Buddhist Christmas...

A country where flowers are priced so as to make them a luxury has yet to learn the first principles of civilization. -Ancient Chinese Saying, According to the Internet

I received a Christmas card this year from one of my more religious Christian relatives which included a note to the effect of, "With God all things are possible!"

At around the same time, I'd had to teach my son about "What to Do When Evangelizing Christians Get Too Pushy."

I have a scroll in my zendo that says something to the effect of "The flower does not need to shout it beauty."

How do we embody empathy and compassion and caring to those who are not satisfied with our religious beliefs or lack thereof? What is the origin of this? Well no doubt craving, attachments, wants, ignorance, greed and perhaps a dollop of hatred are probably somewhere in the vicinity.

If we look deeply into such people, they are Yet More Suffering Beings. And they simply have not seen or been what many Buddhists have seen or been. They simply have no first-hand knowledge that what a "person" is is a lot more cloudy than they think.

As I get more and more into practice, I realize that what is "done" on the cushion is quite useless unless practiced in real life, basically all the time, and when it's done the proper way to deal with Such People becomes automatically clear, and one is neither over-acquiescing to them nor is one an obnoxious butt-head.

A religion where miracles are priced so as to make them a luxury to those who don't believe has followers who have yet to learn the first principles of spirituality.

I hope this season finds all readers of this blog, and all other beings unburdened by want, and selflessly giving and receiving. I know, I know, it won't happen, but I hope at least the 2nd derivative's positive...