Eat, Pray and Die

Not many people know how to eat, and when I say that, I do not mean it in a derogatory way. The majority eat to live but there are those that live to eat. The former basically do so for survival and the latter is either a connoisseur or a glutton.

Hunger is the best appetite, and for many underpriviledged ones, for as long as that pang is satiated, the quality of food is not in their primary concern. There are those, however, who have relationships with food in the sense that all their senses come alive. What am I saying?

Well, imagine you're in the green market, and you see a mound of bloody red apples . They're so beautiful, you pick one. The firmness and plumpiness in holding them just excites you. As your mind goes through the databank of recipes, you can smell the overwhelming freshness in the atmosphere. Then as if not contented with the touch, you bite into it like a vampire claiming it's victim. Soon all the juices start trickling down the sides of your lips and flows through your neck. It's sweetness and juiciness just absorbs you. You have finally met your mate. This time, you take it home with you, and there is no turning back. The sin has been comitted, your affair with the apple begins.

And of course, there are those who don't care so much about food. And I'm speaking about those that feed their souls first before the body. And don't confuse this with soul food—now that's a different story.....anyway...

The Supreme Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama ate his way to enlightenment. That's what they say though. Legend says that a woman took milk from a thousand cows and fed it to five hundred cows. She milked them and fed it again to half that number and so on. (talking about degressing multi level marketing scheme)..Anyway, from the final milk of eight cows, she prepared a sweetened dish of milk-rice, which was served to Gautama in a golden bowl. Gautama divided the meal into 49 rice balls and consumed them. He then tossed the golden bowl in a river and declared, “If today I am to attain full enlightenment, may this golden bowl swim upstream.” And it did.

The meal of 49 rice balls sustained Gautama for the next forty nine days, a time when he ate nothing and sat under a bodhi tree, and became Buddha.

Okay, and talking about Buddha, why is it that they often show him as a fleshy creature considering how frequently he fasted? And to top it all, his meal normally consisted of ONE sesame seed, ONE grain of rice, ONE jujube, ONE pulse pod, ONE kidney bean and ONE mungo bean...(the best organic diet to loose weight for anyone who wants those excess pounds off)

The Bible depicts Jesus Christ as a kind and forgiving man, but the story about the fig tree seems to repudiate that quality. It is said that a hungry Jesus entered Jerusalem, spotted a fig tree in the distance and approached it. But finding no fruit, he cursed it to remain fruitless forever. So the tree quickly withered. Why did Jesus pick on the tree which appeared to be harmless and blameless, right? And according to the gospel of Mark, it wasn't even the season of figs. Now that's what I call 'hunger kills.'

And if someone asked you what your last meal would be, would you know what to answer?

Well, for Buddha who often was a very gracious guest at many social events, a blacksmith named Cunda invited him and his monks for dinner. He served a dish called 'sukaramaddava' which translated into a 'pig's delight” Religious scholars have long debated whether this dish was pork or it could be one which is delightful to pigs such as truffles, roots or mushrooms.

Anyway, the Buddha alone ate the dish, forbidding his companions to partake. This is a tip-off, since Buddha wasn't really a selfish guy. Soon after eating, he felt violently ill but did not complain. He said it was not the food that was to blame and Cunda should feel no guilt. In fact, Buddha said, Cunda should be honored that he had served the Blessed One's final meal. Which indeed he had, because the Buddha soon died.

And as for Jesus, we all know about the Last Supper, it's pictures are all over. But what did it really consist of? Some unbelievers would probably consider the picture as a group of Jews having a men's night off, drinking wine and having bread with oil as amuse-gueule (sumsumans). Scholars believe that since they were all Jews, they'd probably have the Jewish seder dinner which Mathew, Mark and Luke depicted it to be. But John says that the supper occurred too early in the year to be a seder.

But if indeed it was a seder dinner, it would have consisted of horseradish, parsley, hard-boiled egg, celery leaves, lamb shank, and haroset (a mixture of nuts and chopped fruit). But there were several sweeping changes about the seder traditions after the 1st and 2nd century CE.

Oh and speaking about the Last Supper paintings, Leonardo de Vinci's last supper shows both lamb and fish on the table. Salvador Dali's “The Sacrament of the Last Supper” includes only bread and wine. But of course both paintings didn't come from memory.

And finally, have you seen Joey Velasco's version?...He's one great Filipino artist who just recently died. His version of the Last Supper is really one to behold.

Oh, and one more thing, does anyone know what kind of apple Adam and Eve ate? Was it granny smith, fuji, gala, delicious,McIntosh.........hmmmm....

Independence!

Ever since I first came to America more than 20 years ago, I was already impressed by what I saw. But the one thing I didn't like to hear was when an American asked if we Filipinos were perceived as people living in jungles. I did take offense in that, and even if I thought of the white foreigners as living in a developed society where they were high up there like monkeys on trees, from my point of view of looking up like cave people, all I could see were assholes. But I am not getting into that......

I like the perception of that so called 'freedom' and the land of opportunity that America advertises but I shall not forget the tropical paradise that my own native land entices . It reminds me of some that I will enumerate a few which are very distinct of both places.

1) Filipinos marry for money...well, pretty much I should say. Many families, because of the economic situation would often push their children to marry someone with that “CARacter” and the “PESOnality” rather than love. The proverbial visayan quote of, “sagdi lang kung saging, basta labing.” (it's okay if we just eat bananas as long as we are in love.) does not hold true anymore. In those days, (or shall I say ''during my time') bananas were just picked from trees in anyone's backyard. But now, with smoke belching cities and well guarded farms, bananas are sold 5 pesos a piece...so there's always a math involved.....
On the other hand, Americans DIVORCE for money. Pinoy families come here for a better life, own a house, accumulate wealth and then find themselves into uncompromising situations that end up in divorce. I know of some Pinoy couples who have gone awry but the classic celebrity examples are those of Tiger woods and Paul Macartney to name a few...

2)“ON TIME” in America is just that. Seldom can you see schedules listed that are not followed, unless something comes up, then an announcement of a reason is made. In Pinoy land, whether its a function or a plane ride, people are always late, and even a bizarre explanation is never an excuse. Otherwise if the event is on the dot, then a foreigner must have been the organizer.

3)The Philippines which is predominantly Christian with Spanish influence can send conflicting messages to those that adhere much to its teachings. For one, the submissive wife is not meant to be a doormat and be considered a light house (ilaw ng tahanan is what I mean). It is difficult to become a Maria Clara on the outside when inwardly one feels like a Paris Hilton. It just doesn't work. The dictates of cultural values and christian upbringing does not jive with the modern way of thinking. You cannot be yourself without scrutiny from those that comply with traditional beliefs and/or established norms. For majority of the Americans who are broad minded and have been exposed to instant gratification, life just comes as you please it to be.

Having been in America for a while, I have learned to appreciate the diversity of customs and heritages of many countries. Communicating intellectual conversations with people from all walks of life with different cultural backgrounds has broaden my myopic views of what the outside world is. Such is the life here. As I freely learn to educate myself in this country, I tend to be more understanding, more liberal and less judgmental. I am freer to be me.

But I also miss my motherland, the Philippines, where the people are more respectful, more courteous and more generous with the less they have. I am grateful for the roots I have, since it brings substance and meaning to my existence. And no matter where I am, the home of my birth will always be where my heart is.

Okay, so before I go here's one for you, guys:

A man was walking through Chinatown when he saw a sign saying, “Hans Schmidt's Chinese laundry
Being curious, he went into the shop and was greeted by an elderly Oriental man who introduced himself as Hans Schmidt.
“how come you have a name like that?” inquired the stranger. “you don't even look German.”
“Is simple.” said the Oriental shop owner. “Many, many year ago when come to this country, I stand in immigration line behind big German guy. Immigration lady look at him and go, “what's your name?” he say, 'Hans Schmidt.' Then she look at me and go, 'what your name?' I say, 'Sam Ting.'”

HAPPY JULY 4th everyone..