A Tzu Chi commissioner in Yungho, Taipei County, was thinking of running for election, so she went to see the Master. The Master asked her, Why do you want to enter politics?
Speak not! he is consecrated— / Breathe no breath across his eyes: / Lifted up and separated / On the hand of God he lies, / In a sweetness beyond touching,—held in cloistral sanctities.
The Japanese were often skittish about elections: they wanted to control who they got as top administrators and feared elections might stir up the animals.
The radioactive isotope molybdenum-99 (half-life of 66 hours) decays to generate technetium-99m, which has a half-life of only six hours and is used in hospitals for medical imaging. The technetium isotope collects in various parts of the body, in particular bone. Scanners detect the radiation from the isotope to create an image, enabling diagnosis. The process uses a device that is filled with Mo-99, which decays into Tc-99m, forming a continuous supply that is ‘milked off’. The device is nicknamed the ‘moly cow’.