A Buddhist's Diary March 15th 2009

These are carp. I am told that they are inedible. But I have eaten carp, and found them perfectly good. Not from the Rio Grande, true. My first husband used to catch carp and store them live in a spring pond then load them in a live box and drive them to New York City to the Kosher fish market. They were bound for jars of gefilte fish or so we were told.

When carp are red they are called koi and are found in the lobbies of expensive hotels, where people throw pennies at them.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell custom, culture and fashion from the simplest way of viewing things.
One of the joys of the American method of education is the way that students question. Japanese and Singaporan and Korean teachers would be stunned to have a student be skeptical of facts handed down from above. I know this is changing.

When I first came to sit, I was surprised to hear the Roche say that one should evaluate and judge all that is taught of Buddhism, and accept only what makes sense to oneself. This is called cafeteria religion, and is much decried. There are at least two ways to look at cafeteria religion. One can say that it is self-serving and lazy, that people snap up the cute bits of Hindu, Buddhist etc beliefs, treating them like pretty trinkets, without the least understanding of the belief. "Oh we're having a Puja tonight at Mary Lou's house. You want to come?"

The other way of seeing it is to say that with much study and thought a way of living can be custom designed, no matter how horrible it may sound. I am not American, but I call myself an American Buddhist because yes, I reserve the right to accept or reject aspects of Buddhist teaching. Getting to the core of most beliefs and philosophies one finds great similarity. But no. I do not believe in carnal reincarnation. Sorry.