Hi Mel, I see, it's basically about an extension of a common sense thing like someone not feeling their life's over if they break their diet one day. Or, from a more Buddhist(? if I'm understanding this) perspective, not choosing to beat myself up because I feel annoyance towards someone who's been rude to me? Accepting one's humanity and imperfections instead of choosing to feel like a failure?
And not making judgements about someone else who chooses to break their diet or be rude, or to be annoyed because someone else has been rude? :-) Beverley. ________________________________ From: Mel <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, 26 May, 2011 12:45:01 Subject: Re: [Zen] Newbie - hello & question Dualistically-speaking, we as the humankind cannot help but make choices in everyday life. Sometimes we come across something like.... ..'The ultimate path is without difficulty. Just avoid picking and choosing'.. - Seng-Ts'an ...which can be confusing when taken literally. I just bought a medium-sized bag of chocolates tonite, and I know I shouldn't have because of my high-sugar count...but I did. I made that choice, and it's not something you and other folks around here may consider wise on my part. But...I also made the choice at this moment to rein in the dualistic devil within me, and so there will be no more sweets tonite, bar perhaps an orange or 2 What I'm saying here is that most of functioning humans have that imgaginary line which they don't dare cross for fear of some huge consequence later on, and that's also a choice In zen, books and visits at the temples teach that we don't get too discriminatory with our daily lives because such is dualistic. But..getting too obsessed and/or attached to this line of thinking may also result in unholy attachment for the 'holy', and therefore dualism..me and this, here and there, life and death, and so on Just some of my thoughts Buddha be praised Mel --- On Thu, 26/5/11, Beverley Huish <[email protected]> wrote: Is making choices, per se, such a bad thing? It can get silly, like all over-thinking, I know.
