To be perfectly honest, I haven't been a good Buddhist in that I haven't joined a temple and haven't studied the teachings in a long, long time. I just listen to my mother who keeps trying to make sure I know the truths of living.
At the wedding reception on Saturday, there was quite a bit of discussion on Buddhism in different cultures and it got Art and me thinking. What is it that we remember from Sunday School?
First there are the Four Noble Truths:
1. There is suffering and challenges in this world.
2. Suffering is caused by desire, ignorance and fear.
3. The way to end suffering is by finding ways to understand and to not fall into the traps of desire.
4. The Eightfold Path are the ways to to reach that more peaceful state: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration
One of the slim ladies at our table mentioned how she became a vegetarian. She said she used to eat everything and then she decided to follow more of the Buddhist teachings. She realized that she didn't want to eat creatures that share the world with us anymore. She felt that she should be eating for nutrition, nourishment and sustenance, not desire. After much meditation, she found that she no longer craved gourmet type foods. She ate her vegetables with thought and care and became healthier for it.
Since she and our hosts are vegetarian, they had vegetarian dishes ordered for them. It looked delicious!
All this was something to think about as they loaded us with all the left overs before we left, including the cocoa puffs.
Last night mom and I realized it really wasn't good for us so she and I took one teaspoonful of the chocolate filling and tossed the rest away. Art said he didn't want any. We all had watermelon instead.
On the other hand, isn't this wastefulness? Ah well... It may not be easy being Buddhist, but there's a lot to be learned and gained from it.
At the wedding reception on Saturday, there was quite a bit of discussion on Buddhism in different cultures and it got Art and me thinking. What is it that we remember from Sunday School?
First there are the Four Noble Truths:
1. There is suffering and challenges in this world.
2. Suffering is caused by desire, ignorance and fear.
3. The way to end suffering is by finding ways to understand and to not fall into the traps of desire.
4. The Eightfold Path are the ways to to reach that more peaceful state: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration
Since she and our hosts are vegetarian, they had vegetarian dishes ordered for them. It looked delicious!
All this was something to think about as they loaded us with all the left overs before we left, including the cocoa puffs.
Last night mom and I realized it really wasn't good for us so she and I took one teaspoonful of the chocolate filling and tossed the rest away. Art said he didn't want any. We all had watermelon instead.
On the other hand, isn't this wastefulness? Ah well... It may not be easy being Buddhist, but there's a lot to be learned and gained from it.
I have always been fascinated with Buddhism, the slim vegetarian lady sounds like she could teach us all a lesson!
ReplyDeleteKay you are a slim lady too!
ReplyDeleteI studied Buddhism years ago and found that many of its tenets are good ones to live by. I've been a vegetarian for forty years, but I still eat fish. I'm not exactly slim but I'm in pretty good shape for an older woman, I think! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh you are very slim and very fit, DJan! You look totally fabulous! You would be a good role model for being a vegetarian.
DeleteYou didn't order all the food for the reception. We aren't responsible for wastefulness of others, only our own.
ReplyDeleteWe were certainly happy to bring the food home to have it the following night. Yum!
DeleteBuddhism is not for me! In fact, no religion is right for me. I live the way I feel like living and don't feel I have to go to church or temple to have people tell me how to live. So there!
ReplyDeleteP.S. You should have given me those cocoa puffs, Kay. What a waste! Lol.
"We all had watermelon instead" ...wonderful! I know I lack discipline when it comes to chocolate, but I love your eightfold path. It makes so much sense.
ReplyDeleteK
I agree with dulling the senses with meditation, so you don't crave or desire. So much of the problems we have today are because we let our desires take charge. We need a huge dose of the Eightfold Path to correct the mess we're in. yada yada yada lol
ReplyDeleteL. from W.
They do say that meditation is supposed to help you live longer. Unfortunately, I have the worst time clearing my mind. Things keep creeping in.
DeleteYou are being inundated with food in Honolulu! And most of it is shipped or flown in from elsewhere. Mindfulness would mean trying to eat fresh, local food as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteBuddhism is attracting me. I like the idea of balance and order in daily life, although I'm not very good at it! Could you suggest a starting point for me to find out about Buddhism, something to read?
The book I have is called The Teaching of the Buddha and it's the one they have along side the Bible in some hotel rooms in Hawaii. However, because it is a translation, I don't know if it's the best source. It's not all that easy to follow. I'm sorry, but I'm not the best source for information on Buddhism. Hilo has a temple, where you can ask. I have a photo of my grandfather there. I find that in Hawaii, the Hongwanji Buddhist temples might have more eloquent speakers and priests than the Soto Zen, but don't tell my mom I said that.
DeleteRight. I go by there all the time, so I will drop in and ask for information. I do have a friend who is a Buddhist too, but she is in Japan right now.
DeleteAs a Unitarian-Universalist, I belong to a congregation that studies Buddhism, along with the other great religions of the world. We have several members who are Buddhists. The principles of Buddhism are excellent, although I doubt I could survive without an occasional cheeseburger! Perhaps I need to become more enlightened.
ReplyDeleteI just had a teri burger today. LOL Not all Buddhists are vegetarians. It would be nice if everybody could become more enlightened.
DeleteVery interesting. I guess none of us can live our belief systems perfectly. That is why forgiveness is so important.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I'm treading lightly here, but it seems to me there are more reasons for suffering than desire. Suffering is inflicted on people all over the world every day and the desire is just to stay alive. But then I'm no longer a person of any religious faith, so I tend to think too critically. If you like the model and the life message, then good for you. Just don't let it make you feel guilty about anything.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that there are more reasons for suffering. Then again sometimes, too much desire brings on suffering too. As in any religion, I think we should take what works for us and if something doesn't make sense, you let it go. And for goodness sake, people should stop thinking that because they are part of a certain religion, that they are better than everyone else. OK... I'll get off my soapbox now.
DeleteKay, if we no eat animals, they going get more and more, until the herds get so large, they will run outta grass to eat, next thing, they'll break into people's backyards and eat their orchids and papayas, then when the orchids and papayas run out, the vegetarian animals will start to eat people.
ReplyDeleteRon, your imagination is running away with you. You should go out and have a nice bowl of soothing saimin at Zippy's.
DeleteGood one, Ron! :)
DeleteAh. the problem of suffering. We studied it quite a bit in Catechism. There are no quick answers, but I learned a few things over the years such as offering encouragement and not doing something for someone they need to do for themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis truth was driven home to me when David broke his hip and had hip replacement. The therapist had him out of bed the next day, and although it was extremely difficult for him, he had to walk on his new hip. I wanted to put him in a wheel chair and push him, but that would not have helped him a bit.
Thank you for sharing with us all. I admire moral vegans, though the story I heard of the Buddha's death was that he ate some questionable meat offered him in his wanderings. The Dalai Lama famously enjoys a steak. I admire the wisdom and morality of Buddhism; it has added much to the culture and life of Hawaii. Lucky you have your Mom to teach in so many ways. Look at how your children live. That's success!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post..something for me to think about..I think you are a good person Kay!!
ReplyDelete"It may not be easy being a Buddhist ..." you say.
ReplyDeleteWe say "Schwer zu sein a Yid," it's hard to be a Jew.
I guess the good life is not necessary an easy life.