July 2008

日本豐田汽車公司所獨創的豐田生產體系，是公司的一种獨具特色的現代化生產方式。它顺应时代經歷了20多年的探索逐漸形成了今天这样的經營理念、生產組織、物流控制、質量管理、成本控制、庫存管理、现场改善等較为完整的技術与方法體系。 消除一切浪费的管理哲理包括生產过剩、庫存、等待、搬运、加工中的某些活動，多餘的動作，不良品的返工等，这些浪費必须经过全員努力不断消除。感觉和我做瑜伽各種姿势时，不也和經營自己的生理組織、體内的物流控制、肌肉质量管理、消化庫存管理、和消除多餘的動作一样嗎吗。汽車在生產過程中是不是也能享受當下的慢呼吸？

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOr8uuLEO0I

As what was highlighted with Toyota, the idea of efficiency in a production line is nothing more then achieving seamless steps with no wastage in the process to create a ‘flow’. Likewise, when one is doing yoga poses, the person will strive for the same seamless flow to achieve a state of ‘efficiency’. Who would imagine that a car production line requires a state of mindfulness to achieve its economic goal, and who could imagine yoga requires management skill to attain its spiritual balance?

長命企業 Long Life Enterprises

Everyone knows Toyota. They produce good and efficient automobiles for the world. But not everyone knows that they are also known for TPS- Toyota Production System, the process of which it produces its good and efficient automobiles.

The uniqueness of TPS lies not so much in its innovation, but the spirit behind the willingness to analysis a process that consists of useful and not so useful movements. This process of finding the redundant steps and subsequently eliminating them has taken a significant amount of time over a number of years ( 1948 to be exact). In the eye of many businesses, it was a waste of time. In another word, its too SLOW!

However, after going through the process of elimination over and over again, a wonderful magical thing started to happen: the required steps in the production process needed to create a Toyota car begin to move seamlessly from one movement to another, and - a flow is created. Toyota’s success didn’t come by just becoming efficient, but I really think that it comes from first being about to slow down to find its ‘flow’. When you reach that state, everything automatically comes together as one, including success.

In fact, when we are able to do that, we can afford to slow down. But instead we try to speed things up even more, at the expense of the flow.

消除了不必要的步骤后，我们其实是可以慢下来的。

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hBvTi3UJxo&feature=related

其实要体验“当下”不难。拿一颗橙，一把刀。在切它之前，深深的吸一口气，在呼出的同时慢慢的把橙切片。去感受刀抵在橙皮上的力度，果汁流动的气味，手指在刀柄的握法。那一刻是十分之动人的。领悟到其中的窍门，你慢慢享受慢慢的慢。

I have always admire animators. They have to pleasure of creating each frame intimately and 25 frames only represents a second on the screen. Talk about slow! Who better then an animator to live and love the moment? I often wonder if they are master of the presence and mindfulness.

The animated sequence of cutting an orange represents one is fully aware of each step require to accomplished the task. From the moment your grip on the handle of the knife, and the pressure you receive when the knife cuts into the skin of the fruit, and the scent of orange juice flowing out. While you are at it, be aware how your hair is falling over your neck, and your bare feet touching the wooden floor, with the weight on either your right or left leg.

You almost have to love this moment.

A Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh who is a teacher, author, poet and peace activist, offers a practice known widely as the mindfulness.

慢在當下

Slow down your mind and you can become master of each movement appreciating everything that is being offered to you, and you return the offering to create a seamless exchange of energy.

Slowing down is the pre-requisite of mindfulness.

Enjoy this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMwMi8KwNcA&feature=related

我们的問題在於時時刻刻都不活在这一時刻。不是想昨夜的激情，就是想明天的爱情。当下的一刻却是一點都不在乎。我在竹林里練瑜伽時，感受到慢下来的當下才是生命的真谛，呼吸的中心。什麼時候想試？明天嗎？

Play this in the background while you read on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eu3WIXuzmo

Just last month, French impressionist painter, Claude Monet’s painting- “The Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil” fetched a whopping $41.48 million dollars at Christie’s auction house. Here we are working like a dog, and an old painting from the 18th Century is worth an amount that is able to feed 2.2 million hungry mouth in Africa?

And it seems that the older the paintings are, the more ‘valuable’ and this is the norm in the art world. Why is it that we need time to slowly warm up to an object before giving it value? We tell ourselves that everything old is of value, that it represents culture from the era or it holds meaning from a certain person’s point of view. But what’s the big deal of these meanings and memories? Why do we not value older folks and treasure their knowledge?

Why do we love objects that are old and not people? What is wrong with us?
What’s love got to do with slow?