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In Amsterdam, I met a guy named Joel who looked
like a Deadhead. He said he was returning to the
US after being in India and Nepal for 1-1/2 years
studying Buddhism. We got into a discussion about
the difficulty transitioning back into Western
culture, what a sham it all was, all based on desire
and the satifying of those urges. He was born in a
suburb of Detroit and was looking forward to going
back and dealing with his hyperactive Junior League
mother. His Buddhist training would allow him to
accept her as she is. He said "She'll yell and
scream at me for not writing, for growing my hair,
for wearing funny clothes and I'll just listen and
wait till she vents her pent-up anger. Then we'll
sit down together and make cookies." |
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