A pelican, around 37 years old, shows up every day at a Greek restaurant to get its portion of fish. The bird has become a well-known local figure along the seafront
In ancient Chinese mythology, when the world’s old patterns could no longer hold, a being called the Dragon-Horse ~ Longma 龙马 ~ would rise from the Yellow River.
Scaled like a dragon, fast as a horse, it carried on its back a new cosmic map: a sign that Heaven was ready to rewrite what had grown rigid, unjust, or out of balance.
It appears when systems have hardened, when power has become disconnected from life, when the old order must make way for the truth. In the earliest texts, its arrival marks a shift in destiny ~ the end of one era and the beginning of another.
Fire Horse energy is not about destruction for its own sake: it is about clearing what no longer serves.
It is the force that pushes through fear, stagnation, and inherited structures, making room for justice, breath, and new possibility to enter.
As we move into this new year, we run alongside the Fire Horse.
Today 2/2/25, the Buddhist monks teach day 100 of their Walk for Peace.
Today they’ll reach Richmond, Virginia.
Today they ask you to join the walk and then a peace gathering.
👇
The 12 Stages of Cultivation: A Spiritual Epic in Stone
On the cliff of Baoding Mountain’s Dafowan in Dazu, a remarkable narrative unfolds—the Twelve Stages of Herding the Ox, carved as a visual guide to Chan (Zen) Buddhist cultivation.
In this allegory:
The ox symbolizes the restless mind
The herder represents the practitioner
The journey moves from struggle (wild, untamed) → discipline → harmony → awakening
From the first stage of “Unherded” — wrestling with unruly thoughts — to the final “Both Forgotten” — a state of serene emptiness under the full moon — each scene is a meditation carved in stone.
Come walk this cliffside path, and trace a thousand-year journey from chaos to clarity, from effort to ease.
#DazuRockCarvings #ZenBuddhism #HerdingTheOx #SpiritualJourney #StoneSutra #ChongqingTravel
#MajorCold, the Final Chapter of Winter
The 24th and last solar term, “#Dahan” (Major Cold), has arrived — marking the deepest chill of the year, yet also whispering that spring is just around the corner.
In ancient wisdom, this was a time to stay warm, nourish the body, and gather quietly before the turn of the seasons.
As the cold peaks, so does the promise of returning light. 🌤️
#Dazu #MajorCold #24SolarTerms #ChineseCulture #Winter #UNESCO @iChongqing_CIMC@ChongqingCinc