Well, my reads...my reads...

I suppose this is my last blog neccessary for English class... I would just like to say that I went to a really awesome store - Present Moment - and realized that they have all of the books I would ever want to read. For the most part... So, basically, I have been reading The Things They Carried for school, and was once again stuck in the cycle of reading what I have to and not prioritizing fun-reading. Needless to say, I haven't gotten very much farther in my fun-reading book. I will now relate my own life to the book In The Shadow of the Buddha. I've begun going to meditation every weekend at the Minnezota Zen Meditation Center. It's really only been a couple of times so far, but I don't plan on quitting! Although it has only been a couple of times, I can totally see the benefits I could receive from it if I continue for some time. Matteo Pistono, the author of my book, also meditated! Haha - I laugh because that's mostly what the book is about... But he really inspired me to actually get on it and go to a meditation center and just DO it! I tend to aspire to do things and then rarely get around to doing them on a regular basis. Such as yoga. Anyway, I am very glad that I read some of this book, and look forward to a time when I don't have play rehearsal until 6 and am not too exhausted to read. Back to the books at Present Moment - it seems that they have a lot of books similar to the one I read, and I just cannot wait to get my hands on some! Saying that sounds a bit silly to me, because I don't often priortize reading. But I would love to read more books similar to this one. There are books about Siddhartha - the human name for Buddha, and books about yoga and meditation and Buddhism and Taoism...Anyway, thank you for reading, maybe I will have some posts in the future!

More from Buddha!

It's about time for another post, and this time I actually have read since my last post and have things to say! I was glad to get some reading time over break, but am cramped again... I continued reading In the Shadow of the Buddha over break. I'm still not too far in the book, but am loving it so far. The writer, Matteo Pistono, uses wonderful imagery and I can just imagine what transformative events he has gone through in order to write this book. Matteo traveled to Tibet, Nepal, and India when he was in his twenties. He stayed with a family in Nepal, and was invited to a Buddhist ceremony one morning, where he saw a boddhisattva tradition. He inquired more about this "boddhisattva", and learned that it meant "compassionate warrior". He seeked to learn more information about boddhisattvas, as well as learn about Buddhism. Eventually, he ended up making the boddhisattva vow to dedicate his life to helping others and himself throught meditation and other related things. When he began to visit Tibet, he would listen to stories of the elders. They would tell him terrible stories of how China took over and people were treated with cruelty. They were sentenced for things they were not guilty for, and tortured there. After gaining the Tibetan's trust, they would give Matteo letters and things to bring back to America so that he could spread the word of this torture. Many of the things were illegal for him to be carrying, but he went on to do the right thing. Matteo tells his story wonderfully, and what I have said is just an itty bitty taste of all of his adventures. I continue to be inspired by his words, and the words of his meditation leaders such as Sogal Rinpoche, Terton Sogyal, Khenpo, and the lovely Dalai Lama. I was even inspired to go to the Zen Meditation center nearby my house, which I had previously been interested in. I really enjoy this book and can't wait to finish!