Beat High Blood Pressure naturally

Your herbal resort to lower blood pressure and boost health.

By Kenneth Tan and John Lew

High Blood Pressure

If you’re beset by depression, insomnia, constipation, headaches, dryness in mouth and even a bad temper, all these could be related to a body syndrome which manifests itself also in high blood pressure, says Eu Yan Sang traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physician John Lew. “There are many different types of body syndromes which show itself through high blood pressure,” he says. “Usually, a consultation with a TCM physician will enable a diagnosis of the body syndrome and thus enable us to prescribe the right herbal remedy for the patient.” Read on to discover which body syndrome you are and how to beat it with an all-natural cure.

THE PROBLEM 1: Hyperactivity and prone to emotional and irritability when under stress with possible signs of depression. Dizziness and headache, weak knees and back pain, forgetfulness and insomnia are commonly seen symptoms.

THE CAUSE: Your body is lacking in fluid which results in an ‘upsurge of fire’, says Lew. “Imagine a sun shining on a small lake as opposed to a big one. The temperature of the small lake will be much higher than the bigger lake with its larger volume of water,” he says. The outcome is high-blood pressure.

THE SOLUTION: The idea is to replenish the fluids and also reduce the internal heat. Prepared rhizome of rehmannia (Shu Di Huang; 熟地黄) possesses the effect of nourishing the kidney-yin. Dogwood fruit (Shan Zhu Yu; 山茱萸), sour in flavour and warm in nature, is used to nourish the kidney and replenish the liver system, while dried Chinese yam (Shan Yao; 山药) for nourishing the kidney-yin and tonifying the spleen. Oriental water plantain (Ze Xia; 泽泻) helps clear and purge fire. Moutan bark (Dan Pi; 丹皮) cooperates with Dogwood fruit in purging liver fire and Poria (Fu Ling; 茯苓) shares similar effect with dried Chinese yam to excrete dampness from the spleen. To help reduce internal heat and fire, rhizome of anemarrhena (Zhi Mu; 知母), bitter in flavor and cold in property, is added. Phellodendron bark (Huang Bai; 黄柏), also bitter and cold, helps clear heat and purge away fire. If dizziness and headache is severe, Gastrodia tuber (Tian Ma; 天麻) and Uncaria stem with hooks (Gou Teng; 钩藤) are added to calm the emotional liver system and stop spinning wind. If constipation poses a problem, hemp seed (Huo Ma Ren; 火麻仁) and bush-cherry seed (Yu Li Ren; 郁李仁) can be used to moisten the bowels and relieve constipation. If you're easily agitated, double the amount of moutan bark and add white peony root (Bai Shao; 白芍) to nourish the upsurging liver and suppress liver hyperactivity. The above formula has the effects of reducing excitement of the brain, lowering blood pressure and blood sugar, inducing diuresis, and improving the kidney system, etc.

THE PROBLEM 2: Paleness in face, with a weak pulse and a furless tongue. Dizziness, constant mild headache, short breath, frequent night urination and dreaminess are common symptoms. For some, feverish sensation in the palms and soles, lassitude of loins and legs can also be present.

THE CAUSE: Your body is lacking ‘yin’ fluid in kidney and liver. “When these organs are weak, then they are easily bullied by external factors,” says Lew. “This is especially common for people getting into their 50s and 60s.” Also, the functionality ('yang' energy) may also be lacking, causing aversion to coldness, low sex drive and weak knees. Ultimately, the disharmony in the organs also manifests itself in high-blood pressure.

THE SOLUTION: In order to promote an increased 'yin substantial essence' in your liver and kidneys, you’ll need to take dried rhizome of rehmannia (Sheng Di Huang; 生地黄) and dogwood fruit (Shan Zhu Yu; 山茱萸). They're both meant to nourish the kidney and replenish the liver systems. In order to boost up 'yang' warming energy, medicinal indianmulberry root (Ba Ji Tian; 巴戟天), desertliving cistanche (Rou Cong Rong; 肉苁蓉), cassia bark (Rou Gui; 肉桂) and prepared aconite root (Fu Zi; 附子) are used because of their ability to strengthen kidney-yang that helps with cold knees, low sex drive and night urination. Dendrobium stem (Shi Hu; 石斛), Ophiopogon root (Mai Dong; 麦冬) and Schisandra fruit (Wu Wei Zi; 五味子), with their sweet and slightly cold in nature, help to promote body fluid and nourish yin. Schisandra fruit even arrests sweating, seminal emission and calms the mind. To further calm the mind and strengthen digestive system, grassleaved sweetflag rhizome (Chang Pu; 菖蒲), polygala root (Yuan Zhi; 远志) and Poria (Fu Ling; 茯苓) are added. If dry mouth, dry throat and inner body heat is severe, more herbs that help nourish the kidney-yin can be included, such as wolfberry fruit (Gou Qi Zi; 枸杞子) and glossy privet fruit (Nv Zhen Zi; 女贞子). Wolfberry fruit also nourishes the liver system to improve acuity of vision whereas glossy privet fruit also improves eyesight and darken white hairs. If you're plagued with water retention in the lower limbs and chronic aversion to coldness, coupled with pale facial complexion, white atractylodes rhizome (Bai Shu; 白术), oriental water plantain (Ze Xia; 泽泻) and agaric (Zhu Ling; 猪苓) can be added to replenish qi energy and reinforce the spleen system (better digestion and absorption) for inducing diuresis. The above prescription has the efficacies in promoting blood circulation, cooling the mind, lowering blood pressure, strengthening the kidney system and protecting the liver, etc. It can also be modified for climacteric hypertension in women.

THE PROBLEM 3: A flushed face, plenty of yellowish or greenish phlegm with an irritated throat, fitful sleep. Fullness sensation in the chest, rapid pulse, yellowish greasy fur and fast slippery pulse can be observed.

THE CAUSE: There is a presence of ‘heat phlegm’ in your body which causes discernible discomforts and also the high-blood pressure. “The problematic ‘heat phlegm’ will also irritate your emotional conditions,” says Lew. Typical symptoms include vertigo, gastric discomfort with acid regurgitation, palpitation, insomnia, bitter taste in mouth and so on.

THE SOLUTION: First, you can use coptis root (Huang Lian; 黄连), which is very cooling in nature, to reduce heat-phlegm. Then, once your phlegm is less heaty, use Poria (Fu Ling; 茯苓) to absorb it and flush it out through bowel movements and urination. Pinellia tuber (Ban Xia; 半夏) lowers adverse flow of qi energy to regulate the stomach. It also eliminates dampness to resolve phlegm. Bamboo shavings (Zhu Ru; 竹茹) clears away heat and resolves phlegm to relieve vertigo. Tangerine peel (Chen Pi; 陈皮) regulates qi energy flow and removes phlegm. Immature citron fruit (Zhi Shi; 枳实) promotes circulation of energy to remove phlegm and renders phlegm downwards for excretion. Fresh ginger (Sheng Jiang; 生姜), jujubae Chinese dates (Da Zao; 大枣) and prepared licorice root (Zhi Gan Cao; 炙甘草) tonify the spleen and regulate the stomach (better digestion and absorption), coordinating the effects of other herbs in this suggested prescription. If the heat-phlegm is persistent and of the excess type, use prepared arisaema (Dan Nan Xing; 胆南星) and scutellaria root (Huang Qin; 黄芩). The bitter taste and cold nature of these herbs is stronger in clearing heat and resolving phlegm. The above prescription has the effect of heat-clearing, phlegm-eliminating, cough and asthma relieving. It's suitable for the syndrome of stagnation of phlegm and heat in the lung system.

THE PROBLEM 4: A lack of energy and presence of wet phlegm with paleness in face and accompanied usually by signs of obesity. Many times dizziness, nausea, chest oppression can be observed. Tongue is whitish and greasy with taut and slippery pulse.

THE CAUSE: “Your digestive system is weak which results in food stagnation and consequently the wet phlegm,” says Lew. “Poor absorption of the food leaves it in the body causing an accumulation of the wet phlegm. Some people have bulky hands and weakness on their lower legs also which causes the blood-pressure to shoot up.”

THE SOLUTION: To improve the digestive system and resolve inner dampness and phlegm. Also, it is important to cut down on your salt intake because it promotes water retention, leading to heavier legs and higher blood pressure. To further lower your blood pressure, cut out alcohol, teas and cigarettes which weaken your digestive system. Regular exercise of 45 minutes a day will quickly improve your blood pressure readings as well. For herbal remedy, the principle is to dry dampness to resolve abundance of phlegm. Pinellia tuber (Ban Xia; 半夏) eliminates dampness to resolve phlegm and lowers the adverse flow of qi energy to arrest nausea. Gastrodia tuber (Tian Ma; 天麻) resolves phlegm and calms spinning wind that caused by stagnated liver system to relieve vertigo. These two herbs are essential in the treatment of vertigo with headache due to wind-phlegm syndrome (body type). Atractylodes rhizome (Bai Shu; 白术), strengthens the spleen system (digestion and absorption) to eliminate dampness and phlegm. Poria (Fu Ling; 茯苓) further strengthens the spleen to excrete dampness. Tangerine peel (Chen Pi; 陈皮) regulates qi energy flow and removes phlegm. Fresh ginger (Sheng Jiang; 生姜), jujubae Chinese dates (Da Zao; 大枣) and licorice root (Gan Cao; 甘草) tonify the spleen and regulate the stomach (better digestion and absorption), coordinating the effects of other herbs in the prescription. For condition with sticky phlegm, add fritillary bulb (Bei Mu; 贝母) and prepared arisaema (Dan Nan Xing; 胆南星) to resolve more phlegm and nourish the lung system. The prescription helps improve digestion and absorption and thus gets rid of stagnated phlegm inside the body. Syndrome marked by up-stirring of wind-phlegm can be treated by this modified formula.

THE PROBLEM 5: Bad temper, constant flushed face, slight constipation, yellowish urine, bitterness in mouth, acid reflux, deep red tongue, taut and forceful pulse. Dizziness and headache and probably head distension are common symptoms.

THE CAUSE: An upsurge of liver ‘fire’ which is caused by keeping late nights or/and eating plenty of spicy foods. “The hours of 1am to 3am is when your liver detoxes your blood while the time of 11pm to 1am is when your gall bladder system clears the secretions and blockages,” says Lew. “When these two organs are deprived of their regular bio-rhythm, the stagnation will result in upsurge of liver-yang or fire and there all the above symptoms and your pulse will also toughen like a guitar string which indicates increased blood pressure.”

THE SOLUTION: The first priority is to purge excessive fire from the liver and gallbladder systems. Removing damp-heat is next. Now, in order to purge excessive fire in the liver and gallbladder and clear damp-heat, gentian root (Long Dan Cao; 龙胆草), scutellaria root (Huang Qin; 黄芩) and capejasmine fruit (Zhi Zi; 栀子) are selected. They are extremely bitter in flavor and cold in nature. Oriental water plantain (Ze Xia; 泽泻), fiveleaf akebia stem (Mu Tong; 木通) and plantain seed (Che Qian Zi; 车前子) have the effect of removing heat and inducing diuresis to dispel damp-heat. Dried rhizome of rehmannia (Sheng Di Huang; 生地黄) and Chinese angelica root (Dang Gui; 当归) nourish yin and blood so as to soothe the liver. Also, bupleurum root (Chai Hu; 柴胡) should be included as it soothes the liver and regulates the qi circulation in the liver and gallbladder systems. It further induces the efficacy of all the herbs into the liver and gallbladder. Licorice root (Gan Cao; 甘草)) coordinates the effects of various herbs and prevents the stomach from being hurt by the bitter and cold property of most herbs. For constipation, rhubarb (Da Huang; 大黄) can be added to purge heat and loosen the bowels. For severe headache and vertigo, add gastrodia tuber (Tian Ma; 天麻), uncaria stem with hooks (Gou Teng; 钩藤) and nacre (Zhen Zhu Mu; 珍珠母) to calm the emotional liver system and stop spinning wind on the head (vertigo). For dry mouth and thirsty tongue, add dendrobium stem (Shi Hu; 石斛), Ophiopogon root (Mai Dong; 麦冬) and figwort root (Xuan Shen; 玄参) to promote yin fluid build-up and clear heat. The formula has the effect of bringing down the heat, tranquilizing the mind, relieving inflammation, inducing diuresis, promoting the functions of gallbladder and liver systems, and decreasing blood pressure.

Tips (Overall):
1) For most cases, standard suggested range of daily dosage for each herbs can be referred to when prescribing the herbs.
2) You can boil the herbs in traditional ways or by opting for condensed extracted powder of each herbs which can be taken orally without boiling.
3) Cases presented are typical or representatives of obvious body types. Most of the people belong to combination of two or three body types, depending on degree of severity. And there are other body types mixed with other diseases. Please consult a physician of TCM for proper diagnosis of body syndromes (types) and other diseases.

PS:
1) This solution of High Blood Pressure appears in Malegrams Balance, on page 52 and page 54 of Men's Health magazine, November 2008, Malaysia.

Android open source smart phone

Open source system: Just recently Open Handset Alliance and Google released the source code of smart phone operating system Android, based on Linux kernel and operating system. What does that mean to the common public? It means so many developers/hackers/programmers can come up with really creative and innovative ideas/applications for the open smart phones of yours. Anyone can take a look at source code and help contribute by providing more ideas. Anyone who wishes to make any hardwares compatible with the software can do so with modification without any charges incurred, part of the benefit of GNU GPL License.

An open world: I've always opted for open systems as I believe living beings evolve in an open environment. Our genetics have gone through countless natural selections to have become the human forms today. Traditional medicine has always worked in an open manner without patents or copyrights. Why not the operating systems for computers/smart phones/pdas and etc.?

More joining: Another company that is going to open up her source code is Nokia and her Symbian operating system. Visionaries such as these people see the benefits that can be shared among human beings, and the vast amount of human talents that can help contribute to better and more innovative coding.

First Android phone: To the more common public all these names and programmings may not mean much. Let's bring something closer to the earth: The first android hand phone: HTC Dream G1

Links:
1. Google, http://www.google.com
2. Open Handset Alliance, http://www.openhandsetalliance.com
3. Android Open Source Project, http://www.android.com
4. HTC Corporation, http://www.htc.com
5. Nokia, http://www.nokia.com
6. Symbian OS, http://www.symbian.com

Teresa Hsu: 110 years of wisdom

110 years of wisdom: Teresa Hsu

I was reading the sub edition of Chinapress newspaper (Oct 15th, 2008) and came across this incredible human being by the name of Teresa Hsu Chih (许哲; Xu Zhe). Apparently there is so much to learn from her 110 years of wisdom about sharing and giving.

"Clothes, foods, houses, transportations are things I don't mind about. My clothes are old clothes of others. Material things are just tools. Because I'm a full vegetarian, my diet is really simple. Coarse teas and plain rice [Simple foods] are no problem." Vegetarianism that goes her heart to suffering animals. Simplicity that cares about mother earth's resources.

"I must have got it from my mother because she was totally dedicated to the job she chose to do and that was looking after the family. I think that trait was passed down to us. I've no family, so I look after everybody else. I choose to serve everybody else who comes to me—that is my job... The world is my home, all living beings are my family, selfless service is my religion." An incredible being that walks the talks of serving selflessly.

"I prefer to laugh than to weep. Those people who cry to me, I always tell them it is better to laugh than to use tissue paper, as laughing is free but tissue paper still cost five cent. 'Ha ha ha' cost no cents." Positive tone of life takes precedent over negativity. Golden rule.

"There are no secrets [to my longivity]. I just enjoy simple, spiritual peaceful life. As a matter of fact, I didn't choose longivity; it just happens to be so." Quite many people aim for the destinations without enjoying the journey. In the end, many don't reach the destinations nor do they learn much from the journey.

"Neither am I Christian nor Buddhist. Ha ha ha." Love is what we need. It's never about religion, or race.

Please learn more about Teresa Hsu at the links below. I'm sure we're all going to learn something wise from her.

LINKS:
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Hsu_Chih
2) http://www.hearttoheartservice.org/AboutFounder.htm

Once a week, Johnny the Moron

(Click on for clearer picture)

Johnny "the moron" once worked at a farming factory. One of the jobs he hated most was milking the cows. He always asked himself why he had to do the work everyday.

One day out of the blue he came up with a brilliant idea: "Why not once a week? Just leave the milk in the breasts and collect it every week, instead of everyday!"

He thought doing so could cut down the amount of time he spent everyday and yet still be able to collect a total of 6-day milk at the end of the week.

Applying the same analogy, some people believe they can:

1. exercise once a week for 3 consecutive hours (total = 3 hours) instead of exercise everyday for 30 minutes (total also = 3 hours).
2. drink water four times a day 500ml each (total = 2 liters) instead of once every hour 200ml each (total also = 2 liters).
3. pass bowel movement once a week (In one big lump sum with hardened stool; refusing to take any vegetables and fruits) instead of pass motion everyday (With smooth and adequake portion without hurting the anal lining).

4. bring their children for a weekend material shopping spree (Total = 6 hours plus materialistic bonding) instead of reading 30-minute spiritual bed-time stories to them every night (Total = 3 hours plus quality family bonding).

5. visit his/her mother once every week at the old folks house for half-a-day (Total = 6 hours; plus his/her mother's lonely and emptiness feelings) instead of having his/her mother to stay with them and accompany her an hour everyday (Total also = 6 hours; plus warmth and sense of togetherness).


You'll be surprised how many of us do things these ways...

Do we understand how frequency versus quantity (versus yet quality)?

Note:
1. Comic strip from Johnny the Moron, http://www.lews.info/johnnythemoron/index-e.html

2. If you think of any other misuse of frequencies, please let me know by writing your comments. Thank you.

Thou Shalt Not Kill. Go Vegetarian

"Thou Shalt Not Kill" - Go vegetarian

I was reading some materials on 'proper food' and I came across the following conversation between Srila Prabhupada and his visitors, among them was Father Emmanual. The conversation took place probably some time back in September, 2000. The conversation was long. I only quote the sections on my perceived idea of 'proper food'.

======================================

Srila Prabhupada: We have to accept all the injunctions of the scripture as they are given, not only those that suit us. If you do not follow the first order, "Thou shalt not kill," then where is the question of love of God?

Visitor: Christians take this commandment to be applicable to human beings, not to animals.

Srila Prabhupada: That would mean that Christ was not intelligent enough to use the right word: murder. There is killing, and there is murder. Murder refers to human beings. So you think Jesus was not intelligent enough to use the right word - murder - instead of the word killing? Killing means any kind of killing and especially animal killing. If Jesus had meant simply the killing of humans, he would have used the word murder... If you want to interpret these words, that is something else. We understand the direct meaning. "Thou shalt not kill" means "The Christians should not kill."


Father Emmanuel: Isn't the eating of plants also killing?

Srila Prabhupada: The Vaisnava philosophy teaches that we should not even kill plants unnecessarily. In the Bhagavad-gita [9.26] Krishna says:

"patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah"

"If someone offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or a little water, I will accept it."

We offer Krishna only the kind of food He demands, and then we eat the remnants. If offering vegetarian food to Krishna were sinful, then it would be Krishna's sin, not ours. But God is apapa-viddha - sinful reactions are not applicable to Him... Eating food first offered to the Lord is also something like a soldier's killing during wartime. In a war, when the commander orders a man to attack, the obedient soldier who kills the enemy will get a medal. But if the same soldier kills someone on his own, he will be punished. Similarly, when we eat only prasadam [the remnants of food offered to Krishna], we do not commit any sin. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita [3.13]: "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food that is first offered for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin."

Father Emmanuel: Krishna cannot give permission to eat animals?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes - in the animal kingdom. But the civilized human being, the religious human being, is not meant to kill and eat animals. If you stop killing animals and chant the holy name of Christ, everything will be perfect... I think the Christian priests should cooperate with the Krishna consciousness movement. They should chant the name Christ or Christos and should stop condoning the slaughter of animals. This program follows the teachings of the Bible; it is not my philosophy. Please act accordingly and you will see how the world situation will change.


======================================

"Thou shalt not kill" means "The Christians should not kill any living beings."

Go vegetarian.

Note:
1. Source of the conversation: Science of Self-Realization (pp. 129-33) [http://www.harekrishna.com/col/books/VEG/ht/ahightaste.html]

Migraine Headache and traditional Chinese medicine

Back in the year 2001 I started a site:

Migraine/Headache at http://www.lews.info/headache/".

This site aims to give a perspective of how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) sees the problems of headache/migraine. You'll see what 'syndromes' mean to the diagnosis of proper causes, how 'symptoms' help in reaching the right conclusion, what 'channels' are responsible for a specific parts of headache, how migraine is classified in terms of TCM diagnostic methods, some of the case studies that illustrate real cases of headache/migraine, what specific herbs are for various types of headache/migraine. Further readings are provided if you're interested in some of the deep theories of TCM.

Below are the categories I started with:

Headache (general):
Headache: Causes and Mechanisms
Discussion on Endopathic/Internal Headache
Differentiative Diagnosis
Channels of Headache
Locations/Characteristics of Headache
Conclusion

Headache (Syndromes):
Hyperactivity of the Liver-yang
Deficiency of the Kidney-yin
Insufficiency of Kidney-yang
Deficiency of both Blood and Qi
Retention of Phlegm and Dampness
Blood Stasis

Headache (Symptoms):
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) (Liver-Jue) Headache
Low Blood Pressure (Hypo-tension) Headache
Headache due to Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) or Premenstrual Tension (PMT)
Headache due to Menopause (Climacteric Syndrome)

Migraine:
Migraine (Neuro-headache)
Modern understanding of the causes of migraine
Modern interpretation of the manifestations

Treatments According to Syndromes
S1: Wind-Heat type
S2: Wind-Phlegm type
S3: Qi Stagnation due to Liver-Fire type
S4: Jueyin Inner Cold type
S5: Blood deficiency
S6: Insufficiency of Qi

Migraine differentiation in accordance with symptoms
Type 1: Mono Type (Accumulation of Cold in the Liver Channel and Qi Stagnancy)
Type 2: Blinking Dim Spots Type (Three syndromes in TCM)
Type 3: Complex Light Spots Type (Accumulation of Cold in the Liver Channel and Qi Stagnancy)
Type 4: Cluster Type (Stagnancy of the Liver-Qi and Exterior Wind)

Case Study:
Headache due to Blood Stasis
Headache due to High Blood Pressure (Hyperactivity of the Liver-Yang)
Headache due to Loss of Blood
Headache due to Low Blood Pressure Type (Deficiency of both Qi and Blood)

Migraine: Mono Type (Accumulation of Cold in the Liver channel and Qi Stagnancy)
Migraine: Bush Type (Stagnancy of the Liver-Qi)
Migraine: Complex Light Spots Type (Stagnancy of the Liver-Qi)
Migraine (Wind-Cold Type due to Insufficiency of Kidney-Yang)

Specific Herbs:
藁本，GaoBen, Gao Ben, Ligusticum Sinense (Ligusticum Sinense Oliv.)
川芎，ChuanXiong, Chuan Xiong, Chuanxiong Rhizome (Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong)
白芷，BaiZhi, Bai Zhi, Dahurian Angelica Root (Radix Angelicae Dahuricae)
吴茱萸，WuZhuYu, Wu Zhu Yu, Evodia Fruit (Fructus Evodiae)
柴胡，ChaiHu, Chai Hu, Bupleurum Root (Radix Bupleuri)
细辛，Xixin, Xi Xin, Wild Genger (Herba Asari)
苍术，CangZhu, Cang Zhu, Atractylodes Rhizome (Rhizoma Atractylodis)
羌活，QiangHuo, Qiang Huo, Notopterygium Root (Rhizoma seu Radix Notopterygii)
防风，FangFeng, Fang Feng, Ledebouriella Root (Radix Ledebouriellae)

Resources:
"Zhang's Medical Comprehension", by Zhang Jing-Yue
"The Heart Law of Dan Xi", by Zhu Dan-Xi
"Medicine Narration", by Wang Ren-Yen
Manifestations of Headache, various contributors
The Causes of Migraine, various contributors
Links to other Migraine Headache sites

For more details please visit "http://www.lews.info/headache/"

You and Me, Beijing Olympic Games Theme Song

Many people were watching the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games opening ceremony on 8-8-2008 at 8.08pm and the 8th second (Beijing Time). There were many amazing sections of the performance. What caught my attention most is the THEME SONG 《我和你》(Wo He Ni, I And You, [You and Me]) presented by 刘欢 (LIU Huan) and Sarah BRIGHTMAN. The song seems so simple and yet beautiful and to an extend 'pure' from the heart.

Here I'm presenting the song in her original Chinese characters, PINYIN pronunciation and the literal meanings of the lyrics. I hope you'll like it.

《我和你》Wo He Ni, I And You, [You and Me]

Beijing Olympic Games Theme Song

Lyrics and music by: 陈其钢 (CHEN Qigang)
Performed by: 刘欢(LIU Huan) and Sarah BRIGHTMAN

我和你，	心连心，	同住地球村。
Wo He Ni,	Xin Lian Xin,	Tong Zhu Di Qiu Cun.
I-and-you,	heart-links-heart,	same-live-earth-globe-village.

为梦想，	千里行，	相会在/ 北京(这里）。
Wei Meng Xiang,	Qian Li Xing,	Xiang Hui Zai / Bei Jing (Zhe Li).
For-dreams-wishes,	thousand-mile-journey,	meet-ing- / in-Bei-Jing (right at here).

来吧，	朋友，	伸出你的手。
Lai Ba,	Peng You,	Shen Chu Ni De Shou.
Come-on,	fri-ends,	extend-out-you-r-hands.

我和你，	心连心，	永远一家人。
Wo He Ni,	Xin Lian Xin,	Yong Yuan Yi Jia Ren.
I-and-you,	heart-links-heart,	forever-ever-one-family-people.

You and me,
From one world,
We are family.

Travel dream,
A thousand miles,
Meeting / in Beijing (right at here).

Come together,
Put your hand in mine.

You and me,
From one world,
We are family.

来吧，
朋友，
伸出你的手。

You and me,
From one world,
We are family.

The song is beautiful because of her simple yet meaningful lyrics: All of us human beings living in this globe coming to one place for the same dream. I'd want to imagine we human beings are here to learn lessons, to pass the lessons and to excel in them without hurting anyone. We were all from the same source of spirits; just that we have never been aware of it. Now that we've come to realize our family, friends, and everyone are here to help us progress, improve and learn to be better human beings.

PS:
1) I've taken the liberty to change one part of the lyrics to "Meeting / in Beijing (right at here)". "Meeting right at here" means human beings are here on the mother earth. We can be scattered around the globe and we're still on the earth, learning lessons and trying to stay on the righteous track.

2) Can someone please do a video/music video with subtitle on this page? I'd imagine many non-Chinese speakers will be interested in knowing and learning this song. I wanted to grab the music video off YouTube and do some subtitle editing before posting back on it. Lack of know-how and my low-spec notebook forbid me from doing so.

Eating meat is eating human beings?

Eating meat is eating human beings?

Chinese characters are combinations of symbols (pictographic: drawing), sounds (phono-semantic: shape and sound) and meanings (ideographic: ideology and concept). Of the three, what makes the characters stand out most visually interesting is the symbolic and artistic nature.

Take the word 肉(“rou”, meat / flesh) for example, the special thing about this word is how it's constructed from. There seems to be two 人(“ren”, man / human being) inside the character 门(“men”, door). Two men inside a door is meat? What does that mean?

The way I would interpret the character 肉(“rou”, meat) is quite similar but with a simple twist. My idea was inspired by the concept of universal love. You shall see why below:

人(“ren”, man / human being): The character looks like a man walking with two legs.
门(“men”, door): The character itself resembles a door with hinge.
內(“nei”, inside): A man inside a door means 'inside', quite graphical too.
肉(“rou”, meat / flesh): There is actually a 'human being' (the lower character 人) hidden 'inside' meat.

This is the conclusion: There is a human being inside meat. If you eat meat, you eat human beings. How do we come to comprehend this? This simple conclusion is in line with the concept of reincarnation, that all living beings keep incarnating to other living forms depending on how well (or how bad) they've contributed during their life time.

What we are really eating? This piece of chicken could have been a grandmother of your friends in previous lives. That piece of red meat (cow) could have been your own grandfather who passed away many years ago. Killing and eating each others have created deep hatred and curses. No wonder the world is full of vengeance wars of all kinds.


PS:
1. This is one perspective to look at why eating meat is wrong. If you find the idea comfortable and useful, you can help to spread the message or even translate it to your own language for a good cause.
2. The concept of 肉(“rou”, meat / flesh; 'Human beings' are 'inside' meat) includes beef, chicken, turkeys, pork, pigs, chicken eggs, cows, fish, lobsters, crabs, horses, sheep, dogs, cats, cattle, goats, swines, mules, birds, donkeys, rabbits, leopards, giant pandas, owls, pigeons, crayfish, octopus, deers, eagles, hawks, ostriches, penguins, gooses, salmon, tuna, eels, snakes, snails, frogs, turtles, ducks, calves, steaks, puppies, kittens, ponies and so on.

Yin, Yang, Qi and their roots

The other day I was sorting my emails out and noticed this inquiry from a reader of the blog and my reply to the individual. I think it can be an interesting reading.

Message: I read with interest your website info and would like to know:

Question: The principles of yin, yang, qi - do they have their roots in Chinese (Taoist or Buddhist) beliefs?

I will be grateful if you can answer my query. Thank you.

For that I wrote the following as a brief introduction of how yin, yang and qi came around:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thank you so much for your interest in TCM. I've always enjoyed sharing TCM knowledge. To answer your question:

The terms 阴(yin, facing the moon), 阳(yang, facing the sun) and 气(qi, air energy movement above grains) have many implied meanings. Different fields take those terms for different definitions. At first, yang and yin meant only if a place faces the sun or not, respectively. The place that faces the sun is yang and the one not is yin. It was the fundamental understanding of nature. It's within the theory of duality of ancient Chinese philosophy. Subsequently, people have come to realize, through living, practice and observation of daily natural phenomenon, that the concept of yin and yang exists in all things. A simple example that applies to TCM can be: A fresh flush face is yang whereas a pale exhaustive face is yin.

The theory of yin and yang in TCM includes how these two components oppose each other, how they depend on each other to reach a balance, how they wax and wane and how one transforms to the other. TCM physicians use theory as such to understand the nature of diseases.

An ancient philosophical book, 周易 (Zhou Yi; Zhou: Dynasty Zhou, BC 1066 - BC 256; Yi: A word forming from the upper日(Ri, the sun, yang energy) and the lower 月(Yue, the moon, yin fluid), meaning ‘change’), considers the transformation of yin (night time, for example) and yang (day time, for example) into each other as the 'basic law in the universe'. This book dates back to the time mentioned as in Dynasty Zhou in the north-eastern part of China (Now nearby Shandong province). Buddha came to enlightenment in northern India at a time later than that. Therefore, yin and yang cannot come from Buddhism.

"Zhou Yi" is a book on the law of the universe, which is also called "Dao" (Direct Mandarin PinYin pronunciation) or "Tao" (Cantonese pronunciation, more known to the western and English world). Indeed, the idea of yin and yang can be found in the book. As a matter of fact, many TCM scholars these days consider Zhou Yi as the ultimate root of where TCM developed from, before which the book 皇帝内经 (Huang Di Nei Jing; Yellow-Emperor-Inside-Sutra; The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine, the most ancient TCM publication ever preserved) appeared back in 2,400 years ago...

So I'd agree to the saying the concept of yin and yang originally came from Taoism (Dao, what Zhou Yi is based on). But then again there are nowadays so many denominations of Taoism, some of which may have lost the original constituents of Dao.

As for the concept of qi in TCM, the first book that described this term is "The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine". The term qi, widely translated as energy, is also the unseen energy flows inside human body meridians, where acupuncture is based on.

Therefore the concept of qi neither originated from Buddhism nor Taoism.

Also mind I if correct your question, Buddhism isn't a Chinese belief, it's an understanding and practise that explains, as many believe, the finest and complete understanding of the universe. It was the teaching of Buddha, once prince Siddharta Gautama of a small country in northern India. Taoism, derived from the book Zhou Yi, author unknown. Confucius, in his later years, came across this book and pondered upon it and wrote ten chapters to explain this mysterious book of universe and proclaimed “If only I had known this book 10 years earlier, I would then have more time to understand the universe.” or something similar to that.

I hope this helps in understanding a little about the origin of yin, yang and qi. Different people, depending of their reading levels, may have different understandings. Please feel free to let me know if my views contradict with someone else's or if I have made a mistake.

Thank you so much for your interest in TCM. I deeply believe constituents of TCM such as: Qigong (The practise of Qi and energy with exercise or meditation), proper living lifestyle in tune with nature, proper diet in line with humanity, emotional peace and herbal remedy can help to achieve a peaceful world.

Thank you,

John Lew

Photoes:
1) The relationship of Yin Yang fish and eight 卦 (Gua, trigrams, as it's called in the western worlds). The eight Gua consists of different combinations of yin and yang as it changes from one to another.
2) 周易, Zhou Yi, more known as "I Ching" in the west.
3) The characters of 日(Ri, sun) and 月(Yue, moon), and how they were formed from symbolic looks of the actual bodies.
4) 皇帝内经, Huang Di Nei Jing, "The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine". This book is the bible of TCM. There are a few different translations in English name.
5) The character 气(Simplified version) and 氣(Original and complicated version). Three waves of air energy on top of and generated by 米(Mi, grain-based rice). It basically means the energy of the body is derived from diet of grain-based rices or cereals.
6) First sermon of Gautama Buddha at the Deer Park.

Open source Openmoko phone

July 4th, 2008 came a phone so unique it may revolutionize the mobile phone industry. Openmoko Neo FreeRunner is a completely open source mobile phone, including the mobile Linux platform and application software, and as such is sold "unlocked" and can be used with any GSM network.

There are currently three voices in the world of open platform for handphones. The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner is ahead of the other two (the LiMo Foundation and the Open Handset Alliance) in terms of rolling out handsets in the actual world market.

About the phone:
Operating the device seems not difficult because it has built-in core software that’s meant for recording contacts, dialing, and SMS. Neo FreeRunner is going to be available in two versions – 900MHz and 850MHz models.

Aside from that, it has 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND flash memory. Making it more competitive is the 2.8-inch VGA touch screen having 480 x 640 resolution. Yes, anything you want done can be achieved with a touch of finger. Connectivity available is 802.11 b/g, AGPS, and GPRS 2.5G. Bluetooth is also provided.

Open source everything:
Openmoko hopes that by using open source software other developers can also make something unique out of the Neo FreeRunner handset.

Open source hardware:
Openmoko has made available downloadable Pro-Engineer format CAD files under a Creative Commons license for the developer community. It’ll be interesting to see how the developer community adapts the insides of FreeRunner to various form factors and application areas.

Open source software:
The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner comes equipped with a GNU/Linux OS base, and a core system for dialing, SMS and recording contacts. It currently does not include a camera, but it wouldn't surprise us if it is somehow modified into one. In about a month, a brand new software suite will be released that will provide location-based applications.

The FreeRunner can be a good training ground for the Linux community to adapt their codes/programs from desktop to this phone. So if you want to move beyond the narrow confines of the Windows Mobile operating system, or Nokia's Symbian OS doesn't float your boat, you might want to try this one out.

Discussion of specifications:
The FreeRunner will come in two versions at first: 850MHz or 900MHz Tri-band GSM. It packs in 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND of flash memory, and includes a 2.8-inch VGA touch screen (at 480 x 640), Wi-Fi at 802.1 1b/g, AGPS, and GPRS 2.5G. And it of course has Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, plus a couple of 3-axis motion sensors.

Upgrading and customization of the phone:
Users would have to become familiar with an apt-based (i.e. Debian, a Linux OS) Linux distribution. Programs and customization can be chosen over a device manager that links to a few sites, either OpenMoKo-related or certified sites. This in turn will definitely boost the sales of network operators’ bandwidth.

Endless possibilities:
The phone comes as a basic one. Much of the additional functionality is still in the developer stage and Linux skills are required to get many of them to work. At present new versions of the firmware are posted almost every day on the Openmoko web site. This is to say initial users are most likely to be open source / Linux geeks. Openmoko will eventually release a consumer version with fully functional, stable software.

One of the interesting things about this phone, according to Shiroh, an executive of the company, is “what people will do with this phone. What will people write in the open source community that I can't even imagine? It's the things that are completely unexpected that I'm really looking forward to."

So, what do you think are the exciting things we can do with the phone?
1) Walkie-talkie with GPS tracking?
2) Guitar tuner?
3) GPS assistant?
4) Add a camera (this is possible with hardware openness) and have conference call via GSM or WIFI?
5) Add an infra-red (again, possible) and have gyro-sensed remote control?
6) Digital drum machine? It’s all touchpad anyway. Let's throw in MIDI interface too.
7) Act as interface control of WII?
8) Many more unthinkable ideas?... :@)

Openmoko’s Neo FreeRunner phone can be availed at a retail price of USD399.

More info at:
OpenMoKo: www.openmoko.com; www.openmoko.org.
LiMo Foundation: www.limofoundation.org
Open Handset Alliance (Google Android): www.openhandsetalliance.com

Note:
1. Click on the pictures for original resolution of 480x640 VGA size.
2. Pictures are from www.openmobilefree.net (Chinese language) and www.openmoko.com.