The haven is the ladrang or household of my spiritual guide, His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.  I spent the day there. It is such an honor to be able to serve my spiritual guide through helping to do chores in his house. 

A few minutes after I arrived, Li Kheng gave a short talk about Social Grace. Like how you should look, talk think and stuff like that. It was very interesting because it teaches you how to behave in a proper manner when speaking to people of high status, or people in general. For example, if we want to wear a specific type of color (cold or warm), we must maintain it from head to toe and things like that. 

After the class, I had some lunch. It was fried rice and some mushroom soup. It was very delicious. It was made by Levi, she is a very good cook. After having that delicious lunch, I helped to clean some of the plates. 

After that, I helped to cut the grass in the garden with hedge shears. It was a bit tough as I had trouble bending down but it was fun. It would have been easier with a lawn mower but I guess it would be too noisy. 

After cutting the grass on the front lawn, I went to cut the grass at the back lawn near the vegetable garden that Haven has. 

After that, I took a break by going on the blog of His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche. The link is: http://blog.tsemtulku.com/. I was chatting with some of Rinpoche's followers like Timothy Miller and Terri Hellerich. I also played with the dog's at Haven (Yogi, Oser, Dharma and Dzamkar). Did I mention that Rinpoche is an really big animal lover? 

After the break, I went to the working area and Jean Mei made a little box for me on the whiteboard for my assignments. My assignments were to share Rinpoche's blog on 20 different facebook groups and write this blog post. Both are very fun to do! 

While doing my assignments, I was called to help Pavara wash out some maggot-infested potatoes and to do so without killing them. We couldn't figure out what to do. So, we threw away the rotten potatoes and washed the tray that once held the rotten maggot-infested potatoes.

My day here has not ended but I think all the interesting bits are said already. Most likely gonna have some tasty food for dinner later too.

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Disclaimer: All humans have different tastebuds, so if the food tastes bad for you, it is just you. Thank you.

A vegetable stir-fry with eggs is a perfect dish for a family supper, this is very easy to prepare. Serve with either rice or crusty bread. Italian Ciabatta is highly recommended.

Ingredients:

• 30 ml/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 225g/ 8 oz courgettes
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red pepper and 1 yellow pepper, both seeded and thinly sliced
• 10ml/2 tsp paprika
• 400g/14 oz can chopped tomatoes (or cut your own)
• 15ml/ 1 tbsp of tomato puree
• 4 eggs
• 115g/4 oz/1 cup cheddar cheese
• salt and black pepper
• fresh crusty bread, to serve

Method:

1.  Heat the oil is a deep, heavy-based frying pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry over a medium heat. Stir for 4 minutes  until it softens.
2. Cut the courgettes into 5cm/2 inches long batons or strips. Add the courgettes and red and yellow peppers to the onion and cook gently, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes, until the vegetables are beginning to soften.
3. Stir in the paprika, tomatoes and tomato puree. Boil it then lower the heat and let it simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
4. Add egg
5. Let it set.
6. Add cheese slices on top.
7. Wait for cheese to melt
8. If possible fold in half or if that is to hard, scramble a bit.
9. Serve with crusty bread.

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In Confucian ideals, filial piety is a virtue of respect for one's parents and ancestors. According to the Classic of Filial Piety, Confucius once said: "In serving his parents, a filial son reveres them in daily life; he makes them happy while he nourishes them; he takes anxious care of them in sickness; he shows great sorrow over their death; and he sacrifices to them with solemnity. For Confucius, filial piety was not merely blind loyalty to one's parents. More important than the norms of xiào were the norms of benevolence and righteousness. For Confucius and Mencius, Xiao was a display of rén, which was ideally applied in one's dealings with all elders, thus making it a general norm of intergenerational relations. In reality, however, xiàowas usually reserved for one's own parents and grandparents, and was often elevated above the notions of rén and yì.

Now, for a Buddhist point, Hinayana Buddhism did not have a strong notion of filial piety. Buddhism in India involved many men leaving or abandoning their families, parents, wives, and children to become monks (Buddha himself was said to have done so). The true Buddhist had to reject all family ties, just as they had to reject social and class ties if they were to pursue Nirvana. Family was viewed as just another encumbrance of mortal life that had to be dealt with. Sorrow and grief were said to be "born of those who are dear. Buddhist monks were obligated to sever all ties with their family and to forget their ancestors. Theravada Buddhism stressed individual salvation, and had little room for the interdependent society that Confucianism had created in China, which stressed the good of the community more than the good of the individual. In India, Buddhism also advocated celibacy among its monks, which was unacceptable in the Confucian worldview, given that it was viewed as the child's duty to continue the parental line.

Judeo-Christian thought stresses following the Ten Commandments, which are recognized as the moral foundation in Judaism and Christianity. Lee et al argues that it is rarely practiced in the West and most children from a Judeo-Christian background do not honor and care for parents to the extent of those from Eastern backgrounds. This is, they argue, because in the West, the individual is more important than the family and when an elderly parent becomes a burden to the adult child, the needs of the adult child to be burden-free supersedes any feeling of obligation to care for the elderly parent.

In summary, Filial Piety is an attitude that is common amongst any race, religion or creed. Respect for one’s parents is universal!

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Pujas are extremely beneficial. They can benefit yourself or others in many ways. Here is a place where you can get some pujas done for you :D

http://vajrasecrets.com/off-puja-say-a-little-prayer.html

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This is the video I made for my B'day!!!

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Hi, it is me again, Sean. This is my blog, Tenzin Khenchen. I guess you would already have known that from the title of the blog. Haha!

Have you ever felt tired or stressed out while you are in the hustle and bustle of the cities? Well, I think you do because I get stressed out.

A few minutes ago, I went to Rinpoche's blog. Then, I saw a link to another part of Rinpoche's blog then I clicked on it and it went to Youtube. The sounds relaxed me so much. I think that you guys should listen to it because it is BEAUTIFUL!!!

If you want the link to the blog post, here it is:

http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/something-special-for-my-blog-friends.html


Ok! Listen to it! It is good for you!

BYE!

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