Funny how things work.

I was walking out of my biology lecture today and checked my score which was posted outside of the lecture hall. Not bad for a midterm grade, I am pulling a eighty-three point three. Then I noticed that one of the quizzes that my professor placed on my grade was wrong. She gave me a ten out of ten instead of an eight. I was half tempted to walk away and not say a word, chances are my professor, who has a billion quizzes to enter made a mistake in my favor and I should just walk away knowing that I have a little advantage.

This was not the case. I decided to walk back into lecture and speak to the professor personally. I told her about my grade and what was entered into the midterm. She smiled and said not many would have come up to correct me on that one.

I smiled back and said I am not going to take credit for something that I did not do.

A friend was watching in disbelief as I walked happily away. She looked at me and said that I would make a good Christian. I looked at her and (where I would usually just become rather cynical and trite) said that there are many tenants of Buddhism that carry over and share principles of morality one being not lying. All and all a good day.

On a completely different note:

Wal-mart sells (only online) coffins now...

IF you do not believe me, go to their website and type in 'funeral' the search bar, and scroll down to the bottom of the page. I dare not think what is next on their hit list.

Bye.

Snow

Unique specs of ice

hit dying leaves

melt away

only to fall again

-------------------------

Snow falls

flakes melt

everything becomes one

clouds fill up to bursting

snow falls

Adios

Drunken Dorms

I dislike drunkenness. I dislike like it more so when the residents in my hall decide to drink copious amounts of the fermented beverage then party on my floor, right outside my door at two thirty in the morning.

Do not get me wrong. I like the reasonable refreshment as well as the next guy but I enjoy it in moderation. I dislike being so drunk that I have blackouts. My residents seem to enjoy this feeling. Personally I was the typical freshmen and did not believe the many stories of public intoxication because frankly I thought the people who went to college were there to learn... boy was I wrong.

Let me tell you about the other night.

It was two thirty in the morning and I was trying to get some sleep before my eight in the morning class. I was stirred from my slumber by the sound of screams, laughter, belches and very loud thumping hippity hoppity music. Yuck. I was tired and rather miffed at my situation. Not the best combination. I walked out of my dorm as was greeted by my dorm 'neighbor' slamming his door repeatedly and screaming. He was plastered. I opened up conversation with this neanderthal (I use this term only because it is the best visual way to describe him).

"Dude, what the ****? It is two in the morning and I would like to get some sleep. Could you please shut up?"

His response came after a few seconds of blind staring.

"It wasn't me, and why are you talking to me like that you ******* punk?"

He walked up right to my face and towered over me. Fumes strong enough to ignite a small fire were assaulting my nostrils. He continued.

"You don't talk to me like that you little shit, I will ******* kill you you ******* punk. Little ******* white kids think they own the place."

I was ready to get hit. In fact I welcomed it. With his punch he would have sealed his fate. I would be taken to the hospital and able to press charges of assault. He would have been found to be completely drunk (underage) and hopefully would never see the light of day. I kept staring into his eyes that were at least a foot taller than I. His friends pulled him away after what seemed like forever. Taken back at the fact that I was only just standing there not moving an inch. I guess they were waiting for a fight. I was pretty proud of myself for this act of non-violence, but I do think I could have handled the situation a tad better. Maybe I could not have been that direct with my opening. But I am willing to bet that this story would have had the same conclusion.

The drunk in question is a physical education major... that is right folks, if this guy passes he will possibly teach your children.

If anything this was a rather large lesson on tolerance on my part.

Just thought I would share with you.

Ciao.

Slight sabbatical but back with a vengeance.

Hi all... or hi that single person who has been pretty devout in checking if I posted anything. If you are still reading, then I applaud you.

I have been, for lack of a better term busy. College stuff. You know the drill. I am still taking Jukai this January and I will begin sowing sometime in November through December, I have to do it over breaks. College is going well (if you care) a little stressful but all is well.

I will be trying to post more in the coming weeks in keeping with my promise of posting thoughts to the precept study. Who knows maybe I will break the mundane nature of the precepts study with a few scraps of poetry and other ramblings from your ol' college student.

Either way, stay tuned...

Adios.

You know... I have been thinking, which is dangerous, I should maybe go into detail about each precept listed in the last post. If you the reader are curious it will satisfy your thirst and it will help me. So I think that it what I am going to do, starting now.

I will start with the Three Treasures.

1. Taking refuge in the Buddha.
2. Taking refuge in the Dharma.
3. Taking refuge in the Sangha.

They are not that bad... honest.

Number one is pretty self explanatory "Refuge in the Buddha" well that more or less means to me that one should trust his teacher (Buddha). But here is the catch: everything is a teacher even you the reader. Now that is the deepest meaning. The basic meaning would be to listen to the 'original' Buddha's teachings. One minor misconception about Buddhism that I see and hear is that many think Buddha is a god like figure... more than human. Now some will argue this and I am not going to point fingers, but in my eyes the Buddha was nothing more than a man. He lived, he experienced pain, emotions, and finally death. That sounds pretty human to me. Anyway, taking refuge is more or less trusting the teaching of the man in question.

Number two: Dharma is a teaching, and in this case means the teachings of Buddhism. So one who takes refuge simply gives himself up to the dharma (follow the teaching/trust the teaching).

Number three: Sangha is the group in which people practice the dharma and take refuge in the Buddha. So it is devotion to the group of other Buddhists who practice with you. But I think, personally, it is more than that. Sangha is a group true, but I do not like how that is kinda selective to only Buddhists. I view Sangha as the world including all who reside on it. Afterall one simple teaching is that everyone and everything has potential to be a Buddha... so why not?

Now you should be able to see how these all go together. If you trust the Sangha you trust the Dharma and if you trust the Dharma you are trusting the Buddha.

I could write more, but I believe this does some justice... afterall I am still a student and I am not a teacher so DO NOT take everything I say as truth. I, like the Buddha, am human and prone to the human condition of making mistakes. No one nor anything is perfect all the time.
See that was painless.

Night.

"DO YOU 'CEPT THE LAWRD AND HIS YOUNG'N JESUS?" "ARE YOU READY TO BE DUNKED IN THE NAME OF THE LAWRD?" **Insert heavy southern accent**

"Yes sir..."

That is right Kyle is going to be Baptized... well kinda. I have made the choice to undertake Jukai. This is kinda like a Zen Buddhist baptism. I would become an official Buddhist, and to top it all off I would get a nifty Buddhist name! Now I say official but if one wishes to get technical I am already a Buddhist only because I am trying to stick to the precepts (codes of conduct) and I do recite the four vows (which will be listed below along with the precepts). More or less during Jukai, there will be lots and lots of Zazen and I will 'officially' take the Buddhist precepts and try to live in accordance with them. Oh and the kicker is I am required to sew. Now, if you are reading this and you happen to be a friend, you should know that I have no sewing talent what so ever. Even though I do not even have a slight ability in the use of thread and needles I will attempt to sew a Rakusu... which is a garment for Zen practitioners who have undergone Jukai. Kinda looks like a giant bib. It is a symbol of the buddhist robe, without having the troublesome robe. So I will be giving updates about this sewing endeavor and I hope to finish by the end of July... (HA! wishful thinking).

Four Vows:

To save all sentient beings, though beings numberless.

To transform all delusions, though delusions inexhaustible.

To perceive reality, though reality is boundless.

To attain the enlightened way, a way non attainable.

(Below is what I will be adhering to when I take Jukai)

(Three Treasures)

1. Taking refuge in the Buddha
2. Taking refuge in the Dharma
3. Taking refuge in the Sangha

(Three Pure Precepts)

1. Not Creating Evil
2. Practicing Good
3. Actualizing Good For Others

(Ten Grave Precepts)

1. Affirm life; Do not kill
2. Be giving; Do not steal
3. Honor the body; Do not misuse sexuality
4. Manifest truth; Do not lie
5. Proceed clearly; Do not cloud the mind
6. See the perfection; Do not speak of others errors and faults
7. Realize self and other as one; Do not elevate the self and blame others
8. Give generously; Do not be withholding
9. Actualize harmony; Do not be angry
10. Experience the intimacy of things; Do not defile the Three Treasures

Well that is all for now.

Night.

Fears.

Everyone has them... kinda like opinions and that is okay. But what do we really fear? Fear of loss, spiders, people, heights, death, life, clowns, purple child molesting dinosaurs and the fear of flight. But do we really hate spiders or clowns, or is it our reaction to those subjects? Are we afraid of the subject or the reaction? 

I am deathly afraid of spiders. But is it the creepy eight-legged arachnid that is slowly crawling down a web from the ceiling scary? Or is it the fear that the spider will bite causing PAIN and TORMENT.

So, do we fear the subjects or the potential physical and mental pains associated with those subjects? I will leave that one up to you.

Night.

PS: I wonder what you would think if I told you that if you were bitten by a spider, that in a way and certain viewpoint, you are indirectly bitting yourself. Maybe for another day.