Sunday, February 28, 2010

There is no place like home...

After spending almost 2 months on the road, it is so nice to be back at home, to be able to sleep on my own comfortable cosy bed, to take long hot shower, and to have access to phones and internet again.

The trip was a very good learning experience, doing things I never even dreamed of, meeting people in a totally different culture, testing my ability to handle matters in the most unexpected manner.

All of my kids told me how much I was being missed at home, yet when I am back they live their own lives and I live mine, without much crossing over.

I have a deep sense of gratitude right now, thankful for my beautiful family, for my great and supporting friends, for the Guardian Angel who look after me and my circle of society.

Thank you for letting me see the beauty in everything and everyone...

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DDMBA Ontario 2010 Chan Education Fundraising Dinner Gala

In case you are interested:

DDMBA Ontario 2010 Chan Education Fundraising Dinner Gala


Date: Friday April 9, 2010
Reception: 6: 30 pm
Dinner: 7:30 pm

Time: Golden Regency Restaurant Tel: 905-948-8811
Unit F88 in Pacific Mall, 4300 Steeles Avenue E. Markham L3R 0Y5

Price: Adult: $68 (Charitable donation receipt of $38 for adult tickets)
Adult VIP tickets: $108 (to sit at Venerable’s table, 9 seats only)
Children (age 3-12); $28
Children (age 0-2); Free

Please call for tickets:
Meili Chen (416) 278-3197 (Mandarin)
Stella Ma (416) 888-6388 (Cantonese)
Keith Brown (416) 733-0162 (English)
or email us at ddmba.toronto@gmail.com


Dear Friend,

On Friday, April 9, 2010, DDMBA Ontario will be proudly hosting a Fundraising Dinner with Special Guest, Venerable Guo Xing, at Toronto Golden Regency Restaurant, Unit F88 in Pacific Mall , 4300 Steeles Ave. E, Markham.

The theme of the 2010 Fundraising Dinner is “Buiding a Chan Education in Toronto.” Proceeds for this event will go toward continuing DDMBA Ontario’s tireless effort to educate people in Chan, so that our lives are joyful and minds are at ease, while benefitting those around us.

In addition, funds raised from this dinner will help to sustain our regular Chan practice programs in Ontario, thus helping to build a solid member base and promoting Chan to the surrounding community. Ultimately, with a wider member base, we are more empowered to reach our goals of having a permanent Sangha teacher in Toronto, as well as establishing a permanent Chan Centre.

This Fundraising Dinner not only coincides with Qing Ming Celebration, but is also a chance for people to learn more about how DDMBA Ontario is building a Chan education here in Toronto and the communities of Ontario.

The Fundraising Dinner will include
• Delicious, healthy vegetarian sit-down dinner, in the company of friends and family
• Wisdom (Dharma) talk
• Introduction to DDMBA Ontario and programs
• Member's testimony
• Silent Auction
• Musical instrument performance

Be sure to invite your friends and loved ones to a wonderful, tasty vegetarian dinner, including musical performance, silent auction, and a chance to learn more about DDMBA Ontario, its present offerings and future aspirations.


We hope to see you there.


DDMBA ONTARIO
www.ddmba-ontario.ca
ddmba.toronto@gmail.com

For more information on this and our other exciting events in April, visit our website at www.ddmba-ontario.ca

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Saturday, February 27, 2010

The picture that warms your heart...

Sharing the following email with you:


The Doberman is pregnant. The fireman had just saved her from a fire in her house,rescuing her by carrying her out of the house into her front yard, then he continued to fight the fire.

When he finally got done putting the fire out, he sat down to catch his breath and rest.

A photographer from the Charlotte , North Carolina Newspaper, noticed the dog in the distance looking at the fireman.

He saw the Doberman walking straight toward the fire fighter and wondered what she was
going to do.

As he raised his camera, she came up to the tired man who had just saved her life and the lives of her unborn babies and kissed him just as the photographer snapped this photograph.




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Thursday, February 25, 2010

DDMBA-One Day Chan Meditation Retreat Sunday, March 14, 2010

In case you are interested:

Event: One Day Chan Meditation Retreat 一天禪坐共修
Date: Sunday, March 14, 2010 3月14日 星期天
Time: 9:30am to 4:30pm 上午九點半至下午四點半
Location: DDMBA Ontario, 154 Poyntz Avenue, Toronto M2N 1J4 法鼓山安省分會

This form of practice is very beneficial for everyone; it gives us the chance to practice with a group over a longer period of time, however some familiarity with meditation methods might be helpful.

Sitting meditation periods are followed by walking meditation, gentle stretching exercises and mindful work periods. The environment of the retreat is designed to promote mindfulness in everything we do. For the full benefits from this form of group practice it is the best to attend the entire event.

For the full benefits of this form of group practice, we encourage you attend the entire event. Also, be sure to wear loose, warm and comfortable clothing. DDM provides cushions, sitting mats, towels and light vegetarian lunch.

Kindly RSVP by Friday should you plan to attend for meal preparation. The event is offered free of charge while any donations to support events like this are greatly appreciated.

With Palms Joined,
DDMBA Ontario
www.ddmba-ontario.ca

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

"The Saiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Saivism during the Early Medieval Period."

From Christoph Emmrich of U of T:


Dear colleagues, dear students, dear friends,

I am delighted to announce our fifth distinguished guest in this year's University of Toronto/McMaster University Yehan Numata Program in Buddhist Studies: Professor Alexis Sanderson from Oxford.

On Thursday, Feb 25, 2010, at 4 - 6 pm Professor Sanderson will join the Numata Reading Group, co-sponsored by the Hindu Studies Reading Group, at the Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Building Room 100. Our guest, faculty, and students, will discuss Professor Sanderson's work in progress entitled, "The Saiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Saivism during the Early Medieval Period." To download the article, please access author's the publications at www.alexissanderson.com.

On Friday, Feb 26, 2010 at 4:30 - 6:30 pm Professor Sanderson's Lecture, "The Influence of Saivism on Late Pala Buddhism" will be held at the Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Building Room 318.

I would be very grateful to you, if you could circulate this announcement among those who you assume are not receiving this mail, and who you think might be interested in this event. Apologies for cross-listing.

Looking forward to having you join us,
with warm regards,
Christoph Emmrich

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Christoph Emmrich
Assistant Professor, Buddhist Studies
Coordinator, Numata Program
University of Toronto, UTM

Department of Historical Studies
University of Toronto, Mississauga
Room NE117, North Building, 3359 Mississauga Road North Mississauga,
ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
+905 569-4493 (o), +905-569-4412 (f)

Department and Centre for the Study of Religion University of Toronto,
170 St. George Street Jackman Humanities Building, Room 313 Toronto,
Ontario M5R 2M8
+416 978-2395 (o), +416 978-1610 (f)

Private:
18 Claxton Boulevard
Toronto, Ontario, M6C 1L8 Canada
+416-546-3407 (h), +416-317-2662 (c)

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The content of this message does not represent the views or opinions of
the University of Toronto.

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Monday, February 15, 2010

SWEET POISON...A MUST READ!

Sharing the following email with you:

It is true. There is even a book by that name. http://www.sweetpoison.com/about-sweetpoison.html


This is a very good article:

SWEET POISON...A MUST READ!

In October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick. She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around. Walking was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed; she was in so much pain.

By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so sick she just knew she was dying.

She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of.

She also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd.

On March 19, I called her to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS.

I recalled an article a friend of mine e-mailed to me and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda? She told me that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment.

I told her not to open it, and to stop drinking the diet soda! I e-mailed her an article my friend, a lawyer, had sent. My sister called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the diet soda AND she could walk! The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel 100% but, she sure felt a lot better.

She told me she was going to her doctor with this article and would call me when she got home.

Well, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed! He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind. In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda... and literally dying a slow and miserable death.

When she got to Florida March 22, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning! She is well on her way to a complete recovery. And she is walking! No wheelchair! This article saved her life.

If it says 'SUGAR FREE' on the label; DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!

I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on 'ASPARTAME,' marketed as 'Nutra Sweet,' 'Equal,' and 'Spoonful.'

In the keynote address by the EPA, it was announced that in the United States in 2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. It was difficult to determine exactly what toxin was causing this to be rampant. I stood up and said that I was there to lecture on exactly that subject.

I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous: When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.

Many people were being diagnosed in error. Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is!

Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers.

The victim usually does not know that the Aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues its use; irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition. We have seen patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas.

In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most of the symptoms disappear. We've seen many cases where vision loss re- turned and hearing loss improved markedly.

This also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia. During a lecture, I said, 'If you are using ASPARTAME (Nutra Sweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting, pains, numbness in your legs,
Cramps,
Vertigo,
Dizziness,
Headaches,
Tinnitus,
Joint pain,
Unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss you probably have ASPARTAME poisoning!' People were jumping up during the lecture saying, 'I have some of these symptoms. Is it reversible?'

Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
STOP drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels! Many products are fortified with it! This is a serious problem. Dr. Espart (one of my speakers) remarked that so many people seem to be symptomatic for MS and during his recent visit to a hospice; a nurse stated that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence!

Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product that actually makes you crave carbohydrates.

It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!

These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs. Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used primarily to preserve 'tissue specimens.'

Many products we use every day contain this chemical but we SHOULD NOT store it IN our body!

Dr. H. J. Roberts stated in his lectures that once free of the 'diet products' and with no significant increase in exercise; his patients lost an average of 19 pounds over a trial period.

Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. We found that some physicians, who believed that they had a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms caused by Aspartame. The Aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the other amino acids necessary for a good balance.

Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE. Especially with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the blood/brain barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing various levels of brain damage, Seizures, Depression, Manic depression, Panic attacks, Uncontrollable anger and rage.

Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well. Documentation and observation also reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds in their behavior when these chemicals have been removed from their diet.

So called 'behavior modification prescription drugs' (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed. Truth be told, they were never NEEDED in the first place!

Most of these children were being 'poisoned' on a daily basis with the very foods that were 'better for them than sugar.'

It is also suspected that the Aspartame in thousands of pallets of diet Coke and diet Pepsi consumed by men and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the well-known Gulf War Syndrome.

Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects, i.e. mental retardation, if taken at the time of conception and during early pregnancy. Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners.

There are many different case histories to relate of children suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological disturbances talking about a plague of neurological diseases directly caused by the use of this deadly poison.'

Herein lies the problem: There were Congressional Hearings when Aspartame was included in 100 different products and strong objection was made concerning its use. Since this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, and still nothing has been done. The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets.

Sadly, MONSANTO'S patent on Aspartame has EXPIRED! There are now over 5,000 products on the market that contain this deadly chemical and there will be thousands more introduced. Everybody wants a 'piece of the Aspartame pie.'

I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame, knows how deadly it is.

And isn't it ironic that MONSANTO funds, among others, the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians?

This has been recently exposed in the New York Times. These [organizations] cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to MONSANTO because they take money from the food industry and are required to endorse their products.

Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants.

The bill would also institute independent studies on the known dangers and the problems existing in the general population regarding seizures, changes in brain chemistry, neurological changes and behavioral symptoms.

The bill was killed.

It is known that the powerful drug and chemical lobbies are responsible for this, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. Well, you're informed now!

Please print this out and/or e-mail to your family and friends.

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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Condolence to the Miller Family

It is with regret that I just found out Prof Steven Miller of Chicago passed away few weeks ago. He died from " Bile Duct Cancer".

Our condolence to the Miller family.

May prof. Miller be reborn into a realm that is full of Bodhisattvas and Dharma.

May the Triple Gems be with him always.

Boundless blessings...


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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

U of T :THU 25 FEB Religion in the Public Sphere Lunchtime Reading Group

In case you are interested:

Religion in the Public Sphere Lunchtime Reading Group (with Pizza!): Winter 2010 Meetings

Time: Noon-1:30pm
Place: Room 318, Jackman Humanities Building, 170 St. George Street
Please note: this term's meetings are on different days of the week!

•Students and faculty from all areas of study are invited to the RPS Reading Group. Enjoy informal academic discussions of your favourite theorists and must-read works. A free pizza lunch will be served!

•THU 25 FEB: Nadia Abu El-Haj’s Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society. Discussion faciliatated by Prof. Amira Mittermaier (Religion/Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations).

[Download the reading at http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/rps/news.html#readgroup/]


Nadia Abu El-Haj demonstrates the role that archaeology has played in Israeli society, examining how it emerged as a pervasive force that has shaped the region's social and political imaginations, and inspired violently contested territorial and national-cultural struggles. She presents the first critical account of Israeli archeological practice while tracing the dynamic relationships among science, colonization, nation-state building, and territorial expansion.

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Monday, February 8, 2010

Condolence to Carrie's Family

I just found out that Carrie, my sister's very good friend passed away in Montreal, last month.

Our condolence to her family.

May Carrie be reborn into a realm that is full of Bodhisattvas and Dharma.

May the Triple Gems be with her always.

Boundless blessings...

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