Some time ago, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. Staying near the security gate, they hugged, and the mother said, “I love you, and I wish you enough.” The daughter answered, “Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. [...]
What is a true winner? We may be very familiar of Honda Motors. They’re everywhere, from cars to motorcycles. But do you know the real story of how challenging it was for Mr. Soichiro Honda to establish Honda Motors? Like most other countries, Japan was hit badly by the Great Depression of the 1930s. In [...]
Australian John Rendall and his friend Ace Berg bought the lion cub from Harrods in London in 1969 when the world famous store had an exotic animals department. Herrods had gotten the cub from Illfracombe zoo and it was on display at the store in cage when spotted by Rendall and Berg. Christian lived in [...]
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena (1910-2008). During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a plumbing/sewer specialist. The truth is, she had an ‘ulterior motive’ as she knew the Nazi’s plans were for the Jews. As a German, Irena smuggled infants out in the [...]
From a speech made by Capt. John S. McCain, USN, (Ret) who represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate: As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or [...]
A Zen master named Gisan asked a young student to bring him a pail of water to cool his bath. The student brought the water and, after cooling the bath, threw on to the ground the little that was left over. “You dunce!” the master scolded him. “Why didn’t you give the rest of the [...]
Bassui wrote the following letter to one of his disciples who was about to die: “The essence of your mind is not born, so it will never die. It is not an existence, which is perishable. It is not an emptiness, which is a mere void. It has neither color nor form. It enjoys no [...]
Zen teachers train their young pupils to express themselves. Two Zen temples each had a child protégé. One child, going to obtain vegetables each morning, would meet the other on the way. “Where are you going?” asked the one. “I am going wherever my feet go,” the other responded. This reply puzzled the first child [...]
Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees. The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away [...]
In early times in Japan, bamboo-and-paper lanterns were used with candles inside. A blind man, visiting a friend one night, was offered a lantern to carry home with him. “I do not need a lantern,” he said. “Darkness or light is all the same to me.” “I know you do not need a lantern to [...]