I look at calendar dates, and I only pinpoint my life as far as November 1st or 2nd, including a two week trial stint at a monastery. Looking beyond that, looking beyond the end of Daylight Savings, oh, how boring and decrepit life looks.
I know I shouldn't inquire into the job, but I have an impulse to. At least nominally. I am curious to see if I could land it, but that's all. Oig, crap, I can see where this is going.
I saw a documentary today, Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion. It was fantastic; anyone with even the slightest cursory curiosity about Tibet should see it. Not really related to the movie, afterwards I thought that the (im)morality of suicide really is culturally contextual.
In the movie, the voiceover mentioned a monk "doing the unthinkable", and I think it was referring to suicide by self-immolation. I thought in Tibetan religious society, yes, suicide is strictly immoral; unthinkable. But then I thought how in other societies, suicide is or was completely acceptable, even expected in certain circumstances.
Thinking about the nature of U.S. society, I think it's take it or leave it. It would be hypocritical for U.S. society to deem suicide immoral; we're already a suicidal society with our guns, and environmental destruction, and everyone standing on their rights without feeling any sense of social responsibility. So all you morons in the U.S. talking about people burning in hell for committing suicide: Phhhhbbbbttttt!!!!!!!!!
I'm re-reading the Threefold Lotus Sutra. The last time I read it was 11 years ago, before moving to California. I think I recall finding it profound, but I also remember pushing my eyes along long lists of terms and names I didn't recognize.
I'm finding it also beautiful this time through. I'm telling you, you can't make shit like that up! I've tried reading through the Q'uran through the years but never made it through. <
