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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Nov. B ook Group--Going Home: Jesus & Buddha As Brothers
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Our November read is Thich Nhat Hanh's Going Home: Jesus & Buddha As Brothers. TNH is a Buddhist priest and peace activist. MLK nominated him for a Nobel Peace prize.
Tentative start date is Nov. 20th. Please post if you're planning on joining us, and whether the start date will work for you. (As always, anyone is welcome to drop in later. This just gives me an idea of the group.)
Please do not start the discussion before the start date. It works best if we start together. I'll post some basic questions on that date, and then everyone can dive in.
Happy reading!
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
I have ordered the book from the library, and got the message that it's in for collection. This is a first - that I remembered to order it the month before and it arrived in time.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Tree Bee
Ship's tiller girl
# 4033
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Posted
My copy of this is at home, but I'm not.
Will start it when I get back.
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"Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."
— Woody Guthrie
http://saysaysay54.wordpress.com
Posts: 5257 | From: me to you. | Registered: Feb 2003
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
This book should be with me shortly, so I'm in.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
{Bumping up as a reminder.}
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
This interests me, so I'm going to see if I can locate a copy.
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Thanks for the interest, everyone. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
BTW, the book is divided up into small sections. You can read straight through, or skip around.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
How's the reading going? Does the 20th still work as a start date?
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
| IP: Logged
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Still reading. It's one of those books where you need to read a small portion, and then stop and reflect, but I think I'll be able to contribute to a discussion by the 20th.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Tree Bee
Ship's tiller girl
# 4033
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Posted
I'm still reading too. The text is so rich I can't hurry it.
It's not as if any plot will be given away by the discussion though, so I don't mind when it starts.
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"Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."
— Woody Guthrie
http://saysaysay54.wordpress.com
Posts: 5257 | From: me to you. | Registered: Feb 2003
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Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917
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Posted
I'm also still reading. As I'm unfamiliar with most of the Buddhist concepts, I'm also having to do some 'further reading', i.e. looking things up online! Hence, progress is fairly slow. I'm enjoying reading it, though.
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“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor
Posts: 1189 | From: West of the New Forest | Registered: Sep 2010
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Ok. Thanks for your input.
Tell you what: when I put the questions together, I'll make them ones that can be applied to whatever you've read in the book.
And I can post links to help you. Anything in particular you need? Buddhism 101 kind of stuff? Info on Thich Nhat Hanh? I'll post a link to his Plum Village website.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Ok, some (hopefully) helpful resources. Let me know if there's anything else you need.
TNH's community, Plum Village
http://plumvillage.org/
Tricycle magazine—“Buddhist wisdom, meditation, and practices for daily life”
http://www.tricycle.com/
At the very bottom of the front page, there are links to info about various aspects of Buddhism.
Dharma the Cat cartoons
http://www.mahabodhi.net/dcat/
Fun!
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
And here are links to Buddhist glossaries and dictionaries.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917
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Posted
Thanks very much, Golden Key. I shall enjoy investigating these sites! I'm starting to practice mindfulness, so I have a vague idea of how that originated in Buddhism, but that's about the extent of my knowledge so far.
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“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor
Posts: 1189 | From: West of the New Forest | Registered: Sep 2010
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Discussion starts here.
Here are some starter questions. Feel free to answer any or all of them, and/or add your own.
1. How did the format work for you?
2. Likes? Dislikes?
3. Any knee-jerk reactions?
4. Did anything disturb, confuse, enlighten, or help you?
5. Have you read any TNH, Buddhist, and/or meditation books before?
6. How do your current beliefs (religious, agnostic, atheist…) fit with the ideas in the book?
7. At the very end of the book, TNH poses a scenario where a young Buddhist and a young Christian marry. He suggests that they each practice the other’s faith. Could that work? Would it be a good thing?
8. Have you seen the movie “Hand in Hand”, about a Jewish girl and a Catholic boy who are childhood sweethearts? How does it fit in with this book?
9. Are Jesus and Buddha brothers? Should they be?
And people who haven't posted on the thread yet are very welcome to jump in at any time!
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
{Gentle bump.}
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
| IP: Logged
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
I haven't read it all yet, and I'm still thinking about the questions, but so far I'm enjoying taking it in small pieces and reflecting on it. It's not on Kindle so I bought a second-hand copy which is ideal for meditating on in the bath (one of my guilty reading habits I'm afraid). There is a lot that I find 'speaks to my condition' when I read it, the need for experience for instance, which is what I'm reading at the moment. I also liked finding out that in Vietnamese it is usually to refer to your spouse as 'your home'.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917
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Posted
I'm enjoying the book, but not finding it as accessible as some of his others. I've read extracts from Peace is Every Step, for example, which is a much more practical explanation of mindfulness meditation. Going Home is more concept-based, which is probably why I'm struggling with it - I tend to prefer a more practical, instructional approach. Still, I'm learning a lot about Buddhism.
I haven't reached the part about the married couple yet.
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“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor
Posts: 1189 | From: West of the New Forest | Registered: Sep 2010
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Tree Bee
Ship's tiller girl
# 4033
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Posted
Still reading in short bursts.
My reactions swing from alienation from what I'm reading to total identification .
I also found Peace is Every Step more accessible. My copy has been purloined by daughter Erin who is doing the sensible thing and reading it very slowly.
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"Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."
— Woody Guthrie
http://saysaysay54.wordpress.com
Posts: 5257 | From: me to you. | Registered: Feb 2003
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
I'm afraid I found Peace in Every Step more accessible too. I'll take it with me tomorrow when I'm away from computers and see how much I read around things I'm doing.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Thanks, everyone. Sorry I picked something so difficult to work with!
There's no rush.
If you feel like you want to post more, you might pick a couple of sections and talk about them.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917
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Posted
I would say that it's a challenging book, but that's no bad thing.
I am struggling with the idea of not having 'notions'. I can understand how preconcieved ideas can cause problmes, so it's a good idea to get rid of them. However, the author seems to be saying that we shouldn't make judgements or have notions about anything at all. I think this takes it too far - after all, if you judge something to be wrong, you can then do something to change the situation. The idea of having no judgements or notions seems to be very passive. Or maybe I'm reading it wrong?
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“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor
Posts: 1189 | From: West of the New Forest | Registered: Sep 2010
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
{Bump.}
[ 04. December 2012, 05:16: Message edited by: Golden Key ]
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Thanks to everyone who gave this book a try!
Feel free to continue the discussion, if you like.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
| IP: Logged
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