ΙΣΤΟΡΙΕΣ ΤΣΑΓΙΟΥ

पैंट ब्रुश अद्वेंतुरेस

2009-11-27T04:31:00.000-08:00

One of the things I did as a child was wish that I could create things from thin air like the magicians on television. It was a thrill to see rabbits and birds appear from behind a magician's magic hand with a wave of a wand. In the following story, Mike had a way to create things by drawing with his magic paintbrush.

Long time ago in a village tucked away in the mountains lived a little boy name Mike. His family were farmers. Farming was hard to do on a mountainside. There wasn't much success for his family, nor for the rest of the village. Being poor didn't bother Mike because he loved to paint. In the fields, Mike drew animal shapes in the dirt. By the river, Mike drew fish and plants on rocks with his wet finger. There was no stopping Mike's creativity for canvas and paint. When he was old enough, he went to the monastery to speak with the head monk. He knew the head monk was a famous painter and Mike wanted to learn from him. The old monk told Mike he was too young and that he should stay with his family to farm. Mike was devastated and walked home slowly, crying silently all the way.

That night, a white owl appeared at Mike's window. "Whooo," the owl cried as it flew into Mike's bedroom. In a flash, the owl changed into an old man. Mike hid behind his bed, trembling. The old man laughed and said, "I've been watching you, Mike. You're a very talented artist. I've brought a gift from the gods. It's a magic paintbrush. Use it, and it'll make many people happy." Then the old man turned back into the white owl, flying out the window and into the night.

Mike blinked his eyes, and blinked them again. The brush was on the table, waiting for the boy to pick it up. Mike picked up the brush and a tingle ran up his arm. He had to try out his gift. He unrolled a torn piece of cloth, mixed some ash with water to make ink, then drew a bird. Nothing happened for a moment but then Mike couldn't believe his eyes. The bird blinked, then ruffled its feathers. With a stretch of its wings, the bird came to life and flew off the paper. Mike fell to the ground! He tried again, but this time with a turtle. The turtle came to life with a hard shell and a head that popped in and out of that shell. All night, Mike drew little animals that came to life.

When morning arrived, Mike ran to the farm to greet his father. He had to show him his new paintbrush. Mike walked towards the broken cart. It hasn't been used in years because it was missing a wheel. Mike waved his magical paintbrush in the air and drew a wheel for the cart. POOF, a wheel appeared on the cart. Mike continued to draw things for his father to use on the farm. They were both very happy.

A week went by and news of Mike's paintbrush spread through the village. Neighbors visited Mike to have him draw new farming equipment. He was happy to help them all. One neighbor who heard about Mike was Mustache Sam, the mean rancher who lived at the end of the village. No one liked him. He abused his animals and stole from the village.

Mustache Sam had a plan. He told his henchmen to kidnap Mike and steal his paintbrush. Wednesday night, Mustache Sam's men grabbed Mike when he was walking home from the farm. Mike was thrown into an abandoned shed and two guys stood guard at the door while another ran for Mustache Sam.

When Mustache Sam arrived, he smelled something burning from inside the shed. He opened the door and found a cooked meal and a blanket, both of which were drawn by Mike for comfort. Mustache Sam discovered something else: a ladder perched against the back window of the shed. Mike had drawn a ladder to escape his capture. With all of his might, Mustache Sam yelled and knocked over the fire, burning the shed to the ground. Mike watched the chaos from behind a big rock and was not found. He ran home and hid for the next month.

During this month, stories of Mike's magical paintbrush travel all over China. People described animals coming to life and how one village poverty turned around with the aid of new farming equipment; all of this because of one little boy's big heart and his paintbrush. The news reached even to the ears of the Emperor.

The Emperor was a greedy man. He hoarded gold and gems from far away lands. He counted his money daily. He even had servants killed if they were eating too much food. The Emperor wanted Mike's magical paintbrush. He set out a million-dollar reward for the capture of Mike and his paintbrush.

Mike was captured by the Emperor's soldiers and brought before the emperor. Mike was separated with his brush and then thrown into jail. The Emperor wondered what was to be his first drawing with the magical paintbrush. He drew what he thought was a golden phoenix. A golden phoenix to lay him golden eggs. The bird flapped its wings and came to life as a common chicken. "Bock," it cried and ran around the royal throne room. The emperor tried to draw a bar of gold. Since he was a greedy man, he drew a long bar of gold. The gold bar wiggled off the paper in the shape of a snake. The huge snake crept towards the emperor and wrapped itself around him. The emperor yelled for his men of court to free him. At the same time, the chicken ran and jumped up on the head of emperor, and laid a big yellow egg.

Mike was ordered out of jail to the emperor's throne room. The emperor was furious and frustrated, unable to paint gold and riches. He ordered Mike to draw for him a sailing vessel, large enough for the royal family and all of its servants. Mike drew the most beautiful boat, carved from rare woods and gilded with gold and gemstone sparkles. Next he was ordered to draw a river to where to dock the boat. Mike drew a river. When it came to life, it picked up speed and enough strength to give birth to a tidal wave. Water crashed and destroyed the royal palace. The rough tides towed the boat far out to sea. The evil emperor was stuck on the royal boat never to return to China.

With all of the confusion, no one saw Mike sneak away, draw himself a horse and ride away. Where did he go? Some say that Mike went home to continue to help the poor. Some others say he created animal refuge in the middle of China's mountain range and drew animals until the day he died.

When I was young, I never thought of having a magic paintbrush. If I did, I would have painted my mom a new vase. One to replace the one I knocked off the shelf causing it to fall and shatter to pieces. Never run in the living room. Trust me on this one.

पैंट ब्रुश Adventures

MYTHS OVER CREATION

2009-06-10T02:26:00.000-07:00

Creation myths are found in every culture. How was the earth created? Where did men come from? From storyteller to storyteller, variations occur within time. Below are the most entertaining parts of the Chinese creation myth.

In the beginning, there wasn’t a heaven or an earth. Everything was one giant mass. The lightness of this mass, called yang, slowly rose while the darkness, called yin, sank. In the middle of it all was a giant black egg. Sleeping inside the egg was Pan Gu. The separation of the lightness and darkness took 18 thousand years to happen, creating the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Pan Gu awoke from his sleep and cried out. It was this cry that cracked the shell open and freed Pan Gu. Pan Gu was so large that when he stood, his head touched the sky and his feet planted on the ground. It was then that heaven and earth was created.

Pan Gu separated heaven and earth for 18 thousand years. Tired and weak, Pan Gu died. His last breath became the wind and clouds, and his last cry became thunder. Stars came from his hair. One eye became the sun, the other the moon. His arms and legs became the four points of the compass and the five great mountains of China. His blood flowed to become water of rivers and seas while his bodily hair sprouted up to become forests. His flesh became soil fertilized by the rocks and minerals from his bones.

It was Nu Kua who decided to put people on the earth. She was lonely and had idle time. She molded yellow fertile clay to make men one at a time. This took too much time and too much effort. So she made mud from the clay, dipped a cord from around her waist. The mud which fell from the cord became men, but not as strong as those who she molded by hand. The strong and the weak, Nu Kua loved them all for they were her children and her loneliness went away.

Two demi-gods, Kung Kung and Chuan Tsu, watched Nu Kua make her little men. When she wasn’t watching, they came to earth and created havoc for the men. Sometimes they would eat a man or two. One day Kung Kung and Chuan Tsu had a big fight over who was going to eat the next human. They rolled in between mountains and caused the sky to rip open. The earth rumbled with earthquakes and rainstorms.

Nu Kua heard the cries of the men and rushed to earth to save them. She caught a giant tortoise and used its feet to hold up the space inbetween heaven and earth. She caught a black dragon and stuffed it in the rip in the sky, trying to stop the rainstorms. By doing this, she scared off all demons and monsters from visiting earth. Because the dragon was too small to fill the rip, it continued to rain. So she found five magic stones, crushed them together, and used this paste to mend the sky. All of this was so exhaustive to Nu Kua that she laid down to sleep. Her body was transformed in to the vast mountain range in the middle of China.

So you’re asking me when did this really happen? There is a Chinese saying, "Since Pan Gu created earth and the heavens", it means "a very long time ago."

Chinese Tea Stories

ΤΣΑΙ ΣΥΝ ΜΙΑ ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΗ

2009-02-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

Το τσάι ως ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΙΑ...

Ρώτησε κάποιος νέος τον Βούδα, για την πρωινή προσευχή. Και κείνος απάντησε:

«Όταν υποκλίνεσαι προς την Ανατολή, πες ευχαριστώ για τους γονείς σου. Όταν υποκλίνεσαι προς τον νότο, πες ευχαριστώ, για τον δάσκαλό σου. Όταν υποκλίνεσαι προς τη Δύση, πες ευχαριστώ, για τη γυναίκα σου και τα παιδιά σου. Όταν στραφείς προς τον βορρά, πες ευχαριστώ για τους φίλους, τους γνωστούς, και όλους τους ανθρώπους στον κόσμο. Αν ρίξεις τη ματιά σου στον ουρανό, να είσαι ευγνώμων για την παρουσία σου στο σύμπαν και κοιτάζοντας κάτω στη γη, να ευγνωμονείς την απλοχεριά της»

ΑΓΑΠΗΜΕΝΟ ΜΟΥ ΗΜΕΡΟΛΟΓΙΟ......

2009-01-16T03:06:00.000-08:00

Αγαπημένοι μου αναγνώστες,
όπως ήδη γνωρίζετε η γραφή στην καθημερινότητά μας,
είναι καταλυτικός παράγοντας στο να διαμορφώσει ή να αλλάξει την ψυχοσύνθεσή μας!

Καταγράφοντας λοιπόν ότι μας απασχολεί σε ένα φύλλο χαρτί τα κατανοούμε καλύτερα και μπορούμε να διορθώσουμε πολλές πτυχές του χαρακτήρα μας παρατηρώντας τα ολοένα και περισσότερο!Συνεπως, φιλτράρουμε τις σκέψεις μας προτού απευθυνθούμε σε κάποιον και του επιτεθούμε λεκτικώς ακόμη και αν αυτός είναι ο ίδιος μας ο εαυτός!!!!
Το ιστολόγιο αυτό είναι δικό σας!!!!

Γεμίστε τις σελίδες αυτού του ιστολογίου με την γεύση της ζωής σας.....!!!!
Εδώ λοιπόν θα βρίσκομαι να την γευτώ!!!!!