Very temporary hiatus

Unfortunatly my internet is not working at home (I’m at a library right now) and it may take a bit to fix the issue. So it will probably be about a week, 2 max before I can post anything new here. Sorry to the readers that come by each day.

 I wish you all the best during this time! Thanks for your continued support for this blog!

Vegetarian debate in Buddhism

Ever since I stepped foot on this path, one of the biggest issues I’ve had is, do I eat meat or do I not eat meat?

At first I thought “Buddhists must not eat meat, I mean their trying to save all sentient beings right?” Well I started doing some research. Did you know that Siddhartha Guatama, the man that is referred to as The Buddha, ate meat? Yes, actually he did. He would of course not eat meat that was specifically killed for him, or if he heard the animal being butchered. But, being a monk and needing to beg for his food, he had very little options when it came down to eating meat or not. He specifically said “Monks, I allow you fish and meat that are quite pure in three respects: if they are not seen, heard or suspected to have been killed on purpose for a monk. But, you should not knowingly make use of meat killed on purpose for you.” I borrowed that quote from Buddhism and Eating Meat. He could of course refuse the kind generosity and starve, or he could eat it and be nourished.

Just another day…

…sorry haven’t written much in the past few days, been a bit under the weather. Seems I’ve come down with a bit of the pre-summer flu or something. But anyway. I figured I’d drop a quick new post and leave you with this thought….

“You have to become fed up with you dislikes and your likes, your suffering and your happiness. Don’t you see that this is the very essence of the dharma?” - Ajahn Chah

New idea…

…and I need your help. I was very impressed by the book “Buddha’s Apprentices” More Voices of Young Buddhists by Sumi Loundon. I don’t want to “copy” Sumi’s idea but in a way I would like to try to replicate it (yeah I know, that’s copying) in a small way.

If you are unfamiliar with the book, many well known Buddhists contributed stories of how they found the Dharma, certain things they’ve accomplished via the Dharma, people they’ve helped and impacts they’ve made, as well as what Buddhism means to them.

I want to do this on a much smaller scale, via you, the reader. If it goes well, I’ll compile this in a few editions. I am looking to put 5 “stories” per installment.

Man fired for saving a womans life

Well, as if things can’t get any worse… News out of Jacksonville, FL is that a young man, 24 year old Colin Bruley, is a hero. And what a story folks. At about 2am on a Tuesday morning, Colin hears a woman yelling for help and that she’d been shot. What does any compassionate, caring person do? They go and help, which Colin did. On his way out of his apartment he grabs a shotgun which he uses for hunting.

He gets to the scene, assesses the situation and starts helping the woman. He has received CPR training as well as basic life saving training. He grabs a tourniquet, raps it around the womans leg to stop the bleeding, while another neighbor calls an ambulance. While this is going on noone knows where the shooter went, for all they knew he could pop out of nowhere and unload on them. But, he risks it (his life that is) to come to the aid of someone in need. Luckily the shooter does not re-enter and Colin is able to keep the woman stable enough until the paramedics arrive and take the woman to the hospital.

Cheese Sandwich: The new scarlet letter

Here comes another rant folks, bare with me.

I heard on the news yesterday the approach a school in Chula Vista, CA is taking for people that are having a hard time paying their kids food vouchers at school. Rather than dealing with the situation in an “adult” like manner, the school system has stooped to new lows.

When a kid, who’s account is low, reaches the line at lunch time he or she might notice a red check on the ticket. This signals the lunch people, and the child is only given one choice for lunch that day, a plain old cheese sandwich. Mind you, I used to love cheese sandwiches as a kid, a little mayo on it and I was good to go. But the school is sending mixed signals here.

Buddhist internet chat?

I am looking for your help!!!

Sometimes at night it would be cool to drop into different “Buddhist” chat rooms to see what the discussion might be. I know of a few on mIRC and the one @ e-Sangha. Do you know of any other one’s? Preferably one’s where people talk frequently or that don’t have lag. I don’t mean a forum either, I know of many and frequent some. I mean live chat. THANK YOU!!!

Going It Alone

I was listening to some music that I liked quite a bit as a teenager. One of my favorite bands back then was Suicidal Tendencies. Being a fan of the band didn’t mean I wanted to kill myself, it was just the bands name.

There was a song I used to really love by the band, it was called “How will I laugh tomorrow (If I can’t even smile today)”. Listening to the lyrics I reminisced at how awful I used to feel. I can’t really pinpoint why this was, there were lots of things going on. Growing up we all have some sort of issues, but I felt like all of them were upon me. I felt alone, I felt like noone else could pull me out of the funk except me. Just to give you an idea of some of the lyrics here they are.

“Love and peace flash through my mind
Pain and hate are all I find

Bindi Irwin meets the Dalai Lama

(Editors Note: I was very excited to read this story, and glad the Dalai Lama took some time to meet with Bindi Irwin (daughter of the late Steve Irwin). Even the Dalai Lama has seen how important this girls life is going to be. Bindi Irwin is keeping very close to the legacy her father left, selflessly caring for animals. She is an inspiration to us all, whether we realize it or not. She will go on to do great things, I guarantee it!)

Story from : http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21897970-421,00.html

ABOUT 5000 people gathered at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast today for a talk by the Dalai Lama.

A true hero!

I had to repost this story here on my blog. I’ve known this little guy since he first saw the light of day. I was very happy to see this story and that he handled the situation well. Lucky for his Dad, Byron, Tyler was trained and knew exactly what to do. What’s amazing is that he remained so calm in the face of danger. What a brave little guy!

Centerville fourth-grader receives state’s Young Hero award
By CYNTHIA McCORMICK
STAFF WRITER
June 09, 2007

CENTERVILLE — March 30 started out as an ordinary spring day for young Tyler McHenry and ended up with him being hailed as a hero.

Moshin’ Monks

Found this while surfing the web a bit. Thought it fit the blog so here it is for you to see. I got a kick out of it. And like the title says, I like to call it “Moshin’ Monks”

Back in jail for Paris.

Firstly, to my regular visitors who I’m sure are not interested in reading this Paris mess, this is the last article I’ll write about it. Back to the basics from here on out.

So, after being picked up at her house by the Sheriffs office, Paris was escorted back to court for her appearance. Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer , thankfully, threw her back in jail. This time though it was for the original sentence of 45 days. She will get time served for the time she was incarcerated as well as the day she spent on the bracelet at home.

Judge Sauer stood by his original words and sent her back, even over her sobbing and weeping. My final words on this are, if you cannot do the time, DO NOT do the crime. Maybe she’ll really learn her lesson. And now she realize as well, noone is above the law, no matter who you are or how much money you have. She can thank her lucky stars she didn’t kill someone in the original ordeal or else she’d be locked up alot longer for sure.

CLICK HERE for the latest CNN news on this.

And Paris walks right out…

Today, 6/7/07, Paris Hilton walked right out of jail. She is going home on a bracelet system which will “monitor” her and make sure she doesn’t leave the house. Boo hoo!

It has just been reported that due to a “medical condition” she has been released. She was not eating the food at the jail, which is perfectly ok for every other prisoner, but not an “icon” like Paris Hilton. This is absolutely outrageous folks. Because she goes on a hunger strike she gets out? Where is the justice? Where is the outrage?

What happens the next time she gets drunk and runs someone over? What happens then? Who will be held accountable? Surely not princess Paris! Her parents will just pay another person off.

CLICK HERE to read the CNN Article about the release

Editors Note: But wait, there’s more. It’s later on, same day the news broke on the release and it’s back to court. The original judge has ordered Paris to return to see what the hell is going on. CLICK HERE to read the current news. I’ll post more later as the shit continues to hit the fan. This is still ridiculous, as a matter of fact, it is nearly beyond ridiculous.

Student denied her diploma.

(Original news story link) http://www.hoinews.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=37221

Last week a young girl, Caisha Gayles, faced one of the biggest moments in her life, high school graduation. What a happy moment for anyone, it is a big achievement considering the dropout rate. High school is hard, not only all the work and study involved. There are lots of different pressures on kids in school nowadays. Whether it be the kids that are bullies, made fun of for their clothes, picked on for their social status, etc, etc. Graduation is a VERY BIG DAY for anyone who has worked hard to get there.

So why, did the school withhold this young woman’s diploma? Because her family and friends cheered? Because her family and friends saw the things she overcame to get there, to that stage to graduate from high school?

Spoof video of Slayer’s “Reign In Blood”

A while back Rod from The Worst Horse sent this video link over to me. I found it absolutely hysterical so I thought I’d post it. Some of the content is over the top, so keep that in mind. It is all in jest though, so laugh a little and don’t take thing so seriously already ok?