a sprinkling of casual conversation
I'm at the Buddhist centre today, and my friend the lovely ngakma who does acupunture here and leads lunchtime meditation couldn't come today, so it's just me. It's a Tuesday, and not much happens here on a Tuesday aside from this morning's power cut to the whole road that led to lots of chatting among people who work in the various shops and other businesses. The people two shops down were concerned because they sell a lot of food that needs refrigeration.
This afternoon after the power was restored two middle-aged men wandered by, chatting with one another, and came in so one of them could have a good look at the selection of used books we sell. The other man looked over the new book section, which unsurprisingly is almost entirely books about Buddhism, and turned to me.
"So do you do this stuff, then?" He speaks in a broad Welsh accent.
"I do some practices, yes," I said. "Not all of them."
"And does it help you?"
"Yes, I think it does." I smiled. It's of course impossible to tease out precisely how much of that gain is from practices themselves and how much is from the support of other people at the Buddhist centre.
"Yeah, see," he said, "I think sometimes I'll start doing that, Buddhism or something, but then I think that maybe I'll just keep drinking. It gives me a relaxed state of mind, like."
I laughed and we talked more and he told me about nearly emigrating to Alberta. I like casual conversation.
This afternoon after the power was restored two middle-aged men wandered by, chatting with one another, and came in so one of them could have a good look at the selection of used books we sell. The other man looked over the new book section, which unsurprisingly is almost entirely books about Buddhism, and turned to me.
"So do you do this stuff, then?" He speaks in a broad Welsh accent.
"I do some practices, yes," I said. "Not all of them."
"And does it help you?"
"Yes, I think it does." I smiled. It's of course impossible to tease out precisely how much of that gain is from practices themselves and how much is from the support of other people at the Buddhist centre.
"Yeah, see," he said, "I think sometimes I'll start doing that, Buddhism or something, but then I think that maybe I'll just keep drinking. It gives me a relaxed state of mind, like."
I laughed and we talked more and he told me about nearly emigrating to Alberta. I like casual conversation.