Year: 2014

Myanmar (formerly Burma) was the latest stop on my journey to the different Buddhist countries in Asia. I had been to Thailand (Bangkok and Chiangmai), Cambodia (Angkor Wat), Laos (Vientiane and Luang Prabang). I had also been to China and Taiwan. A few times 10 years ago, I had stood on the bridge in Northern Thailand, at the border with Myanmar, and I was tempted to cross over to the unknown and forbidden land. Continue reading “Myanmar – A Photo Gallery” →

You go to see the Northern Lights in Iceland and during the nights of your visit, you see nothing except streaks of dark shadows in the sky. Hey, that’s why you went to the country, right? That’s what happened September of last year. The tour bus drove an hour outside of Reykjavik, parked and … nothing. Not even stars. After waiting a long while, the driver took us to another place, a farm about 30 minutes away. Continue reading “Iceland – A Photo Gallery” →

Bali holds a special celebration on the full moon. At the time I was there, it coincided with the cremation week and a procession to the Spring Temple where a ritual to the Goddess was held. A group of us, organized by my student Erin Owen of Philadelphia, trekked to one of the hundreds of temples to join the full moon celebration. Continue reading “Bali – A Photo Gallery” →

We thought we could not leave Manila because there was a typhoon in the horizon, but we took the plane to Tacloban City anyway. We were picked up at the airport and brought to Guiuan, Samar 3 hours east. Along the way, I noticed reconstruction work. It was different from the last time we did a mission in February 2014. The tent city along the way was gone. The coconuts had grown leaves and a few fruits, a sign of hope and recovery. Continue reading “Bringing Jade Mountain CNT Organs Massage to Homonhon Island” →

Greetings!

Here I am, waiting to drive to Philadelphia to attend a weekend seminar by the famous Lonnie Jarrett on treating trauma with Chinese medicine sponsored by the Association of Professional Acupuncture. Last week, I watched Taoist priest Jeffrey Yuen’s seminar on Geriatrics on live streaming. (I had studied Pediatrics with him in Columbia, MD last year. I will attend his seminar on Trauma Care at the New England School of Acupuncture early next year.)   It’s a good way to celebrate one’s 74th birthday (75th in Chinese reckoning). Continue reading “November 2014: Iceland, Bali, Myanmar and more…” →

Dear Friends,

First the bad news: Sorry that I lost my Canon G12 Powershot camera that contained most of my photos of Peru. I have given up hope that it will be returned. The best recollection I have is that I put it in a white plastic bag, tucked it inside the luggage that I put in storage in the hotel while waiting for my limousine service to the airport for my flight back to the US. In response to my inquiry, the hotel manager wrote that he has no information as to what happened to it. Hopefully, they will conduct an internal investigation and find the culprit who stole it. Continue reading “Upcoming Seminars in the Philippines” →

At 12500 feet above sea level, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. The tour started at a “floating island” of totora reeds — Islas Ios Uros. The guide, assisted by a man from the village, gave a lecture on the history and lifestyle of the people. It was all cut and dry talk, but sometimes humorous, a backgrounder on Lake Titicaca and the Aynmara and Quechua people who have lived there for hundreds of years. The women were called to sing a couple of songs in their ancient language. Then, the guide announced that they were going to sing a translation. They broke into “My bonnie lies over the ocean.” Later, as the tour group sailed down on one of the reed boats, the women sang, ” Row, row, row your boat.” Some of us in the group laughed. Next stop on the lake tour was Taquile Island. The boat anchored and we all shuffled up the steep incline to the top where we had our lunch of grilled trout and potato chips. I decided to jump in the water as a friend suggested. I left the group, walked down to the water, took off my clothes and plunged in. The water was frigid. A man took photos of me. I saw the photos later before my camera got lost or stolen. One photo showed me in the water with the sunlight shimmering around me. The next day, on a trip to Sillustani, my guide George
Washington said that swimming in the water of Lake Titicaca is a ritual of cleansing and healing. In Mount Banahaw, the holy mountain south of Manila in the Philippines, the pilgrim stands under the waterfall and bathes in the river at the bottom of the mountain in the act of purification before s/he goes up to the different stations to light a candle in each
spot. The symbolic descent and washing are part of the rituals all over the world.

The Dragon. The guide emphasized that this was Huayna Picchu, the mountain that is in the
popular imagination when there’s talk about Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is across from the temple
ruins and is not particularly attractive. A special permit (and fee) is required to climb Huayna Picchu.

The Tiger. To me, this was the mountain that represented the Tiger energy. If you followed its tail, you will see that it reaches down to the river below like the Dragon.