Aphorism

By The Supreme Master Ching Hai

*What is meant by “enduring insults”? It means to be able to see clearly, in whatever situation, that it is our own karma, and not other’s fault.

*Whether a person is good or bad should only be judged by his purpose and intention, and not his actions.

*Do not find excuses to spoil your physical body. The more we indulge ourselves, the more we develop a kind of individual self sentiment. The more we develop this sentiment, the easier it is for us to sink into the cycle of birth and death.

*Justice is good, but love is the best.

*To help others is to help ourselves. We should try to purify our mind at all times, give our love and kindness unconditionally, and not expect anything in return. This is the best way.

*We should, at all times, rely on ourselves, be truly frank, and practice, for the sake of being liberated from this “sea of misery”, for the sake of enriching our knowledge of the universe.

*Possession is not important, contentedness is. Be contented in any situation, and problems will be kept away.

*We create worries ourselves, that’s why we are miserable every day. We turn lessons into punishments, that’s why we are so unhappy. Master will show you a simple way to liberated from the sea of misery — treat miseries as lessons, just like studying at school.

*He who truly respects himself will also respect others. He knows his own worthiness, just as he does others. This kind of person is fine, very confident, and never complacent.

Mengapa Tidak Boleh Makan Daging?

Mungkin artikel ini akan membuat kita merenung sebentar untuk mempertanyakan kebenaran yang ada di dalamnya. Selama ini kita selalu mendengar di media massa baik televisi, radio, koran, internet dsb tentang manfaat daging. Entah untuk kesehatan, kecerdasan atau hal-hal lainnya. Selain menyebabkan penyakit, daging yang dihasilkan industri peternakan juga berkontribusi besar dalam kerusakan lingkungan akibat produksi limbah  gas metana (gas rumah kaca) terbesar, kemiskinan, kelaparan, konsumsi pangan dunia berlebih, pemborosan energi,  serta penyia-nyian air bersih yang besar.

Mari kita kupas perlahan-lahan hanya dari satu aspek saja yaitu kesehatan.

N-glycolyneuraminic acid atau lebih dikenal dengan Neu5Gc suatu molekul gula non-human sialic acid. Mulanya molekul ini ditemukan secara tidak sengaja  oleh  profesor Arjit Varki, seorang peneliti dari University of California, San Diego School of Medicine pada tahun 1984. Terdapat 2 tipe mayor N-glycolyneuraminic acid pada mamalia yaitu Neu5Gc dan Neu5Ac yang hanya dibedakan dari satu atom oksigennya saja. Neu5Gc umumnya dapat diproduksi oleh binatang simpanze, gorilla, orangutan dan bonobos sedangkan manusia tidak dapat memproduksinya. Tubuh manusia memiliki Neu5Ac yang merupakan bahan pembentuk atau precursor Neu5Gc namun kita tidak punya enzim untuk merubah Neu5Ac menjadi Neu5Gc.

Kenapa Neu5Gc begitu berbahaya? Neu5Gc hanya terdapat pada jaringan hewan (daging) dan pada manusia hanya Neu5Ac. Neu5Gc merupakan suatu molekul yang terdapat pada jaringan hewan dan jika dikonsumsi dapat menimbulkan/memicu pembentukan antibodi dimana tubuh menganggap molekul ini sebagai benda asing yang harus dienyahkan atau diamankan. Antibodi yang terbentuk akan merangsang suatu reaksi imflamasi kronis serta menimbulkan kanker dan penyakit jantung. Dan sebagai kelanjutannya tentu saja akan meningkatkan angka kematian. Berikut ini adalah daftar bahan makanan hewani yang mengandung Neu5Gc berikut kadarnya dalam mikrogram.

Cod 27
Salmon 810
Tuna 27
Chicken 27
Turkey 27
Duck 27
Milk (cow, 2%) 711
Milk (cow, raw) 711
Butter 45
Cheese (cow) 600
Lamb 4,860
Pork 5,130
Cheese (goat) 5,544
Beef 11,610
Beef, lean portion 9,720
Beef fat 10,260

Sebenarnya masih banyak lagi bahaya konsumsi daging (dan teman-temannya) bagi kesehatan kita. Jadi setelah mengetahui hal ini masih layakkah untuk mengkonsumsi daging dan produk-produknya seperti susu? Cukup berhargakah makan daging dan minum susu (produk hewani) untuk ditukar dengan kesehatan kita? Mari berpikirlah lebih positif, mulia dan penuh kasih.

Be Veg, Go Green 2 save the Planet

Sumber:

1) http://suprememastertv.com/?langdir=1

2) http://www.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=3306

3) http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/9436/Call_for_climate_change_links_debate.html

4) Ghaderi et al. Implications of the presence of N-glycolylneuraminic acid in recombinant therapeutic glycoproteins. Nature Biotechnology, 2010; DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1651

5) Tangvoranuntakul, P. Human uptake and incorporation of an immunogenic nonhuman dietary sialic acid. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(21), 12045-12050. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2131556100

6) Padler-Karavani V et al. Diversity in specificity, abundance, and composition of anti-Neu5Gc antibodies in normal humans: Potential implications for disease. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2586336/?tool=pmcentrez

The Stories Master Tells: Dreams Of Wealth And Status

Spoken by the Supreme Master Ching Hai
at the Tien Shan Center, Hong Kong, on April 3-4, 1994. (Originally in Chinese)

Once there was this person who was in hell and was just about to be reincarnated. Even the King of Hell could not stand him any more (Master laughed.). If he was allowed to stay on, the King of Hell would surely go crazy, so he was looking for ways to quickly send him away.

This person was very bad, very naughty. Even though he was now free to go, he did not want to. He just wanted to, shamelessly, hang around in hell, for the King of Hell now allowed him to do anything. If he was not allowed to do what he wanted, he would throw a tantrum, make trouble and turn hell upside down. He would put all the equipment for punishing people out of service, and would not repair them, so that when they wanted to punish someone, they had no equipment…, and so on. He would wait until the devil policemen were asleep, and stick chicken feathers up their noses, so that they could not sleep even though they were dead tired. And when there was work to be done, the King of Hell could find no one, all the devils were fast asleep…, etc. Although he kept making trouble there, the King of Hell dared not let him go because his time was not up, and the King was fearful that the “Jade Emperor” might scold him.

Oh, how annoyed The King of Hell was! He had no choice but to look for excuses to send him back to the world. He sent for this man and tried to talk him into it, “Why, we’ve just had a meeting, all the officials, ‘large and small’, from the Grand Imperial Court of the King of Hell. We have decided that you have been a wonderful citizen here. (The crowd laughed.) You are very clever, sharp, and ‘Huo Po’ (‘Full of life’ in Chinese).” (Master laughed.) Everything was already “Po” (“broken”, another Chinese word), so they said “Huo Po”. “We feel that you are worthy of the grace from Heaven and Earth, and you may return to the human world sooner.” Normally, anyone would have been happy to hear this, but not that person! (The crowd laughed.) Instead he said: “What is the big deal about going back to the human world?! It is just the same here. I can play around here too! (The crowd laughed.) Moreover, there are so many interesting tools here. There aren’t any tools like these for punishing people in the human world. Where can I play then?”

The King of Hell was getting scared. He was afraid that the person would keep clinging on and did not want to leave. He said, “When you get there you will begin a human’s way of life. It’s dark here, so it is not as much fun. As for the tools, I can send some up to you later. (The crowd laughed.) Don’t you worry, later on I will tell the ghost genius here to invent more interesting ones, and deliver them to you free of charge. Just relax and go in peace. If you need anything give me a ring, and I will help you.” (The crowd laughed.) The King gave the man his fax and phone numbers, and all the secret codes, but he still did not want to go. So the ghosts, devils, small officials and large officials, all knelt down and begged (the crowd laughed), “You are so noble, and of such uncommon brilliance. If we don’t see to it that you get back to the world, the ‘Jade Emperor’ would surely hold us responsible for burying such brilliant talent! (The crowd laughed.) Please spare us; for the sake of our existence, please go!”

He was still standing there thinking, taking his time considering! (The crowd laughed.) His beard was so long, because he had been in Hell for a very long time. His beard had grown very long. In Hell there aren’t any knives suitable for shaving, only those used for chopping people, so he had grown a very long beard. He was standing there stroking his beard and thinking. As he was deciding, the King of Hell, ranking officials, the civil and military officials, “black” officials, and ghosts were all nervously waiting. They were afraid that he might stay put for another thousand years. He had done this before. One little stay and it was a full three thousand years. (The crowd laughed.) It did not look like he was ready to leave. Heaven knows what it might be like should he decide to stay. The King of Hell or the ghosts would have to suffer for a long long time.

Now they looked very nervous. They kept reciting the Five Names and prayed for the Inner Master’s help. Perhaps there would be answers if they kept praying. They all say that the Supreme Master Ching Hai is very responsive. All one needs to do is to recite the Five Names and ask for Her help. Even in Hell they have heard about the name of the Supreme Master Ching Hai! (Master laughed.) They all knelt down and recited, “Namo Supreme Master Ching Hai, please send this person away quickly, or we will have to suffer here in Hell. (The crowd laughed.) We, the citizens of Hell, would not be able to endure it anymore.”

Sure enough, their prayers were answered. The person suddenly said, “Alright! Alright! Seeing that you are so intense in your prayer, I will be merciful, and set you free. I will go in a minute!” Yes! Everyone was delighted. But then he said, “It’s true that I am going. It’s alright, but not without a few conditions. I can’t just go in vain like this.” The King of Hell said, “Tell us quickly! Whatever conditions they might be, we will all agree!” So the prisoner said, “I’d like, when I go up there, to be reincarnated into the most wealthy family, and I should be the only son of that family, and the highest ranking minister in the Imperial Court.” He almost wanted to be the King. (The crowd laughed.) I was also very surprised that he did not want to be the King. Perhaps it requires a lot of good deeds and merits to be the king; something that is destined. But a man’s destiny can be changed so that he becomes a little prime minister. It is more difficult to become a king. Perhaps it is like that. He did not ask for much. He was quite modest actually! (The crowd laughed.) It’s beneficial to stay in Hell for a little while; you develop a humble spirit.

In addition, he said that, later on, his son would have to be the most successful candidate in the imperial examination. My God! He wanted everything! Then he continued, “I also want ten thousand acres of land, a large lake which is full of fish and prawns, and my land should be full of fruit trees, with a lot of exotic flowers and plants, etc. I will have a most beautiful wife, and about one thousand beautiful maids. They should all follow my wishes. Whatever I want, they will do it. No matter how crazy I am, how illogical I might be, they will all do as I say. And they should absolutely, wholeheartedly be in love with me, and will swear that they love absolutely only me. Also, my storeroom will be filled with pearls, agates, gold, diamonds, etc. All the other warehouses will be filled with rice, all sorts of grains, and all sorts of food, and nothing will be in short supply. I will hold the utmost power, and no one will be able resist me. I will enjoy life like that for one hundred years (the crowd laughed), no sickness, no misery (the crowd laughed), and when I die I will die a beautiful death.” He knew that we could live only for one hundred years in this world, otherwise he would have asked for an eternity.

Then the King of Hell heaved a sigh, and said regrettably, “Look, Mister, if there were so many wonderful things in the world, I would have long been reincarnated up there!” (Master and the crowd laughed and clapped hands.) “I would take your place and be reincarnated up there.” (The crowd laughed.)

We all feel that he has gone over the top. However, most people are like this. People all like it that way; it is just that they can’t have it that way! Most of us are like that, aren’t we? Deep inside, in our dreams, in our heart, we would all like it like that. We all wish to have no worries or sorrow, no sickness or old age, with virtuous conduct and high prestige. We would love to have a lot of money and big mansions. We would all like to be healthy, and have our children become useful and famous individuals. We would like ourselves to be happy forever, with many wives, or husbands, wouldn’t we?

When we read the story, we all laugh at him, but in fact, most of us are like him, aren’t we? Especially those who do not practice spiritually.

But then spiritual practitioners want it the most! Since we are unable to achieve it here, we want to go to heaven to get it. That’s why we are practicing, aren’t we? We practice so that we may go to the relatively happy and everlasting place, where we will have whatever we desire. Do you understand? However, when we reach that level of existence, we will not want anything any more, because everything is so abundant there.

For example, now that you come here, every day you meditate when you want to, eat when it is time to eat, and go to sleep when it is time to sleep. What else is there that you want? Is that not so? At home sometimes you don’t have time to eat, then you worry. Then you want to find time to eat, or find time to meditate. When you come here for three days, or seven days, you feel so contended. You lack nothing, and you do not think that you want this or that, do you? (The crowd reply: No.) It’s because we don’t have them here in this world that we want them. Once we are in heaven, we don’t want them any more. That’s why we call that place nirvana. Nirvana means without any desire; No wish, No passion, No want, or the place where you desire nothing. Why desire nothing? Because we already have everything. Do you understand?

Saudaraku Terkasih, Tolong Aku!

Ini adalah sebuah tulisan dari seorang sahabat yang begitu prihatin tentang keadaan sebuah planet, yaitu planet bumi kita dan harapan-harapannya dimasa mendatang. Saya meminta ijinnya untuk posting artikel (dan sedikit di edit font huruf serta susunan katanya) ini. Penyelamatan bumi merupakan sesuatu yang sangat serius dan segera harus di tindaklanjuti. Semoga saudara/i ku semuanya dapat ikut membaca dan syukur-syukur turut serta membantu menyelamatkan diri sendiri dan orang-orang disekitar yang dicintai. Selamat membaca.

 

Saudaraku terkasih,

Perubahan iklim bukanlah sebuah kejadian abstrak. Hal itu sekarang sedang terjadi, di tempat ini, di tempat kita berpijak dan tidak hanya berpengaruh kepada negara tetangga atau daerah yang yang jauh dari kita, tetapi juga mengenai kita saat ini.

 

Sepanjang sejarah kita hidup dan mungkin juga moyang kita, belum pernah kita mengalami musim hujan yang hampir sepanjang tahun, belum pernah terdapat berita bencana yang beralih dari satu negara ke negara lain demikian cepat silih berganti. Mungkin sekarang kita masih terhindar dari bencana, atau baru saja terlepas dari bencana, tetapi beberapa saat lagi, besok, kelak, dalam beberapa hari lagi ….

 

Dalam lima belas juta sejarah kehidupan terakhir juga belum pernah ada penyebaran penyakit mematikan yang begitu banyak, seperti aids, flu burung, sapi gila dan flu babi. Bahkan saat ini, malaria kembali merebak dan cikungungunya menyakitkan tulang dan persendian banyak orang. Harga pangan terus melambung akibat gagal panen, kelaparan mencapai 1 milyar 20 juta orang. Kelangkaan air bersih juga memaksa kita harus beli air minum untuk memenuhi kebutuhan air yang bersih dan sehat.

 

Para peneliti di Amerika Serikat menyimpulkan bahwa dengan melakukan pola makan vegan (tanpa produk hewani sama sekali) akan jauh lebih efektif dalam menangkal perubahan iklim ketimbang mengendari mobil hibrid.

 

Peternakan tidak menghasilkan makanan, dan dalam kenyataannya justru menghasilkan kelaparan, peperangan, kematian, perusakan, dan bahkan juga menghancurkan seluruh planet ini, termasuk seluruh kehidupan yang berada di atasnya.

Peternakan dan perikanan membinasakan kita dan planet ini. Mereka membunuh manusia dengan menyebarkan penyakit dan cacat tubuh. Mereka menghancurkan planet dengan menyebarkan gas metana, dinitrogen oksida, “black carbon”, “ground level ozone” dalam jumlah yang sangat besar, yang masing-masing mempuyai kapasitas menyerap panas ratusan hingga ribuan kali lipat dibanding CO2.

 

Sekarang, kita sedang dalam keadaan sangat mendesak untuk melakukan tindakan penyelamatan. Kita harus bertindak yang lebih ramah lingkungan (berkelanjutan). Kita harus menghentikan terjadinya penjagalan masal atas puluhan milyar hewan tiap tahun, karena hal ini tidak hanya akan menyelamatkan kita dari ancaman bencana akibat perubahan iklim, tetapi juga akan menyiratkan cikal bakal kebaikan manusiawi kita sendiri di hati kita.

 

Kita mengaku sebagai anak Tuhan. Oleh karena itu, marilah kita bertindak seperti Tuhan: penuh maaf, welas asih, memberikan perlindungan, mengasihi dan baik hati.

Be veg, Go Green,

Do good deeds and be loving.

That’s the loving way to live, that’s the noble way to live.

 

 

Selamat Tahun Baru 2011

Lakukan suatu pembaruan pada hidup kita,

Selamatkan para hewan tak berdosa dari mulut kita,

Perbaiki kualitas hidup kita,

Selamatkan Bumi ini….

Dan berdoa kepada Tuhan

Semoga kita masih punya kesempatan memperbaiki….

Mohon ampun atas kekejaman yang sudah kita lakukan selama ini…

Atas tindakan kita yang menghancurkan planet selama ini,

Atas tindakan kita yang tak secara tak sengaja juga menghancurkan berbagai kehidupan di dunia, termasuk segala jenis hewan, dan orang-orang terdekat, orang-orang yang sangat kita kasihi…

Pada tahun baru 2011 ini, mari kita berikrar:

- untuk berhenti mengkonsumsi, menggunakan dan memproduksi produk hewani

- mengajak semua orang di sekiling kita untuk menyelamatkan Bumi

dengan bertindak vegan (tanpa produk hewani) dan ramah lingkungan (Go Green)

 

Sekali lagi,

Selamat Tahun Baru 2011,

Selamat untuk kita semua, untuk semua hewan, dan

Juga untuk Bumi kita.

 

Dengan rengkuhan Kasih Tuhan,

Saudaramu

 

 

Bencana Mengancam Kehidupan Kita

Belakangan ini sering sekali kita mendengarkan berita di media massa tentang kejadian bencana alam di tanah air. Jika dirata-rata mungkin seminggu sekali ada laporan bencana alam. Namun kita tidak sendirian. Kejadian juga hampir merata di seluruh dunia. Bencana alam yang paling sering terdengar beritanya adalah banjir dan gempa. Tahukah anda penyebab utama berbagai bencana alam yang ada di dunia? Dan apa solusinya?

Bencana Alam

Menurut Wikipedia bencana alam (natural disaster) adalah akibat kejadian alam yang dapat mempengaruhi lingkungan dan menimbulkan kerusakan/kehilangan terhadap lingkungan, kerugian finansial dan kematian pada manusia. Bencana alam tersebut dapat berupa gempa bumi, angin putting beliung, banjir, tsunami, tanah longsor, letusan gunung berapi dan sebagainya.

Terdapat beberapa teori penyebab bencana alam antara lain erosi tanah, aktivitas seismik, perubahan tekanan udara, dan arus laut. Jika merunut kebelakang lagi maka satu-satunya penyebab utama bencana alam adalah perubahan iklim.

Perubahan Iklim

Unit Kerja PBB dalam perubahan iklim (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change/UNFCCC) mendefinisikan perubahan iklim sebagai perubahan iklim yang disebabkan secara langsung atau tidak langsung dengan aktivitas manusia yang mengubah komposisi atmosfer global dan yang merupakan tambahan terhadap variabilitas iklim alami yang diamati selama periode waktu yang dapat dibandingkan.

UNFCCC melaporkan para ilmuwan telah mengamati perubahan iklim yang disebabkan setidaknya 420 proses fisik dan biologis spesies atau komunitas. Perubahan iklim menyebabkan peningkatan terjadinya kekeringan luar biasa, gelombang panas, badai tropis, melelehnya salju di banyak belahan bumi yang berusia ratusan/ribuan tahun, perubahan ekosistem yang merangsang munculnya berbagai macam penyakit lama dan baru baru serta bencana buruk lainnya dapat terjadi dengan segera. Jadi sudah terbukti bahwa suhu bumi meningkat dalam 100 tahun terakhir setidaknya 0,6⁰C jika dibandingkan dengan tahun 1900  (rerata suhu planet bumi 30⁰C). Peningkatan suhu ini diakibatkan oleh karena efek dari gas-gas rumah kaca seperti CO2, metana dan gas-gas lainya.

Peternakan

Industri peternakan adalah penghasil metana nomor satu, yang merupakan gas rumah kaca yang paling kuat. PBB melaporkan bahwa produksi daging memancarkan 37 persen gas metana di dunia. Laporan dari Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) pada tahun melaporkan sektor peternakan menyumbang gas rumah kaca sebesar 18%, sedangkan gabungan gas buang seluruh trasportasi di dunia menyumbang gas rumah kaca sebesar 13%. Sehingga kini kita bisa melihat betapa tidak efektifnya langkah kita dalam menghentikan pemanasan global dengan penekanan pada sektor transportasi. Laporan terbaru oleh Majalah WorldWacth tahun 2009 memberikan hasil lebih ekstrim lagi. Laporan tersebut menyampaikan bahwa peternakan menyumbang gas rumah kaca lebih dari 51%. Peternakan tidak saja menghasilkan gas tersebut namun juga menghabiskan persediaan air bersih yang besar, polusi air, kerusakan pada tanah, eutropikasi, kerusakan terumbu karang dan masih banyak lagi.

Peternakan yang dimaksud bukan hanya peternakan hewan besar seperti sapi, domba, tapi juga unggas, ikan, termasuk juga peternak penghasil susu sapi/kambing dan sebagainya.

Solusi

Salah satu solusi utama terhadap permasalahan yang kita hadapi adalah dengan menghentikan peternakan tersebut. Penghentian peternakan dan diet vegetarian secara nyata dapat mengurangi dampak kerusakan lingkungan yang terjadi saat ini. Penghentian peternakan diikuti dengan pengembangan pertanian organik. Bahkan laporan dari Postdam Institute menunjukkan bahwa mengurangi konsumsi daging dan susu dapat menghentikan pemanasan global hingga 84 persen. Tentu saja ini berita yang sangat menggembirakan. Setidaknya kita sudah tahu solusi utama bagi masalah yang sedang bumi dan penghuninya.

Menurut Maha Guru Ching Hai, seorang praktisi rohani dan juga pemerhati lingkungan hidup, dalam siarannya melalui http://suprememastertv.com/?langdir=1 mengatakan “Diet vegetarian dapat menyelamatkan dunia melalui konsekuensi menaikkan energi karma yang baik dan murah hati dari gaya hidup yang baik penuh kasih sayang. Dan juga akan mengurangi atau menghilangkan perang sama sekali. Solusi terbaik untuk situasi yang mendesak kita sekarang adalah diet vegetarian, dan harus secara terbuka didukung dan bahkan dibuat menjadi hukum jika mungkin, untuk melindungi manusia, binatang dan planet kita, satu-satunya yang kita miliki.”

Menurut Prof Aris Ananta, http://mletiko.com/, salah satu pakar ekonomi sekaligus seorang peneliti senior di the Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS) , seyogyanya pemerintah saat ini lebih mengedepankan prinsip ekonomi hijau. Prinsip ekonomi yang mengedepankan perekonomian yang ramah lingkungan dengan memperhatikan keuntungan jangka panjang.

Bali dapat menjadi contoh awal (pilot project) untuk menjadikan Bali sebagai daerah wisata hijau. Bali saat ini dengan gubernurnya (bapak Mangku Pastika) mencanangkan telah melangkah sangat berani dengan program Bali Green Province. Bali dapat menjadi penggerak sektor ekonomi hijau. Bali yang terkenal dengan pariwisatanya dapat bertransformasi menjadi Bali dengan pariwisata yang menawarkan paket wisata lingkungan hidup, wisata kuliner dunia vegetarian ataupun paket wisata lainnya. Semua ini baru dapat dilakukan jika semua pengambil kebijakan, pelaku bisnis dan rakyat dapat bekerjasama. Gerakan ini layak didukung tidak saja oleh masyarakat Bali tapi juga masyarakat Indonesia demi penyelamatan PLANET BUMI YANG INDAH INI.

Jadi mengapa tidak mulai dengan Be veg, Go Green, 2 Save the Planet.

Arie “Visudananda” Purwana (dokter anak, pemerhati lingkungan hidup, praktisi kemanusiaan)

The Stories Master Tells: Tea Break

Spoken by the Supreme Master Ching Hai
at the Tien Shan Center, Hong Kong, on April 3-4, 1994. (Originally in Chinese)

The time table in hell is just like office hours; there is punishment time, resting time, etc. Once there was a man who had fallen to hell. The devils came to show him around hell, allowing him an opportunity to “shop around” to see which type of torture he’d prefer. He was given freedom of choice. So the man went about looking everywhere. But all he saw were people being sawn, burned, fried, axed, having their noses or ears cut off, etc. Everything was so horrific, and none of it could he stand.

Then they came by this place where he saw a bridge. The water under the bridge had a terrible smell, like sewage. All the prisoners just stood there immersed in the water. The water was only up to their chests and everyone was having a cup of tea! The prisoner said to himself, “Oh! This is not bad!” (The crowd laughed.) “Not bad! It doesn’t matter. You just stand for a while and then you may have tea, biscuits, and blessed items. So he said, “OK! I’ll stay here to endure this torture then!” (The crowd laughed.)

So he got down and stood in the water. A little while later, when he was just about to have a cup of tea, the devil said, “Resting time is over; everyone turns upside down!!”

The Stories Master Tells: The Government Was More Frightening Than The Tigers

Spoken by the Supreme Master Ching Hai
at the Tien Shan Center, Hong Kong, on April 3-4, 1994. (Originally in Chinese)

This happened at the time of Confucious. One day, Confucious was passing through a place and saw an old woman sitting by five graves, crying very hard. Confucious ask, “What happened? What is the matter with you? Why are you crying so hard? Who is that in the five graves?” The old woman cried even louder and said, “All five members of my family were killed by tigers. I have just buried them; that is why I am crying here! Now I am all by myself and I am very lonely.” Then Confucious said: “Why don’t you move to the city and live with other people? Isn’t that safer? Didn’t you say that the tigers here are very vicious?” She said, “Yes, yes, yes, yes! Very, very vicious! People are killed very often! Just yesterday, they killed all the turtles!” Then Confucious said: “How strange! Since the tigers here are so vicious and dangerous, why don’t you move down there in the city and live with everyone else. Isn’t that much safer?” The old woman shook her head, waved her hand and said: “No, no….., thank you!” Confucious said: “Why not?” She said: “Because down there has a government; it’s even worse!” (Master and everyone laughed)

If someone asks me why do I live up in the mountains, where are mosquitoes, the caves are murky and dark, the houses are so small, the tent is leaking and so on…, I will say: “Down there I have disciples; it’s even worse!” (Master and everyone laughed.)

The Stories Master Tells: The Shortsighted Teacher

Spoken by the Supreme Master Ching Hai
at the Tien Shan Center, Hong Kong, on April 3-4, 1994. (Originally in Chinese)

This story is called “The Shortsighted Teacher”. Do you know what having shortsightedness is? It’s that kind of person who, like me, has big eyes, but cannot see properly (Master and the crowd laughed). We use our wisdom eyes. Once there was a teacher or a professor. One day he was taking this history class. As soon as he stepped in everyone stood up to salute him, to show their respect, and to greet him. After the salutation, everyone sat down. Everyone was sitting quietly, except for one person, who kept going about his own business at the window. A while later, when the teacher or professor could no longer stand it, he asked, “Hey! Do you know when Mao Tse Tung died?” (Master laughed.) Just an example! For example! OK, leave it alone. Let’s not talk about Mao Tse Tung. Let’s talk about — Mao Tse Hsi! (Master and the crowd laughed.) If we talked about Mao Tse Tung, people would think that I talked about politics, and would, again, bring me trouble.

The teacher asked the person by the window, who was neither standing up nor sitting down, but was stirring things about, and was disturbing the class very much, “Do you know when Mao Tse Hsi died?” He asked a question about history. The man replied, “I don’t know.” The teacher said, “Why! Such a little thing and you don’t know? I’ll ask you another question, ‘When did the Japanese withdraw from China?’” The man said, “I don’t know that either! How would I know such things!” The teacher said, “Are you kidding? What did you do yesterday? Why didn’t you do your homework?”

Then that person who was messing about by the window said, “Why! Last night I was at the movies. After the movie, I went home and had a few drinks with my brother next door! Then I went home and slept with my girlfriend!” And then this professor, wow, he became very, very angry. He was so furious that he could have died. He pounded on his desk, making a loud bang, and then he said, “Shame on you! What kind of student are you? What are you doing here then?” (The crowd laughed.) The man replied, “I came to repair this window! I am the carpenter!” (The crowd laughed.)

The Stories Master Tells: The Story Of A New Recruit

Spoken by the Supreme Master Ching Hai
at the Tien Shan Center, Hong Kong, on April 3-4, 1994. (Originally in Chinese)

Oh! These are all stories for the children. There was a new marine, you know, like a soldier. He went to report to the Navy headquarters and enlisted himself to be in the Navy. After they examined him the Commander said, “Your qualifications are good enough, but can you swim?” The new marine was horrified and asked the Commander, “How come? Don’t you have ships?” (Master and everyone laughed.)

RSUD Pulang Pisau

Tidak terasa hampir 2 minggu saya bertugas di kabupaten Pulang Pisau. Memang masih baru. Kabupaten ini terletak dalam wilayah provinsi Kalimantan Tengah, 1,5 jam dari kota Palangka Raya dan 2 jam dari Banjarmasin, dengan luas wilayah hampir 9000 m persegi dan jumlah penduduk hampir 120 ribu jiwa. Anda tidak akan menemukan nama kota ini dalam google map atau google earth. Kota ini dilalui jalur trans kalimantan dan menjadi tempat persinggahan bagi mereka yang sedang dalam perjalanan lewat darat dari Banjarmasin menuju Palangka Raya atau sebaliknya. Memang tidak banyak yang bisa ditawarkan oleh kota ini selain ketenangan sebuah kota kecil, namun kekuatannya terletak disana.

Kabupaten ini baru saja berdiri (tahun 2002) dan saat ini sedang membangun segala infrastrukturnya termasuk rumah sakit. Rumah sakit yang baru ini sudah melayani pasien dari berbagai kecamatan yang ada disekitarnya. Meskipun berbagai sarana masih terbatas namun komitmen pimpinan dan  dokter serta paramedis sangat menunjang. Saat ini RS sedang menambah  berbagai macam fasilitas penunjang agar RS dapat lebih maju lagi. Ada 6 dokter umum yang bertugas disana yang sebagian besar berusia muda, usia antara 26-33 tahun. Saya menyebut mereka “the young guns”. Mereka sangat termotivasi untuk bekerja keras, semangat mengikuti pelatihan yang ditawarkan dan berani mengambil risiko. Ada beberapa hal menarik yang ditawarkan oleh RSUD ini bagi penderita dan keluarganya, apalagi kepada saya sebagai dokter spesialis anak.

Pertama, antar jemput penderita kemana saja selama masih di wilayah kabupaten Pulang Pisau serta bisa dilalui oleh kendaraan alias ambulans RSUD. Jadi penderita bisa menghubungi RS jika ingin periksa dan RS akan mengirimkan ambulans nya untuk menjemput, begitu juga untuk kepulangannya, penderita dapat memanfaatkan fasilitas ini.

Kedua, bagi peserta jamkesmas maka penunggu pasien sebanyak 2 orang akan ditanggung makan sehari tiga kali oleh RS. Tentu saja sangat menarik, saat sebagian RS memberlakukanpenghematan pada aspek konsumsi, RSUD berani membuat terobosan. Meskipun jumlah pasien yang dirawat masih sedikit.

Ketiga, bagi dokter spesialis yang bersedia bertugas kontrak di RSUD Pulang Pisau diberikan insentif yang cukup tinggi (25 juta perbulan dan konon kabarnya tahun 2011 akan naik menjadi 30 juta perbulan), rumah dinas lengkap dengan isinya, akses internet 24 jam, kendaraan dinas beserta bahan bakarnya dan sebagainya, serta jasa medis sesuai perda tanpa ada potongan-potongan siluman disana-sini. Ini tentu saja sangat menarik karena jarang ada RS yang memberikan fasilitas seperti itu.

Letak geografis daerah ini juga cukup menarik, hampir ditengah-tengah Palangka Raya-Banjarmasin, dilalui sungai kahayan yang terkenal itu,  dan dilalui jalur trans kalimantan. Para dokter spesialis layak mempertimbangkan untuk bertugas di daerah ini apakah dalam bentuk kontrak jangka pendek (setiap 6 bulan diperbaharui) atau kontrak jangka menengah (langsung 2 tahun).