Author Archives: susan

My encounter with a wise Buddhist woman

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I meet up with Jane, a mom of an art student.  We had a yummy vegan lunch on the top floor of the Jiming Temple which was built in the Southern Dynasties by Liang wu-ti.  The existing temple was built in the Ming Dynasty overlooking Xuanwu Lake.   Behind the temple there is a section of the palace wall called Taicheng.   We decided to walk the great wall to the next temple at Jiuhua Hill Park.  It was a chilly afternoon and very few people were out, making it quiet and relaxing to chat about Buddhism, art, food, and just plain girl talk.   Strolling on the top of the wall was picturesque to say the least.  As we walked along looking down we saw a statue of a golden Buddha nestled between the wall and the hill, in the private quarters of the monestary.  It was nice  to see monks in saffoon robes  going about their daily life, without noticing us.

Leaving the wall we walked up the hill to the temple.  As we meandered through the magnolia trees in the park, there was a lovely voice coming from someone singing  in the distance.  At the top we saw the temple and a pagoda roofed gazebo where we found a beautiful woman standing in front of a monstrous bell, as she sang she would periodically clap the bell.  The sounds were ever so harmonious.  Jane was curious and we stood and listened.  I figured the woman was centering her chi with the melody she was creating.  We sat down and the woman came over and sat with us and we had the most wonderful spiritual conversation about praying, God,  how Buddhism is accepting of all people.  This wise woman is a painter and a writer, just like me!  We agreed that our meeting was not by chance.  I told her my story of Andy and the happy Buddha, she smiled and bowed with prayer hands graciously and said there is a little Buddha in everyone.   Her kindness was delightful.  Sun Yu Fen said she would bring me a copy of her writings to our school this week as a gift.  Jane had never been around a Buddhist or really spoke about spiritualism and was so happy to translate.  We walked down the stairs  to the temple, hearing rhythmic chanting.   It was prayers for dead ancestors.   I was in the right place, it was a good day.  I said a sweet prayer for Andy and June. We left the temple with free books in hand and headed down the street.  A beggar came up asking for coins, Jane pulled away.  I stopped, found a coin in my coat pocket and placed it in his bowl.  I told her it was alright.  Giving to the man in need is always good, because when you walk away, you shouldn’t  feel bad.  I know to give will show compassion and I will not have a bad feeling.  She seemed okay with my answer and we moved on.  She pointed out a vegan shop to buy some vegetarian food to take home.  She got a cookbook and I got a package of fake duck.  I saw a Tibetan Buddhist shop and of course had to go in.  I explained to Jane about the Tibetan singing bowls and bought a small prayer wheel.  I asked for any books in English and after much raffling around the store manager found the only one, a very lovely book on Tibetan Buddhism and gave it to me free of charge.  It was such a spiritually blessed day.  Home we went, Jane now wanting to learn to cook with vegan meats and I very thankful for sweet encounters.

Norman’s mom June

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A dear friend’s mom died this week.   Norman said his mom’s cardiologist described her as joyful and infectiously playful and to include that in her obituary.   June was a mother who lost a 23 year old and a 35 year old.  She said in concern to her lost children “well you either let it destroy you or you become more compassionate of others!”  Having lost a 29 year old, I walk a similar path as June.

Every day I awake and face my life head on.  I smile and greet unfamiliar faces on my way to work.  Little children sometimes giggle and hide behind their mom.  The old grandmotherly women tell me to dress warmer.  The old wrinkled Chinese men curiously eye the American with blond hair. I say Ni Hao to see if they will speak back to me. I spend extra time with students that need special attention because their English is poor.   Anger is something I no longer want in my life, only happiness and joy.

To Norman, thank you for sharing your story.  I hope when I die the same will be said about me.

Norman’s favorite quote:
“If the only prayer you say in your whole life is thank you…it will be enough” Meister Eckhart -13th Century

Snow Mountain Mediation on a frosty day

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This is the actual Snow Mountain in China.

It snowed today and I rode my bike to work in the falling flakes, actually delightful.  Therefore, I am writing about snow inspirations.  Jon gave me a book to read called The Secret of the Golden Flower by Thomas Cleary.  It is a Chinese Taoist book about mediation.  After reading it, I did some research on some of the terms and found an interesting Taoist meditation called Snow Mountain Meditation.

It’s simple to do.  Sit upright in a chair.  Take a couple nice cleansing breaths, release the tension from your head, neck and shoulders.  Smile and relax.  Put your attention in the area in front of your tailbone maybe a half inch from the pelvic floor.  This is the Snow Mountain area or sometimes called the Golden Urn.  In this space, deep in your belly, visualize a mountain of snow with a very warm sun shinning down from above, as though there were a sun in your lower belly, shining down on the snow mountain.  Continue to visualize, as the sun warms and melts the snow.  The snow melts and flows down the mountain to create a lake.  Steam rises and nourishes your entire body.  Repeat this visualization, warming sun melting snow, creating a lake and steam rising.  In a couple minutes you should feel renewed and refreshed.

I thought this was a lovely meditation and a nice visual to practice on a snowy day.  Let me know the outcome of your snow mediation.   Just hit reply, I am curious what you visualized and felt.

Do animals have souls?

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Alice had crabs for dinner a couple nights ago.  A vegetation – I did not partake.  Sawyer was steaming the little guys and I was reminded of the time Andy, Casey and Randy went crabbing at Kemah.  I had pretty much given up meat and was almost a total vegetarian when they caught  a mess of Blue Crabs in Clear Lake by our home.  I told them I just couldn’t clean them live and would just chunk them in the boiling water to cook.  Do you know when you toss something live in boiling water it screams?  Well it does!  Crabs or what ever?  There I was with a huge pot of boiling water and I threw those live crustaceans in.   Crab legs were flailing, little voices hollering, and I am cramming a lid on the pot trying to not hear or see the entire thing.   As soon as all the blue crabs were in the pot, lid on, silence from within, did I realize they were dead.   Within an instance their poor souls are scurrying up my arms and pinching me.  It was quite a metaphysical visual and at that point I became a total vegetarian.

I know I have told this story to many of you and some of you think I am unrealistic in my belief  about animal souls.  But believe me they have souls.  You really shouldn’t kill them or eat them.  They will come back and haunt you or in my case pinch you.  Don’t really like the whole thought of it.  I just send them to animal heaven, when I see dead animal on the road or in the market.  I have a huge “road kill” animal heaven awaiting me when I get there.

Dead animals.  Think about that, what do you believe?

“You shall not kill or murder!”  One of those commandments, Moses found.  Poor old Moses and his ten commandments God gave him on a stone tablet up on a mountain.   Ever really thought about that one?  Don’t kill or murder, killing an animal is murder.  Take it seriously and don’t kill anything, including animals.  At least don’t make excuses if you do.

The philosophy of painting a life story.

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Past thoughts are like a work of art.   It is already painted, hung on the wall and viewed.  Our thoughts should be like this.  Already did that,  finished and moving on.  A painter knows it is difficult to go back and rework a painting.  Typically, once you finish and return to paint you have lost the “zone” you were in at the moment you were painting.  The likelihood of getting it back is slim.  When recalling thoughts of past love, loss,  and sad times, it is best to observe them like a painting.  Frame it and hang it.  Reworking those times in your head, honestly it just doesn’t work.  The painting is finished, like the past life experiences.

From my artist view point,  it’s time to move on and paint something new and fresh.  How about you?  Are you still reworking life’s tragedies?  Well stop it!   Today create a new composition.  You may not be an artist but you can create a new life story.

Saturday morning I became a student of a 16 year old who has five years of Chinese traditional painting under his belt.  I pulled out my new bamboo brush dipped it in ink and started painting.  He stopped me!  The line must show more emotion from thick to thin in the blades of grass.  I should paint with more feeling.  He would correct my fingers and the way I held the brush many times.  He was so patient and constantly showed me how to paint leaves.  He has practiced the art of painting leaves for a year and I thought I could pick it up in a day.  NO way.  There is a specific way to create each part of nature according to my young Chinese teacher.  I would watch him paint.  Then I would copy his strokes.  I quickly forgot and couldn’t do it again to save my soul.  He never laughed just keep showing me again and again.  Is this what I need in my story of life, someone to show me again and again how to do it right?  I am beginning to wonder.

Is life a painting?  Think about that just a moment.  If  life is a painting, what does your’s look like?  Is it beautifully executed  or retouched and muddy.   Have you hung it on the wall or do you rework it over and over?  Today lets stop reworking our paintings, lets create a new one to hang on the wall?  You need some new supplies or new thoughts.  For me I bought all new supplies in a shopping trip to “Fu Zi Meow” or Confucius Temple shopping mall.  New bamboo brush, ink, felt pad, paper, and a couple of  “how to”  books in Chinese.  Fresh start.  New supplies are like new thoughts.  What do you want to paint?  I want to paint a mountain with misty clouds… but first I need to learn grass, rocks, leaves and flowers.   This is the start of my creation, a thought provoking mountain landscape.  Must learn the parts to create the whole composition according to my young teacher.  Like life, get all the pieces in order to create a great life painting.

Pieces?  What are your pieces?  Think for a moment, all the sweet things in your life.  Do you need to thank someone for something they did for you?  Maybe a child cut their finger and you were able to offer a band-aide and compassion to heal their wound and dry a tear.  Have you talked to your child today?  No!  My suggestion is call them and say “I love you”  for no reason.  Write them an email or text them a nice message.  Know an old person that is lonely, then go visit them?  Don’t know an old person, then call your grandmother and say hi.  You can smile at someone when your walking down the street.  Take someone to lunch and pay for it.  See someone on the street begging for money, then give them a coin or two.   Your painting becomes a compassionate one, one with tender feelings and love.  Every minute you are painting a life story, make yours beautiful, full of wonderful emotions and lovely memories.

Remember you can’t go back and rework it or you will muddy it up.

Start creating your story of life.  Reflect and step back, look at it and admire the effort you spent on it.  You might want to do this every evening just before you fall sleep, recall all the events of the day and say, “What a nice composition I created.”  Then fall asleep, and awake to a new day and start your new work of art.

What are you creating?  Hit the reply button and tell me what it is you created today!

“Little Rock” is born.

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This is Sophia’s new baby boy, Alice is holding.  I was able to visit her home and see the baby on Thanksgiving day, what a blessing.  The birth of a baby is quite exciting here.  You are not allowed in the hospital to visit the mother or baby like in America.  The mother and mother-in-law move in with the mom and dad for a month or longer.  They have interesting customs and expect the mother to follow.  Sophia’s mother-in-law is very much a take charge A-type personality.  She won’t let Sophia or the baby bathe for a month, that includes washing hair.  Sophia can not brush her teeth, she can rinse them with a tea and salt combination.  She is not allowed to eat veggies or fruits only meats.  The house is dark and the baby is wrapped in a bundle, not letting the eyes be in the light.  Taking pictures with a flash is not allowed.  I got one on the sly.  Talk about a miserable mother!  She said these are old traditions and must be followed but she doesn’t like it.  The mom’s won’t let her use the computer either.  The baby is darling, with dark pensive eyes, so wise looking.  His nick name is “little rock.”  At this time they still haven’t chosen a real name for him.

These cute little gifts are from different parents to share in the birth of their child.  Eggs are always auspicious.   Some are filled with candy and some are real, dyed red and pickled.

This egg has the married characters on it.  It was given to me from a friend whose niece recently married.  It is fun to get these little gifts from newlyweds and new parents.   You give them gifts too.  Sharing in the joy is the tradition.

Lions everywhere

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Chinese guardian lions, known also as stone lions and often (incorrectly) called “Foo Dogs” in the West, are a common representation of the lion in pre-modern China. They are believed to have powerful mystic protective powers that has traditionally stood in front of Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, Buddhist temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy.  Pairs of guardian lions are common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance.  The lions are always created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female with a cub.  It is auspicious to have pairs but four is an unlucky number much like our thirteen.

Lions are very much a part of my site seeing tours and I photograph all the different poses a lion can make.   My astrological sign is Leo, no wonder I am attracted to the lion.

Student Art – Chinese vs American

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Saturday I spent the morning watching our Chinese public high school teacher instruct his art class.  I was fortunate to see one student mastering the art of traditional Chinese painting.  He was working on chrysanthemums.   He had a blotter under his practice paper.  AH-HA that is the answer to working with the ever loaded brush and bleeding.  He painted one set of flowers on practice paper, which happens to be the paper I have.  Then he was given a paper with sparkles in it.  He painted the same composition again on this paper.  John, his teacher told him in Chinese to create more gradated values and I actually understood!  The third time he painted the flowers he used the same paper but turned it over to a plain backing.  This time he added more gradated washes laying the loaded brush on its side and quickly sweeping in a U-turn.  The brush tip was black creating a nice swish of gray to black.  All the students in the class were drawing from copyrited art, perfecting their skill.  In America this is something we do not stress.  I found the students were able to learn values, composition and how to lay down marks more proficiently due to the repetition.

Being treated nicely. How to make it happen.

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“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Who wrote this?  This has been in our culture and taught to children for years.  I recall it on my 3rd grade wooden ruler inscribed “The Golden Rule.”   Any idea?  Think a moment.  Was it an American politician, president perhaps, maybe even Mark Twain.  Wrong, all wrong it was Confucius.  Didn’t know you had been taught the Chinese philosophy of Confucius since you were a child?  You have an international perspective, yes?  This is a wonderful belief, but do you practice it?

Let’s think about it, how is it you want to be treated?  Do you like others to open doors for you, not talk back to you or maybe just not raise their voice?  You could make a list of actions on the way you wish to be treated.  This would give you a picture on the things you need to work on.   What is your major one belief?  Ask yourself, “I want people to treat me ___________.”  Fill in the blank.   My personal belief is:  I like people to look me in the eye and speak honestly to me.  What did you decide your need is?

Now lets put this into action.  For you to recieve this treatment, you would need to do the same to others, correct?  For me I want others to be honest so I would look you in the eye and speak honestly to you.  This can be a disaster if I get too honest in my actions!  Therefore I am learning to watch my honest comments.  Being honest can actually hurt feelings. So I work daily on this along with other attitudes I value.   I think expectations are important here. What is it you expect from others?   This is a life long commitment you make to yourself, to treat others as if they were you.  Many of our great masters did this, not just Confucius (500 BC), but Jesus, Buddha and Mohammad. (It is in Matthew 7.12).  Maybe Jesus studied Asian philosophizes too.

Think about the next time some one cuts in front of you in traffic, instead of yelling at them, think he’s in a hurry he needs to get in front of me.  He could be hurrying to pick up his child, let him go and bless him.  Maybe he’s not, but bless him anyway.  What would it hurt to bless someone who is miserable?  Nothing, you just sent some sweet energy to someone who probably needs it.  Do it more often and you will find you are happier and more content with yourself.  Maybe next time you cut in front of someone, you look up apologize with a wave, they smile back and let you in.  It happens, good things really happen.  (By the way I miss driving my car in China, so do an extra wave for me when you are out driving and get stuck in traffic!)  That would be a happy thought you could send me.  Sweet energy everywhere.

Today work on treating others nicely, or as Confucius would say create a more “benevolent society,” one of his favorite set of words.

Painting with a Bamboo Brush

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It is about time I painted something!   I’ve been studying Traditional Chinese Ink Brush painting and find it intriguing.  I want art lessons from a real brush painter now.  It is harder than it looks.  I painted this bamboo picture using a liquid ink and bamboo brush on typical Chinese student drawing paper.  It’s simple and big.  Ink dried fast and looks ok.

Then I was given some bamboo paper from a colleague.  She brought it back from her home town one weekend for me. I unrolled it to find the sheets are 5 x 2 feet…  Large paintings!  The paper is as thin as tissue paper and I am wondering how this is going to take to ink.

My ink is in stick form and you grind it in a circular motion in a special vessel with water called an ink stone until you get your desired value.  Making gray in a variety of values is fairly easy.  I looked at some Landscape paintings on line to get the jest of painting.  The paper adsorbed the watery ink rather fast and dried real slow, something I am not accustomed too.  But the grays were really nice, just figuring out how to control the bleeding is gonna take some time.