Friday, 17 October 2008

Universal Protection Mantra

Today is Kuan Yin Pu Sa(Goddess of Mercy /Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva)'s Renunciation Day, the day that marks her entering into the nunnery. Early in the morning, there are already many devotees crowed the temples to pay homage and appeal to this Great Lord, who is the Bodhisattva of great compassion, mercy and love who wons the hearts of countless people.

By virtue of
Kuan Yin's infinite power, he is capable of regarding the cries of the people whether these represent either desire or suffering, delivering them through the wisdom of skillful means, and appearing in the form suitable to those to be saved. This noble Lord is thus the "savior" who may assume the form of a Buddha, Bodhisattva, god or any other forms, either male or female, in order to fulfill his task of mercy.

One of
Kuan Yin's most famous and compassionate forms is that of the "thousand-arms-thousand-eyes". In this form, Kuan Yin has eleven heads and a thousand hands, with extra eyes on the palms of each hands. Legend has it that he was contemplating the task of working for the safety and happiness of all sentient beings when his head split into a thousand pieces upon realizing the enormity of such an undertaking. Amitabha Buddha, who is Kuan Yin's spiritual father, quickly came to the rescue and restored Kuan Yin to life and also gave him this form. Thousand eyes thus symbolize the all-seeing nature of Kuan Yin's compassion while thousand arms represent the ever-present and all-compassing nature of his help.

In the Lotus
Sutra (one of the most famous sutra for Mahayana Buddhist), the Buddha said that anyone who calls upon Kuan Yin will be delivered instantly from all his sufferings. By virtue of his supernatural power, he is able to save all living beings from all kinds of danger, give them what they want and preach freely by appearing in whatever form that suits the nature of the faithful. To call for Kuan Yin's help, one needs only to humbly and sincerely recite her name continuously or one may reitce her mantra of Universal Protection:
"OM MANI
PADME HUM"

This is a powerful mantra. If someone with grave problems or even demonic obstructions recites the above mantra, the problem will disappear or the demon will run away.
Kuan Yin's response can be instant or slightly delayed, it all depends on one's karmic influence at that moment of prayer and the intensity of faith in the calling.

Miracles of
Kuan Yin answering the fervent prayers of those who called upon her name is countless. Here is the true account of happenings of which were my personal testimonial of the above mantra and Kuan Yin's mystical power:

My son was admitted to hospital 2 years ago. For convenient sake, we have requested for a single room. It was merely few minutes past 11pm. My hubby took leave after my son has fallen asleep while I stayed back to observe my son's condition over that night. As it was a private ward, the hospital had prepared another bed for the comfort of the caregiver. I wasn't quite remember if that was the ordinary hospital bed or a sofa bed. Recalling some of the creepy encounters which my friends used to talk about when sleeping on a hospital bed, ie haunted by an unwanted visitor who loves to left its weight on their chest, I have decided not to sleep flat on the bed. Instead, I have chosen to rest on my side with my head facing my son who was sleeping at another bed next to me.

I switched off the bedside lamps and left the light at the dressing table on so that I would be able to take glimpses of my son while he was asleep. Right as I was about to fall asleep, I got a sensation of a pair of hands coming from my back. Apparently, someone was giving me a rear bear hug!! The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I forced open my eyes. I knew instantly that it wasn't a dream as I was able to see my son who was sleeping at the other bed. I was also able to hear the sounds made by the nurses outside. For it was private room, the nurse station was in fact just a few steps away from the room.

Soon I realized that I couldn't move my body and head. I yelled and yanked but no sound was heard. The more I tried to struggle, the arms that grabbed around my chest got tighter and I was frantic panicked sensing that I have difficulty in breathing! In that trying moment, I recalled of Kuan Yin's great mercy and focus my mind to recite the mantra. As soon as I mentally uttered "Om Mani Padme Hum", the tight sensation around my chest snapped out almost instantly!

After this incidence, I have applied the same technique, i.e reciting this mantra in a few subsequent accounts of sleep paralysis attack and it has never failed to give me instant calmness. Since then, I have even stronger faith towards this Bodhisattva and His miraculous mantra.

It was believed that if you chant this mantra continuously and sincerely for 1,000 times, any beings surrounding you will also get the blessing and will be liberated from their present lower realm and obtain a human body. This is the benevolent selfishness, a trait that all Buddhist must practice to develop a deeper compassion from within. As we live not just for the purpose to liberate ourselves but also wellness of all beings for them to be free from this deep sea of sufferings too.

Om Mani Padme Hum!

Sunday, 12 October 2008

Mom & Babe Talk - Stupid Mom

Babe got mad with me when I didn't fulfill his whims and fancy. As usual, I made don't know and left him alone in the room to throw his tantrum. He sprinkled talcum powder all over the floor and wrote me a short note on a small piece of paper:

Mom, you are very stupid

On the reverse side of the paper, he wrote:

You are stupid becos why you don't want to buy for me PS2 CD game?

I kept cool and pretended as though I don't understand the meaning of the notes he wrote. Receiving no response from me, he came near me and asked if I read the notes on the reverse side of the paper. Rebelliously, he continued to tell me the reason he threw talcum powder on the floor was to make me slip down since I didn't keep my promise. He was really plucking on my nerve and testing my patience. Sure enough, I left a tight slap on his left cheek and reprimanded him for being disrespectful to his mom.

He said sorry to me after crying for 10 minutes. Doubted if his apology was sincere, i asked him if he knew why I got upset with him.

"Because I said you are stupid" He happily answered, thinking that I have forgiven him
"What else?" I probed further. In fact, what really upset me was his revengeful thought of making me slip.
"I can't even remember..by the way mom, did I spell the word stupid correctly?"

Saturday, 11 October 2008

Steamed Cod Fish

Cod fish has a mild flavor and very fine in texture. This fish is more oily as compared to other local fish and the oil is rich in DHA & Omega 3 fatty acid. Both of which are good for brain development and for prevention of aging diseases such as dementia. This fish is always sold in very "user friendly" sizes and shapes. There is no hassle in cutting, washing and deveining and as such is excellent for a amateur cook like me. It's an excellent dish for kids and aged peoples too.

I bought 2 big cutlets of cod fish from our nearby frozen food store. It was not very expensive, cost about RM36. Cheaper than getting it from any supermarket. At the same time, the shop-owner taught me how to differentiate the genuine cod fish then the "imitation" ones. Apparently, there are some fish with an outer appearance like cod fish skin and the flesh is also whitish in colour. The genuine cod fish's body is rounder and the flesh is more whitish.

Cod fish takes very short time to defrost. So you can defrost the fish in the lower part of the fridge about 2-3 hours before cooking. As I am not good with fish, I have left this honourable task of fish preparation to my mom in law. She marinated the fish with some Chinese cooking wine, sesame oil and soy sauce. Before steaming, just lay some scallions and shredded ginger on top. In fact this fish can be steamed without any marination as the flesh is very sweet and tasty.

This is the picture of the fish before putting into the steamer.














I can't produce the picture of the fish after it's cooked. You know what? My father in law toppled the plate before serving it on the table (Boohooohooooo......)
At the end, only half a piece of cod fish flakes on the plate...

Thursday, 9 October 2008

Mom & Babe Talk- I've Killed A Chicken

Egg probably is my babe's most favourite food. He loves it so much that he has always demanded it to be his main course almost everyday. While I wish to caution him on his calories and cholateral intake, it wasn't easy for me to stop him from over consumption of eggs as he's too young to be weight-conscious neither he is able to apprehend the term cholaterol and its impact on health.

At last I resorted to use the fear approach by telling him that each time he eats an egg, it would be as though he has murdered a chicken since chickens come from eggs. I was all too keen to teach him the law of karma and to instill in him the value of compassion towards living being. Gladly, the approach works and he had since promised me to eat lesser eggs as he wouldn't want to kill too many chickens.

One day, babe came back from party:-

Mom: What did you eat during the party

Babe: I ate jelly, popcorn, some rice with chicken curry and noodles.

Mom: I see,.. how was the food?

Babe: Yummy! But mom, can you promise that you won't scold me if I've said sorry k? i....
Mom: (Suspicious & anxious) What did you do?

Babe: I've killed a chicken...

Mom: You..what?!

Babe: I killed a chicken coz I ate an egg.

Mom: Goodness gracious!!


One afternoon, he is trying to sweet-talked me in buying him his dreamed toy...

Babe: Mom, just get me this present for X'mas only and you don't have to buy me anymore birthday present after this...

Mom: Stop asking for more, I just bought you that toy recently...

Babe: Mom..pretty pretty please.. this gonna be the last present for the year....

Mom: (Thinking) Hmm.. my babe's not stupid at all..he seems to know that Xmas is the last festival for the year.

Babe: (Eager..coz no response from mom) I know it is not good to spend money. But this would be the last one..i promised!

Mom: (Remained silence)

Babe: I know it is not good to spend so much money because I know spending too much money is not good right..it is like ...(pondered for awhile)

Mom: Like what?

Babe: Mom, where is the money come from? Aha! I know! Money come from bank.
Spending too much money will kill a bank; right, mom?

Mom: (Speechless)

Wednesday, 1 October 2008

Easy-mix Vegetarian Orange Cake

This cake is specially baked for the vegans as it is eggless. It is light in fat, low in sugar and zesty in taste. Most importantly, minus the egg-gie smell which sometimes can be a turned-off.
This is also an excellent recipe for anyone who wish to try out a homebake cake recipe without using a electric mixer. The texture of this cake is close to that of a muffin. You may bake in a normal baking dish or pour the batter into tiny paper cups and is perfect to be served for any kids' parties.

Ingredients:
480g self rising flour
240g condensed milk
200g butter
1 tsp baking soda
2 whole orange peel grind
300 ml fresh orange juice (Extract from 2-3 oranges)
1 tsp salt

1. Melt the butter on LOW in a microwave oven or heat over a low heat stove until the butter is just melted and not boiling.
2. Shift flour and baking soda in a bowl.
3. Mix cooled butter and all the remaining ingredients together until mixture is smooth.
4. Pre-heat oven to 170 degree celcius and bake in oven for about 30-40 mins.


This cake taste a little like a scone and
have a mild tangy flavour.



Enjoy the recipe!