The MRT Neihu Line officially commenced on July 4th, connecting the MRT Muzha Line at MRT Zhongshan Junior High School Station and making my all-MRT commute to Neihu Technology Park a reality. It was not without any consequences though. The first working day after its commencement, passengers flooded the transferring area at MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, forcing passenger control that could only be seen during huge public events such as new year's eve countdown. Despite the drawback, my total commute time was cut off a solid 15 minutes, which made my morning even more enjoyable.

Looking out from a cross-shaped window on the wall of Castelgrande, the largest castle of the Three Castles of Bellinzona, an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Built on a huge rock as its foundation, Castelgrande had been a natural stronghold protecting surrounding area since the late 1^st Century BC. Troops stationed in the castle might have used the window to keep watch. An arrow or two might even been shot through the window in fending off an intruding enemy. As a tourist, however, what I got is a view that is very different from the eyes of the troops.

What I want is a view. I want a window where I can see a tree, or even water.

-- Dr. Hannibal Lecter

Song Luo National Trail

Song Luo National Trail was once a hunting trial of the Atayal tribe. What was walked by hunters is now walked by tourists. Hunters hunted prey along the trail for survival but now tourists sought scenic views along the trail for pleasure. The way of living of the Atayal tribe has since changed, or modernized according to some, but at a cost that is probably too difficult to comprehend for outsiders.

So when I stepped on the pebbled trail, participating in an outdoor Chan walking meditation with volunteers from Dharma Drum Mountain, my mind had to abandon thoughts on the dilemma of development versus conservation. I practiced a technique called "direct observation", which requires that I observe things as they are and attach no emotions, judgments or descriptions to them.

With a goal to complete the meditation, I was defeated, rather awkwardly, by a mild diarrhea, which was presumably caused by two ice cream bars that I consumed before the meditation. It was one of the typical dog days, and the temptation of having ice cream seemed unavoidable.

My first homemade bento brought to office was cooked by mother-in-law and prepared by Evania. It consisted of jelly ear fungus, Lady's Fingers, sautéed chop-up meat with dried white radish and rice cooked with several types of grains and red beans.

This was a dream came true for I had been drooling over a homemade bento that is full of not only nutrition but also love and care.

In his many years of tour-leading experiences, Larry had yet to encounter a railway breakdown at Switzerland. Now he did, and so did we.

On our way from St. Gallen to Chur, the train stopped suddenly, creating a big puzzlement among our tour group. A lady sat on the opposite seat was kind enough to inform us that we had to leave the train. Apparently, the railway had broken down in between St. Gallen and Chur. We had a little chat with the lady, whose name we later learned as Nina, while waiting for a bus that would take us to Chur.

Carrying a large backpack, Nina looked like a backpacker, but in fact she is a native Swiss from Zurich. She was heading south. She said she would be singing with her friends. I clarified with her that it was nothing religious, but for pleasure. I imagined that she might be part of a band.

Evania and I took a couple of pictures with Nina. We also asked for her email address and promised that we will send her the pictures. We did, two days after we came back to Taiwan. It was not until one week later, we got her reply. She likes it when people keep their promises.

My parents and little sister's family joined me for a visit at Dharma Drum Mountain, where Evania continued her training as a volunteer tour guide. We arrived just in time for lunch, which was served free for everyone. It was close to the end of lunch time, and we found ourselves the only group left in the dining hall. My two nephews took the opportunity wandering, crawling and playing in the aisle between rows of dining tables. The high-pitched sound made by the younger nephew, who recently learned to walk, echoed in the spacious and almost empty hall.

Outside the dining hall, the weather was damp and gloomy. Soon the rain confined us to indoor areas. Evania found us roaming at Founding History Memorial Hall and led us to Wishing Guan Yin Hall, where she showed us how to make wishes, draw a Recipe for Mind and ask for a bottle of Great Compassion Water. I thought of number 21 and got the following recipe:

How should you conduct yourself and deal with others?
Be "square inside" -- live by priciple; and "round outside" -- exercise expedience.

See Also:

• Online Scenic Spots Map

Honeymoon

Just got back from an 11-day trip at Switzerland. There are so many things to write about, but before that, an album proving that we had been there and done that.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting my Swiss classmate from graduate school. We had a little chat over lunch on the last day, before leaving for the Zurich Airport. I had imagined about this kind of meeting before, and the hearty feeling I had expected was very real.

Before bidding farewell to my classmate at the Lucern railway station, I asked him if he got any photo of his girl friend in his wallet. Since he just met my better half, I was interested in seeing his. He opened his wallet and showed me several headshots of his significant other. I asked him what he likes about his girl friend. He responded with "I like everything she is." What an answer! I immediately turned and told my better half the same words.

The magic mailbox!
How could I praise you highly enough?
You delivery mail in a hurry--
From 114 to 540 in less than 24 hours.
That's the speed of light in the standard of postal services!
You sometimes reward me by skipping stamps on my postage stamps.
That's kindness, albeit accidental, in the uppermost form!
The man about to send another mail,
I salute you!

How soon is too soon? And waiting for how long is long enough?

A voice in my head has been whispering to myself these questions, looking for an answer. Sometimes I am certain that I have the answer, but at other times I am not so sure. It feels like a pendulum oscillating in my heart, eagerly trying to settle on its lowest point. A point that I could find the answer.

I imagine that many years from now, the answer will be definite. I would love to learn all the techniques and tricks on fortune-telling, so I could take a peek into the future and learn the answer. Better yet, Doraemon would take me to his time machine through my desk drawer. We would travel into the future and discover the answer firsthand.

Perhaps I should not feel too concerned about these questions. The incurable optimist inside me would protest by saying that the questions are out of the question. What really matters is where I want to go. Remember the proverb: All roads lead to Rome. Sooner or later, I get there.

Therefore, we decide to live the rest of our lives together. Neither of us has a perfect sense of direction, but we should trust the proverb, and above all, ourselves. What's down the road is ought to be a lot of fun.

[Photo courtesy of Evania]

Dharma Drum Mountain

Dharma Drum Mountain, founded by Venerable Master Sheng Yen, was the destination of my first solo drive in northern Taiwan. I was nervous, but stayed in control most of the time. Although guided by a GPS device, I still managed to miss a couple of turns, causing the device to recalculate routes and increasing my total driving time. The last straw, however, was my lack of trust in the device, which guided me to a shortcut that did not seem right to me at that time. Luckily I got special someone who was already at Dharma Drum Mountain, and she guided me to the destination. She was truly my beacon of hope.

I would imagine Dharma Drum Mountain to be among deep mountains, harder to access and with fewer people walking around--a place that you would feel alone there. However, it was quite the opposite: volunteers were busy at works while groups of visitors were carried up the mountain by a shuttle bus. Many of the visitors were attracted by the place's scenic views. This reflected the approach that Master Sheng Yen propagated: Chan is better learned and practiced in daily life. And that was why he founded Dharma Drum Mountain.

The Dharma is so good, yet so few people know about it and so many people mis-understand it.

Master Sheng Yen