Ch'ing Dynasty Coin Front (Saturated)

Ch'ing Dynasty Coin Back (Saturated)

1800 Spanish Real, Mexico City Mint Front

1800 Spanish Real Mexico City Mint Back

Ch'ing Dynasty Coin Front

Ch'ing Dynasty Coin Back

>When Minister Wang entered Chao Ch’ing, they were making tea. At the time Elder Lang was holding the kettle for Ming Chao. Lang turned the tea kettle over. Seeing this, the Minister asked the Elder, “What’s under the tea stove?” Lang said, “The spirit who holds up stoves.” The Minister said, “If it’s the spirit who holds up stoves, why then did you turn over the tea kettle?” Lang said, “Serve as an official for a thousand days, lose it in a single morning.” The Minister shook out his sleeves and left.

>Ming Chao said, “Elder Lang, you’ve eaten Chao Ch’ing food, but still you go beyond the river to make noise gathering charred wood.” Lang said, “What about you, Teacher?” Ming Chao said, “The spirit got the advantage.”

>Hsueh Tou said, “At the time I just would have kicked over the tea stove.”

Commentary (excerpts):

>Pao Shou asked Nail Cutter Hu, “For a long time I’ve heard of Nail Cutter Hu—aren’t you him?” Hu said, “I am.” Shou said, “Can you drive nails into empty space?” Hu said, “I invite the Master to come smash it.” Shou then hit him. Hu did not agree, so Shou said, “Another day there will be a talkative teacher who will examine this thoroughly for you.” Later Hu saw Chao Chou and related the previous conversation. Chou said, “Why were you hit by him?” Hu said, “I don’t know where the fault was.” Chou said, “You couldn’t even do anything about this one crack, yet you went on to tell him to break up empty space.” At this Hu was stopped—Chou spoke for him, “Well, nail up this one crack.” At this Hu had an awakening.

So, Hu had a Zen awakening here. What was it? How does it relate to the case? These are questions of Zen study, surely. Otherwise, why pick up the Blue Cliff Record at all?

>National Teacher Chung asked the purple-clad Imperial Attendant Monk, “I hear tell that you have (written a commentary) explaining the ‘Consideration of Benefit’ Scripture. Is this so or not?” The Imperial Attendant said, “It is so.” The National Teacher said, “One must first understand the Buddha’s meaning to be fit to explain the scriptures.” The Imperial Attendant said, “If I didn’t understand the meaning, how could I dare to say I’ve explained the Scripture?” The National Teacher then ordered the servant to bring a bowl of water, seven grains of rice, and a single chopstick. Putting them in the bowl, he passed it to the Imperial Attendant and asked, “What meaning is this?” The Imperial Attendant said, “I don’t understand.” The National Teacher

If China is united under a Social Democratic Left Kuomintang under Soong Ch'ing-ling. What level of honor and adore will Soong Ch'ing-ling receive? Will she have a Cult of Personality on the level of Mao Zedong and Sun Yat-sen or will she just be considered a good leader of China?

POINTER

With a single stroke he completes it and passes beyond ordinary and holy. His slightest word can break things up, untying what is bound and releasing what is stuck. As if walking on thin ice or running over sword blades, he sits within the heaps of sound and form, he walks on top of sound and form.

For the moment I leave aside wondrous functioning in all directions. How is it when he leaves that very instant? To test I'm citing this old case: look!

CASE

Ching Ch'ing asked a monk, "What sound is that outside the gate?" ^1

The monk said, "The sound of raindrops." ^2

Ch'ing said, "Sentient beings are inverted. They lose themselves and follow after things." ^3

The monk said, "What about you, Teacher?" ^4

Ch'ing said, "I almost don't lose myself." ^5

The monk said, "What is the meaning of 'I almost don't lose myself'?" ^6

Ch'ing said, "Though it still should be easy to express oneself, to say the whole thing has to be difficult." ^7

NOTES

1. He casually lets down a hook. He doesn't suffer from deafness: what is he asking?

2. He's undeniably truthful. It's good news too.

3. A concern is born. Ch'ing is used to getting his way. He rakes the monk in. He depends on his own abilities.

4. As it turns out the monk suffers a defeat. He's turned the spear around: inevitably it will be hard for Ch'ing to stand up to it. Instead (of Ch'ing, the monk) grabs the spear and stabs the man back.

5. Bah! He just can't explain.

6. He presses this old fellow and crushes the man. His first arrow was still light, the second arrow was deep.

7. Provisions to nourish a son. Although it's like this, where have Te Shan and Lin Chi gone? If he doesn't call it the sound of raindrops, what sound should he call it? It simply can't be explained.

NOTES FROM AN 🦉

It’s hard to choose a favorite case, in fact the thought had never crossed my mind until now.

Enter, The Sound of Raindrops.

A case that, for my money, clearly lays it out, elucidating the subtle and the obvious and questioning the given.

As well, for the first time the pointer and the notes sing in perfect harmony to the case.

Let’s dive in! The pointer is clearly written, but raises a host of questions. What does it mean to pass beyond ordinary and holy? Who can expound on this? With a word, he breaks things up, releasing what is stuck. Sitting amidst Sound and Form, walking on top of Sound and Form.

Who is one such as this? Have you met him?

When s

POINTER

Where there is Buddha, do not stay; if you keep staying there, your head will sprout horns.

Where there is no Buddha, quickly run past; if you don't run past, weeds will grow ten feet high.

Even if you are pure and naked, bare and clean, without mental activity outside of things, without things outside of mental activity, you still have not escaped standing by a stump and waiting for a rabbit. ^a

But tell me, without being like any of this, how would you act? To test, I cite this to see.

CASE

Ch'ang Ch'ing once said, "Rather say that saints have the three poisons, ^1

but do not say that the Tathagata has two kinds of speech. ^2

I do not say the Tathagata is speechless, ^3

just that he doesn't have two kinds of speech."^4

Pao Fu said, "What is Tathagata speech?" ^5

Ch'ing said, "How could a deaf man hear?” ^6

Pao Fu said, "I knew you were talking on the secondary level.” ^7

Ch'ing said, "What is Tathagata speech? " ^8

Pao Fu said, "Go drink tea." ^9

NOTES

1. Scorched grain doesn’t sprout.

2. He has already slandered old Shakyamuni.

3. He is still making a fool of himself; already he has seven openings and eight holes.

4. Useless maundering. What third or fourth kind will you talk about?

5. He gives a good thrust; what will you say?

6. He addresses a plea to the sky. It's burst forth in profusion.

7. How can you fool a clear-eyed man? He snaps his nostrils around. Why stop at only the second level?

8. A mistake; yet he's getting somewhere.

9. Understood. But do you comprehend? Stumbled past.

NOTES FROM A TRANSLATOR

A. A fool once saw a rabbit run into a stump and die; he waited by the stump, hoping it would "catch" another rabbit for him. See case 10.

NOTES FROM AN 🦉

Pao Fu’s final statement is what we in the business call a “Turning Phrase”.

I wonder, where did your attention go?

Welp, time to earn my user flair

So we all know Ch*rles C*lvin,, right? The "cutie pilot boi who crashes his little helicopter into you with all the love in the world", the "innocent life that devil, Jacked Hughman took away", the "most pure out of every pure character across any game", right? Ok, now that was just fucken dumb. I'm so sorry for writing that. I know I wrote no "meme-ing" but I couldn't help myself and summarise the general perceptions his stans have of him.

Bottom-line is every damned one of his fans say he is pure, innocent, not guilty of anything. Wrong. And here's why.

The "Greatest Plan" ^(TM)

So we starting this off by attacking what he is most recognised for- crashing his helicopter into Henry. I will admit, I chuckled a little watching the helicopter draw closer to Henry and then his face contort to that of pure fear for his life. However, now when I look back, the implications are far from funny.

• Firstly, this is literal murder-suicide. Charles is committing murder while killing himself and majority of the fandom is okay with it. Not to mention, he is killing his ally and friend for his own enjoyment. Hell, in GSPI, Galeforce and Price are on the helicopter too so by crashing it, he's possibly killed two more people. All for his "dream" of crashing a helicopter. That's actually sickening if you think about it. Hurting people for your selfish reasons.
• Secondly, Charles is taking advantage of Henry's faith in him. In the IRO fail, we see that Henry still believes in Charles, hoping that he won't crash into him and kill him. But lo and behold, fail screen. Henry is crushed to death or burned to death by the helicopter. Even in VH, he actually doesn't bother waiting for Henry's input and just crashes into him.

Next, Valiant Hero. Yup, we're going there too boys, girls and everyone in between.

• I would like to point out that the whole basis of VH is illegal. First off, there is no jurisdiction in space! That's why the Toppat Clan wanted to go there, it's free game! The Govt can't chase them up there. Therefore, it appears to me Charles went rogue, dragged Henry along and committed Toppat genocide. This is supported by how Charles said "it's starting to get personal", which shows he wasn't acting under Galeforce's orders, but rather out of his own feelings. A possible counter-argument to this point is that Galeforce appears to be okay with this when the orbital station's destruction was reported to hi

Before the sun is up, ACE drags Lin Ye out of bed.

“Wake up.” ACE goes to the mirror and checks his clothes while glancing at Lin Ye, “We’re leaving soon.”

“Lea-leave? Where?” Lin Ye sways left and right groggily, “Where are we going?”

“Fifty kilometers out, there’s an abandoned factory in the countryside. Silence’s colleagues already shipped the instruments there.” ACE says, “We’ll pick them up and then go back to Rhodes Island immediately.”

“Oh.”

Lin Ye rubs his head, finally remembering the goal of this trip. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn’t stayed in Lungment for that long yet, not even for a week in fact. But because of that terrorist attack in the theater, he can’t help but feel he has stayed in the city for a long time.

Although Lungmen is more advanced than Rhodes Island, Lin Ye would rather stay in the latter. After all, he almost died in Lungment, not once, but twice. Coincidentally, he’s only been to Lungmen twice. It’s almost like he’s guaranteed to be attacked, if he stays in Lungmen.

He puts on his clothes and goes to the restroom to wash his face and brush teeth, the usual stuff.

Is Nightingale back yet? I hope everything went well for her.

…

Lin Ye walks out of the restroom and puts his pistol in his pocket.

Suddenly, he remembers that he asked Swire to help him buy a gun. Unlike Exusiai, Swire seems to have the connections to actually find a gun for him. After all, her family is not just rich.

And so, he sends her a text message before going to the cafeteria.

…

Again, he’s the last one to show up.

Ifrit is already in the cafeteria, holding a sausage with one hand and a sandwich with another. Yet, she looks really sleepy.

Suddenly, someone pats on Lin Ye’s shoulder from behind.

Lin Ye turns around and sees a young man, El. He’s part of the team E3.

“Dr. Lin, when we leave, we’ll be riding in the same car.”

“Do we only have one car?”

“No, there’ll be more than one.” El says, “Our sedan can’t transport those large machinery, so Rhine Lab prepared the vehicle for us, but I’m responsible for driving our car back. That’s why we’ll go together.”

“Oh, I see.” Lin Ye nods, “Thanks for letting me know.”

E3 is one of the best standby teams, and its captain is ACE. The other six members are seasoned warriors, and El is one of them. He’s a vanguard that can fight Yato to a standstill. However, Yato is the captain of A4, while El is just a team member of E3.

ACE walks to the center of the cafeteria. He’s carrying a shi

>One time [Hsueh Feng] saw Ching Ch'ing. Ch'ing asked him, "Where have you just come from?" Hsueh said, "I come from the East." Ch'ing said, "And did you cross the little (Ts'ao) river?" Hsueh said, "The great ship sails alone through the sky; there are no little rivers to cross." Ch'ing said, "Birds cannot fly across mirror lake and picture mountain; have you not merely overheard another's remark?" Hsueh said, "Even the sea fears the power of a warship; sails flying through the sky, it crosses the five lakes." Ch'ing raised his whisk and said, "What about this?" Hsueh said, "What is this?" Ch'ing said, "After all, you don't know." Hsueh said, "Appearing, disappearing, rolling up and rolling out, I act the same as you, Teacher." Ch'ing said, "Casting auguring sticks, you listen to the empty sound; fast asleep, you are full of gibberish." Hsueh said, "When a marsh is wide, it can contain a mountain; a cat can subdue a leopard." Ch'ing said, "I forgive your crime and pardon your error; you better leave quickly." Hsueh said, "If I leave, I lose." Then he went out; when he got to the Dharma Hall, he said to himself, "Big man, the case is not yet finished; how then can you quit?" Then he turned around and went into the abbot's room. As Ching Ch'ing sat there, Hsueh asked, "I have just now offered my ignorant view and insulted your venerable countenance; humbly favored by the Teacher's compassion, I have not yet been given punishment for my crime." Ching Ch'ing said, "Just awhile ago you said you came from the East: did you not come from Ts'ui Yen?" Hsueh said, "Hsueh Tou actually lies east of Pao Kai." Ching Ch'ing said, "If you don't chase the lost sheep, crazy interpretations cease. Instead you come here and recite poems." Hsueh said, "When you meet a swordsman on the road, you should show your sword; do not offer poetry to one who is not a poet." Ch'ing said, "Put the poetry away right now and try to use your sword a little." Hsueh said, "A decapitated man carried the sword away." Ch'ing said, "You not only violate the method of the teaching; you also show your own fat-headedness." Hsueh said, "Unless I violate the method of the teaching, how could I awaken to the mind of an Ancient Buddha?" Ch'ing said, "What do you call the mind of an Ancient Buddha?" Hsueh said, "Again you grant your allowance; now what do you have, Teacher?" Ch'ing said, "This patchrobed one from the East cannot distinguish beans from wheat. I have only heard of ending without finish

It has been 15 years since the current SEC dynasty of college football began. On January 8, 2007, SEC champ Florida defeated B1G champ and consensus #1 Ohio State 41-14 in the BCS title game.

The result was a double surprise. First, Ohio State was an 8-point favorite to defeat the Gators. Ohio State had been the #1 team in every BCS standings released, and boasted the Heisman Trophy winner in QB Troy Smith. Ohio State had recently defeated the consensus #2 team, Michigan, in an epic "Game of the Century" type atmosphere to win the Big 10 title, and was the only undefeated AQ-conference team. Florida, on the other hand, had never been ranked in the BCS top two until the very last standings. They had come in to the final week of the regular season ranked 4th, but moved up when Ohio State beat Michigan and UCLA pulled off a shocker against #3 USC. Sans those results, Florida doesn't even make the BCS title game. They had lost to Auburn in week nine, 27-17.

Even with those results, there was controversy about the final rankings. Many felt that Michigan, who had fallen by only 3 points to Ohio State, was the real second-best team and deserved another bite at the apple. In the end, Florida edged out Michigan by a handful of points in both the Coaches and Harris polls, and a tie in the BCS computers gave the final #2 spot to Florida.

The second was the margin of victory. After Ohio State's Ted Ginn returned the opening kickoff for a TD and a 7-0 Ohio State lead (getting injured in the process), Florida destroyed Ohio State. Florida led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, 34-14 at the half, 34-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter, and 41-14 at the final gun. Florida's offense was balanced and efficient. QB Chris Leak passed for 213 yards with no interceptions, and the Gators ran the ball for 156 yards and 3 more TDs. A young Tim Tebow threw a TD pass and ran for 39 yards in the game.

But the real star was the Florida defense. Florida held the vaunted Ohio State offense, which had averaged over 40 points per game, to just 7 points and an astonishingly low total of 82 total yards. Heisman winner Troy Smith was sacked 5 times, completed just 4 of 14 passes for 35 yards and an INT, and ran for -29 yards. All told, Smith ran 10 times and passed 14 times for 6 total yards.

At the conference level, before this game, the SEC was nothing special in terms of recent national titles. In the previous 25 seasons, from 1981 - 2005, the SEC had won 4 national titles, Alabama