala Cala Maha Cala
Krsna Varna Nigha Krma paksa Nirghaatana He Padma Hasta
Cara Cara Desa Care Svara
Krsna Sarpa Krta Yajnopavita
Ehyehi Maha Varaha mukha Tripura Dahanesvara
Narayana Va Rupa Vara Marga Ari
He Nilakantha He Mahakara
Halahala Visa Nirjita Lokasya Raga Visa Vinashana
Dvesa Visa Vinasana
Huru Huru Mala
Huru Huru Hare
Maha Padmanabha
Sara Sara Sri Sri
Suru Suru
Bhuruc Bhuruc Buddhaya Buddhaya Bodhyaha
Maitri Nilakantha
Ehyehi Vama Sithita Siha-mukha
Hasa Hasa Munca Munca
Mahattahasam
Ehyehi Pa Maha Siddha Yogesvara
Bhana Bhana Vaco Sadhaya Sadhaya Vidyam
Smara Smaratam Bhagavantam Lokita
Vilokitam Lokesvaram Tathagam
Dadahi Me Darsana Kamasya Darsanam Pra-Hiadaya
Mana Svaha Siddhaya
Svaha Maha Siddhaya Svaha
Siddha Yogesvaraya Svaha
Nilakan-thaya Svaha
Varaha-mukhaya Svaha
Maha-dara Simha-mukhaya Svaha
Siddha Vidyadharaya Svaha
Padma-hastaya Svaha
Krsna-sarpa Krta Yajnopavitaya Svaha
Maha Lakuta dharaya Svaha
Cakrayuddhaya SvahA
Sankha-sabdani Bodhanaya Svaha
Vama Skandha-desa Sthita Krsnajinaya Svaha
Vyaghra-carma Nivasanaya Svaha
Lokesvaraya Svaha
Sarva Siddhesvaraya Svaha
Lokesvaraya Svaha
Sarva Sidddhesvaraya Svaha
Namo Bhagavate Aryavalokitesvaraya
Bodhisattvaya
Mahasattvaya
Mahakarunikaya
Siddhyantu Me
Mantra-padaya Svaha

After reciting the above Dharani, it is always good to recite the following verse for sharing with the universal he benefit of reciting the Great Compassion Dharani:

"May all beings receive the blessing of Kuan Shih Yin Pusa"

An Insight Into Szechuan Earthquake

May 2008 turned out to be a mournful month. First is the cyclone in Myanmar, followed by the tragic earthquake in Szechuan, China on 12 May 2008. For the past few weeks, the world was sitting in front of TV watching the disaster footage following the incessant news about these natural catastrophe which was really heart-breaking.

Trapped amidst destruction, fear, and sorrow, there seemed to be so little hope to rescue more lives. I believe all of you will agree with me that many of us who are unaffected by the tragedies were mentally disturbed and heart aches over the loss of so many lives, not forgetting hundred of thousands who have injured and become childless or orphans all out of sudden. It casts a shadows on every heart. We have never wrapped our mind with figure such as this. .

The survived need our help to rebuild home and to keep up with lives. Many of us have generously donated to the victims which is meritorious. Let us pray for the souls of those that have passed on. Let us pray for their family and relatives, so that they may find strength to cope with the death of their loved ones, and also that they might find comfort and solace. Let us pray for those who have survived, but are traumatised and injured so that they may not be discouraged and afraid. Let us pray for the rescue and aid workers, that they may have the wisdom and perserverence to help those in need.

Besides financial aid, we may also render our help spiritually by sending loving kindness to the victims survived as well as for the deceased. One very easy way in sharing your loving kindness is by means of recitation of mantra and sutra. I happened to come across this information from the net about recitation of the Golden Light Sutra:-

Lama Zopa Rinpoche urges us to recite the Sutra of Golden Light every day. . The benefits from reciting, listening to, or even hearing the name of the sutra are immeasurable, from eliminating conflict, terrorism, torture and famine to achieving full enlightenment.

Therefore, Rinpoche says, recite even one page every day, and if possible, do so with others.

“The holy Golden Light Sutra is the king of the sutras. It is extremely powerful and fulfills all one's wishes, as well as bringing peace and happiness for all sentient beings, up to enlightenment. It is also extremely powerful for world peace, for your own protection, and for the protection of the country and the world. Also, it has great healing power for people in the country. ...

Anyone can read this text, Buddhists and even non-Buddhists who desire world peace. This also protects individuals and the country from what are labeled natural disasters of the wind element, fire element, earth element, and water element, such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, fires, tornadoes, etc. They are not natural because they come from causes and conditions that make dangers happen.

They come from past inner negative thoughts and actions of people, and from external conditions. The benefits of reading this sutra are immeasurable ... reciting just a few lines of the Sutra of Golden Light creates more merit than making ... immeasurable offerings to the Buddha. Reciting this sutra directs one's life towards enlightenment. There is so much merit ... one's life becomes so easy, whatever one wishes for one receives ... there is unbelievable purification ... one liberates numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and brings them to enlightenment.”

Please access the following link for a copy of the sutra.

http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/goldenlight.asp

Dedication

Rinpoche also recommended dedicating the merits so that all war, violence, terrorism, destructive weather, diseases, and famine is eliminated, and that everyone enjoys peace, plenty, good health, and has love and compassion in their hearts.

In dedicating the merits of yourself and others, think of your own virtuous actions of reading, reciting, and even thinking about this king of sutras. Then think of specific wars, areas of famine, terrible diseases and afflictions, physical and mental acts of violence, and dedicate the merits so that these are eliminated immediately.

A dedication of merit is like a practice of sharing with the world all the goodness created by any wholesome action. Using the mind to broadcast goodness is an effective form of spiritual activism. Below is a song/verse on Merit Dedication:-

May every living being,
Our minds as one and radiant with light,
Share the fruits of peace
With hearts of goodness, luminous and bright.

If people hear and see,
How hands and hearts can find in giving, unity,
May their minds awake,
To Great Compassion, wisdom and to joy.

May kindness find reward,
May all who sorrow leave their grief and pain;
May this boundless light,
Break the darkness of their endless night.

Because our hearts are one, This world of pain turns into Paradise, May all become compassionate and wise, May all become compassionate and wise.

Experiences with Sutra of Golden Light

Contact with the Sutra of Golden Light can produce new thoughts, changed understanding, interesting dreams, strengthened motivation, and who knows what else!

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has specifically asked to hear about our experiences with the Sutra of Golden Light. One man reported to Beth that he received a copy of the sutra in the mail and immediately he had an urge to light incense. In the Sutra, the four great kings themselves say that when one offers even one stick of incense, the fragrance calls forth all of the protectors and draws them to the place where the sutra is being honored

http://www.fpmt.org/golden_light_sutra/pdf/experiences.pdf

Kun Ming, China - The Spring City

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to join the National Sales Convention on 26 Feb 2008. Kunming is the capital of the Province of Yunnan. It is reputed as the "Spring City of China" due to the fact that it is endowed with a pleasant climate, spring all the year round and is adorned with more than 400 kinds of flowers.

Fortunately or unfortunately, our first night in the City of Spring, the temperature fell drastically that there was unexpected snowfall at night. We were told that this rare snowfall was the first time since the last 5 years.

On the second day, the team left for Stone Forest to participate in a HSBC Editon"Amazing Race". The Stone Forest is the most scenic attraction in Yunnan Province and there is an old local saying that says, 'if you have visited Kunming without seeing the Stone Forest, you have wasted your time.' It is true: the Stone Forest is definitely one of a kind!

Shuttle ride to stone forest. All of us are divided into team according to the local tribes' name such as "Naxi, Miao, Bai" and so on.. Sounded like some kind of vulgar lingo to me. Anyway, i was from the " Miao". The one in the pic who looks like auntie is me. It was really cold, okay!? Clad in warm clothes made the already plump figure looked even more puffed up!(Sigh..)

" Now you see me...."

"Now you don't!" A picturesque backdrop with mirror-like lake near the entrance to the Stone Forest.

Another fairyland on earth

This is like a scene in most of the Chinese Kungfu movies. You can imagine this thing like flying dragon and crouching tiger.

Macau - Where East Meets West

I must say that Air Asia has made us flown more miles than any other carriers with their regular annual cheap fare bonanza. In Sept 2007, my usual tour buddies and I managed to secure free fares again and obtained a good bargain for ground arrangement of a 3-day-2-nite trip to Macau and Zhuhai .

It was already around 6pm when we landed at Macau Int'l Airport. I managed to capture this valuable sunset scene from the bus on the way to our hotel. The result produced was as though someone has shot it with the aid of a tripod. The secret? Thanks to Canon Digital Camera :-)

Sunset in Macau

Say Cheese..!

Musical Fountain feature outside The Wynn, Macau Hotel

The hotel we stayed (Beverly Hotel) is located in the city centre. After dinner, we took a walk down the street and was so fortunate to see the "live performance" by the musical fountain at the Wynn Hotel(Across the road from Lisboa). The musical fountain performs on every interval of 15 minutes and each session last for about 10-15 minutes. It was really an awesome experience and the best part was the spectators need not fork out a single penny to watch it! We truly immersed ourselves in a sea of wonder and emotion owing to their exquisite selection of musical which ranges from classical pieces to popular music. The result is a rich and dynamic collection of performance in water, light and colour, each unique and expressive of its own musical character.

This musical fountain is the landmark of The Wynn Hotel as it is right in front of hotel's lobby greeting all passer-by with melodious tune every night..

There are many casinos in Macau for anyone to try their hand with Lady Luck. The famous few are the New and "Old" Lisboa, the Sands Macau and the Wynn Macau. Anyway, we are a bunch of really kiasu people. So afraid to lose that we hesitated to invest into such business during our stay. After few moments of soul searching and mind strugglings sessions, we finally decided to pool in a small sum of money (HKD 50 each) as our initial capital and sent our rep Joyce to see if she can make a fortune out of it. She was under unsurpassed pressure not to lose our capital. At last, we only managed to win HKD50. Too insignificant a sum to divide amongst ourselves and we finally decided to spend it on giving everyone a dessert treat. Nevertheless, all of us were glad that we didn't lose our capital. Just for fun la..

Baked Lemon Cheese Cake

This is a simple cheese cake recipe which i guarantee no one will ever fail in the endeavor if the recipe is followed closely.

Ingredients:

Base
To make biscuit crust, you can use digestive biscuits, marie biscuits or chocolate cookies (e.g. oreo). Just crush the biscuits into crumbs and mix with melted unti well-combined and press on the the base of the baking tin.

Lemon Cheese Filling:
500g softened cream cheese
90g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

Methods:

1. Beat cream cheese and sugar at low speed until smooth. Add in eggs one at a time and mix well. Lastly add in grated lemon rind.
2. Pour cream cheese mixture onto crust and bake at 170degree celcius for 20 minutes or until center is set.
3. Let cake cool in the oven with heat off for 1 hour.
   

Topping:

1. For a simple topping, just buy ready mix jelly powder. Follow the instruction and pour on top of the cooled cheesecake.
2. Chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.

Yum-yum! Happy Baking...

Enchanting Bali - I

On 7/5/2006, I flew by Air Asia to Bali with my usual tour buddies. Thanks to Air Asia's zero fare that everyone can fly. This trip also marked my maiden voyage in a national budget carrier(sounds better than a low cost carrier/low class carrier right?)

Our first stop was at Ubud and we put up in this luxurious boutique hotel-Barong Ubud Spa Resort. The hotel has 17 units (if I am not mistaken) of villa-style chalets feature the privacy of the traditional balinese family compound. The rooms are tastefully decorated. Each chalet has a unit of four-poster king size bed with veil-like "mosquito netting" meant for the couples to play hide-&-seek, bathroom with sunken bath, CD players and of course, dimly lit ambiance. It looks like a perfect place for the newly-wed to spend their romantic first night. Unfortunately, the set-up was a complete wastage for us because we were not quite used to the dimness in the room and the dark surroundings at night. Our room package came with complimentary fruit basket, American breakfast and a set of afternoon tea with local dessert. All in cost about RM400 per room/night. Albeit the price was a bit of the high side, I must frankly say that we truly enjoyed our stay in this hotel for the warmth hospitality and excellent service. The staff were quite generous with their serving of freshly pressed fruit juices every morning. It was purely natural and served without addition of any sugar syrup.

Our "secret garden", a secluded compound outside each hotel room.

The hotel location is strategic, at the centre of Ubud-Bali's cultural heartland. Art market is only a few minutes easy walk from the hotel. You will definitely fall in love with dozens of fascinating art galleries, delightful restaurants and a myriad of small shops selling interesting and unusual gifts and handcrafted souvenirs. Cheap and nice, provided you are a good bargainer.

Jiu Zhai Gou, Szechuan, China - A Paradise On Earth

My trip to Jiu Zhai Gou & Chendu was during Sept 2005. It is said that if there should be wonderlands on the earth, Jiu Zhai Gou must be one of them. There is no equal elsewhere that has sceneries and fables of dreamlike eloquence, or natural purities like a fairyland as Jiu Zhai Gou. Jiu zhai gou is located in Nanping County, 450 kilometers (about 280 miles) to the north of Chengdu City. The recent 7.8-magnitude earthquake on 12 May 2008, which jolted Szechuan and the world alike happened in Wenchuan, a remote county about 100km northwest of the provincial capital, Chengdu. I heard from my friends that some places which we have visited including the winding road linking the Jiu Zhai Gou with a small town named Mao Xian were also affected by the quake. How devastating really.. Let's pray for everyone effected!



Scenic mountain view was taken before landing.

At the Jiu Zhai Gou airport waiting for coach pick-up.

Jiu Zhai Gou Paradise Hotel, this is a corner of our room view. Scenic ride to the "hai" (which means lake)

A picturesque backdrop

Huang Long(The Yellow Dragon") together with Jiu Zhai Gou are both known as the "2 places on earth with heavenly scenery". Both places are the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This photo was taken at the Du Jiang Yan Dam, which apparently was also hit by the devastating quake on 12 May 2008.

Du Jiang Yan Dam is a water irrigation system built by the chinese in 25B.C. Another world heritage site. It was to divert water from the river to the farming community lower down the river and to prevent flood. The ingenuity of Chinese engineering was demonstrated during the ancient days. The tour guide relayed to us that devastating annual floods plagued the people living by the the Min River. During the Qin Dynasty, Li Bing, who was sent to Chendu as an official, decided to do something about it. He investigated the river with some locals. He familiarized himself with the land forms and water flows, and found the source of the water. The waters melted from Mount Min at the beginnings of every summer, went into the Min River and flooded the farms. Li Bing decided to divide the river into two streams, allowing one stream to continue on its normal course, while the other stream would flow into the farmer's fields. But there was one big problem. The Yulei Mountains blocked the way to the Chendu Plain.He had to break a path through a mountain. The rock was too hard to break. So he had men throw wood and grass on the rocks and set it on fire, then poured cold water over it. This made the hard rock crack so the men could remove it. This labor took 7 years and they finally made an opening through the mountains to the plains that is 20 meters (65 feet) wide. The peasants called it Bǎo Píng Kǒu (Bottleneck). Today, Du Jiang Yan has become a major tourist attraction. It is also the admiration of scientists around the world, because it has one ingenious feature. Unlike contemporary dams where the water is blocked with a huge wall, Du Jiang Yan still lets water go thorugh naturally. Modern dam do not let fish go through very well, since it is a wall and and the water levels are different. In 2000, Du Jiang Yan became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...

Mauritius- Between The Sea & Sky

Our trip to Mauritius was in May 2005.

Arrival at the airport, say cheese!
The airport is very small, nothing much to see (and buy). So all of us just busy taking pictures.

We had a splendid dining experience at the hilltop restaurant at Domaine du Chasseur.
Upon reaching the top of the hill where the cabana and jungle themed restaurant was erected, the local natives presented their warmest welcome by playing drums round the campfire and danced like the lambada style.

Dine with the wilds...
Some of us were intoxicated with Jack Daniel coke!

Giant Water Lilies Pond at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens, Pamplemousses

This garden is known to naturalists throughout the world for their large collection of indigenous and exotic plants. The 60-acre garden has 500 different species of plants, of which 80 are palms. Of particular interest are the giant water lilies, a spice garden and the Talipot Palms, said to flower every 60 years after which they die.

"The Bond" posing outside a Dodo Bird T-shirt shop in Port Lois. Dodo bird is the national mascot of Mauritius

This is the semi-submersible boat "Le-Nessee". It gives us an unique viewing experience of the under-sea world.

The Charamel Falls at Grand Basssin
































Breath-taking view at the Gris Gris Beach











Hey.. we are on the top of the world! A splendid retreat indeed!

A breezy day at Gris Gris beach..real cool..











Snapped at the Mauritian cliff











This is our giant-catamaran outings to Coconut Island, and dolphin-discovery excursions to mythical...(Trust me, seeing the wild dolphins are definitely different than seeing ones in Ocean Park.Too bad, the videos of the dolphins are with my friend's camera) During the catamaran ride, you can swim, do snorkeling and relax before a barbecue lunch is prepared and served on board by the experienced crews. You can drink to your heart's content free flow of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages such as beer, red wine, vodka and not forgetting Coke mixed with the local produce-The Mauritian Rum(Jack Daniel Coke). This all-inclusive day tour only cost about RM200.



A bit tipsy..better sit properly

After few shots of red wine and cocktail.. danced to the Macarena

Visit to reptile farm to take a sneak peek at giant tortoise love-making in action.

Female: "Oh boy... take it slowly, it hurts!!"
Male: "I would be gentle, darling.."

Healthy Fruit Rojak

If you are a "rojak" lover, you are bound to form a love-and-hate relationship with it's main ingredients-prawn paste. Prawn paste (aka "otak udang") or otherwise knows as "Har Gou" in Cantonese is actually a sinful food loading with "baddies" such as cholesterol. The derivation processes also tend to bring in lots of impurities which i better not mention here. Besides, by virtue of its' Malay name "Otak Udang", this particular ingredient is made of the prawn's brain. One thing for sure, there is no scientific proof that this food will make you any brainier. To get a cup of prawn paste, many prawns must be sacrificed for the extraction of their otaks. So it is actually not meritorious to consume it for what you received is just a fishy smell and load your body with unwanted cholesterol.

Below is a rojak dressing recipe which skip the use of the prawn paste.

Ingredients:
Dressing (Mix together):
4 tbsp of thick black(caramel-like) soysauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
2 red chillies, slice thinly
2 tbsp sugar, melt with some hot water
Juice from 2 limau kasturi (lime).
At your preference Add more light soya sauce and sugar to taste

Mix the above dressing to any cut fruits such as cubed pineapples, guava, sengkuang(yam bean) blanched kangkong (Malay watercress), and blanched taugeh (beansprouts) . You can also add in some yau char kwai or taufu pop(it will still be crunchy if you toast it with a microwave rather than deep fry it).

Lastly, mix in lots of grounded toasted sesame seeds and peanuts into the the fruits and vegetables mixture. The end result is similar to rojak except that you don't get the fishy smell. For those who are allergic to peanuts, you may replace it with some toasted almond nut, cashew or pistachio nuts.

Easy Mixed Fruit Salad

This is the easiest mixed fruit salad recipe for children party. No measurement is required. You can dump in fruits of your own choice. For the crunchy effect, you must not miss out grapes, apples or pears.

Ingredients:
Some cubed guavas
Some cubed apples/pears (drenched with some lemon juice or have a salt water bath to prevent oxidization)
Some seedless grapes, stem removed
Some tinned longan and rambutan, drained
Some cubed sengkuang(yam bean)
Some cubed dragon fruits

Dressing:
250ml whipping cream
Some sweeten condensed milk

Methods:
Sweenten the whipping cream with some condensed milk.
Mix together with all the fruits.
Chilled and serve

Tips:
This mixed food salad is best eaten cold. It taste a bit like mixed fruits in ice cream. You can skip the condensed milk if the fruits used are high in sugar content. If you are using mostly fruits that are not too sweet such as guava or water jambu, the condensed milk will be a real jewel to make the salad tastier. This recipe is definitely a party favourite as it is easy to prepare and liken by all the children with sweet tooth!

Italian Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups of pasta
2 tbsp Italian dressing
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp thousand island sauce
1 cup mix vegetables (e.g. broccoli florets , tomato, celery and carrots cut into cubes, corns & etc)
1 tbsp Italian mixed herbs
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese powder

Methods:

1. Boil pasta till soft. Drained and drench with some olive oil.
2. Blanch all the mix vegetables. Drained and let it cool in a pasta bowl together with the pasta.
3. Add in Italian Dressing, Mayonnaise, thousand island sauce, mixed herbs and Parmesan cheese powder. Mix evenly.
4. The pasta is best to be served cold. Store into the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Tips which you may not find in your best recipe book:-

1. If the mixture gets too dry, add in more dressing and sauces.
   
2. If you run out of thousand island sauce, you may mix together mayonnaise with some Maggie tomato sauce/chilly sauce as an alternative.
3. You can buy ready frozen mixed vegetables from supermarket. However, if you hold strongly to freshness as key to your health secret, you can replace with fresh vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower florets, freshly cubed carrots, turnips(yam bean/sengkuang), beetroot, baby corn or cubed pineapple and tomatoes.
4. Serve in small glasses and it's great for parties!

Egg Yolk Cookies

This is the simplest cookies recipe which was shared by my best friend-Jan. There is no requirement of ingredient measurement and you will never fail with this cookies making.

Ingredients:

A block of 250g butter
4 hard boiled eggs. Discard the white, only use egg yolks.
Flour
Icing Sugar for coating
Few drops of vanilla essence

Methods:

1. Mash up the egg yolk.
2. Cut butter into small cubes.
   
3. With the help of a scraper or working with your hand, mix in a cup of flour into the butter. This recipe do not require the use of a electrical mixer.
4. Mix in the mashed egg yolk and vanilla.
5. Continue mixing in more flour into the butter and mashed egg yolk till it looks like bread crumbs. Once the butter melts, the dough should be able to form a ball that is not too soft or crumb.
   
6. Rolls into balls, about 1.5 cm in diameter.
7. Arrange on a baking dish.
8. Bake till it becomes dry. Do not brown.
9. Coat it with some icing sugar and store in a air-tight container.

These cookies will melt in your mouth. Happy baking!

Who is the Buddha

Historically, this refers to Siddharta Gautama who was born in 560 BC to Queen Mahamaya and Kind Suddhodanna of the Sakya Kingdom in the vicinity of Nepal. This queen had, prior to the birth of the child, a dream of a beautiful white elephant entering her womb through her side. Gautama was born in Lumbini Prk on a full-moon day in the month of Vesakha. A week after his birth, his mother died and he was brought up by his aunt, Mahaprajapati. At a name giving ceremony he was given the name 'Siddharta' which means "One Whose Aim Is Accomplished".

Ancient Pali commentaries relate a significant incident which occurred during the Ploghing Ceremony, when as a young child and left aalone in a tent under a rose-apple tree, his nurses later found the prince to be seated in a lotus posture and having entered one-pointedness of mind known as Samadhi.

The young prince grew up in the midst of luxury and splendour and at the age of 16, was married to his cousin, the beautiful Ysodhara. For almost thirteen years after his marriage, he led a blissful life unaware of the ever changing nature and misfortunes of life outside the palace.

When he was 29 years old Gautama encountered four significant sights which marked the turning point of his life. First he saw a weak and frail old man leaning on a staff, next a diseased person, then a corpse and finally a shaven-headed hermit in yellow robe moving around with peaceful and serene countenance. The first three sights convincingly showed him the inexoroble nature of life, and the universal ailment of humanity; the fourth showed the means to overcome the ills of life and to attain to calm and peace. Realising the worthlessness of sensure pleasures and the value of renunciation, he decided to leave home in search of Truth and Eternal Peace.

It was after this decision was made that he heard of the birth of his son, and regarding the new born child as an impediment rather than a blessing, named him as Rahila meaning "fetter". It was a clear indication that his heart was already turning away from household life. On that night, he left his uncongenial palace and traded his pricely robes for the lowly clothings of an ascetic. His search for truth and peace had begun and it was more from sympathy with the sufferings of others than from any personal sorrow which he had no occasion to experience.

His departure from home was not a case of desertion of his beloved family, but an unprecedented case of historic renunciation. He left his worldly life not in an old age but in the prime of manhood, not in poverty but in the midst of plenty.

Following the path of extreme asceticism, as was the custom of those days, he was not able to seek what he sought for until he gave up the practice of austerity some six years later.

The Buddha

Buddhism is a way of life, a religion which is based on the practice of discipline according to the teachings of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama who is also known as the Buddha Sakyamuni. The word " Buddha" derives from the root Sanskrit word "Budh" which means "to know". It is used as a title to denote an "Enlightened Being"- one who has attained, by his own personal efforts and merit, the pinnacle of intellect and divine knowledge.

Buddhism is a religion of peace and loving kindness, in the name of which no blood was ever shed for in its long history, there had never been any association with killing and destruction in its manner of persuading people to walk its gentle path. It is a religion of reason and meditation and its final goal is Deliverance, meaning the Liberation of the Self from the cycle of birth, old age, disease and death.

Wesak Day

Today is WESAK DAY, the most holy day celebrated by all the Buddhists. Wesak Day or Buddha Day generally falls on the month of May. This is a thrice blessed day which celebrates the three major events: the Birth, Enlightenment and Passing-away of Gautama the Buddha.

On this day Chinese Buddhists make their ways to the temples to pay homage to the Buddha and to reaffirm their faith in the Buddha Dharma. It is truly a religious day and many people will spend it in meditation or prayer-recitation for the well-being of others. Precepts are adhered to very strictly and only vegetarian food will be eaten.

On this day too loving-kindness is practiced in various manners as many people will set free birds and animals as a symbolic act of liberation, of giving freedom to those who are in captivity, while others choose to give alms to the poor, make donations to temples and institutions or visit the unfortunate ones who are at the Old Folks Homes, Orphanages or similar centres, bringing with them gifts of every kinds.

Wesak brings to mind, the Great Compassion of Buddha which should move us to be more determined to lead noble lives, to develop our minds, to practise loving-kindness and compassion so as to bring peace and harmony to all mankind.

Not-So-Rich Butter Cake

This recipe is specially dedicated for the most weight-conscious butter cake lovers. It is both low in sugar and fat. For those with a sweet-tooth, pls add another 50g of sugar.

Ingredients:
250 g butter
220 g self-raising flour
100g castor sugar
4 size B egg in room temperature
2 table spoonful of milk
Few drops of vanilla flavouring.

Methods:

1. Cream butter with sugar till the mixture turn whitish in color.
2. Add in egg one at a time. Cream till light and fluffy.
3. Mix in sifted flour. Alternate with teaspoons of milk when the mixture gets too dry.
4. Add in vanilla.
5. Bake in a 180 degree oven for 40 minutes - 60 minutes (depend on how evenness of the temperature in your oven).
   

The below tips are quite likely not shared by your best friends:

1. By virtue of it being a butter cake, the quality of butter makes a lot of difference. Recommended brands: Golden Churn, 5-Stars.
2. For the health-freaks, you may substitute the self-raising flour with whole meal flour mix with 3 tsp of baking powder.
3. For the calories-watchers, substitute milk with plain water will do just fine.
4. The same recipe can be used for few variations. To bake a orange butter cake, just skip the vanilla and water by substituting them with 2tbsp of oranges juice and some minced orange peels. To bake a carrot walnut butter cake, skip the water and mix with 2 tbsp of finely grind carrots and 100g of chopped walnuts.
5. I have a friend who bakes good butter cake but she is so secretive and did not want to share her recipe. She once told me that the secret of good butter cake is the vanilla and boast about the vanilla she used as she put it, an imported grade and it's double the price of the ordinary vanilla. I finally found out that the so-called world class quality is called "vanillin". This is a concentrated vanilla. It can be bought from almost all of the cake ingredients shops.
6. As usual, don't forget to pre-heat your oven for at least 1o min before putting in the cake.
7. To test whether the cake is done, prick it with a tooth pick. The cake is done if it comes out clean.
8. Basically you won't fail with this recipe. If you fail, try the following: a) Change the oven, b) Change the weighing scale. c) Change the mixer
9. If still fail after attempting a) to c), for God sake, please do not venture in baking anymore cakes in future.

Bodhicitta

Bodhicitta or the awakening mind is called the mind turned towards supreme enlightenment. It is the highest thought we can have. In order to give rise to it, we must first develop the attitude that all beings have been our father, our best friend, and that all beings are like that. By thinking in that way, we are able to develop loving-kindness and compassion towards others and not only for a few others, but for all sentient beings. Loving-kindness means that we want all other beings to be happy and to have the causes of happiness always present within them. Compassion means that we want sentient beings to be completely free from suffering, and to always be free from the causes of any suffering. By training our minds in this loving-kindness and compassion, we give up the notion or the quest to make ourselves happy, we stop thinking so much about our own happiness, our own comfort, because we are concerned with others. Through the combination of all these ways we give rise to relative bodhicitta, which means that we develop the thought "i want to attain enlightenment for the benefit of others. That's the reason i am on this path"

~Khenpo Tsultrim Rinpoche~