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There is one common motif shared between Buddhist meditation practice and Olympian training: that of the finely tuned lute. Strung too tightly, the strings will break; strung too loosely, the strings will sound off: If the lute strings are too tight, will your lute make a nice sound? If the strings are too loose, will your lute make a nice sound? ... In the same way, if you practice too intensely, it causes stress. If you practice too little, it causes indolence. (Aṅguttara Nikāya 6.55)

Image of an emaciated Siddhartha Gautama, Gandhara, third century, Peshawar Museum | Twitter

The image of an emaciated Siddhartha Gautama, beautiful yet withered and gaunt, reminds us of two things: first, that any journey, whether to attain enlightenment or become a sporting champion, is inevitably filled with hardship and tribulation. Second, that self-deprivation and forgetting to attend to one’s well-being are no way to accomplish goals.

These ideas are not contradictory. This year’s Olympics in Tokyo have showcased some amazing athletes at the top of their game. One legendary athlete who has not been at the top of her game is Simone Biles, who has come up short at several events. In late July, she withdrew from the women’s finals, citing the need to protect her body and mind after being unable to land satisfactory moves on every apparatus during training.

“I didn’t have a bad performance and quit. I’ve had plenty of bad performances throughout my career and finished competition. I simply got so lost my safety was at risk as well as a team medal,” she declared. “I don’t think you realize how dangerous this is on hard/competition surfaces. Nor do I have to explain why I put my health first. Physical health is mental health.”

While her decision might hurt her team’s chances of winning more gold medals, Biles has brought renewed attention to the long-neglected primacy of mental health. She is far from alone: despite enduring stigma and misconceptions, her withdrawal has resonated with many around the world, feeding into a growing awareness of mental health.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka foreshadowed Biles in many ways, stepping away from press conferences and then from tournaments earlier this year and asserting the need to attend to herself. “It’s OK to not be OK, and it’s OK to talk about it,” she famously wrote for Time magazine after considerable negative media attention. She asserted that fame, publicity, and pressure should not negate the need to “exercise self-care” and “preservation” of mental health.

Some prominent commentators have harshly criticized Biles, hyperbolically accusing her of being selfish, weak, or not a team player. These critics, few of whom are professional sportspeople, have also strongly condemned Osaka in the past, seemingly failing to exercise compassion and remember that sportspeople have valid mental health concerns, just like anyone else.

Like celebrities and politicians, who tend to receive little public sympathy when sharing their emotional difficulties, athletes’ mental health has also been affected by over-the-top judgments. However, there is an increasing generational shift in many countries. Young people seem better than previous generations at recognizing mental health problems.

As mental health awareness becomes more mainstream, there has also been a backlash against what is seen as “coddled” or “spoiled” behavior by those who prioritize personal mental health over traditionally valued goals such as popularity, wealth, or status. Critics assert that Biles made up her mind too quickly without considering her duty to represent her country as an ambassador of American Olympic prowess. However, arguments over whether her call was self-serving, careless, or unpatriotic seem to miss the core point and overlook Biles’ own experience. Not only has she already represented her country estimably for years, the entire point of Biles prioritizing her mental health over more abstract ideals such as national pride or a new gold medal is an affirming statement that there are things in life more valuable than fame, glory, and accomplishment. Someone as accomplished as Biles probably knows this, given the fact that she is already considered by many sports writers and historians to be the greatest gymnast in American history.

Yet we do not need to have reached Biles’ heights of achievement to have valid concerns about our mental health. Even for a perfectly ordinary person with an unremarkable life, there is every reason to be cautious of the narrative that certain goals are necessarily more valuable than others and worth significant sacrifices. We are all familiar with stories of burnout at work, of being so focused on a goal to the point that other demarcations of flourishing are forgotten or left behind. People around the world are discovering, especially post-covid, that mental health and a balance of work or public service and self-care is its own reward or objective, a worthwhile victory in and of itself. 

The lesson in the story of Siddhartha’s ascetic phase of extreme self-denial is that he was too focused on his goal, enlightenment, and as a result he hindered himself from actually attaining it. It was only after he accepted nourishment from a humble village girl, Sujata, and left his five ascetic companions, that he could find himself on firmer ground to discover the truth of the cosmos. When the five ascetics found out that Siddhartha was eating and taking care of himself, their disparagement had slight echoes of the criticism directed at Biles, with the future Buddha being accused of cowering away and accepting compromises when he should be laser-focused on his attainments.

Those ascetics later became the Buddha’s earliest disciples at his first sermon in Sarnath, the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.

Buddhistdorr.net

The controversy over Nepal Bangladesh Bank’s land purchase has resurfaced. Some of the bank’s board members are indignant after the Chief Executive Officer secretly wrote back on the matter to Nepal Rastra Bank. 

Apparently, CEO Gyanendra Prasad Dhungana had on June 21 sent a reply to NRB without informing the Board of Directors. In its earlier letter, NRB had asked for an explanation on the irregularities in the purchase of seven ropanis and nine annas (approx. 0.95 acres) of land for the construction of the bank’s central office in the residential area of ​​Bishal Nagar.

The letter states that the Nepal Bangladesh Bank Directors Sarwar Hussain and Deepak Karki, who were in the committee formed for the land purchase, failed to complete due process. The committee is accused of pricing the Bishal Nagar property, whose value is no more than Rs 3 million an anna, at Rs 7.8 million an anna, which comes to Rs 600 million more in payment. 

The central bank’s Department of Banks and Financial Institutions Supervision had asked those alleged to be present at the department within three days of receiving the letter with an explanation. 

In response, CEO Dhungana sent a ‘secret’ reply, angering the bank’s investors. An investor named Yogeshwor Mali had filed a report with both the NRB and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in April 2019 alleging gross irregularities. The complaint also mentions that it would be against the NRB directive to purchase properties amounting to more than 25 percent of total capital. According to the bank’s promoters, CEO Dhungana has sent arbitrary answers to NRB’s questions. An independent promoter even alleges that CEO Dhungana and NRB of being in cahoots.

Separately, the NBB is also witnessing the exit of its foreign partner IFIC Bank Limited, the Bangladesh-based bank, as the latter is planning to sell 40.09 percent of its share investment in the joint-venture. 

TVS Motor Company, a renowned two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturer, this week announced the Pokhara launch of its latest BS-VI TVS NTORQ 125 with Race Tuned Fuel Injection (RT-Fi). Nepali film stars and brand ambassadors Pradeep Khadka and Swastima Khadka unveiled the scooters at a program organized at the Batas Brothers Private Limited showroom in Pokhara. 

With this launch, TVS NTORQ 125 is available in five variants: Disc, Drum, Race, Race (BS-VI Fi), and SuperSquad Edition. It comes in a color selection of Matte Red, Metallic Grey, Metallic Red, Metallic Blue. The Race Edition (including BS-VI Fi) is available in Red-Black and Yellow-Black, while SuperSquad Edition comes in Combat Blue, Invincible Red, and Stealth Black. 

Ford Nepal this week introduced two brand-new variants to the popular Figo lineup: Ford Figo Titanium A/T and Ford Figo Titanium+ A/T priced at Rs3,499,000 and Rs 3,699,000 respectively. The new variants are the upgraded versions of its most-selling hatchback Figo which now features segment-based six-speed, automatic transmission that is paired with a BS 6 complaint, 1.2 litre powerful engine delivering 96 PS of power, and 119 Nm peak torque.

The 2021 Ford Figo petrol automatic is available in Titanium and Titanium Plus variants. The Titanium variant brings 15-inch alloy wheels, height adjustment for the driver’s seat and rear passenger headrests, 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment Sys, manual AC, steering wheel-mounted controls, two airbags, powered outer mirrors, and ESP. The Titanium Plus comes with airbags, automatic AC, auto-headlights and wipers, electrochromic IRVM, power folding mirrors, front fog lamps, and a rear washer/wiper and defogger.

The new Figo A/T also delivers great safety, convenience, and connectivity with six airbags, Traction Control System (TCS), and Hill Launch Assist (HLA). To add value to customers, Ford Nepal offers a 100,000 km or a three-year warranty.

Ford Figo A/T is offered in five different color options: Diamond White, Ruby Red, Moondust Silver, Smoke Grey, and White Gold.

The popular number by Samrat & Rachana, which premiered on 7 March 2021 on YouTube, had garnered over eight million views in the past five months. Following this success, singers Samrat Chaulagain, Rachana Rimal, Smita Dahal, and Mamta Gurung have once again lent their voices to the song, this time especially for the upcoming Teej festival.

Accompanying the remake is a music video with the star cast of Dipashree Niraula, Bhuwan K.C., Aakash Shrestha, Swastima Khadka, Gita Dhungana, Jvin & Jvis Shrestha, and Aasyshi Dhakal. Within three days of its YouTube release, the song has already gotten over 4 million views.  

Not a drop to drink: Residents of the Nakhipot area in Lalitpur walk with empty vessels on their backs to collect drinking water from a nearby public spout. The demand for water in Kathmandu Valley was 430 million liters a day but the supply was only 80 million liters before the 170-million-liter-a-day Melamchi project came online. But Melamchi has been shut down since June following heavy flooding in project area | Bikesh Shakya

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Michaels Grill might not be the most popular restaurant in town but it seems like everyone knows about it or has at least heard about it, especially after the recent lockdown. In its new location at mid-Baneshwor (opposite APEX college), Michaels Grill offers both indoor and outdoor seating in a lo-fi, homely ambience that makes its customers, mostly youngsters, feel at home.

As for the food, the restaurant stays true to its name and serves a delightful assortment of meaty grills and vegetarian choices too. MG mainly specializes in sekuwas (local-style barbecued meat) and the rest of the menu is like your regular multi-cuisine cuisine, at prices almost as affordable as Kathmandu’s street food. Dedicated parking for both two- and four-wheelers makes this a favorite joint of many.

Michael Grills
Mid-Baneswor

Chef’s special:
Sekuwa
Bhatti Spicy Wings
Michael Peri Peri Rolls

Opening hours: 10am to 10pm
Meal for two: Nrs 500-1,000
Cards: Accepted. 
Reservations: 9885191223

Team Europe (the EU, its institutions and all 27 Member States) is on track to exceed its initial goal of sharing 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines with low and middle-income countries by the end of 2021. It now foresees sharing 200 million doses by the end of 2021.

Team Europe had initially announced plans to share at least 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines with low and middle-income countries by the end of 2021. President Ursula von der  had announced that most of the vaccines would be contributed through COVAX.

“Team Europe takes its responsibility in helping the world fight the virus, everywhere. Vaccination is key – that's why it is essential to ensure access to Covid-19 vaccines to countries worldwide. We will be sharing more than 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines with low and middle-income countries by the end of this year,” von der Leyen said.