Facets of Metta by Sharon Salzberg
Researchers once gave a plant to every resident of a nursing home. They told half of these elderly people that the plants were theirs to care for — they had to pay close attention to their plants’ needs for water and sunlight, and they had to respond carefully to those needs. The researchers told the other half of the residents that their plants were theirs to enjoy but that they did not have to take any responsibility for them; the nursing staff would care for the plants.
The Buddhist gold-plated cell phone is meant to appeal to the largely Buddhist population of China complete with jade adornments, traditional Buddhist instrumental music, and Buddha-vision which offers an always available video image of the great Buddha. The battery is even embossed with a likeness of Buddha. Fitted with a lot of fabulous tools and options this technology is certainly bridging into new territory.
