tao1776

From all that I am able to gather, I didn't have a choice in my being born. Although the Tibetan Book of the Dead does suggest that we may choose who our parents will be. Perhaps the choice of being born is one of no choice at all. I didn't choose to be the third born child in a family of four, born of depressed parents who rode the post WWII train into the American Dream. Indeed, the Lady and I have often remarked that had we been made aware of how rotten the family tree was, we may have forgone the decision to have our own children. I didn't ask to suffer from Agoraphobia for several years. Nor to suffer from chronic pain since 1986. Nor to gain successful employment and career only to lose and regain it and lose and lose it again. Nor did I ask for diabetes and the peripheral neuropathy that dogs me. It is a huge pile of shit that I find myself standing on and one that I never asked for. That is dukka. A wobbly wheel on the cart of life. Even when things are going good...

I recently was sent a copy of the book, What In The World Is Going On? 10 Prophetic Clues You Cannot Afford to Ignore... by Dr. David Jeremiah. It disturbed me and I needed to understand why. Clearly, I disagreed on many ideas put forth by this Senior Pastor of the Shadow Mountain Community Church of California. Disagreement is one thing, feeling disturbed reveals an inner conflict of another kind. For surely we do not feel disturbed by every disagreement that we may have with another, do we? Fundamentalist Christianity subscribes to the idea that there is a need for salvation and that the only way for this to happen is through the Savior Jesus Christ. And although I could contend that the truth of that statement may be bigger and wider than the doctrine of Jesus: "The way, the truth, and the life,"that was not what was disturbing to me. The Fundamentalist also subscribes to a belief system which contends that the Bible is the "Word of God". Everything about the...

It appeared quite funny at the time. You leave the bank after cashing a check and you find that your truck is gone.What to do? Not too alarmed, I checked for my vehicle in the back parking lot of the bank. On those days when your attention span is in auto pilot, I may very well have parked behind the bank but it wasn't to be found there. Hmmm, I thought, perhaps I parked a little further down the street. I scanned up and down the roadway and felt annoyed at the prospect that someone may have driven her away. The light skinned beauty with three on the tree and a wooden bed didn't appeal to everyone but her charm was subtle. Cassette deck still in place and always willing to play old Stones or the jagged sax of a Foreigner tune, the 79' door speakers still managed to give you a chill. There was nothing power about her except for the straight six engine that would outlast every single nut, bolt and piece of metal that made up all the other supporting components. Now as a side ...

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work. -- Thich Nhat Hanh