12.15.12 So, I went for a walk last week during lunch hour. Because of health reasons (diabetes) I have stopped eating meat for the last several months. While this is not a requirement of Buddhism it does fit in well with the compassion theme and if anyone is wondering what I mean then point your browser to www.mercyforanimals.org and you'll get the picture. Anyway, I found the "pizza window" at work (my school) and....well, that's a bit of a weakness for me. So I ordered a slice of cheese pizza only to find out that they only had pepperoni so since there was a line backing up behind me I went for a slice. Getting back to my room, I dutifully picked off the slices of meat in preparation to eat the beckoning slice of utter joy. Then it dawned on me....would it be more non-virtuous to toss the pepperoni or eat it? Which would honor the animal more? Yep, I ate it. It was good too but I realized something. I mindfully go out of my way to choose vegetarian dishes as often as possible and if a friend invited me over to dinner and was serving hot dogs or hamburgers wouldn't it be worse to decline the offer of hospitality and perhaps make them feel bad? Absolutely. I'm not here to teach the world how to act nor to try to be the model of Buddhism for others to follow. I'm here to do the best that I can, be compassionate of the needs of others and always try to be kind. Do I always succeed? Nope but just like the kid who fell off his bike....you just get back up, dust yourself off and head on down the road. naturally, I'll swerve to avoid hitting animals....just like I always have. Namaste

Welcome to Saturday! It's two days past Thanksgiving and the question on my mind is are you still thankful? Do you remember those things we so eloquently wrote on Facebook or twitter on Turkey Day? This morning I read a wonderful tome written by an outstanding lady I have known since grade school. While it was not clear to me if she had authored it herself or was simply sharing it for the benefit of others is of no matter. The point is that she shared something that caused me to take pause and to even stop and pray for a moment while reflecting kindly on some days gone by. Thanks for that moment or two of tranquil, peaceful, solitude Mindy. We hope everyone got home safely and that all of our friends and family enjoyed themselves and managed to have conversations and laughs and share memories while making new ones even if they were not able to be in the absolute company of each other. I know ours was good. We fed carnivores and herbivores and probably a few omnivores as well! It was a mixture of American and Russian cuisine and traditions and a good time was had by all. Many of these people I get to see on a regular basis while others I only met yet fast friendships were made. The language barrier was not a problem because we had lots of translators and many words and gestures are universal, thinks like a smile, a laugh, a hug and a nod. Some of you know that I converted to being a vegetarian (not a vegan, still like my eggs and cheese too much for that) several months ago. I did really well too considering the site of that beautiful turkey I had stuffed and roasted. I'm no cook but I had some help looking over my shoulder as I did the "bird thing." Of course we did the annual "turkey dance" which is a very important ritual with the Eastin kids. Then the bird came out of the oven and I began to carve it. All the time thinking "you're a vegetarian....you're a vegetarian." and then it happened, I'm not sure how but suddenly a piece of white meat jumped off the platter and into my mouth. Was it tofu? Hmmmm, guess I'd better check again just to be sure, cuz if it was then it was the best darned tofu I've ever eaten! Nope by golly it was turkey. Bells went off in my head, months of work and diligent effort down the drain.....uck I ate meat...the flesh of another living thing....and I liked it too! Now what? The answer was simple. All I had to do was center myself, remember why I had chosen to be a vegetarian in the first place....for my health and not my Buddhism. Refraining from animal protein seems to keep my blood sugar more under control. I'm a diabetic. That's simple No enough. No more complicated than if I'd gulped a candy bar. Oops. So, I'm not a bad Buddhist after all. (Besides, not every Buddhist is a vegetarian anyway.) As for prayer....yes Buddhists pray all the time. Actually, it is often called meditation and it means the very same thing. And, by definition, anytime you pray you set things into motion(Lama Surya Das. Do we need to sit upright on a cushion with our feet in our laps and our back perfectly straight and then think about nothing for non-specific (or specific) periods of time? Maybe, if that's what float's your boat. On the other hand, we can also pray while walking (walking meditation) or doing dishes (doing dishes meditation....okay, you got me I just made that one up) but you get my point. Breathe in, hold it, breathe out and you've done a mini-meditation. Do it repetitively and you've done lots of meditations. If you do it right you will feel better. If you do it wrong you will feel better. If you don't do it at all you may still feel better. Isn't that the important thing? Feeling better? Slowing ourselves down in this crazy fast microwave speed world? Take time for yourself and think good thoughts about others. Is there a code? Sure, and (I'll bet I hear about this one)...the Buddhist code while centered around virtuous and non-virtuous acts instead of committing sin, is as tough or tougher than any Christian code you'll ever encounter. Yet the two are not mutually exclusive. If you want to understand Buddhism (at least the basic concepts) a little better contact me and I'll send you off to some good sites and give you some good authors. Here's my point. You don't have to know it all before you try to practice Buddhism. Just jump right on in. The water is fine. Don't start thinking you need to convert or give up anything else either. Buddhism doesn't require that. One of our most erudite teachers, That Nich Han, is a Catholic Buddhist. He is at peace with both. Why? Because in the beginning there was God, and He made the world ..... and it was good. I don't recall him segregating his people into any one particular faith. We are all one in the same only differing in theory and practice. Think a good thought about someone today. Namaste.