My Life, My Blog 爱生活，爱博客: 2017

Life and Death (II) Page 25 - 37 生死自在（二）第25 - 37页

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照片源于互联网。

妈妈最后的生命示现－我的永续生死学功课，第25页

为了让读者能更为真切地了解问题的结症，在此转述一个活生生的例子：二O一O年，南华大学生死学研究所硕士班的一位同学告诉我：他太太的外公高龄一百零八岁时，因为脑中风送到某私立教会医院，家人原本已经有了共识，不要再作医疗救治了，让老人家能够安然地往生。但不幸的是，从美国赶回来的小女儿坚持要救，家中居然就没有一个人胆敢反驳，任由小女儿发号施令。要救的话就要动脑部手术，小女儿说她认识某公立教学医院的脑神经外科权威名医，医术很好，于是就一人作主将老人家转院。不料转院后，该名权威医生认为老人家年事已高，脑部手术风险太大，拒绝冒险开刀。不幸的是，老人家已经作了插管和气切了，所以也回不了家，结果已经十个月过去了，老人家仍然挂在医院里，求生不得，求死不能。当初坚持要救老爸的小女儿早就屁股拍拍回美国去了，其他的兄姐也都七老八十了，自顾都不暇，哪有余力再去关心照顾老人家，就统统都丢给医院，让无情的维生机器陪伴着老人。。。苟延残喘。。。不知要拖到何年何月何日才得解脱？（注：后来这位老人家在医院拖了十一个月之后，因多重器官衰竭而死亡。）
Mother's Last Life Show - My Life and Death Study, page 25
In order to allow readers to better understand the problem, I would like to quote a real story: In year 2010, a master's course student from Nan Hua University Institute of Life and Death told me that: His wife's grandfather got a stroke when he aged 108 and was thus sent to a private churches hospital. The family members had already reached a consenses that grandfather should no longer be treated with medical treatment, so that the elderly could pass away peacefully. Unfortunately, the youngest daughter who rushed back from the United States insisted to proceed with medical treatment, and no one actually refuted and let her dominate every decision. The only possible treatment was going through brain surgery. She said she knew a famous neurosurgery surgeon from a public hospital, who was very skillful, and she transferred her father to that hospital without going through family discussion. Unexpectedly, after the transfer, the authoritative surgeon refused to risk the elderly by going through brain surgery due to patient was deemed too old. Unfortunately, patient had already been intubated and tracheostomy (stoma) had been performed, and thus, he was not able to return home anymore. As a result, ten months had passed and his grandfather was still in the hospital, lived in pain. The "decision maker" who insisted to "rescue" her father, had gone back to the United States long ago. And the rest of her siblings were also old enough and only able to take good care of themselves. The elderly was then left to the care of hospital staff, accompanied by relentless life-sustaining machine... barely survived with his last breathing... unsure of when can he released from such torture. (Note: After eleven months, the elderly man died of multiple organ failure.)

当耕莘及台大医院的医生不断地建议给妈妈插鼻胃管的时候，我们都很明确地严词拒绝，只接受打点滴和营养液，其它任何入侵式的医疗措施一概不予考虑。我们兄弟这样的决定，很多人都颇有疑虑。
When doctors of Geng Shin and Hospital of Taiwan University constantly advised us to insert nasogastric tube to my mother, my brothers and I rejected the suggestion firmly, we only accepted drip and nutrient solution, any other invasice medical treatments were not taken into account. Many people were quite skeptical about our decisions.

我们当然了解医生的顾虑与善意，他们担心妈妈从住进耕莘医院就一直没有进食，如果连鼻胃管都不插，会不会把妈妈“饿死”？我相信绝大多数人，一听到医生或者其他人说，不插鼻胃管会把病人“饿死”，几乎百分之九十九点九九九的人都会被“吓到”，同时也害怕遭到旁人严厉指控而担负“不孝”的罪名，在这样的情况下，绝大多数人都会毫不考虑病人的亲身感受与实际需求（其实往往是没有需求），就同意给病人插管了。

Of course we understood doctors' concerns. My mother had not taken any food since she was admitted to Geng Shin Hospital. They worried that she would be "starved to death" without inserting the nasogastric tube. I believe majority of people, perhaps almost 99.999% of them are terrified, as soon as when they hear about patients will be "starved to death" without inserting the nasogastric tube. At the same time, they fear of the harsh allegations of others by being not filial. Under such circumstances, most of them will ignore the feelings and actual needs of patients (in fact, patients usually do not have such needs), and agree to intubate the patients.

我要特别对各位读者强调，末期及临终病人想要能够善终与往生，是需要有起码的精神和体力的，如果家属及医生把病人的精神和体力都消耗殆尽在无谓的救治上面，病人是“绝对”无法善终与往生的。

I would like to particularly emphasis to all readers that, if terminally ill or dying patients want to be able to have good death, they need minimum amount of strength (mentally and physically). If the family and doctors consume patients' the only remaining negligible vitality on unneccessary treatments, it is absolutely impossible for the patients to have good death.

其次，我要特别提出来，请各位读者认真思考的问题，就是从病人对于插管的直觉感受层面来看，我不知道有多少医生自己亲身经验过插鼻胃管的感觉？我和二弟都经验过，苦不堪言。我在前面已经说过，妈妈因为吞咽功能退化，就连我小心翼翼地用吸管喂她喝水都会呛到，所以她进食的意愿很低，在这样的身体情况下，如果硬要为她插管，不是等于要她的命？

Secondly, I would like to specially request all readers to think seriously, that is, from the point of view of how the patients feel when they are intubated. I do not know how many doctors experienced being intubated. My brother and I had experienced it, it was terribly suffering. As I said earlier, my mother was having swallowing degeneration. She will chok even when I carefully fed her water with pipette, thus, her willingness to eat was very low. In such circumstances, it was almost like killing her by insisting on intubation.

病人如果插了鼻胃管，每天要灌食四到六次，表面上看起来，是为了病人的营养着想，但是很多人都没考虑到，只要有食物进入体内，接着就有消化和排泄的问题，对于末期及临终的病人而言，其实这是非常沉重的负担，同时也随伴着严重的后果——病人要嘛无法消化，要嘛无法排泄。二弟曾经当面问过医生给病人插了鼻胃管灌食之后，万一病人无法排泄怎么办？医生居然回答说：他没有想过这个问题。

If a patient has been intubated, he will be fed four to six times a day. This may look like it is for the patient's nutritional sake, but many people may not realise that, as long as we intake food, there are needs for digestion and excretion. These two issues will create heavy burden to the terminally ill or dying patient, and accompanied by serious consequences - it is either the patient not able to digest food, or he is not able to excrete. My brother did ask the doctor what if the patient not able to excrete after intubating. To our surprise, the doctor answered: He did not think about this issue.

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Life and Death (II) Page 2 - 24 生死自在（二）第2－24页

Series (II) is very much lengthy than Series (I), thus, I will progressively publish its important points once in every fortnight.
系列二会比系列一长很多，因此我将把重点分阶段总结，并每两周刊登一篇。

This is the free book I acquired from the bistro of Fo Guang Shan Singapore. Article in Chinese here directly extracted from the book.
这是我在佛光山寺庙里的餐厅看到，免费赠阅的一本书。以下华语部分的内容直接摘自此书。

妈妈最后的生命示现－我的永续生死学功课，第2页

在《论语。里仁》篇中，孔子曰：“父母之年，不可不知也，一则以喜，一则以惧。”这句话的用意，当然是指为人子女的一种孝道表现，要记得父母的年纪，一方面庆幸他们能年享高寿，另一方面却也忧惧他们日渐衰老。孔子此言已然隐含了为人子女终究将面临父母百年之后的丧亲心理压力。

My Mother's Last Life Show - My Homework of Life and Death, page 2

In the 《Analects.Li Ren》, Confucius said: "We have to remind ourselves about our parents’ age, on one hand we are glad that they enjoy their longevity, on the other hand we also fear that they are aging.” The meaning of this sentence refers to behaviour of filial piety of a child. Confucius’ quote implies that as someone’s children, we eventually have to face the psychological pressure of losing our old parents.

吾人肉体的死亡主要有三个因素：疾病，老化和灾祸，因为天灾人祸不幸意外事故而死亡的人，就比列上来说其实是相对少数的，绝大多数人都是因为老化以及恶疾绝症而死亡的。然而现代人拜医疗科技的进步与普及之赐，却面临了一种死亡的吊诡困境而不自觉，绝大多数人—不论是否罹患恶疾绝症—都是拖过了个人肉体老化的极限，而陷入末期疾病或身体机能衰败的困境，然后是靠着插管以及医疗机器来延续肉体的生命现象，最后将体力与精神完全消耗殆尽而痛苦地命终，这是身为现代人的终极无奈与死亡的悲剧。

There are three main factors of death: disease, aging and accident. Death caused by unfortunate accident is relatively much lesser, most people die of aging or disease. However, thanks to the progress and popularization of today’s medical technology, people unknowingly confronted with the dilemma of death, the vast majority of people - whether or not suffering from disease - are dragged to live beyond their limit of physical aging, and ending up in terminally ill state or until their bodies stop functioning properly, and then relying on intubation and medical equipment to continue their life, and finally physically and mentally exhausted and die in pain. As part of today’s society, we are ultimately helpless in the tragedy of death.

从我多年来的生死学教学以及临终关怀实务中所累积，体会的经验和心得，我坚信理想的善终情境应该是在个人老化以及生理机能退化的自然过程中，预知时至，自己与家人都能坦然地面对及迎接死亡时刻的到来。因此，我坚持要维护妈妈的生命品质，以及捍卫她的生命尊严与死亡尊严，不让她陷入现代医疗的无谓折磨与困境。非常感谢我的三个弟弟也都有此共识，我们兄弟得以同心协力地陪伴妈妈，让她很有尊严地走完这一期生命的全程。

The practical experience which I acquired throughout many years of teaching topic about life and death and hospice care, makes me I strongly believe that the ideal way of good death should be caused by aging and the natural process of degeneration. One should be able to predict the arrival of death, together with his family, accepting the arrival of death peacefully. Hence, I insist on safeguarding the living quality of my mother, and defending her dignity of life-and-death, to make sure that she did not trapped into the unneccessary modern's medical treatment. I was very grateful that my three younger brothers have the same consenses, and we work together accompanying our mother to complete her life without compromising her dignity.

面对医护团队分享生死的哲思与交流心得经验，我深知现代医疗科技在实际面对临终与死亡情境时的迷思，局限与困境，也深深体会绝大多数末期或临终病患及其家属们不得不面对生死大事之际，却不知道该如何正确地判断与抉择的伦理挣扎，满怀焦虑慌乱与惶恐无助，最后往往陷入“亲情孝道”的严重误解与迷思，以及现代医疗的思维局限与科技框架，作出令病人饱受折磨，痛苦万分，而且又令家属事后懊悔且自责不已的错误决定。

From my experience of sharing thinking about life and death with medical teams, I know the realistic difficulties, myths and limitation of today's medical technology. I know the vast majority of terminally ill or dying patients and their families do not able to judge and make a correct decision while having to face the moment of death. They are ancious, fear, panic and helpless, and finally trapped into the serious misunderstanding and myth of the concept of "filial piety", and misconception towards today's medical and technology framework. Therefore, families may regret and self-blame about the wrong decision made which brings suffering and pain to their loved ones.

要能从容自在地面对自我或亲人的生死情境，首要的功课与步骤，就是要在“心理上”和“思想上”，不但不排斥或拒绝死亡确实来临的可能性，而且要在“观念上”及“认知上”能够接受自我与亲人“自然的”老化过程与死亡结果，以及在“态度上”能够“坦然地”面对及迎接死亡时刻的到来。

In order to calmly face the death of oneself or our loved ones, the primary step is to psychologically and ideologically accept the possibility of death, conceptually and cognitively acknowledge the result of natural process of aging and death, and face the arrival of death peacefully.

我相信普天下所有人都希望自己的父母，长辈和至亲，不但能够年享高寿，而且最后都能够善终。拜现在医疗科技与公共卫生之赐，八，九十岁以上的高龄长者已经是普遍的现象；然而“善终”却是越来越加困难，以致于真正能够“如愿地”善终的人，在比例上其实是甚为稀有的，绝大多数的末期病患都是在现代医疗科技的无情伺候下，万分痛苦地弃世。究其原因，主要有三：

其一，绝大多数身为子女者及家属，一方面落入迂腐的传统孝道迷思，认为“不急救”，“不插管”就是“不孝”，一方面过度迷信现代医疗科技，以为救治可以“无限地”延续亲人的肉体生命。

其二，多数现代医疗科技与医护人员的意识型态仍然未能正视及接受”死亡“本来就是”生命自然历程”的一环，依旧以“对抗”乃至“战胜”死亡为“职志”，极度欠缺对“死亡的意义”应有的哲理认知与尊重，也欠缺对病人的心理需求及灵性成长应有的人文关怀。

其三，绝大多数人——不论是病人，家属或是医生——都吾将肉体的衰老，死亡视为生命的“绝对终点”，而一味地否认与抗拒，因而忽视善终的准备过程，乃至错失善终的宝贵契机。

I believe everyone wishes their parents, elders and relatives not only to enjoy longevity but finally good death. Thanks to today's medical technology and public health services, it is a common phenomenon that elderly aged in their eighties or nineties. However, "good death" has became more and more difficult, to the extend that the ratio of people who are able to have good death as they wish, is rare. The vast majority of patients leave the world in extreme pain due to modern's medical treatment. There are three main reasons for this to happen:
First, most children or families, on one hand are trapped into the pedantic tradition of filial piety. They believe "no rescuing", "no intubation" equals to "no filial". On the other hand, they overly trust the capability of modern's medical technology, they think that treatment can "infinitely" extends the life of their loved ones.
Second, majority of today's medical technology and healthcare staff deny that "death is the natural course of life", they are confronting "death" and even view "conquering death" as their mission. They are very much lack of cognition and respect for the meaning of death and its philosophy. They also lack of giving humane care to the psychological need or spiritual growth of their patients.
Third, the vast majority of people - patients, families or doctors - view the aging of physical body and death as the "absolute ending of life". Thus, they deny, reject and neglect the process of preparing for good death, eventually they lose the invaluable chance of having good death.

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Life and Death (I) 生死自在（一）

While I have lunch with my dear family at Fo Guang Shan, I came across three books about life and death. They are informative and I would like to share with you the contents in three books, i.e. one blog article for each book.

当我在佛光山与亲爱的家人共进午餐时，我在餐厅里看到了三本关于生死的书。书本内容丰富，我想与你分享这三本书中的部分内容，每本书将会是一篇博客文章。

Contents here are extracted from "Life and Death, the Ultimate Concern Series I".
这文章的内容摘自“生死自在，生命终极关怀系列一”。

[The Quality of Death] and [The Dignity of Death], page 54

Poeple nowadays talking about lifestyle, but often they forget that it has to include the dignity of death. The quality of life and the quality of death can not be seperated.

Indeed, the quality of death and the dignity of death has long been deliberately ignored due to topic of death is perceived as a taboo.

Reference: Professor Fu Wei Xun, The Dignity of Death and The Dignity of Life

In life, we have five types of blessing:

1. Long life

2. Wealth

3. Health

4. Good character

5. Good death

Life is not ideal if a wealthy person lives long but does not have a good death.

Reference: Shang Shu. Hong Fan

【死亡品质】和【死亡的尊严】，第54页
现代的人天天讲求所谓“生活品质”，却常忘记“生活品质”必须包含“死亡（的尊严）品质”在内。或不如说，“生活品质”与“死亡品质”是一体两面，不可分离。
其实，长久以来“死亡品质”与“死亡的尊严”就一直被忽视——或者不如说是——早就因众人的避讳而被刻意遗忘的问题。
引用: 傅伟勋教授一书，《死亡的尊严与生命的尊严》

人生有“五福”: “一曰寿，二曰富，三曰康宁，四曰攸好德，五曰考终命。”（这就是“五福临门”这个成语的出处。）最后一福“考终命”就是“善终”，也就是俗话所说的“好死”。
一个人即使长寿且富贵，但是不得善终，这样的人生毕竟不够圆满。
引用: 《尚书.洪范》

The Hospice Care of Buddhism, page 58

Majority of today's medical teams and institutions, due to the limited and insufficient understanding of terminal illness, are focusing on prolonging the life of patient by means of medical treatment. They tend to neglect the psychology, mental and spiritual need of a terminally ill patient, not to mention the possibility of the patient has his own careful thought of the way he wish to live his final stage of life.

In recent years, due to the hospice care has been developing, many government-managed and private hospitals have set-up wards specially for this purpose. Hospice care has now also extended to patients at home. And this has dramatically improved the quality of death.

However, even the patient has admitted to hospice care, when confronted with death, the physical and mental suffering and torturing our loved ones experiencing, is still the challenges they have to bear with themselves. It is not something the closest family can bear on behalf.
佛教的临终关怀法门——临终（往生）助念，第58页
现代医疗团队与机构，对于生命与死亡，由于在认知上的限制与不足，在面对绝症重病时，多半还是着眼于病人肉体生命的不断救治与延长，而往往忽略末期病患在心理上，精神上乃至灵性层次上的尊严与需求，遑论病人还可能有更上一层楼的善终自主考量与宗教解脱需求。

近年来安宁照顾的不断推广，许多公，私立医院都设置了安宁病房，包括提供居家安宁照顾服务，末期病人的临终与死亡情境已经大幅地改善。

然而，病人即使住进了安宁病房，在面临死亡之际，自己亲身所可能经历的种种身心痛苦与煎熬，仍然是每一个病人所必须独自面对的主体性生命课题与挑战，毕竟只能“自我承担”，即使是最亲近的家人也无法代劳，遑论解决其在病体和精神上的问题。

The General Cognition, Misunderstanding and the Actual Meaning of Wang Sheng ("Good Death and continue after-life in a higher realm" in Buddhism context), page 63

The majority simply views the term "Wang Sheng" as nothing more than "Death". To them, the word "Wang Sheng" is just merely a substituting word for "Death". Or, at best, the greatest benefit of the word "Wang Sheng", can be used to euphemistically express the meaning of "Death" without the need to mention the upsetting word. As a matter of fact, with the mass media coverage, the word "Wang Sheng" has became a popular word. However, the community does not care nor explore its true semantics and connotations.

In fact, most Buddhists misinterpret and misunderstand its meaning too.

1. Wang Sheng does not happen after death

2. Wang Sheng is not die of illness
“往生”一词的世俗认知，误解与辩证，第63页

绝大多数人在认知上，只是单纯而直接地将“往生”和“死亡”画上等号；换句话说，对他们而言，“往生”一词——只不过是“死亡”的代名词罢了；或者充其量而言，“往生”一词的最大好处，是可以当作“死亡”的“婉辞(euphemism)”，既可以委婉地表达了“死亡”的意思，又可以避讳“死亡”的禁忌，何乐而不用？于是乎，“往生”一词随着大众媒体传播报道而广为流行开来，然而它的真正语意及内涵，社会大众既毫不在意，也从未探究。

其实，就连多数佛教徒本身，对于“往生”的认知也存有相当大的曲解或误解。
1. 真正的“往生”绝对不是“死掉了以后”才往生的
2. 真正的“往生者”绝对不是“病死”的

Popular View on Wang Sheng Zhu Nian ("Chanting for the death") and the Problems It Causes, page 95

In Taiwan, there is one popular view and practice of treating the deceased: The moment the deceased has passed on, family/friends/relatives/volunteers to chant beside him for atleast 8 hours, and the living is disallowed to move the body, because the soul of the deceased has not completely leaving his body, there is a possibility that the deceased still has certain level of perception. The society believe that the deceased will be unhappy of being moved or touched, and this unpleasant emotion will severely hinder the deceased to proceed to the higher realm. Thus, bathing, make-up, putting on shroud and let relatives/friends to pay respect to the deceased can only be carried out after this 8 hours of time.

In fact, the statement "can not move the deceased for 8 hours" is not a theory of Buddhism, it is a disclosure from Master Hong Yi* at a chanting activity held at Xiamen Miao Shi Temple in year 1932. The reason of saying so was unstated.

有关“往生助念”的流行说法及其所衍生的问题，第95页

在台湾社会流行的说法及做法是：在病人断气之后，至少要为他念佛八小时，而且在这段时间之内不得搬动遗体，因为亡者的心识尚未完全脱离肉体，可能还有知觉。为了避免亡者因其遗体被触动而心生不悦，严重影响其往生正念之提起，所以要等命终之后八小时，才可以为亡者沐浴，化妆，换寿衣，再让亲友来瞻仰遗容。

关于命终之后“八小时”内，“不得移动“亡者遗体的说法，其实并非出自于佛教的经纶，而是源自弘一大师*于一九三二年应邀在厦门妙释寺念佛會的开示，而后治定为《人生之最后》一文。弘一大师并未在文中交代“八小时”的出处与依据，亦未说明为什么亡者遗体要经历八小时才能处置的理由。

The Supplimentary Note of Master Hong Yi's article "The Last of Life" and the "Eight Hours", page 99

In today's Taiwan, Wang Sheng Zhu Nian has became a "SOP (standard operating procedure)" for the Buddhist community to handle death. Traditionally people believe that "if there is prayer, there is blessing", thus Wang Sheng Zhu Nian gains popularity among non-Buddhist. However, even the Buddhist, may not completely understand the reasons. And the majority of non-Buddhist, merely aware of the ritual but does not understand the purposes behind it. The worst thing about this, is the true intention has been distorted by lots of hearsay, prejudice and misunderstanding.

In fact, the key problem for "the 8 hours after death" does not lie in the Zhu Nian (chanting for 8 hours) but organ transplantation/donation.
有关弘一大师《人生之最后》一文以及“八小时”的补充说明，第99页
在今日的台湾，“往生助念”在形式上俨然已经成为佛教界与佛教徒处理临终及往生事件的“标准作业程序 (SOP, standard operating procedure)”；而且在民间传统宗教态度“有烧香就有保佑”的影响与附和下，越来越多的非佛教徒也开始在形式上以及程序上比照办理。然而，即使是佛教徒，对于“往生助念”的道理和实务，其实也多半是知其然而不知其所以然，至于大多数非佛教徒更是一知半解，甚至掺杂了许多道听途说，以讹传讹的成见或误解。

其实“命终之后八小时”一说，真正问题的关键——或者说，真正会构成严重问题的问题——根本就不在于“助念”，而是在于“器官移植”与“器官捐赠”。

The Meaning and Usefullness of Wang Sheng Zhu Nian in this Modern Times, page 112

The general public often doubt the effectiveness of religious activities and their rituals. Such doubts in fact carry the idea of utilitarian within; it implies that the rituals is only meaningful if they bring benefits to the deceased.

From the Buddhist point of view, any religious practices which emphasis on Wang Sheng Zhu Nian, its real meaning and value, does not lie in the physical way the rituals are conducted and its effectiveness in the context of utilitarian. They are meant to enlighten the deceased to let go of things he insists to hold on and help the deceased to be mindful to start his new life.
“往生助念”中诵经与称念圣号的现代意义与功能，第112页
一般大众往往会怀疑宗教行持及其仪式的有效性，这样的疑惑其实是带有浓厚的功利性思维色彩，似乎是说，如果实际上真的有效，做了才有意义。

从佛教的观点而言，以“往生助念”为主轴的相关宗教行持，其实真正的意义与价值，并不在于其外表仪式对亡者有无效果的功利性问题，而是为了开导亡者“能放下以往的牵绊与执着，提起正念，迎接未来的生命”的一种“终极灵性关怀”。

The Generalization and Pupularization of the Concept and Cognition of Wang Sheng, page 114

I (Master Hui Kai) would like to emphasis once again, the cognition and idea of "continuity of life", and the practical effort seeking "Wang Sheng" and so on, is not the "patent" of Buddhist. Anyone can substantially continue their after-life in the realm of their respective beliefs, or where they think ideal, through their own free will.

If a Buddhist does not have strong wish to Wang Sheng to Buddhism Pure Land, and he also does not equip the quality of faith, wish and behaviour, he can never Wang Sheng to the Pure Land.

As for the "general meaning" of Wang Sheng in Buddhism context, it refers to continuing one's after-life in one out of the six realms, decided by one's wish, thought and karma.
“往生”概念与认知的一般化及普及化，第114页
我（慧开法师）要再强调一次，“生命的永续经营”与“往生”的认知理念，以及“求往生”的具体实践。。。。。。等等，都不是佛教徒的专利，任何人都可以透过他个人的心愿与修持，“实质地”往生到信仰上或心目中的归宿。

即使是佛教徒，如果没有发愿要往生佛国净土，也没有具足“信，愿，行”的资量，其实是无法往生到佛国净土的。

至于“广义”的往生，泛指往生至六道中任何一处（随愿，随念，随业）。

*I attached herewith article "The Last of Life" written by Master Hong Yi. It was written in Chinese.
*我谨附上弘一大师以中文编写的《人生之最后》一文。

Exhumation of Graves 起坟

On 18 July 2017, National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Ministry of National Development (MND) made a jointly announced that Tengah Air Base to be expanded to free up Paya Lebar Air Base for future development.
2017年7月18日，国家环境局（NEA），新加坡土地管理局（SLA）和国家发展部（MND）联合宣布登加空军基地将扩大，以容纳将于2030年后搬迁的巴耶利峇空军基地的部分军事设备，以便将来发展。

With this announcement, 45,500 Chinese graves and 35,000 Muslim graves in Choa Chu Kang Cemetery (CCKC) which have met the minimum burial period of 15 years needed to be exhumed. The exhumation work commences in September 2017.
在这个公告中，已符合15年土葬期限的45,500个华族坟墓和35,000个穆斯林坟墓将会分批起坟。起坟工作于2017年9月开始进行。

My blog here will only cover the topic of exhumation of Chinese graves where no export of uncremated corps is required.

我的博客只会涵盖华族坟墓挖掘的部分，不包括须要被家属运出国外（没经过火化过程）的遗骸。

NOK can email NEA to make a claim. The next-of-kin must submit application to exhume corpse (see image below) to NEA for the date of exhumation to be assigned. If NOK decides to engage own contractor, NOK must present to NEA the details of the contractor such as name card.

家属可以通过电子邮件向国家环境局提出起坟申请。起坟日期将由国家环境局决定。如果家属决定雇用私家承包商／寿板店，在申请的当儿，家属必须知会环境局该承办人／寿板店的资料（如名片），以做记录。下图是已被批准的起坟申请信。

NOK or appointed representative(s) must present to witness the exhumation. NOK must keep NEA informed about the arrangements. Cremation is a must for exhumes corps. Exhumation and cremation must be carried out on the same day.

家属或代表必须出席见证起坟工作。如果代表出席见证，家属必须通知环境局有关安排。所有挖掘出来的遗骸必须火化，并且在同一天进行。

The deceased's next-of-kin can engage own contractor or NEA contractor. If NEA contractor is appointed, NEA will bear the cost of exhumation and cremation. Cremation will be carried out at Mandai Crematorium.

亲属可以聘请自己的承包商或环境局雇用的承包商。如果是“环境局承包商”，环境局将承担起坟和火化的费用。火化将在万礼火葬场进行。

As for private contractor, standard exhumation costs can range from SGD1,000 and onwards. Extra charges at SGD300 (estimated) may incur if the large part of the corps has not decayed. Casket is not a must. Additional fee may be charged by the private contractor for transporting the corps to crematorium, which may cost around SGD600. NOK has the option to carry out the cremation either at Mandai Crematorium or private crematorium.

至于私人承包商，起坟费用从1,000新元起。如果大部份的大体没被腐化，家属必须额外支付300新元（估计）的费用。棺材不是必需的。为了将遗骸送往火化场，私营承包商或会再向家属收取另外约600新元的费用。家属可以选择在万礼火葬场或私营火葬场进行火葬。

There are only 3 crematoriums in Singapore. Mandai Crematorium is the only government-manage crematorium. Here are the charges of these 3 crematoriums:

1. Mandai Crematorium - SGD100 for adult and SGD50 for children under 10 year old

2. Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery - SGD300

3. Tse Toh Aum Temple - SGD400

新加坡只有3座火葬场。万礼火葬场是唯一的公家火葬场。以下是这3个火葬场的费用：

1. 万礼 - 成人100新元，10岁以下儿童50新元

2. 光明山 - 300新元

3. 自度庵 - 400新元

All cremated remains will be allocated a niche free of charge in a government columbarium. NOK may arrange to place the cremains at private columbarium or other alternative facilities of their own choice and at their own expense. Sea or green burial is also an option.

政府将提供免费的骨灰龛给所有火化后的灵骨。家属可以将灵骨安葬在私人骨灰龛，但费用必须自己承担。家属也可选择海葬或环保埋葬。

The Broken Down LumiSpa 我那无法操作的LumiSpa

上个礼拜，我把我那无法操作的LumiSpa送去如新维修。那架坏了的洗脸机是属于第七批的。一个礼拜后，我接到如新的简讯，告诉我洗脸机修好了，可以领了。让我开心的是我拿到的是一台全新的机器。工作人员告诉我这第八批应该没有问题。

I was just getting back my LumiSpa from Nu Skin office after about a week since it (the batch #7) has broken down and was sent for repair. What I got was a replacement. I was informed by the staff that this batch #8 should have no problem.

对于在保修期内发生故障的机器，客户可以送回如新进行检查。但是，如果机器在保修期之后短期内发生故障，根据个别情况而定，客户可能会或可能不会得到维修服务或产品更换。如果机器在保修期过后的一段时间内发生故障，客户将无法获得维修服务（即使您愿意付维修费），这意味着客户需要购买一台新的。

For device which is broken down within the warranty period, customer can send to the office for checking. However, if device is broken down just after the warranty period, base on case by case basis, customer may or may not get their device repaired or replaced. If device broken down for a period of time after the warranty period, no repair service is available to customer, that means customer needs to buy a new one (even though you are willing to pay for the repair).

当员工收回有故障的机器时，他会向客户发出带有机器详细资料的红色发票。如新将发送简讯通知顾客关于维修已完成和领取机器的截止日期。顾客必须向工作人员提交同样的红色发票以领取机器。如新将保留红色单据和重复发票，并附上维修或更换细节。我喜欢他们的客户服务。工作人员耐心回复我的询问。整个过程是非常简单，愉快的。

A red slip with device details will be given to customer when staff collected the faulty device. Nu Skin office will send message to customer's mobile informing that repair has been done and deadline to collect back the device. The same red slip has to be presented to the staff for collection. Nu Skin office will keep the red slip and duplicated invoice with repair or replacement details will be issued to the customer. I love their customer service. The whole process is easy and pleasant with great counter service. Staff is patient to reply my enquiries.

我不建议您从其他国家或二手市场购买如新的机器，尽管那么做可能要便宜得多。这是因为您可能没有收据，或者机器已不在保修期内。任何需要维修或替换的机器都需要送回到出售该台机器的国家。这真会很麻烦！

I do not recommend you to purchase Nu Skin's device from another country or from second hand market, despite it may seem much cheaper. This is due to you may not have the receipt, or you are no longer covered under their warranty period. Any broken down device needs to be sent to the Nu Skin office in that particular country which sold the device. What a hassle!

First Use of Freedom Cups During My Menstruation 月经期间的首次自由杯使用

It is not unusual for me to leave the comfort of my home for work when my menstruation is approaching. For this time around, I have a better way to deal with it than using a sanitary pad. I decided to put on my Freedom Cups. For the next three days, I repeated the same process and I did successfully avoid being so wasteful of throwing three clean but used sanitary pads.

身为职业女性，不管我们在月经来临之前或之时，离开我们家舒适家到外头去的工作是很平常的事。以前，我的解决方案是在接近月经来临前这段时间，每天用一个卫生巾以防万一。现在，我有一个更好的方法来处理这问题，而并不需要使用卫生巾。我决定穿上我的自由杯。在接下来的三天里，我重复了同样的过程，并且成功地避免了浪费三个清洁但使用过的卫生巾。

I did try out the menstruation cup before my period. However, I can only tell if the cup can seal and capture fluid when I am having menstruation. This was my experience:

我在来月经之前尝试过月经杯。但是，我只能在我月经时告诉自己杯子是否可以封闭并储存液体。以下记录了我的经验：

Day One

It was easier to slide in when I was having menstruation. Hmm, you know the reason. I wore it with a pad because I was too afraid of any leakage. I changed it after twelve hours when I can see some stain on the pad. It was just a few drops of blood. For this reason, I found Freedoms Cups was very reliable, it was almost leak-free. My fluid filled about half of the Grande-sized cup. I decided to shorten the wearing time to eight or ten hours followed by a change for a better leak control. I slept well without having to lay a piece of sanitary sheet on my bed or being mindful of my posture while sleeping. I hardly noticed its existence.

第一天

当我来月经时，它更容易滑入。嗯，我想你是知道原因的。因为我太害怕泄漏所造成的尴尬，我同时也穿上了卫生垫子。当我看到垫上有污渍时，我到冲凉房去清洗杯子，而那也已经是12小时后的事情了。那污迹也只不过是几滴血罢了。出于这个原因，我发现自由杯非常可靠，几乎没有泄漏任何经血。我的杯子是大号的，而液体充满了杯子的大约一半。我决定将穿戴时间缩短到8或10个小时，以便可以更好的控制泄漏。我睡得很好，无需在床上铺一张卫生棉垫，也不用在睡觉时留意自己的姿势。我很难意识到自由杯的存在。

Day Two

I wore it without a pad. Hey, I have become more confident now! I changed it after ten hours, no leakage at all. My fluid filled slightly lesser than half of the cup.

第二天

我只用杯子，没有用上卫生垫子。嘿，我现在对自由杯更加有信心了！ 10小时后我清洗了它，完全没有泄漏。流量稍微比第一天少。

Day Three to Day Six

I decided to wear it for twelve hours, as I knew my flow will be much lesser from day three and onwards. My fluid only filled one-third of the cup. Perfectly leak-proof.

第三天至第六天

我决定穿上12个小时。因为我知道从第三天起，我的流量会减少很多。这次液体只填满了杯子的三分之一。完全防漏。

By calculation, I saved twenty four pads and at least four panty liners in a month. In another word, two hundreds and eighty eight pads and forty eight panty liners for a year. I really do not want to count how much I have to use or spend on those sanitary products for the next ten or twenty years. And it is really bad to know all these things will go to landfill.
通过计算，我在一个月内减少使用24个卫生巾和至少4个内裤衬垫。换句话说，一年省了288个卫生巾和48个内裤衬垫。我真的不想算在接下来的10年或20年里，我会花多少钱在这些卫生用品上。而且对环境来说也是一种无法负荷的破坏。

I told my mom about Freedom Cups. She asked have I purchased the cup from Guardian or Watson? How can the company make money by selling these cups, as a woman only need one cup which can last for up to ten years? I told her that I did not see it was being sold at any pharmacy or supermarket because I did not think the seller can make any profit out of this.
我告诉妈妈关于我使用自由杯的经过。她问我是否从Guardian或Watson购买杯子？公司如何能通过销售这些杯子来赚钱，因为每个女人只需要一个杯子便可以使用长达10年之久？我告诉她，我没有看到它在任何药店或超市销售，因为我不认为卖家可以从中获得很高的利润。

After my first try of the cup during my menstruation, I found my fluid is not that scary or sting. In fact, our blood is odorless. The cause of period blood odor is bacteria which grows on our pad. By the excellent sealing ability of Freedom Cups, I can easily eliminate this problem. How I wish I meet Freedom Cups earlier.
在我月经期间第一次尝试杯子后，我发现经血并不是那么可怕或会发出难闻的腥味。事实上，我们的血液是非常干净且无味的。经血的气味是因为我们的垫子上长了很多的细菌。凭借自由杯出色的密封能力，我可以在无需再使用卫生巾的情况下轻松解决了这个问题。我多么希望能早些时候遇见自由杯。

Lastly, I would say I will never go back to using a sanitary pad, which controlled how should I sleep, how should I move and where I can go in the past decades. Of course, saving my wallet is another plus point!
最后，我会说我永远都不会再使用卫生巾，它在过去几十年内控制了我睡觉的姿势，以及我经期时的活动。当然，它将帮我省下许多钱是另一个重点！

Ergonomic Design of Freedom Cups 自由杯的人体工程学设计

Stem of Freedom Cup.
自由杯的杆子。

At first I was skeptical about the short stem of Freedom Cups. When I was doing my online research of menstrual cups, I saw most of them have longer stem. I feel it is easier to remove a cup with longer stem.
起初我对自由杯的短杆持怀疑态度。当我在做月经杯的在线研究时，我发现它们大多数都有较长的杆子。我觉得长杆子的杯子比较容易移除。

Since I have decided to purchase from Freedom Cups which donates a cup to underprivileged community by selling a cup, I convinced myself that the stem should be "long enough" for me to hold and remove it.
由于我已决定购买自由杯，并通过买一赠一，响应向贫困社区捐赠杯子，我确信自由杯的杆子应该“够长”，让我可以抓住它并顺利从体内移除杯子。

In my previous article, my cup "pop" opened when I pushed it further inside. I did have challenge finding the stem at first. Without panic, I followed instruction booklet: Push down gently using pelvic floor muscles. Gently pull the stem until you can firmly grip the base of the cup. Pinch the base of the cup to release the vacuum seal. But, how to push down using pelvic floor muscles? My online research done before did its part now. The technique is as if you are pushing a baby out gently or "laying an egg". By doing so, I can quickly feel the stem easily as the cup has been pushed down quite a lot. Then, I managed to remove it within seconds.
在我之前的文章中，当我把杯子更深地推进体内时，我的杯子“噗”一声打开了。起初我确实遇到挑战。在完全没有恐慌的情形下，我遵循指导手册：轻轻地用盆底肌肉向下推。轻轻拉动杆子，直到可以牢牢抓住杯子的底部。捏住杯子的底部以释放真空密封。但是，我该如何使用盆底肌肉呢？我之前所完成的在线研究现在可以发挥作用了。这种技巧就好像你在轻轻地推出一个婴儿或“生下一枚鸡蛋”。通过这样的动作，我可以很容易地感觉到杆子，因为杯子已经被推下了很多。然后，我在几秒钟内就将其移除。

I studied the stem and realised that it is cleverly designed. It is only seven millimeter long. The "waist" in the middle enable you to hold the stem with two fingers, while the bulging bottom stops your fingers from sliding off. The stem should not stick out or poking you since it is short and has rounded end.
我研究了那杆子，并意识到它的设计很巧妙。它只有七毫米长。其中间的“腰部”使您可以用两根手指握杆子，而鼓出的底部可以防止手指滑开。杆子不应该“伸出”体外或戳你，因为它很短并且底部是圆形的。

Overall, I can feel the quality of the silicone is great, it is thick meanwhile elastic enough for us to shape it.
总的来说，我可以感觉到硅胶的质量非常好，有厚度，却又柔软得足以让我们折叠它。

Since I was trying it first without having my menses, I can only share with you how good Freedom Cup is in capturing my fluid up to minimum ten hours and prevents leakage in my next cycle. Stay tuned.
既然我是在还没有来经的情况下尝试它，我只能在下一个生理期与你分享自由杯能否容纳“液体”长达至少十小时，并防止泄漏。敬请关注。

Menstrual cups with longer stem. Picture from https://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/cup-images/.
拥有较长杆子的月经杯。图片取自Picture from https://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/cup-images/。

My First Try on Freedom Cups 我的自由杯初体验

When inserting Freedom Cup, I am holding the cup in a way that the fold is facing my back and the unfolded side facing my front. This is a shell fold. Some also name it as punch-down or push-down fold.
置入自由杯时，折叠面朝向我的臀部，没有折叠的一面朝向我的前方。这是贝壳折叠法的侧视图。有些人将其命名为压下式折叠法。

Although I tried wearing tampon few times about seven or eight years back, I did not really like it because of its string, though the convenience it gave was better than pad and lesser chance for leakage to happend. However, my worry was that I might not able to remove the tampon due to string may break and there is a lot of reviews saying the tampon is no good for health.

虽然我在大约七八年前曾尝试使用棉棒几次，但我并不喜欢它，因为它的绳子让我觉得很“别扭”，但它比垫子方便，泄漏的机会也小很多。但是，让我担心的，是我可能因为绳子断裂而无法移除卫生棉条，加上很多评论都说卫生棉条对健康有害。

Now, it is time to try another method, the menstrual cup. I tried before my next cycle starts so I would not mess up myself later. I tried the shell fold as recommended by Freedom Cups instruction booklet. Surprisingly, I managed to insert within three minutes. The only problem I faced was I did not know whether the cup has fully opened up in my vaginal canal. I tried to run my finger around the cup but I was not sure how did it feel if the cup was opened or how if it did not. Thus, I removed it again and successfully done so in thirty eight seconds. Yes, I timed myself. I wanted to know how long it takes for me to remove it since many of the online reviews saying they have difficulties removing it the first time. This was my concern I worries the most before giving it a try.

现在是时候尝试另一种方法，即月经杯了。我要在下一个周期开始之前尝试，以防搞砸自己，乱了阵脚。我尝试了自由杯说明手册推荐的贝壳折叠法。令我惊讶的是，我在三分钟内就完成了置入。我面对的唯一问题是我不知道杯子是否完全在我的阴道内完全打开。我试图用手指在杯子周围跑动一圈，但我不确定杯子打开后，手指所触摸到的感觉是如何的，或者如果没有打开，触感又是如何。因此，我将其在三十八秒内成功移除。是的，我为自己定时。我想知道我需要多长时间才能将其移除，因为许多在线评论都说他们在第一次移除它时遇到困难，并且尝试了半个小时以上，直至筋疲力尽。这是我还未尝试之前最担心的事情。

Top view of shell fold. Some also name it as punch-down or push-down fold.
这是贝壳折叠法的顶视图。有些人将其命名为压下式折叠法。

Then, I tried the heart fold. It was harder to insert due to wider in size but I managed it. Regardless what type of fold you are using, I find inserting is easier with the help of my another hand, which gives the bottom of the stem a gentle push.

然后，我又尝试了心形折叠法。这折叠法的杯口比较大所以较难置入，但我还是成功了。无论你使用什么类型的折叠法，我发现只要用另一只手轻轻推动杆的底部，置入会变得更容易。

Side view of the heart fold. Some name it as C fold or U fold.
心形折叠法的侧视图。有人将其命名为C折或U折法。

Top view of heart fold. Some name it as C fold or U fold.
心形折叠法的顶视图。有人将其命名为C折或U折法。

I followed instruction: Run my finger around the body of the cup, rotate the cup slightly, or wiggle the cup back and forth, up and down a little, to make sure it has fully opened. These were my attempts:
1. I tried to run my finger but I failed, because I did not know how does it feel if it has fully opened. At first, I failed to rotate the cup when it was completely inserted, it sat so firmly that rotation is not possible and the stem is too short and slippery for me to hold and rotate. However, I realised that I can rotate it while I was holding the end of the cup (instead of the stem) when the cup was left with a quarter outside of my body. I can still insert it completely after rotating.
2. I did not know how to wiggle the cup back and forth, was there any "space" for me to wiggle? But the cup did "pop" open and sealed when I completely inserted it and pull a quarter of it out from my body, and then inserted that quarter back again (sound complicated but it was super easy).
3. I release the fold when I left with a quarter of the cup outside my body while inserting (In fact, I realised this "accidentally" in my 4th cycle).
我遵循指示：将我的手指绕在杯体上，稍稍旋转杯子，或者稍微上下摆动杯子，以确保它完全打开。以下是我的尝试：
1. 我将手指绕在杯体上，但因为我不知道它完全打开时给我的感觉是如何的，所以这方法对我来说行不通。一开始，我也无法旋转杯子，它“坐”得如此牢固以至于旋转是几乎不可能的，并且杆子太短太滑了，我无法握紧旋转。但后来，我发现我其实是可以转动它的。首先，杯子的四分之一必须在体外，我必须用拇指与食指握着杯底（不是握着杆子）来进行转动。过后，我还是可以把被子完整地置入。
2. 我不知道如何来回摆动杯子，我不认为我有任何“空间”可以让我摆动。最后，我试着上下移动。当我试图将杯子推入更深一点, 然后把尾端的四分之一拉出体外，然后再置入回去时，突然间，我听到轻柔的“噗”一声，我相信这是杯子完全打开时的声音。（这读起来有些复杂可怕，但是事实上很简单而已）。
3. 当我在置入杯子的当儿（当杯子的四分之一还在我体外时），我释放了心形折叠。杯子在这时候会自动打开的。（事实上，我是在第四个月使用时意外地发现的）。

Finally, I took my shower. I was not able to feel the cup nor the stem at all. I was wondering will I forget to change or remove it later?

最后，我开始洗澡。我根本无法感觉到杯子或杆子。我在想待会儿我会记得将其清洗或移除吗？

There will be another blog talking about removing cup and the excellent ergonomic design of Freedom Cup which makes removing becomes so easy.

我将撰写一个如何移除杯子的文章。自由杯优秀的人体工程学设计，使得移除可以变得如此简单快速。

解开我的包裹－自由杯

我的自由杯。

Click here for English version.

女神杯（Diva Cup）的广告已经出现在我的面书好一段日子了。一直以来我都没给它太大的关注，直至一天恍然大悟，觉得它可以舒缓我在经期时的不适。我的经期通常长达至少六天才能完全“干净”。每当我的经期即将结束时，我都有因为皮肤和卫生棉摩擦和潮湿而引起的疹子，有时还会疼。在疹子消退后和皮肤刚痊愈之时，我的下一个周期即将开始。因此这问题仍会一再出现。至于几时可以脱离苦海呢？可能须要等到我更年期的时候。唔，那还有好多年。

出于好奇，我做了关于月经杯的线上研究，例如浏览美国eBay和亚马逊，本地在线市场如Lazada，Qoo10，Watson，Guardian，观看相关的YouTube视频和博客评论。我发现的大部分信息都是关于女神杯，Lazada的售价约为50新元。而Watson和Guardian则没有售卖月经杯。（嗯，谁愿意售卖无法重复大量售出的产品？）

当我即将停止搜查关于女神杯不胜枚举的讯息时，谷歌蹦出了mothership.sg，这篇博客文章谈到了另一个品牌“自由杯” （Freedom Cups）。我很兴奋，因为我终于找到了一家销售月经杯子的本地公司！让我更兴奋的是这家公司并非盈利机构，它是一个非营利组织，通过出售杯子向贫困社区的女性捐赠免费的杯子。简单地说，就是“卖一个，捐一个”。我告诉自己：嘿，为什么不试一试，同时回馈社会呢？

其实，我的心情既是开心，又是害怕受伤害。要自己把东西放进自己的身体内确实很可怕。我是一个怕痛怕脏的人。由于博客和YouTube评论以及自由杯网站上的常见问题都“保证”杯子不会“迷失”在我的身体内部，而导致我最终需要外科医生将其取出，于是我决定试用它，我说服自己的原因有几个：

1. 我希望在我的月经期间，包括在我睡觉时，尽可能保持动作的灵活性。

2. 当我的经期即将到来时，我不会浪费任何垫子。我有“预防胜于治疗”的习惯。当我外出时，我有习惯用上垫子，以防止“大姨妈”的突然到访而造成的尴尬。

3. 尽量减少制造垃圾。因为我必须每隔4小时更换一次垫子。这是为了个人卫生因素。因为我有轻到中的流量，所以浪费是难免的。垫子多数都还没完全“弄脏”，就得更换了。

4. 我希望皮疹会永远消失。

我总是希望我们的环境可以变得更好。以上的＃2和＃3常常让我在这些年来感到内疚。它们是肯定可以被淘汰解决的问题。正如自由杯所言，月经杯是由医疗级硅胶制成的小杯子，将其放入时很像放入卫生棉条，并位于子宫颈底部收集月经液。一个杯可以用最多长达15年。15年？！哇，真是令人鼓舞，因为我的钱包和这世界有救了！我不再浪费时间了，我将Grande添加到了我的购物车中。自由杯有两种尺寸，迷你（Mini）和Grande。它们并没有太大的差别，因此我选大号的Grande。我是一个懒惰怕脏的人，我希望我的杯子可以容纳更多的液体，因而我只需要每天更换两次杯子：) 我相信，当我在户外“穿”着一个较大容量的杯子时，我会感到更放心。我不想在公共厕所让自己混乱和慌乱。我只有自家的洗手间才感觉干净，舒适，安全。

缴付了杯子的33新元和邮费的2新元后，我耐心等待着它的到来。由于我在购买时，我的“大姨妈”已到访，因此我只能在下一个周期开始使用它。一周后，我的丈夫把包裹从邮箱内递交到我手中。

我等不及了。我想在下一个周期之前练习放入和移除它，因为根据评论和说明，使用者需要一点练习和了解自己的身体，用起来才可以更得心应手。我想为它做好准备。

我将在随后的周期中使用它之后，并撰写评论。我为自己勇于改变的勇气干杯！

包裹到了！

说明书所推荐的贝壳折叠法。

可爱的小小收纳袋。

Unboxing My Menstrual Cup - the Freedom Cups

Freedom Cup size Grande

欲阅读华文版，请点击这里。

It was a while ago when I came across menstrual cup commercials on Facebook, the Diva Cup. I did not really think of to give it a try until I realised that it might help to soothe my discomfort during menstrual cycle. My menses usually last for at least six days, in order to become "completely clean". I have rashes on my skin everytime when my period is ending. I believe that is due to friction while I am wearing pad. Before my rashes completely gone, my next cycle is about to start and thus the problem will still recurring until, probably when I am having my menopause? That will be a lot more years to go.

Out of curiosity, I did online research about menstrual cups such as browsing U.S. eBay and Amazon, local online marketplace such as Lazada, Qoo10, Watson, Guardian, watching related YouTube videos and blog reviews. Most of the information I found is about Diva Cups, which is selling at about SGD50 on Lazada. Watson and Guardian do not carry menstrual cups. (Hmm, who will carry a product which has no recurring sales?)

When I am about to stop researching, I came across mothership.sg which this blog post talked about another brand, the Freedom Cups. I was excited because finally I have found a local company that sells cups! What excited me more was this company is not profit making, it is a non-profit organization which donates a free cup to women from underprivileged community by selling a cup. I told myself: Hey, why not try this out and at the same time contribute something back to the society?

Putting something into my body does frighten me a fair bit. Since blog and YouTube reviews, and the FAQs on Freedom Cups website are giving "assurance" that the cup will not get lost inside my body where I might end up seeing a surgeon to remove it, I decided to give it a try for these few reasons:

1. I hope to be as mobile as I can during my menses, including when I am sleeping.

2. I will not waste any pad anymore when my period is approaching. I have the habit of wearing a pad when I am outside, to prevent any "unforeseen circumstances".

3. Create lesser trash since I have to change my pad every 4 hours, before it is completely soiled. This is for personal hygiene factors. I have light to moderate flow.

4. I hope that rashes will go away forever.

I always wish our environment can be better. The above #2 and #3 made me feel guilty all these years and they are something can definitely be eliminated. As claimed by Freedom Cups, a menstrual cup is a small cup made of medical-grade silicone that is inserted much like a tampon and sits at the base of the cervix collecting menstrual fluid. One cup can serve a woman up to 15 years. 15 YEARS?! Wow man, this is very encouraging, for my wallet and the better world! Without further ado, I added Grande to my shopping cart. There are two sizes, Mini and Grande. They do not really different a lot thus I prefer the bigger one. I am a lazy person, I hope my cup can hold more fluid and I only need to change only two times a day :) I also believe that I can feel more relieved when I am outside with a bigger cup. I do not wish to create mess in the public toilet. I am a kind of person who is only comfortable with own washroom.

After paying SGD33 for my cup and SGD2 for postage, I patiently waited for its arrival. Since I ordered it when I was having my period, I can only start to use it for my next cycle. It reached me slightly after a calendar week and my husband was the one who collected it from mailbox.

I can not wait. I want to practice inserting and removing it before my next cycle, I want to prepare for it since reviews and instructions are telling that this needs a little bit of practicing and understanding our own body.

I will be blogging a review after I have used it in my subsequent cycles. Bravo!

This is the shell fold recommended in the instruction booklet.

The adorable pouch.

Canon Pixma G4000 Printer 佳能Pixma G4000打印机

Image sourced from the internet.

照片源于互联网。

Due to the need of my work nature, I have recently bought a new printer. It's been seven to eight years ago when I bought the first one. The first one is Epson Stylus CX7300. Both have copy, print and scan functions. This Canon G4000 has fax function.

因为工作需要，最近我换了一台打印机。距离买第一台已经有7到8年的时间了。第一台是Epson Stylus CX7300。这两台都有复印，打印和扫描的功能。这佳能G4000还有传真功能。

I visited two chain stores selling electrical equipment before deciding which model and brand to buy. Then I knew from a salesperson that cheap printer usually has higher printing costs, and vice versa. I have a lot of documents to print, thus buying a printer which has relatively lower cost of printing is a wiser decision to make. The product specifications claim that this Canon G4000 can print up to 6,000 pieces of A4 document in black and white, and 7,000 pieces in colour. Wow, that is very ink effective!

我走访了两家电器连锁店，从店员的口中得知便宜的打印机通常都会带来较高的打印成本，反之亦然。因为我现在需要打印比较多的文件，因此得换一架比较低打印成本的打印机。据说一罐黑墨汁可打印6,000张，彩色墨汁可打印7,000张!

With the fast progress of today's technology, the printer has wifi and thus space and distance from my computer is no longer a constraint. Although the output of colour printing is not as vibrant as the digital copy, it is not too bad. It meets my needs as I do not need much colour printing. Good photocopy output.

随着科技的进步，连打印机都有无线上网连接，已经不再受空间和距离的约束，非常方便。虽然它打印出来的颜色没有电子版的那么鲜艳，但基于我需要的多数是黑白色的打印，它的功能还是足够应付我的需求。复印效果不错。

This Canon G4000 has two-sided printing function (ADF), but it is inconvenient. Before I print the second page with the same sheet, I have to manually put the paper back in the tray and press the print button. If you need to print a large number of double-sided documents, it is time-consuming.

这台佳能G4000有双面打印的功能，但不方便。在我用同一张纸打印第二页之前，我必须手动式地把这张纸放回纸盘中，然后按打印键。如果您需要大量打印双面的文件，这是很费时的。

It was selling at SGD389, which included 4 bottles of black and color inks. The price was reasonable. In addition, it came with a free Targus Seoul computer backpack. But I have to go to the Canon customer service center at One North to redeem :/

它售价新币389，包含了4罐黑和彩色墨汁，价格合理。除此，佳能还送个电脑背包，但我必须到该客服中心索取，好麻烦。

The circles are showing digital colours. The colours outside the circles are printed colours on overleaf of recycled papers (that is why you can see letter trace on some of the printed colour papers). They are scanned to my PC using the same printer.

圆圈显示电子版的颜色。圆圈外的颜色是印刷出来的颜色。你所看到黑黑色的痕迹是纸张背面的印刷字母。我使用同一台打印机把颜色纸扫描到电脑里。

The free gift - Targus Seoul laptop backpack.
Related link: http://www.targus.com/uk/seoul-15-6-laptop-backpack-khaki-tsb84506eu
赠送的电脑背包。

Fo Guang Shan's Delicacy 佛光山美食

Fo Guang Shan is definitely a good place to enjoy delicious meals with my family. I am not a vegetarian, but I do not need meat in my every meal, after all, meat is not a life-sustaining essential food. 坐落于榜鹅，佛光山绝对是我和家人享用美味可口餐点的好去处。我不是素食者，但我不需要每餐都享有肉类，毕竟肉并不是一种维持生命的必需食品。

Great value-for-money vegetarian cuisine, serene environment, coupled with some cute short tables and chairs, excellent service are the reasons I love this restaurant. It is called "Water Drop". 价钱公道，环境清幽卫生，可爱到让人尖叫的矮椅子和桌子，食物色香味俱全，周到的服务是我爱上这餐馆的原因。它名叫“滴水坊”。

Water Drop is located on the third floor of Fo Guang Shan. When I stepped into the elevator, I saw a brochure on the elevator wall. It is today's special introduction - curry vegetarian rice set. The photo of the dish looked "so-so" and thus I did not order it as my lunch. But I started to regret for my decision when I saw the same dish being delivered to the customer who sat next to me. The brochure in the elevator was simply misleading. It looked so tempting in reality, with the curry presented in marquise-shape bowl and rich in another porcelain plate. We are used to be bombarded by commercials and we know that most advertisements tend to overstate or exaggerate about the attributes or performances of products. However, Fo Guang Shan is not a commercial place, so it is not a surprise to expect an understated advertisement. Besides, all utensils used are made of porcelain, glass, or metal. I hardly saw any plastic or disposable utensils here.

滴水坊位于佛光山的三楼。我一踏进电梯，看到的是今日特别介绍 - 咖喱素饭。照片摆盘看起来不怎么样，所以我并没点这道菜。但当我看到真实的咖喱素饭被送到坐在我隔壁桌的访客餐桌上时，我还真有些后悔。在那电梯里的广告简直是个误导。那道饭菜不管在呈现时所用的盘碗或菜色方面都让人垂延欲滴。看过商业广告的人都懂广告和真实会有差别，那差别不用说你也猜到指的是什么吧。我想，原因或许是佛光山不是一个商业场所，所以不会过于吹嘘其广告。此外，我所见到的餐具都是由瓷，玻璃，竹和金属制成。我印象中很少看见塑料或一次性丢弃型餐具。

Where do you plan to have your lunch or dinner with your loved ones this weekend? If you do not have a better idea, why not pay a visit to Water Drop?

想好了这个周末要跟家人到哪儿用餐了吗？如果还没有，不妨试一试滴水坊吧！

Related link 相关网站链接: https://www.fgs.sg/waterdrop