Japanese Zen Buddhist Philosophy 1. The Meaning of the Term Zen The designation of this school of the Buddha-Way as Zen, which means sitting meditation, is derived from a transliteration of the Chinese word Chán. Because the Chinese term is in turn a transliteration of the Sanskrit term dhyāna, however, Zen owes its historical origin to early Indian Buddhism, where a deepened state of meditation, called samādhi, was singled out as one of the three components of study a Buddhist was required to master, the other two being an observation of ethical precepts (sīla) and an embodiment of nondiscriminatory wisdom (prajñā). Meditation was picked as the name for this school because the historical Buddha achieved enlightenment (nirvāna) through the practice of meditation. In the context of Zen Buddhism, the perfection of nondiscriminatory wisdom (Jpn.: hannya haramitsu; Skrt.: prajñāpāramitā) designates practical, experiential knowledge. 2. 3. 3.1 The Adjustment of the Body 3.2 The Adjustment of Breathing 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
How to Meditate - Guided Meditation Techniques - Buddhist Meditations Get Spa'ed? Girl! At Home Spa Parties. New Jersey. New York. DIY: Wine Bottle Light « Wit & Whistle November 3rd, 2009 This past spring Daniel and I went on a road trip from San Francisco to the Grand Canyon. Along the way we stopped at Chateau Julien for a wine tasting. I wanted to do something with the empty bottle instead of throwing it in the recycling bin. So here it is! You’ll need: an empty wine bottle a drill safety glasses and gloves (just in case the bottle breaks) 1/2″ glass drill bit masking tape short strand of Christmas lights (with a plug only on one end) How to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Recommended Reading: 65 Craft Blogs We Love It's April, which means it's officially stashbusting month! It's time to dust off all of the supplies hiding at the back of your closets and create using what you already have on hand. Think of it like spring cleaning, only much more fun! If you're planning to plow through your excess stash this month, you'll be needing plenty of ideas and inspiration. Heather and Rhonda put their heads together and came up with this list of must-visit blogs to help steer your way through your stashbusting odyssey. Give your bookmarking finger a few good stretches, then read on. Every Post is Amazing One of the things we value most highly is innovation (coming up with new ideas). [Recycled Keyboard Letter Necklaces by Mich L in L.A.] 1. [Mini Crepe Paper Roses by Filth Wizardry] 2. [Spoon Egg Holder by Just Something I Made] 3. [Recycled Treasure Chest Gift Box by Creative Jewish Mom] 4. [Hair Barrette Necklace by Aunt Peaches] 5. [Wine Cork Ink Pens by Paper, Plate, and Plane] 6. Dollar Store Crafty 7. 8. 9.
Etched Portion Control Wine Glass OK, confession: I’m on Weight-Watchers. And a major part of the program isn’t completely restricting what you eat and drink, but you DO have to watch and control your portions. This goes for wine, too. And since I do like a glass of vino now and then, I thought I’d made my own special glass to hold my five ounces of joy! I chose a stemless wine glass and measured out 5 ounces of water and poured it in the glass. I used plain ol’ painters tape along the line, and burnished it down well with my fingernail. I then applied the Armour Etch Cream (see my review of that here) to the bottom of the glass. Now, you could leave it here and you’d have done the job- now you know just where to fill your glass! I chose the flower head icon of the Songbird Cartridge (using my “j” monogram) for the Cricut and cut it out at 3″, using some craft vinyl. So there it is…my special, portion-control wine glass. <A HREF="
Wine cork bath mat Inspired by CB2's bamboo bath mat I’m evidently on a hot-glue kick lately. This bath mat requires just three materials: shelf liner, hot glue, and 175 wine corks. How did I gather 175 wine corks, you ask? Working at Sunset had its perks. It was inspired by CB2’s bamboo bath mat, which is perfectly lovely and affordable but too big for my tiny bathroom, hence this equally eco-friendly version. Yeah, but how durable is it, you say? How to make a wine cork bath mat Supplies 175 wine corks (plus a few extra to allow for mistakes)hot glue sticksnon-adhesive shelf liner (I used Duck brand Smooth Top Easy Liner in taupe, found at Walmart. Tools pocket knife (sharpened)cutting board (one that you won’t mind if it gets slightly damaged)rotary cutter and mat (or scissors)long ruler or yardstickhot glue guncoarse sand paper 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
New Ring Designs November 24th, 2010 A while ago I bought lots of antique silver spoon sets when we visited Colin’s sister Morag and her family over the summer as they live near Spoon Central – a little village called Horncastle that is full to the brim with small antique shops. As I’ve been without my camera for what seems like months, I’ve not been able to photograph any of my ‘work in progress’ for a while. I have been busy, just not really been able to blog about it. Well my camera arrived back from the lab all shiny and new the other day and so today I spent some time taking images of the new rings I’ve made from the spoons I bought over the summer. This is a shot of all the spoons prior to sanding, filing and polishing. Before and after shots of set 1 This set of spoons has a lovely pattern on the upper side and on the under side so I made two different rings. Before and after shots of set 2 I love the flower design of this spoon. Before and after shots of set 3 Before and after shots of set 4
Creative and Unusual Beverage Coasters Collection of creative and unusual coasters from around the world. Super Mario Bros. 3 Coasters Coasters based on characters from Super Mario Bros. 3. Sponge Coasters Sponge Coasters protect the surface the drink is on, while also being near to hand to quickly deal with any spilt liquids. Soft Sector Coasters If you still remember paper sticky tabs for write protecting your favorite VGA game then this colorful nostalgic set is for your desk. Coaster Puzzles Available in a variety of designs, these unique coaster puzzles separate to become four handy coasters. Pixel Drink Coasters Each coaster is made up of 110 individual 1cm square “pixels” which are perfed in a way that lets you selectively remove blocks from each square. Vintage Record Coasters Give your drinks a spin with these cool assorted coasters handmade from real vinyl records. CoasterGlow Coaster A coaster that will light up only when there is something sitting on top of it. PlaceMaths Coasters Practice your maths at the table!
Super Summer Project: Two Young Designers, One Idea A Day All images credit 01Mathery Project After seeing this lovely bike basket made from pine cones on Recyclart, , I learned of O1Mathery, a project subtitled "Two young designers-One idea a day," where from the end of one school year to the start of the second, they really did come up with a clever design every day. Some are clever and some are silly, like this oven. Erika Zorzi and Matteo Sangalli write: My computer reaches high temperature when it' s working! I think there would be a real market for this TV Dinner tray, that has a built-in apron so that you never drop food on your lap again. There are so many interesting, innovative and creative reuse and repurposing ideas, like this key storage system made from RCA jacks.
doily canvas bag} ? ashleyannphotography.com Thankfully everyone seems to be making a switch from plastic to lasting when it comes to shopping bags, so here’s another fun little tutorial on customizing one to make it oh so cute. You might notice a lot of doilies in my recent diy projects. Since I was getting so many ready for A Christmas Gathering I used a lot of the same materials…monograms seems to be pretty popular now too. My friend Cindy called while I was working on this and suggested I just go ahead a put a “W” on it for her, I happily obligied. Canvas bag ($2.00 when on sale at Hobby Lobby), fabric paint, paper doily, Krylon Paper Finishes Adhesive Spray : Spray doily with paper spray adhesive and press down on the bag (not shown). : Gently paint over the holes – I recommend paint meant for fabric, not crafts. : Peel back doily before paint dries. Bag after doily is removed I traced on my letter and filled it in with paint. For a cook: fill it with cooking supplies For a gardner: fill it with gardening supplies