Ayurveda teaches that food is the Prana, or life force, of living beings, and that life is a continual search for food. "Life lives off life," in the words of a Sanskrit proverb: we maintain our own lives by consuming other living beings.

In Nature's eyes all beings have an equal right to exist. If we wish to remain in harmony with Nature we should not carelessly slaughter Her other children. The taking of another's life, even that of a cauliflower, is an act which should be performed with sincere attention to its meaning. Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose, India's famous plant physiologist and physicist, proved more than fifty years ago that vegetables have sense organs that continue to function even after they leave the vine. The ancients agree that the carrot you crush for juice and the cabbage you chop to cook both feel pain and terror at being butchered and dismembered, just as any animal would. Plants cannot communicate their feelings to us, so we wrongly assume they have none. Vegetables and fruits have feelings too.

The Tara Abbey Well Project & Friends of Tara Abbey, A group of Orange County women and men working to support women in Nepal, present occasional programs on Buddhism to support the 250 nuns of Tara Abbey. Our goal is to ensure that the nuns will have a reliable supply of water. A low water table in the Kathmandu Valley, coupled with high equipment prices, result in a need for $20,000 to complete a well and rainwater collection system. Note the events below to benefit the project.

BUDDHISM IN AMERICA:
A Special Presentation by Dr. John Casey
Benefitting the Tara Abbey Well Project
June 10, 2007 1 - 5pm
Newport Beach, California

Exclusive Raffle for the hand-painted thangka depicting Tara, the Tibetan Buddhist feminine icon of boundless compassion. Blessed by His Holiness the Karmapa in Dharamsala in April, 2007, it is 28x42" with a 15x20" image. A thangka of lesser quality, without the special blessing of the Karmapa, retails for approximately $500.00. Just $20.00 per Raffle Entry. Entries may be purchased by mail using the form below. All proceeds directly benefit the Tara Abbey Well Project.

One of America's most respected herblists debunks a dozen herban legends

By Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, DN-C, RH

When it comes to medicinal herbs, myths and mysticism abound. Perhaps because our forebears typically passed along knowledge orally and anecdotally, we still tend to rely on hearsay about what works and what doesn't, what's safe and what isn't.

With so many credible herbal sources at our disposal these days, we shouldn't let the ever-churning myth factory distort the facts. Modern research has verified vast amounts of what was once considered folk wisdom. Additionally, those on the forefront of the myth-busting brigade-the professional herbalists- see what works and what doesn't every day in their practices.

Unfortunately, as herbal medicine continues its steady rise in popularity, some mainstream media outlets remain committed to presenting sensational and often irrational "herbal exposés." This puts the onus on the consumer to distinguish hype pieces from informative journalism-a task that requires research and effort.

Some of the current herban myths have become so pervasive; you may just "know" they're true. But as it turns out, 12 out of our most commonly held "facts" about popular herbs turn out to be fiction.