Wanchain's Space

Today, I genuinely and finally understand an important life lesson. A friend told me her story about her friendship with someone. I finally understood that if she extended her hand to him, yet he did not reach out to take it, it is not her problem.  That means, no need to beat herself up for it. There are many reasons why one person reaches out, but the other shrinks away. We may never know the reason, why is fine. It is not our problem. We don't need to know why. I am not 100% certain whether the door that I will be knocking on will open or not. I was afraid that I would be disappointed. Then I would be extremely upset. But I finally realize that it is a good thing if the door doesn't open. I will only attract those who love me. Those who don't will eventually fade away. If the door does not open, it means he doesn't love me. That will liberate me from standing stubbornly at that door. I can then shift my attention toward another door. The idea of ...

At a workshop on unconditional love, the co-host told us, at the beginning of his relationship, he said to his girlfriend, "I love you very much, and it's okay if I don't ever see you again." His relationship is based on love, not need. Need comes from the ego . Love comes from the heart . There is someone who makes me very happy when I see him. I love everything about him. I love his personality. I love his company. I love the beauty of his heart, which he wears on his sleeve. But I don't need him. And I don't miss him. In fact, I actually don't think of him when he is out of sight. Based on the wisdom from the co-host, what I am experiencing must be love. I recognize this energy. It is extremely uplifting and expansive. It makes my heart sing. We exchange energy in silence.  I love his energy! I am very thankful for his gentle and caring nature. That is what I love the most about him!  In fact, I want to classify him as my "da...

Last weekend I attended an afternoon workshop on unconditional love .  There are concepts that I already know, and some that are new to me.  The love that we speak of is very different from the love that most people know it to be. The hostess and co-host are in a romantic relationship.  The co-host is quite an evolved person.  At the beginning of their relationship, he said to her, " I love you very much, and I don't care if I don't ever see you again ." It left her pondering on this for a couple weeks.  He said it deliberately to get her to think about it. ~~~ I told them the reason I attended the workshop was to be enlightened.  The co-host said one thing to me.  I don't know why he would say that to me.  I didn't fully register it at the time, and didn't see a correlation between that and unconditional love. Today, I was a bit upset.  Then I went through my emotions the way I normally do, by thinking that only good things will ha...

Once upon a time, there lived a blind man who was a very experienced zen master.  He had cultivated a heighten sense of awareness.  He was able to discern whether the vibrations from a set of flapping wings came from a fly or a mosquito.  He was also able to discern the species of ants that were crawling on the ground, based on the vibrations caused by their footsteps. One day, he went to a temple to listen to a famous painting by a highly respected Buddhist monk.  The monk explained the painting to him in detail.  He listened intently and appreciatively, then said, "Although your painting is very beautiful, it oozes a very strong sense of pride and ego." This was a sharp criticism to the monk, as monks are supposed to cultivate non-ego and humility. Nonetheless, the monk maintained his grace and composure.  He thanked the blind man for his feedback. After the blind man left, a junior monk expressed his displeasure at the criticism. The painter mo...

In an average acupuncture treatment session, the practitioner may use 30 or more needles.  He tries to hit as many acupoints as possible, in hope that at least one of them will be the critical point. On the contrary, there's a less well-known style of acupuncture where the practitioner uses no more than four needles.  He only treats the critical acupoint.  Sometimes, one needle is enough.  This style, although much harder to learn, is the most effective. Underlying message:   Less is more .   精准高妙 

Purpose & Definition The Crusades were a series of expeditions carried out by the Christians in Europe, to reclaim the holy land controlled by the Muslims in Jerusalem . Reasons In Clermont of southern France, Pope Urban II told the Christians that the Ottoman Turks (Muslims) were advancing against the Christians, mistreating pilgrims, and desecrating holy sites in Jerusalem. Hence, Urban told all Christians in the West to eradicate the "evils", to prove their faith to God. Urban called it a "just war", "an act of love", etc. Benefits There were a few benefits to the crusaders for going to war, eg. sins forgiven, entry to heaven, waiver of interests on their debts, respect/honour for fighting for their God, etc. First Crusade Hence, the first crusade began on November 27, 1095. After it began, the church continued the propaganda, targeting innocent God-fearing believers, and recruited women, children, adolescents, etc. The crusaders i...

The practice of slavery dates back to the Bronze Age.  Slaves in Rome were slightly better off than the slaves in Greece, in the sense tat they could buy back their own freedom. In ancient Greece, a domestic slave was a ktema empsychon , meaning a piece of property that breathes. Because the Romans considered that 1) the master owned the slave, therefore 2) the slave had to indemnify his master for her loss after the slavery service was over. The liberation process, called manumission , is done in front of a public official.  The ex slave is called a libertus , meaning a freed man. Due to the hardship, poverty, and disease in the ancient world, being a slave might still be better off than being a free man. In ancient China, some girls were sold into the brothel, and could only buy back their freedom if they could afford it.  The girls were a revenue-generating asset to the brothel, hence to uninstall this piece of asset from service, the asset had to indemnify ...