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There is Obaku-san Manpuku-ji, meaning ten thhousand happiness temple near my Mum’s house.
I called the temple and visited there. A young monk leaded me to the meditation hall and gave instructions.
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Stand with back facing the seat. Palms stacking on the chest.
Fold upper cusion once. Take off the shoes, place togather neatly.
Sit on folded cusion in Lotus or Half lotus position. Knees on the lower cusion.
Right hand on the heels. Left hand on it. Palms face up. Rise Thumbs up, touching tip to tip. Fingers make a circle.
Find balance. Straighten torso. Relax shoulders. Face forward. Tuck chin slightly. Look down the floor. Relax eyelids. Eyes ajar.
Breathe though the nose. With exhale, feel the place slightly lower than navel, Dan Tien. With inhale, release there. Breathe naturally. Be aware Dan Tien.
Count up the number of breath until 10. Then re-start from 1. Count the breath with observing flow of breath.
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Kept watching at a coner of glay ceramic floor. Breath slowed down and became shallow. Watched inwards. Mind still.
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Obakusan Manpuku-ji, Uji, Kyoto Japan http://obakusan.or.jp 81-774-32-3900
I joined ‘one-day work shop’ with Chong Go Sunim at Korean Zen Centre.
It was lovely family-like atomosphere. I felt caring each others and relax with green lawn and bright color flowers. The Farang monk came from Korean, who has warm heart and ears for listening others.
There was walking meditation, Korean way. At first for a while I was puzzled because of the middle speed, like normal walking speed. We walked in a line, drawing big circle many rounds. I realized the difference.
When we sit down in meditation, we are struggling to sit upright without stress. Then our mind starts thinking, not in meditation state.
In this walking meditation, lower body keep moving automatically. Walking same place many rounds made me blind in lower body sensations and eye sight. I focused on stable place, my torso only, breathing and mind.
Chong Go Sunim said ‘Empty your mind’.
When I stopped walking, world turn into freshy bright colors. Red flowers. Blue sky.
People smiling.
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Chong Go Sunim http://wakeupandlaugh.wordpress.com/
Mediation retreat http://littlebang.org/2010/12/16/bangkok-zen-a-one-day-workshop-february-19th-2011/
I love ‘Deep fried Tofu’ too. This, blue label, is Deep fried Silk Tofu. There is light blue for Deep fried Cotton Tofu.
These are normally cooked before eat. If it is stir-fried, use non-stick pan without oil. If it is simmered, drain with boiled water, and cooked with various kind of vegitable in soup. By both way oil is reduced.
Once I reduce meat, I also need some good oil too.
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Deep fried bean card in soup
Ingredients; A( Konbu-dried seaweed 5cm squre, Katsuobushi-shaved dried bonito 1small pack) water 100cc, green vegetable (spinach, sugar pea etc), deep fried Tofu, B( Sake 1Tbs, Mirin 1Tbs, soy sauce 1/2tsp, salt 1 pinch), Shirataki (optional), tapioca powder
Put A in a pot. Pour boiled water in it. Wait a minute and remove the soup from A into small pot.
Boil water with salt. Blanch green vegetable. Cut into one-bite size.
Put Tofu on non-stick pan without oil. Heat it over low heat. Cook slowly. The oil comes out from tofu. When one side turns into golden color, turn over gently.
When the both sides are cooked, place in a plate.
Pour the soup in the non-stick pan. When it boils up, add B, Shitaraki. Wait for a while.
Mix tapioca powder and small amount of water well. Pour into the pan for making the soup graivy.
Pour the soup in the plate . Place the vegetable and Shirataki besides.
Enjoy crunchy outside, soft inside and gravy soup!
I’m not Vegetarian. I reduced meat because of digestive difficulity during chemotherapy.
I find my condition is much nicer. However I saw some Vegetarians, who do not much care about nutrition and just cut out the meat, look unhealty. It is funny to see the believe to be healty makes themself not. Be careful.
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By reducing the meat, the first issue is protain. I eat lot of bean card. It’s easy to eat and digest.
These are Japanese bean cards in Tops Central Chitlom.
Left side : Silk-Tofu. Middle: Cotton-Tofu, Right : Deep fried Tofu.
When cooked soybeans are squeezed and filtered, they used to use cloth as filter. Silk makes bean card soft and smooth. Cotton makes rough but more bean taste. Silk-Tofu and Cotton-Tofu can be eaten without cooking, or with being cooked.
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The most easiest is ‘Fresh tofu with Soy sauce and wasabi-mustard’.
Cut the Silk-Tofu and place mustard. Pour Soy sauce. That’s all.
Bean card salad
Cut Silk-Tofu and salad vegetables into one bite size. Place on the plate. Pour favorate dressing.
Bean card steak
Ingredients; Cotton-bean card, A(weak flour, salt, pepper), garlic, butter, oil, soy sauce, vegetable
Place a sheet of kitchen paper on the microwave plate. Place Tofu diagonally. Bring the corners of paper on the bean card for wrapping it.
Microwave it until hot. Keep it until cool down. The inside water comes out.
Cut Tofu and vegetable. Slice garlic. Sprinkle A on the both sides of Tofu.
Heat the frying pan on the middle-low heat. When it become hot, add butter, oil and garlic. When the garlic turns into golden color, remove only garlic.
Add Tofu and vegetables. When the bottom surface turns into golden color, turn over gentry by spatula. Add butter more, if not enough.
When everything is cooked, serve on a plate. Place the garlic on. Pour soy sauce.
Between 1st diagonosis, breast cancer, and having second opinion, I went yoga-retreat with my teacher Les and friends.
It was in jungle, Khao-Sok Suratani. There was no electricity, no mobile wave. Quiet and peaceful.
I needed to be unpluged from my social life, face myself and make decision.
With jolly yoga practice in-between, I did meditation morning and evening for being calm down and watching myself.*
Every time I started meditation, hot tear run from right eye quietly. After my mind became quiet, left eye started tearing, cool tear. When I slowly opened my eyes, I couldn’t remember why I teared. My mind was cleansed and peaceful.
With calm and clear mind, I came back to the city. Keep it all the way.
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Jungle yoga http://www.jungleyoga.com/
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ジャングルでの瞑想
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乳がんを告知されてからセカンドオピニオンを受けるまでの間に、友達と一緒にレス先生のヨガリトリートに参加しました。そこは、タイ南部、スラタニにあるカオ・ソークというジャングルでした。電気も電波もない、静かで穏やかな所でした。
社会から、ネットワークから離れて、自分に向き合い、意思を定める必要があったのです。
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ヨガ・プラクティスを挟んで、朝と夜に静かに瞑想する。穏やかに、自分を眺めるために。
瞑想をはじめると、右目に熱い涙を感じ、こころが静まると、左目に涼しい涙を感じる。
目を開いた時には、もうなぜ涙がながれたのか思い出せない。こころは洗われて穏やか。
穏やかで澄んだこころで街に帰る。そうであり続ける。
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After chemotherapy, my re-born hair is softer than original. But large part lost color.
For avoiding chemical on my new hair, I go natural herb ‘Henna’ for dyeing into shiny orange.
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‘Hanna’ is natural herb, only orange color, no black.
It changes the white hair into light orange in one time. By several time hair turn to bright- brown. So one line of my hair is gradation from orange to brown. I dye every 2-4 weeks. Hair condition is very good.
Lovely bright color on my new life!
Make thick black tea. Pour the henna powder in a bowl. Add lime juice, tea and a bit of coconuts oil. Mix well. Leave the mud over night.
Wash the hair without conditioner. Dry up. Wear urtra thin latex gloves. Grab the mud. Smear mud cover all over the hair from the scalp. Wrap the head. wait 2 hours.
Mud makes the skin orange too. But the skin color is vanished the next day. Don’t worry.
Wash the hair. I like to put coconuts oil on. Shiny hair I get.
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‘Suhanna’
I buy from ‘golden place’ super market. From BTS Saladaeng, walk on Silom road towards Chong nonsi. Leftside there is CP Tower. Basement floor. 1 pack about 200 bahts. 1 pack contains 100g. For my short hair 75g is enough for one time.
When the Sun is at the top of the sky, I open the fridge and think what is for lunch. I’m too lazy to cook properly. Vegetables and egg noodle are my regular members.
Tear the salad leaves into one bite size. Tomato, Avocado are cut into wedge. Need-to-cook veges are cut into pieces.
Boil water in a pot. Put need-to-cook veges in. Add egg noodles with undoing.
When it’s done, drain it. Put in cold water. Change to icy water till getting cold.
Drain well and place in a plate. Place other veges and ‘karashi-mustard’. Pour ‘Salad noodle dressing’. Sprinkle Nori-seaweed if you like.
Enjoy cool fresh taste!
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Salad noodle dressing
Ingredients: Konbu-seaweed (lower right) 5cm sｑuare, water 100cc, Ginger 1 block, Karashi-mustard (middle) 1tsp
A:Vinegar (left) 80cc, Mirin (middle left) 80cc, Soy sauce (middle right) 60cc, sugar 2.5Tbs, sesame oil (right) 1/4Tbs 
Put seaweed and water in a pot. Heat over low flame. Just before boiling up, remove the seaweed. Add A. Boiled up for a while. Remove into glass jug. Grain ginger. Pour the water from ginger into the sauce. Wait it cool down. Add mustard. Mix. Keep in fridge.
You can keep dressing 1 month in fridge. Almost of ingredients can be orderd from here. http://www.saitofoods.com/
My Mum is living alone in her house. Her brothers and sisters is visiting her for offering help constantly.
Mum said she was sorry for let her brothers and sisters be worry for her and be busy for helping her.
I said
Mum. Not like that. You are giving oppotunities them to help you, oppotunities for doing good things from their heart. This makes them be happy and good. Recieve their help with gratitude. Be happy and give them back your smile and happiness.
We smiled each other.
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Photo:One of the oldest cafe in Japan.
I went to Ringu Tulku Rinpoche Dharma talk at Ariyasom villa, titled ‘how to die gracefully’.
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Our life is like whirl at the surface of the river, makes shape for a while. Sparkly. When the energy goes other direction, loose shape, released into the flow of water.
Elements stay and make shape of our body. We are alive with energy flow. It is process. There ia no ‘me’ as a fixed existance.
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Whirl can’t stay in the same shape.
When whirl starts lossing shape, you might be able to stair the water and keep the shape one more second. But you can’t grab and keep it. That’s silly.
When the time comes, it need to go. Undo the shape, release elements into the deep bottom of the river, tranquillity.
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Dharma talk info http://littlebang.org/
I’m not vegitarian. My condition is ‘eat what I really want to eat.’ Sounds not yogini?
When I was in chemotherapy, I didn’t have enough blood. Without aware I ate ‘blood card’ in a noodle bowl. I felt it was surprisingly delicious!
After my blood coming back, I tried again. I learned it was not such a good. For getting Iron I eat spinach and Brassicaceae leaves often.
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After the meal or the next day, I observe my condition. It answers whether I ate kindly to my body or not. If I felt deliciocs, mostly the condition goes good. When I am tired, I eat some meat. Next day my body is heavy, but get more energy. I eat carefully, considering my needs at that time and next day’s schedule.
The problem is the image or memories ‘it must be delicious’. But actually it is not delicious. It is just illusion and habit.
Be wise and kind to our body.
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Stir fried creamy spinach : upper photo
Ingedients; Spinach, salt, A( yogurt, salt, pepper) B (sliced garlic, sliced almond, olive oil, salt), Cheese, chilli and garlic in olive oil
Blanch the spinach in salted boiled water. Remove into cold water. Drain and cut. Put it and A into food processer. Grind them.
Put B in small pan. Heat over medium law heat. Stair them until turning into golden color. Remove from the pan.
Place some cheese and pour spinach mixture in the hot pan.
When the cheese melted, remove on a plate. Sprinkle B and oil (option) on top.
Spinach in Ponzu-dressing : lower photo
Blanch the spinach as same as upper recipe. Drain ,cut it, place in a small bowl. Pour Ponzu-dressing. Sprinkle Katsuo-bushi (sliced dried Bonito) on it.
A summer day in the city of Angels 