bodhigirlsmiles

and i have never eaten them! you are the best, don't despair! it seems as though you have a lot of friends here.

that makes me sad i hope you find peace very soon (but not "rest in peace"!!)

i'm fond of inuit myself.

what languages do you speak? :) Bene, cum Latine nescias, nolo manus meas in te maculare.

will you please tell me what the church's position is on mary?

i am very impressed woth all of you! it is lovely to know that there are many out there who love books so much. i knew the majority of them, but there were several that i missed as well.

but i had soooooo much fun putting them all in there that i just couldn't stop!! i actually did about 100 less that i was planning to do....

isn't salinas beautiful!

various versions of book beginnings quizes have been posted on the internet, but i think they are always fun. for all you bookies out there, see how you do! (no cheating!!) from which books do these first lines come? 1. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so. 2. On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking homeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore or Blackmoor. 3. Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo. 4. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. 5. A wide plain, where the broadening Floss hurries on between its green banks to the sea, and the loving tide, rushing to meet it, checks its passage with an impetuous embrace. 6. 1801-- I have just returned from a visit to my landlord -- the solitary neighbor that I shall be troubled with. 7. My father's family name being Pirrip, and my christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. 8. Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen sat one morning in the window-bay of their father's house in Beldover, working and talking. 9. Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.. 10. The day broke gray and dull. 11. Now, what I want is Facts. 12. There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. 13. In the days when the spinning-wheels hummed busily in the farmhouses -- and even great ladies, clothed in silk and thread-lace, had their toy spinning-wheels of polished oak -- there might be seen in districts far away among the lanes, or deep in the bosom of the hills, certain pallid undersized men, who, by the side of the brawny country-folk, looked like the remnants of a disinherited race. 14. Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. 15. While the present century was in its teens, and on one sunshiny morning in June, there drove up to the great iron gate of Miss Pinkerton's academy for young ladies, on Chiswick Mall, a large family coach, with two fat horses in blazing harness, driven by a fat coachman in a three cornered hat and wig, at the rate of four miles an hour. 16. This is the saddest story I have ever heard. 17. Except for the Marabar Caves - and they are twenty miles off - the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary. 18. This is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure, and what a Man's resolution can achieve. 19. When I reached C Company lines, which were at the top of the hill, I paused and looked back at the camp, just coming into full view before me through the grey mist of early morning 20. As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a Den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. 21. I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story. 22. Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York. 23. In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 24. The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call "out there". 25. Late in the afternoon of a chilly day in February, two gentlemen were sitting alone over their wine, in a well-furnished dining parlor, in the town of P----, in Kentucky. 26. A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hill-side bank and runs deep and green. 27. Halfway down a bystreet of one of our New England towns stands a rusty wooden house, with seven acutely peaked gables, facing towards various points of the compass, and a huge, clustered chimney in the midst. 28. This is America -- a town of a few thousand, in a region of wheat and corn and dairies and little groves. 29. The town is, in our tale, called "Gopher Prairie, Minnesota." But its Main Street is the continuation of Main Streets everywhere. 30. It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet. 31. We are talking now of summer evenings in Knoxville, Tennessee in the time that I lived there so successfully disguised to myself as a child. 32. It was the hour of twilight on a soft spring day toward the end of April in the year of Our Lord 1929, and George Webber leaned his elbows on the sill of his back window and looked out at what he could see of New York. 33. Everyone had always said that John would be a preacher when he grew up, just like his father. 34. When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. 35. In the town there were two mutes, and they were always together. 36. The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old house, a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happen to say that it was the only case he had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child. 37. A destiny that leads the English to the Dutch is strange enough; but one that leads from Epsom into Pennsylvannia, and thence into the hills that shut in Altamont over the proud coral cry of the cock, and the soft stone smile of the angel, is touched by that dark miracle of chance which makes new magic in a dusty world. 38. I am living at the Villa Borghese. There is not a crumb of dirt anywhere nor a chair misplaced. We are alone here and we are dead. 39. Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng! An alarm clock clanged in the dark and silent room. A bed spring creaked. A womans' voice sang out impatiently: "Bigger, shut that thing off!" 40. Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.

yay! it is very much appreciated. thank you one and all.

speaking of dark lyrics in christmas songs....what is everyone's take on this one: scary ghost stories?? i'm guessing that this is in reference to charles dickens. anyone have any other theories?

i have heard that as well. it is interesting to note that the buddha (gautama) did not want anyone to worship him or think of him as a god in any way. in fact, he became quite irritated when people tried to do that within his lifetime. he simply discovered a set of guidelines for living that he felt would benefit mankind and spend the next 45 years sharing them with others.

which is to say....a lot! i think they both have so many beautiful things in common. i realize that there is much buddhism lacks that christianity espouses, and vice versa, but it is food for thought at any rate.

ROTFL....that was good. it is interesting that you say that. in actuality, tibet (the birthplace of my parents) is one of the few historical societies to practice the other type of polygyny.....polyandry. polyandry is a rare form of marriage where one wife may take two or more husbands. the tibetan, toda, sherpa, and marquesan are the only four societies worldwide that practice polyandry today. there are two types of polyandrous unions: fraternal and non-fraternal. fraternal polyandry occurs when multiple brothers share a common wife, and non-fraternal polyandry occurs when co-husbands are unrelated to one another.

you have inspired me to create a new thread called "was jesus a buddhist?" check it out! :)

jesus was a jew, to be sure, but could he have espoused buddhist philosophies as well? the following issues may support the view that jesus was like a buddhist: 1. jesus had expounded his doctrine of patience, non-violence and compassion which was seemingly an opposite view to that of the god according to the old testament. jesus preached and asked his followers to turn the other cheek when somebody slapped you, whist an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in the mosaic law clearly denoted retaliation and vengeance which were regarded as justice. 2. in the revelation of st john, a christian scripture written down in greek in the eastern mediterranean, it refers to a book closely sealed with seven seals. st john weeps bitterly because he sees no one worthy to open the book and to break its seals. this can be done by the lamb of god alone, slaughtered in sacrifice. there is a similar book in mahayana buddhism, the perfection of wisdom sealed with seven seals, written in sanskrit in south india. the book has 8000 lines and in chapters 30 and 31 it describes in detail how everweeping bodhisattva slaughtered himself in sacrifice, and how he thereby became worthy of the perfection of wisdom. this parallel is remarkable not only for the similarities of the religious logic, but also for the fact that both have seven seals. coincidence you say? perhaps. 3. a parable from the gospels, the teachings or revelations of jesus christ, (matthew 13, 1-23; mark 4, 1-20; luke 8, 4-15) has a striking similarity to that of the buddha’s teachings. people hear my words: a farmer goes to sow his fields. the birds come and eat the seeds. other seed falls on the path. and behold, some seed falls on the rock where there is no earth, and withers away. some falls under the thorns and cannot grow. the seed that falls on good earth, however, sprouts and brings forth fruit. the farmer is jesus and the seeds are his words of wisdom. the seeds which are eaten by the birds means people who do not understand the words. the seeds that falls onto the rocks are the words of wisdom that go in one ear and come out of the other. the seeds that land under the thorns means those who hear and see, but do not act accordingly. the seeds which land on the good earth means those that hear the words of wisdom and act accordingly. the buddha taught the same thing. 4. jesus life-history between the ages of 13-30 is missing. it is explained that jesus was attending to his father’s livelihood during that period which seemed to be unlikely. jesus was a wise and an active child and was given a high place in a temple before that missing-period. why did he have to be in a low profile at the most active period of one’s lifetime ? 5. an account of jesus’ expedition to tibet and his subsequent practice of samatha meditation was described by scholars. he was supposed to have obtained supernatural powers (jhana and abhina) and went back to palestine to teach his skills. 6. both went to their temples at the age of twelve, where they are said to have astonished all with their wisdom. 7. both fasted in solitude for a long time: buddha for forty-seven days and jesus for forty. 8. at the conclusion of their fasts, they both wandered to a fig tree. 9. both were about the same age when they began their public ministry: 10. both were tempted by the "devil" at the beginning of their ministry: to buddha, he said: "go not forth to adopt a religious life but return to your kingdom, and in seven days you shall become emperor of the world, riding over the four continents." to jesus, he said: "all these [kingdoms of the world] i will give you, if you fall down and worship me." buddha answered the "devil": "get you away from me." jesus responded: "...begone, Satan!" 11. both experienced the "supernatural" after the "devil" left: for buddha: "the skies rained flowers, and delicious odors prevailed [in] the air." for jesus: "angels came and ministered to him." 12. the multitudes required a sign from both in order that they might believe. 13. both strove to establish a kingdom of heaven on earth. 14. buddha "represented himself as a mere link in a long chain of enlightened teachers." Jesus said: "think not that i have come to abolish the law, and the prophets; i have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them." 15. according to the somadeva, a buddhist ascetic's eye once offended him, so he plucked it out and cast it away. jesus said: "if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out, and throw it away;" 16. "buddha taught that the motive of all our actions should be pity or love of our neighbor." jesus taught: "...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." 17. buddha said: "hide your good deeds, and confess before the world the sins you have committed." jesus said: "beware of practicing your piety before men to be seen by them;" and "therefore confess your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed..." 18. both are said to have known the thoughts of others: "by directing his mind to the thoughts of others, [buddha] can know the thoughts of all beings." "but jesus, knowing their thoughts, said: `why do you think evil in your hearts?' " 19. after "healing" a man born blind, buddha said: "the disease of this man originates in his sinful actions in former times." "as [jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. and his disciples said to him: `rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'" 20. both were itinerant preachers with a close group of trustees within a larger group of disciples. 21. both demanded that their disciples renounce all worldly possessions. "the number of the disciples rapidly increased, and gautama sent forth his monks on missionary tours hither and thither, bidding them wander everywhere, preaching the doctrine, and teaching men to order their lives with self--restraint, simplicity, and charity." "and [jesus] called to him the twelve [apostles], and began to send them out two by two. so they went out and preached that men should repent." 22. both had a disciple who "walked" on water: to convert skeptical villagers, buddha showed them his disciple walking across a river without sinking. "he said: `come.' so peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to jesus, but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out: `lord, save me!' " "one day ananda, the disciple of buddha, after a long walk in the country, meets with matangi, a woman of the low caste of the kandalas, near a well, and asks her for some water. she tells him what she is, and that she must not come near him. but he replies: `my sister, i ask not for your caste or your family, i ask only for a drought of water. she afterwards became a disciple of buddha." "there came a woman of samaria to draw water. jesus said to her: `give me a drink.' for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. the samaritan woman said to him: `how is it that you, a jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of samaria?' for jews have no dealings with samaritans." 23. each repeated a question three times: "the buddha next addressed the bhikkhus and requested them three times to ask him if they had any doubt or question that they wished clarified, but they all remained silent." "[jesus] said to him the third time: `simon, son of john, do you love me?' peter was grieved because he said to him the third time: `do you love me?'" 24. both received similar receptions: "the people swept the pathway, the gods strewed flowers on the pathway and branches of the coral tree, the men bore branches of all manner of trees, and the bodhisattva sumedha spread his garments in the mire, [and] men and gods shouted: `all hail.' " "and they brought the colt to jesus, and threw their garments on it; and he sat on it. and many spread their garments on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields." i am not trying to say that jesus was actually the buddha! i just think it is remarkable how much commonality we share. christianity is certainly a beautiful religion with much in common with my own buddhism, no matter if it is a coincidence. may you all find peace this day and always.

i really love nuns....they are so cute! i realize that there probably isn't a way i can say that in a non-disrespectful way, but i mean it in all sincerity. i think they are simply wonderful individuals, and i admire their dedication to their beliefs. buddhist nuns are cute, too, but not nearly so cute as catholic nuns. i have heard it told that there are other non-catholic faiths that have (or did have) nuns as well....do you know if there is any truth to this?

it does! how sweet....

you don't say....? i did realize that. just wondered if there was anything said about him at all. (i don't worship him, either, btw. :))

this is off topic (sorry!!!! ), but how, exactly, does one get one's EYE poked OUT? wouldn't it be easier to get it poked in? or at least gouged out? i've always wondered about that saying.... (sorry for the gross imagery!)

i really would have no idea where to begin doing that. i sincerely appreciate your advice, but as a buddhist (all my life), that is very unfamiliar to me.

what are the (lds) church's teachings on the buddha? if any....

yummy

Q: Why did it take the Buddha forever to vacuum his sofa? A: Because he didn't have any attachments. i can make fun of my own religion, right?!

whatever you do, may you find peace and compassion in the journey. namaste.